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What happened to the ECFC thread?


jtrovato

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No revenue was to go toward supporting this site from any sort of advertising. Only Supporting members. If we had done differently and allowed ads, Wakegirl would not need another career and more than likely would have a new Wakesetter in her garage every new model year. Along with that we would have banner ads on every page, pop up ads, ads selling you items you have shown interest in on other websites, selling your contact info to advertisers, cash back for every ad you clicked while on this site, etc. You would also have the problem of any advertiser being able to control what you posted about their product because they wouldn't like negative comments on a site they were supporting. We would be removing every post that shows them in a bad way so we could keep that ca$h flow going. That's all the way from your water spot remover to Malibu.

I will start by saying I appreciate not being blasted with ads here. You are being way too extreme on the results of ads on a website. Since Wakeworld was previously mentioned, let's use them as an example. That site has ads EVERYWHERE. You can't get away from them and it is at an extreme level compared to most message boards - it is obvious big dollars are going there and "should" be your prime example of forced censorship with all of those ads.

Yet this censorship isn't happening on Wakeworld. You can see a post bashing Supra boats with their ad for Supra 1/2" from the bashing (as one example). There are negative reviews about all sorts of products that are sold by advertisers. That's just the way it is. Don't take this as me using Wakeworld as the shining example of how to run a website - the moderators there don't do enough, allowing way too much trolling to go on. I think they take the ads a bit too far as well.

I think some quality vendors were pushed away by the last push of rules on them. Simply put, I think it could have been done a different way, gotten the results you wanted and not pushed vendors we want supporting the forum to go away. What's done is done and I think a lot of board members voiced their displeasure at the time but I figured I would mention it since it was addressed.

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I will start by saying I appreciate not being blasted with ads here. You are being way too extreme on the results of ads on a website. Since Wakeworld was previously mentioned, let's use them as an example. That site has ads EVERYWHERE. You can't get away from them and it is at an extreme level compared to most message boards - it is obvious big dollars are going there and "should" be your prime example of forced censorship with all of those ads.

Yet this censorship isn't happening on Wakeworld. You can see a post bashing Supra boats with their ad for Supra 1/2" from the bashing (as one example). There are negative reviews about all sorts of products that are sold by advertisers. That's just the way it is. Don't take this as me using Wakeworld as the shining example of how to run a website - the moderators there don't do enough, allowing way too much trolling to go on. I think they take the ads a bit too far as well.

I think some quality vendors were pushed away by the last push of rules on them. Simply put, I think it could have been done a different way, gotten the results you wanted and not pushed vendors we want supporting the forum to go away. What's done is done and I think a lot of board members voiced their displeasure at the time but I figured I would mention it since it was addressed.

This shows what you don't know about what websites can harvest from your visit to a website by the advertisers and web masters. Google it or what ever makes you comphy. Here is a little light reading for you that just hits on the subject. There is more besides this. http://www.allaboutcookies.org/cookies/cookie-profiling.html

Wakeworld does delete postings from vendors as well, they are just not as strict about it. Ask some of the vendors that are still here.

You are exactly right about some vendors being pushed away by the last push of rules, not pushed on them but enforced on them. The rules were there all along, just we as Admins/Mods were way too lenient with them. This was our downfall and if you give a person an inch, they will take a mile effect was in full force. Again, the vendors that are still here were not here to only push their product or they would be gone. The one's that are gone evidently were only here to push their product or they would still be here.

I see several of the members saying they would have done it differently. I never see a posting where they explain, from a website owners/managers point of view, how that would be done without robbing them of advertising dollars. Again, we could go full advertising and reap the rewards but that is not the way we think TheMalibuCrew should be run.

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Yet this censorship isn't happening on Wakeworld. .

Sure it is... maybe you've just never experienced it first hand.

I have had a post deleted on WakeWorld at the request of a sponsor. It sucks. It wasn't even a negative or bashing post; it was super positive with great pics and everything showing my stoke on a new boat. But one of the dealers for the boat company didn't like it. So the dealer called the boat manufacturer who in turn called WakeWorld. Boom, it was gone!

I have also had a for sale ad on popular boat classified site changed at the request of the boat manufacturer. Mind you, this was an ad that I paid for.

Everybody has a master...

For the record, I think it's incredibly cool that the mods of this forum would come on here to explain their stance. I still don't agree with killing that big thread, but I understand why it was done, and having a mod come here to explain is more than you'd ever see on any other forum. This is the best boat forum going, imho. So you guys are doing something right!

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This is the best forum going by far. Sometimes I have to remind myself I'm a guest here, in someone else's "home", and think a little before I post.

I could never make it as a moderator. I'd be censoring left and right. Thanks TMC !

Steve B.

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I figure the stupid tantrums will begin soon. Therefore I give this thread another 24 hours and it will be closed as well.

24 hour mark exceeded. Y'all have impressed me again.

And by the way.....this is without question the BEST forum out there!

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Sure it is... maybe you've just never experienced it first hand.

I have had a post deleted on WakeWorld at the request of a sponsor. It sucks. It wasn't even a negative or bashing post; it was super positive with great pics and everything showing my stoke on a new boat. But one of the dealers for the boat company didn't like it. So the dealer called the boat manufacturer who in turn called WakeWorld. Boom, it was gone!

I have also had a for sale ad on popular boat classified site changed at the request of the boat manufacturer. Mind you, this was an ad that I paid for.

Everybody has a master...

For the record, I think it's incredibly cool that the mods of this forum would come on here to explain their stance. I still don't agree with killing that big thread, but I understand why it was done, and having a mod come here to explain is more than you'd ever see on any other forum. This is the best boat forum going, imho. So you guys are doing something right!

I blasted the Mastercraft dealer in Las Vegas on Wakeworld for asking me to pay for the boat before I even test drove it. They even told me that I couldn't have the test drive without signing a contract that I would buy it if the test drive was OK. He called Wakeworld and asked for the thread to be deleted, and WW deleted the thread.

In general, WW doesn't monitor the site well at all, but I think it just takes a single call from a sponsor to get a thread yanked.

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It does kind of stink like censorship. But this forum isn't really the United States. It's privately owned & operated. And to keep the peace, sometimes the moderators have to draw the line.

Just a guess, but maybe the OP is negotiating with the dealer now days. And the dealer required the thread to be removed to continue in good faith? I would hope that the OP would come forward at a later date & tell us that such & such happened & now he's enjoying his new boat to the fullest.

Hey Pete, anything you don't agree with here?? :Tease3:

That is why there are non disclosure agreements....

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so can somebody else on here that knows about the previous ECFC thread please recap for us what happened? after reading all this im really curious..

A guy had a super bad experience with the service department and was so frustrated that he felt the need to just punch back with a thread basically saying he would never go back there, and that no one else should either. Before we knew it, several other guys came out of the woodwork and chimed in with very similar experiences. Frankly, it was depressing to hear so many people disparage one dealer.

Then some people brand new to TMC posted what a great dealer ECFC had been to them...and most of them had the same general writing style and syntax as the owner who finally chimed in about how awesome he was because he sells craploads of Malibus. They all also had many of the same grammatical errors. It then sort of deteriorated from there into accusations that the only people who were saying anything positive about ECFC were plants. The OP finally asked that the thread be removed. I hope that was part of a 'finding the light' experience for the dealer, and that he is going to make everything right for the customer. The customer seemed pretty reasonable to me, and given the other reasonable people posting similar experiences, it was hard to think that there was another side to the story.

Edited by TallRedRider
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I disagree. I think that info was really valuable (especially since the dealer and some mystery members, who many considered to be representatives of that dealer, participated in the thread) . I do agree with what you are saying tho about 'in 5 years'.... Maybe at that point it's less valuable, but in my mind; still valuable. Having had both good and horrific experiences with dealers I would absolutely do due diligence in researching a new dealer, if the need for a new dealer ever arose. Part of that would be scouring websites (like this)for threads (like that) about the dealer: positive or negative. I would be sick to my stomach if I was having trouble with my new dealer and then heard "oh, I could have told you it would be that way!" from a bunch of members of this site.

I really hope the OP continually gets that "we'll service your needs within 24 hours" type of service ECFC advertised for pulling that thread.......... and not just a temporary bandaid (free stuff) to make the thread go away. It'd be a shame to be back here with another ECFC customer next year.

Sorry not ignoring your response I just noticed it. I get your point. And I know where your coming from. I'm just worried that if/when the dealer starts to turn things around that no one will start a thread about it. Even If they did, how much attention would it draw? Next to none. Just saying that the damage is done, now let the dealer do the damage control.

It seems to me that the sharks are beginning to circle and we might start seeing threads like "ECFC screwed up my maliveiw presets" you know calling them out on every detail etc.

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  • 6 months later...

I know this thread is old but I've also had numerous bad experiences among them, being double billed on at least one occasion, having my boat delivered with malfunctions or damage that were not present when I had it picked up and stored for winter, buying a new boat with damaged parts on it, on my lake, in my area I am very close with 5 malibu or Axis owners who regret ever having walked into the place. They'll bend over backwards for you until the boat is out of the dealership and from there on out as far as they're concerned you can pound sand. I have had a good experience with a couple of their service guys but for the most part, its been all bad.

Edited by aciardelli
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Just gave me flashbacks to last year! It was at this exact time last year that I went through all that hassle. Happy to report that we were out on the water today and haven't had any issues since we got the boat fixed right last year!

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