Yeah. Thanks everyone. I'm actually a hardy soul (and not really cowering away feeling severely hurt as I may have implied).
We needed to take a stand here otherwise this thread would have stood as a message to all and sundry that free discussion about products on MUD is not acceptable.
Such a message would not have been in our best interests or in the best interests of the owners of this Internet site.
Vendors will continue to be attracted here (and MUD will continue to get their vital advertising revenue) only if we (the ordinary cruiserheads) frequent the site. If we lost the ability to freely discuss the products we buy - then a big slice of the attraction MUD has for us would be lost. And we would certainly leave.
MUD is the BEST 4x4 discussion site I've found on the Internet and I want to keep it that way. (It is streets ahead of any other that I've found.)
We've successfully turned this thread around to make it clear that we want to be able to freely discuss the products we buy.
As with all battles, there were mistakes made, toes trodden on, etc.
Brownbear was right to remove the vendor's name from my thread title. And my judgement was faulty in placing it so prominently there.
It's cost me personally in that now I don't feel comfortable dealing with that supplier. (At least not for quite a while.) I can't possibly be "flavour of the month" with them no matter what they (or anybody else) says to the contrary.
So it's over - I'm opting for option 2.
Not sure I could abstain from posting for much longer anyway.
But we must remain vigilant to protect what we see as being of value in MUD.
Don't trust anyone. For all you know - a supplier could give free product to me - (Hey. Anybody out there want to do so?
) - then how could I stop myself from talking positively about them and their product (which I may already be using). It is indeed a twisted world that we live in. So even those of you who I think of as my mates must feel free (if you don't already) to "sock me in the jaw" if you think I'm not being fair or am in any way harming what YOU value in MUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
