It actually costs quite a bit more then that as you have to account for the time or programming the site and maintaining it.

We are - we don't immediately erase or edit posts and we allow people to post once or twice without harrassment. That is far less rigid then any other board out there that I know of this is similar size to this one.

Well, we have never and will never do this. The proof is in the pudding! So if you don't trust us, then you can simply watch and see for yourself. The issue was never that we did not want Renntech info posted, just that there are rules that people need to follow and there are people who were paying to get the priveledge while others were getting it for free!

It is free to you, but not to commercial entities. If we allowed that you would have every vendor on the planet posting spam left and right! Is that what you want?

YES - it IS a BIG DEAL! There are rules, some people pay for that, why should anyone get it for free?

First of all it is Brad Otoupalik OR Ben Kleinberg. Second of all, if you are going to spend the money, I would expect you to do a little research on your own before you spend the money. Also, Randy does want to advertise, so you WILL have disclosure as we will have the sig with Renntech once we get him an add pack!

Everyone is treating the situation as if Mr. Vanos and Otoupalik are going around on every post basically saying "Renntech makes crap products, buy Kleemann instead"... But this is not happening, infact Simon and Otoupalik are so busy maintaining and working on the website they have no time to post... which is why you will RARELY see them partaking in any sort of discussion here on MBWorld. They did not say Renntech makes bad products, they just don't allow blatant advertising for non-paying companies, which is more than understandable.

Renntech makes great, quality products, it's just they are not a sponsor of the website.

Please understand, when you visit MBWorld.org, you are not spammed with advertisements from Evosport or another company, unlike every other forum.

There is another MB forum that has just begun to charge an annual fee of $40 so that people can become "Premium Members". They did this because it is their last resort to keep their website alive because they have not been fortunate enough to get advertisers. Many, many, many forums, Mercedes-Benz related and not, are beginning to do this same thing, charging members. MBWorld.org is the largest online forum for Mercedes-Benz, well in english anyways... a few months ago I saw this german forum, it had over 100,000 members.

Young, you are in the C-Class forum mostly. When you come into the C-Class forum, do you want the first 20 threads you see to be along the lines of "Check out our new product", etc. This would happen if there were no rules.

Now lets be a little blunt here, Renntech is the largest Mercedes-Benz aftermarket tuner, they have been featured in nearly every car magazine. Whether you're a Mercedes-Benz enthusiast, or an average Joe, chances are, you have heard of Rennteh. It's not like they are a new company who needs all the advertising they can get. The same rules will apply to anyone, not just Renntech in particular.

Brad is right about the spam, the other, much smaller MB forums are spammed left and right by companies.

ok, let me state again, that EVOSPORT is NOT belittling any of their competitors. NOR is KLEEMANN, NOR RENNTECH.

i made it a point in my post several times that that was NOT happening.

right now, it's just a perceived potential - philosophical discussion.

ok ok ok will this ever stop? C'mon peeps it's all about the Benzos!