Owner of this forum

OP, you're unhappy with the forum? Who ever "owns" it or pays the bills seem to me to be a very small concern or price for me to pay, considering all the good information, camaraderie & help I've received.
Sure they push Good Sam and the related items, and they're not all that bad IMHO, but the responses and info on this board are invaluable to me.
But that's just my 2 cents worth.

I find it interesting that anyone can start a forum without cost with companies like Zetaboards providing the service for its advertising revenue. Forums soon fail unless they have volunteer moderators and a bunch of interesting posters - the only real value of the forum. This makes forums free enterprise and quite democratic. Anyone can start a new one.

Does it matter who owns the forum? I would say the corporation owns the forum, not Marcus. Marcus is CEO, not the owner of CW. If Marcus is fired, could he shut down the forum? Nope.. therefore he doesn't own it.

Mike

bucky wrote:

kerrlakeRoo wrote:
Straight from the original Star Trek

Wrong thinking will swiftly punished
Right thinking will be equally rewarded.

Shouldn't that be
Wrong thinking swiftly punished
Left thinking equally rewarded?

Yeah I guess its kinda like getting on a horse.
The left sides the right side, the right sides the wrong side,

SidecarFlip wrote:

John&Joey wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:
This is an RV forum, not a political football. Treat it as such and you'll be fine.

Talking from experience?

Maybe. I can be a hard learner.;)

I'm perfectly OK with the rules, at least they are clear, simple and seem to be applied pretty even-handed, certainly compared to 'other' forums where YOU get sanctioned for criticizing someone openly advocating illegal behaviour and suggesting others do the same.

When moderation is based on WHO you are, not what you say or do, it's a bad situation for all but a select few.

Here is the long version how and why.

Affinity owned it all until they stiffed their stockholders to the tune of millions of dollars.

Sooo, they just changed their name to Good Sam and went on doing business as usual. :R

I.E Good Sam owns trailer life, camping world, coast to coast and all the forums associated with it.

1. Here's the glorified history of Affinity.
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/affinity-group-holding-inc-history/

2. And here are the facts how everything changed to GS.

Their financial history tells the story! Think bank failures, golden parachutes and the market crash, AGI was one of THE biggest ones, only thing is they owned waaay too many companies so the gov had to bail them out.:R CW ~GS ~ Affinity ~ AGI all one in the same.

"The FDIC estimates Affinity's failure will cost its deposit insurance fund $254 million."

"On August 15, 2009, AGI failed to make a $6.2 million interest payment to bondholders, and Standard & Poors subsequently lowered AGI's credit rating to D. Standard & Poor reported that they had taken this view because bondholders will be receiving less than par value for the notes and because of the company's highly leveraged financial profile, weak operating outlook, and limited liquidity given the near-term maturity of its senior credit facility.

Good Sam Enterprises (formerly Affinity Group or AGI) is a provider of membership clubs, as well as subscription-based products, services and publications, targeted toward recreational vehicle and other outdoor enthusiasts in the United States. Additionally, the company owns Camping World, a leading RV-related specialty retailer and RV.net an RV-focused website.

In May 2011, AGI announced that it was changing the company's name to Good Sam Enterprises. and that my friends is how they got out from under paying the stockholders the millions of dollars they owed them.

Don't over-think it. I've enjoyed the rvnet forums AND the Camping World stores and NASCAR for many years. Thank you

kerrlakeRoo wrote:
Straight from the original Star Trek

Wrong thinking will swiftly punished
Right thinking will be equally rewarded.

Shouldn't that be
Wrong thinking swiftly punished
Left thinking equally rewarded?

BurbMan wrote:

ScottG wrote:
ML doesn't "own" this forum.

He's the CEO and majority stockholder of the company that owns the forum, so I would say yes, he owns it.

Nope, In the world of finance that make him a stock holder and not an owner. Those are two VERY different things.
He does not have total control over the company and has to answer to a board and other stock holders.
An owner would have to do neither.

When you take a company public, you give up ownership.

ScottG wrote:
ML doesn't "own" this forum.

He's the CEO and majority stockholder of the company that owns the forum, so I would say yes, he owns it.