The policing of the forums on this site is ridiculous.

There was a good discussion going about the pros and cons of Switch. It's all fine and dandy when the comments are negative but as soon as a couple of people speak up about positive experiences the forum police come along and delete the thread. I was finding it rather informative, more informative than most of the other dribble on here.

Makes me want to support Switch more knowing that the big brands/shops have control over this forum.

Absolutely ^^^^
Can Laurie please explain, why was this removed??? There was nothing that written that breached Seabreeze policy, why remove it?

A forum is only valuable if it allows an open discussion that is not offensive and provides all perspectives.

Then it's a biased forum and in the truest sense not a forum as it doesn't allow all perspectives.

So if something written about Switch kites is written that is positive it gets removed???

Lets see...I think Switch kites are brilliant, own three of them. Quality of build is exceptional and performance is fantastic.


...
.
.
.
waiting

Switches initail advertising technique was to offer discounts to customers and call them a "team rider" in turn that rider would need to upload positive reviews about the brand on kite forums around the globe. (not sure if they do it now) So its sort of free advertising.

But Switch never paid for any advertising on the forums they were expecting there team riders to upload positive reviews to.

The forum owner makes money from advertising sold on the forum. So.... free advertising in form of a team rider posted review is kinda cheating the forum owner out of income.

Also the Switch model competes directly against the advertisers on this forum. So not only do the forum owners get pissed that Switch are getting free advertising via semi bogus reviews. The paying advertisers also pissed .... Its a loose loose for the forum owners

The same thing happened on kiteforum. At some point Switch realised they wanted those reviews rolling in on kiteforum so they paid for advertising on that forum.

The answer will be the same for this forum. Switch need to pay for some advertising then reviews of their product will not be deleted.

Did the thread deteriorate since this morning? When I read it seemed fine.

I have 3 Switch kites as well which I reckon are great, they fly great and were great value. I have no vested interest in any reward scheme and never have but surely I can say what I think of their kites.

I really hope there was a legitimate reason..

Select to expand quote

Plummet said..
Switches initail advertising technique was to offer discounts to customers and call them a "team rider" in turn that rider would need to upload positive reviews about the brand on kite forums around the globe. (not sure if they do it now) So its sort of free advertising.

Standard practice for every brand.

Select to expand quote

Plummet said..
Switches initail advertising technique was to offer discounts to customers and call them a "team rider" in turn that rider would need to upload positive reviews about the brand on kite forums around the globe. (not sure if they do it now) So its sort of free advertising.

But Switch never paid for any advertising on the forums they were expecting there team riders to upload positive reviews to.

The forum owner makes money from advertising sold on the forum. So.... free advertising in form of a team rider posted review is kinda cheating the forum owner out of income.

Also the Switch model competes directly against the advertisers on this forum. So not only do the forum owners get pissed that Switch are getting free advertising via semi bogus reviews. The paying advertisers also pissed .... Its a loose loose for the forum owners

The same thing happened on kiteforum. At some point Switch realised they wanted those reviews rolling in on kiteforum so they paid for advertising on that forum.

The answer will be the same for this forum. Switch need to pay for some advertising then reviews of their product will not be deleted.

I'm led to believe that early on they did offer...... that said the topic and issues around the early marketing and business model have been done to death,

original post was a breach of forum policy, see complaints about a business/association in the forum rules....just saying

Select to expand quote

Plummet said..
Switches initail advertising technique was to offer discounts to customers and call them a "team rider" in turn that rider would need to upload positive reviews about the brand on kite forums around the globe. (not sure if they do it now) So its sort of free advertising.

But Switch never paid for any advertising on the forums they were expecting there team riders to upload positive reviews to.

The forum owner makes money from advertising sold on the forum. So.... free advertising in form of a team rider posted review is kinda cheating the forum owner out of income.

Also the Switch model competes directly against the advertisers on this forum. So not only do the forum owners get pissed that Switch are getting free advertising via semi bogus reviews. The paying advertisers also pissed .... Its a loose loose for the forum owners

The same thing happened on kiteforum. At some point Switch realised they wanted those reviews rolling in on kiteforum so they paid for advertising on that forum.

The answer will be the same for this forum. Switch need to pay for some advertising then reviews of their product will not be deleted.

At the end of the day Plummet, if a non-team rider wants to post their feelings about a kite then it is not cheating it is merely an opinion. Seabreeze is usually more than happy to allow someone to bag Switch kites, then it should cut both ways. So does that mean if something is not advertised on this site, members should not be permitted to comment on it where does it say that in Seabreeze's "Terms of Use"?? Seriously!!! If censorship extends to an individuals opinion (without any monetary or other benefit) then what is the point of a forum. Members and Seabreeze Admin are aware of who is a regular poster and their opinion v's a one-off attempt by an outsider wanting blatant publicity.

Shame when inadvertently or maybe in this case deliberately this site is "owned and run" by the advertisers.

Select to expand quote

cauncy said...
Auto spell on my phone
Tapped in moderator and up came
Masturbator
Tapped in forum admin
Up came foreskin

Actually green pat ( forum admin)
Will actually tell you why he's deleted your post
I reckon I'll hear from him soon

switch kites are built terribly theyre safety leash is a bit of pvc pipe and theyre ****ing wingtip line connections are external. theyre whole manufacturing process is down to the lowest doller/effort/time/skill i ended up unfriending everyone who ****ing spammed facebook with theyre bull**** marketing points system.

if theyre kites were on par with the big 5 fine whatever but theyre not even close

^^^ there's nothing stopping anyone posting about them or their product (there is actually a decent post in the reviews section still running), history suggests though that generally the topic runs off the rails and gets into a bunch of long running and deeply held discussions/opinions which end as the post that prompted this thread did either deleted or locked

Select to expand quote

Kozzie said..
switch kites are built terribly theyre safety leash is a bit of pvc pipe and theyre ****ing wingtip line connections are external. theyre whole manufacturing process is down to the lowest doller/effort/time/skill i ended up unfriending everyone who ****ing spammed facebook with theyre bull**** marketing points system.

if theyre kites were on par with the big 5 fine whatever but theyre not even close

I don't see people posting pics of Switch LE coming unstitched...

Surely this deserves a

Guys. We pay nothing for this forum. Stop whinging. I think we get what we pay for!!

Yes, Seabreeze is a business. And as such they can be sued or lose advertising funds.

It's fair enough to want to speak about how you feel you've been ripped off, but when the owners of Seabreeze potentially lose money from their pockets, then good on them for pulling the pin.

If you were loosing money from your family business you'd do the same.

Select to expand quote

bjw said..
Guys. We pay nothing for this forum. Stop whinging. I think we get what we pay for!!

Yes, Seabreeze is a business. And as such they can be sued or lose advertising funds.

It's fair enough to want to speak about how you feel you've been ripped off, but when the owners of Seabreeze potentially lose money from their pockets, then good on them for pulling the pin.

If you were loosing money from your family business you'd do the same.

They're not losing any money. People looking for info about Switch Kites will find it eventually, whether it be on kiteforum, seabreeze or any other forum.

You'd rather have the info on your forum and get the traffic, eventually leading to some clicks on the banners.

We would rather have the info about switch, sure, but the funders of the website probably dont.

Sounds like the forum is protecting the financial interests of its paying customers. It is a business after all.

The switch model has its drawbacks and this is one of them.

They have made their bed. Now they must sleep in it.

Select to expand quote

Plummet said..
Sounds like the forum is protecting the financial interests of its paying customers. It is a business after all.

The switch model has its drawbacks and this is one of them.

They have made their bed. Now they must sleep in it.

Um, if Switch and other online retailers wanted to be paying advertisers but were turned down here, then who ARE the paying advertisers? I wonder



...now I'm not surprised that there is so much "support yer local brick n' mortar store" honking going on. I guess B&M learned something from the Switch model after all :D oh the irony.

I like kitesurfing it's nice

A public forum is just that, and if Seabreeze chooses to censor information to favour advertisers then this should be transparent to the members/customers. Given that Seabreeze clearly states the following...

13. THIRD PARTY CONTENT.Seabreeze is a publisher of content supplied by third parties and users of the site. Accordingly, Seabreeze has no more editorial control over such content than does a public library, bookstore, or newsstand. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including information providers and users, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of Seabreeze. In many instances, the content available through the site represents the opinions and judgments of the respective information provider or user. Seabreeze neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the site by anyone other than authorized Seabreeze employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. Weather information belonging to the Bureau is presented with the permission of the Bureau of Meteorology. This information remains the copyright of the Bureau of Meteorology.

...then they are rightfully wrong by their own accord as stated above if they choose to edit something on their own behalf to favour a paying customer.


If they are choosing to do this then make it obvious to the members rather than an underhanded approach by removing something and not backing up their reason to do so in accordance with their Terms of Use.

Switch set off with a buisness idea
No shops no middle men
This cuts cost
There as good as most other brands out there
Some better
Some worse
If you take note, they look superbly manufactured in construction, the bar needs work but that will come
If the company decided to go down the road of other brands you'd see them in your local kite shops,
If you remember best had a similar strategy
Give the importer/ distributor the flick so your shops buy direct, then we might not see this subject as often
I prefer to go with a shop

why do you idiots keep saying they are manufactured well? one of you please post a photo of the big ass meter long ****n external triple duperduper seemed reinforcement on the wingtips hahahaha its a ****ing joke

I don't ride switch and I don't own a shop so no bias here, but I understand Laurie's perspective. Forums were getting dumped with Switch kite posts. People creating new posts instead of extending on existing ones. Every post of "Vegas vs Torch" or similar would get dumped with some random switch post about how awesome they were. It became extremely annoying, and to be frank, if I was in Laurie's position I probably would have added a filter that changes Switch to "spam".

Yes, they offered to pay advertising but the damage was done. I have no sympathy for them.

If you really want to talk about switch kites, go to their forum, there are a thousand other schmucks that have been kicked off other forums that can talk to you about them.

The end.

Select to expand quote

Kozzie said...
why do you idiots keep saying they are manufactured well? one of you please post a photo of the big ass meter long ****n external triple duperduper seemed reinforcement on the wingtips hahahaha its a ****ing joke

Maybe you post one , a standout kiter here has been on switch kites, he kills it, also his kites, but never has had an issue with burst le rips or tears, I've had nothing but dramas on a leading manufacturers kite , with split le, another local smashes his north kites around with no issues also, next time you see one physically inspect the kite, IMHO it's perfectly presented, along with other brands
Don't ride switch kites

Good to see more people appreciate switch kites, they are awesome (just the bars needs improving) . But I'd rather talk about them on a fair forum such as kiteforum.com too many switch haters and a dictatorship moderation here.

No one is holding a gun to our heads to read or post on SB.

If you don't like the way it's run, you know what you can do.....just sayin'

Select to expand quote

Plummet said..
Switches initail advertising technique was to offer discounts to customers and call them a "team rider" in turn that rider would need to upload positive reviews about the brand on kite forums around the globe. (not sure if they do it now) So its sort of free advertising.

But Switch never paid for any advertising on the forums they were expecting there team riders to upload positive reviews to.

The forum owner makes money from advertising sold on the forum. So.... free advertising in form of a team rider posted review is kinda cheating the forum owner out of income.

Also the Switch model competes directly against the advertisers on this forum. So not only do the forum owners get pissed that Switch are getting free advertising via semi bogus reviews. The paying advertisers also pissed .... Its a loose loose for the forum owners

The same thing happened on kiteforum. At some point Switch realised they wanted those reviews rolling in on kiteforum so they paid for advertising on that forum.

The answer will be the same for this forum. Switch need to pay for some advertising then reviews of their product will not be deleted.

all kites are plastic

switch are just more plasticalyer

hell they even called them selves switch

a straight up scab to identify switch with the famously high marketed switchblade

bar felix...

switch riders won't last on switch long

Select to expand quote

shi thouse said..

Plummet said..
Switches initail advertising technique was to offer discounts to customers and call them a "team rider" in turn that rider would need to upload positive reviews about the brand on kite forums around the globe. (not sure if they do it now) So its sort of free advertising.

But Switch never paid for any advertising on the forums they were expecting there team riders to upload positive reviews to.

The forum owner makes money from advertising sold on the forum. So.... free advertising in form of a team rider posted review is kinda cheating the forum owner out of income.

Also the Switch model competes directly against the advertisers on this forum. So not only do the forum owners get pissed that Switch are getting free advertising via semi bogus reviews. The paying advertisers also pissed .... Its a loose loose for the forum owners

The same thing happened on kiteforum. At some point Switch realised they wanted those reviews rolling in on kiteforum so they paid for advertising on that forum.

The answer will be the same for this forum. Switch need to pay for some advertising then reviews of their product will not be deleted.

At the end of the day Plummet, if a non-team rider wants to post their feelings about a kite then it is not cheating it is merely an opinion. Seabreeze is usually more than happy to allow someone to bag Switch kites, then it should cut both ways. So does that mean if something is not advertised on this site, members should not be permitted to comment on it where does it say that in Seabreeze's "Terms of Use"?? Seriously!!! If censorship extends to an individuals opinion (without any monetary or other benefit) then what is the point of a forum. Members and Seabreeze Admin are aware of who is a regular poster and their opinion v's a one-off attempt by an outsider wanting blatant publicity.

Shame when inadvertently or maybe in this case deliberately this site is "owned and run" by the advertisers.

This forum does censor the content and it does favour and delete posts protecting its paying advertisers.... even when the paying advertiser is in the wrong.

I'm not saying that's what should be done. In fact I don't agree with it, But it is what it is. This forum is not about free speech. Its about talking about kites within the limitations they set.

If you want a less censored forum go to kite forum. You can talk about switch until your blue in the face over there.

PS I'm quite surprised this topic is still here? it breaches the rules also... your not allowed to bag forum admin.

I'm with juddy. It is what it is.

You can always post at Switch kites forum. I can't post the web address here, it is blocked by admin.
You will get an unbiased response, there is a lot of constructive criticism. As for build quality, I can't justify buying new kites until I break my existing ones and they steadfastly refuse to do so. Time to start rolling my five line kites in the surf

Select to expand quote

Kozzie said..
why do you idiots keep saying they are manufactured well? one of you please post a photo of the big ass meter long ****n external triple duperduper seemed reinforcement on the wingtips hahahaha its a ****ing joke

Because they are cheap who care's about anything else. I see it in my line of work every day. People will go the extra mile to support cheap s**t..