Censorship On SoCalEvo.net

[sparcoevo]

I hate to even waste my time writing a post on this issue, but I am so utterly shocked at the apparent lack of sensitivity, insight, and business ethics on this site that I have to make a stand. There is a thread started on SoCalEvo.net for an Evo harness bar manufactured by M1 Fabrication. The thread was started by Born2Net and they are advertising a harness bar that has more than a striking resemblence to the Sparco harness bar.

This thread was brought to my attention and I decided to post a reply asking for M1 Fab's contact information, as I plan to sue them and their representatives. Unfortunately, one of the moderators, Dr. Mosh, felt that my post was unnecessary and subsequently made the knee jerk reaction to remove my post and lock the thread, therefore protecting M1 Fab and preventing me from raising any concerns over the validity, safety, or design of the harness bar in question. This has not only prevented the members of SoCalEvo from hearing a counter point to the harness bar in question, but has in effect become a passive endorsement of their right to promote any product they feel the desire to copy.

The money, time, and energy devoted to developing a range of harness bars for the aftermarket industry is something I take pride in, and am willing to protect that market we have created with the financial resources available to our company.

I realize that SoCalEvo is a community and was foolish enough to believe that a community would act in the best interest of its members (ALL of its members). However, I have also realized that these forums are moderated by some individuals who lack a full comprehension of business principles, legal rights, and ethics. There are people on this website like Robi, GT40, Ricardon, Chris in SD, etc...who know how hard this company works to be a world leader in automotive safety equipment and the millions of dollars spent on product r&d, testing, engineering have to be protected through the support of the consumer and automotive community in addition to the legal channels available to us.

Sorry for the long ramble........

Scott Gladstone
President, Sparco USA

[DTunedEvoX]

Preach on ... I see validity in your concerns .. Hope everything turns out okay ... :)

[gofaster87]

This is not evolutionm. I believe Mosh was right in locking that thread. Your issues with M1 are private matters that need to be taken up in private communication with them. Everyone already assumed there was an issue with copying your bar, we dont need to see the drama unfold. I dont know many presidents or CEOs that like to advertise their lawsuits and private company business.

[Chris in SD]

Scott,

I am very disappointed to hear this. I, too, have had threads get locked, distorted, etc. and have had similar complaints.

I'm sure once Rob (Coolguy949) or one of the other mods you mentioned catch wind of this, they'll correct the error. As you noted, this is a community, but it is still comprised of individuals. Sometimes these individuals make bad decisions (myself included), but it is not the fault of the community. I am sure 99% of us support what you are angry about and appreciate the work you and Sparco have done for the Evo (and others) community.

I hope you get resolution soon.

Take care,
Chris

[gofaster87]

Sparco serving papers for a patent suit is not a community subject. I would really like to know why Sparco is so special. What have they done for the Evo community that is so great, I must have missed something.

[Chris in SD]

I guess I was wrong, Scott... :roll:

[hksevo8]

didn't you resign your position at sparco? and I did not know there is a patent on a bar that resembles what comes with most cage designs. good luck!

[Justin1933]

I deal with companies all the time that rip off products I design...It sucks...I feel you Scott...

[Coolguy949]

Scott,

I am very upset that you are not happy. I learned about it this morning. Changes will definately be made and a sort of background check for vendors will be initiated for new vendors. This will prevent questionable/illegal items from entering the community and protect those items that should be in the community.

As far as the M1 thread goes, the staff took immediate steps to address the issue by locking the thread and shutting it down. Unfortunately the thread was moderated a little too much and in turn the message of the thread was altered. I just want to clarify right now that SoCalEvo.net appreciates Sparco and understand your frustration because of all the hard work that was put in that bar in addition to the entire line of products you make. We do not support vendors who sell illegal items, including but not limited to illegally copied software, DVDs, copyrighted products, etc. We tried to take action as quickly as possible, which ended up in too much action.

I personally have no affiliation at all with M1 and have never heard of them. They are just another vendor that signed up for advertising and paid. We don't want to get in the middle of this issue, which is why Dr. Mosh left the response he did. We don't like vendor conflicts on this site, and that's just becuse of all the bad luck we've had before with that. Dino took action to stop the thread as a preventative measure.

I sincerely apologize about this mishaps, and just want to again clarify that we have nothing but appreciation for you and the rest of Sparco.

If there is anything you need me to do, please let me know. I will be deleting the other thread tonight, if you need to print it do it before tonight as the thread will not be available anymore.

Sincerely,

Rob

[BUDLoNG]

please take your tongue out of his ass...

[JanSolo]

The post got deleted because Sparco refuses to make a harness bar for the Honda Hybrid. If anything, I think you should be mad at the folks at Sparco's marketing department for not seeing this quite obvious market segment.

[Coolguy949]

please take your tongue out of his ass...

I didnt know doing the right thing was so looked down upon. I'll go ahead and leave your post up so everyone sees how much of a jackass response that is.

[Justin1933]

please take your tongue out of his ass...

Nice reply...You obviously don't know what it is like to work in the business world...I hope you stay in school and learn how to deal with people...

[drmosh]

The thread was cleaned up like any other thread that did not involved discussion that was relevant to the forum itself. A threat to sue another company has no place in a public forum or in the thread.

[gofaster87]

Well I work in the business world(deal with millions everyday) and still dont understand why this issue needs to be made public. Its a private matter. Even though bulongs statement is a little harsh, I would like to know why Sparco is a god in this channel. They appear to be just another vendor, what have they done that has enhanced the Evo community to such proportions that a mod needs to aplogize to them.

[toku-one]

i think you are all right and need to learn to see others points of views.

[Justin1933]

i guess I like to support the brands that support the site/Sport...

[JanSolo]

Actually, Sparco is not a paying vendor on this site.

[gofaster87]

I like to support companies as well but lets not overdo it. If you are recieving free items in a sponsorship than my apologies.

[Coolguy949]

Sparco sponsors the EOC with giveaways and such.

[Justin1933]

and they do put a sticker on the car....That is a form of supporting the site...That car sure gets a lot of print..

[alfredob1]

At the last EOC event Sparco provided free duffel bags to all of the participating members. They also supplied some shirts and other free goodies. So being a friend of Sparco is better than not, and much better than being an enemy.

I also believe this should have been a private matter between the two parties. Then this whole mess could have been avoided.

[Justin1933]

I also believe this should have been a private matter between the two parties. Then this whole mess could have been avoided.

True...

[gofaster87]

That was my whole point.

[drmosh]

This matter is closed as far as we're concerned, M1 has agreed to remove their own posting.