I'm not going to cover old ground regarding the original post on this subject.

One of the other moderators removed as it was really going nowhere as there are certainly no vested financial interests from anyone on Beoworld. However I do respect your opinions Simon and thought your above comment warranted a reply.

Chris.

Thanks Chris, I appreciate your response. Of course there is a vested interest, that goes without saying. Nobody sets something up for free at a cost to themselves, that purely isn't business practice, good or bad. Financial gain doesn't come into it, but all sorts of other gains do, such as being offered your own dealership and organising and heading trips etc. Lets not beat around the bush because I hate that and find it personally insulting. Happy Easter...

Simon.

fao OP : don't judge other people by your own standards , you really are far too cynical

 some people actually do things for other people for no other reason than to give pleasure to others / spread some knowledge

 hard to believe in this modern age i know 

the mods on this site , partic. peter have been dipping in their own pockets to keep this place going for YEARS and bno as far as i know don't even acknowledge it's existence ( certainly not properly imo )

the forum at bno's official site is rubbish compared to beoworld

 we're all very lucky we have such a wonderful place to air our views! 

I must confess that I agree with Chris. I feel insulted by these insinuations. I have not received any jollies from B&O and have sponsored this site for some considerable time and continue to do so, all be it at a much lesser level than Lee now does. I am not and do not wish to be a dealer and sell no equipment on eBay. As a number of you know, I donate equipment to those who need it and also donate considerable amounts of my time to scanning and adding manuals as well as answering queries.

B&O do now acknowledge our presence but as far as information is concerned, we receive very little directly.

I am not sure why this member is making these remarks - as far as I am aware he has made good use of the forum and received impartial advice on a number of occasions. 

Peter,

I understand that you feel insulted by the insinuation made.

I am convinced that the majority of the users of this site feel completely different, it is really clear that you and the other moderators/owners of this site put in a lot of effort to make this site to what it is now. And this is highly appreciated! Please do not get your spirit down because of this individual opinion, because this would not be worth it!

Bieele 

I take everyone's points on board but do still hold the same opinion. Perhaps I have sounded harsh in stating it and that is a mistake.

I have received excellent advice through this forum, absolutly, and I am very grateful for that. However, I also know that I pay a subscription so I am paying for the services I receive. That cost may be justified by offering prizes in a draw but still it is a cost. I have benefited from sound advice, especially from Peter, saf, 355f and several others (mostly BV5 owners) in the early days more recently Moxxey and others.

Perhaps I am a little more hard nosed than most having the attitude that nobody sets something up for free. The initial owner of the site did. The current owner bought it therefore there was a vested interest of some kind and there are obvious benefits that go with that.

I am not suggesting for one moment that other users, particularly moderators are not offering their services (and in Peter's case money) for free. If they are then that is their choice to do so and for them individually perhaps there is no gain other than personal satisfaction, which is a commendable trait in this day and age as a member pointed out. But in contrast, let me draw on another example several months after the new site had been online for a while and Gold membership was slow. I remember seeing many posts about the prize draw that made constant references pushing people to join up or upgrade to gold membership. If you look back at these posts you'll note they were in fact quite forceful and made people feel guilty if they didn't join. Some of the posts were composed by the moderators on behalf of the site. Clearly these posts were written in that way because there was/is a vested interest, and that is the only point I am attempting to make.

There are all sorts of other vested interests, which could include advertising your own business to undercut and successfully compete against others for financial gain; to gain market share; to claim ownership (albeit virtual) over a large community of users and be a spokesperson; networking and making links with B&O; allowing people to express views that can be to the detriment of B&O and their franchises. There is no doubt that Beoworld is a serious threat to the official B&O dealers and while some support it I know most don't. There is the fear that wrong information is spread through the forum and this ultimately always comes back to the dealer to have to explain and put right. The outcome of this of course is that it makes it harder for the dealer to sell a product when a potential customer has heard something 'wrong' about it. The BV7-40 is a recent good example. They also don't like it for other reasons and if you want to know what they are then talk about Beoworld with them on your next visit and ask their views about this site. This is why I used the term 'personally insulting' because the very fact that I need to explain this IS insulting! At least to me as an intelligent human being! Let us also remember that a vested interest means you have control over who you accept as a member, who you don't accept and keep out (such as competitors who own other second-hand B&O shops), what posts you allow to people to read and what posts you remove. Perhaps this one will be removed at some point if it starts to get more heated as we go along. Clearly I have started somemthing here that is going to evoke passionate responses and that makes for a good debate. Us Greeks are good at doing that. Many users are very protective of this site but I am not that sort of person. I am much more individual. I can like it and I can dislike it. I don't feel like I have to say wonderful things about Beoworld just because I am a member. I will say what I honestly think and believe to be true on whatever is being debated that interest me.

It is not my intention to spark fury or upset people. If my tone seems an ungrateful one in regard to the help I have personally received then that is certainly not my intention. I do have to be direct in order to explain my points so I hope this isn't seen as a personal attack to anyone particularly although I recognise it is a sensitive area.

Simon.