The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I know everyone at some point would like to see their hard work monetized , but I would rather pay a recurring membership fee of a few $'s yearly than to watch the best Breitling forum ( this forum of course !) go commercial

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f2/breakin ... 00082.html

And I am contemplating whether or not to delete my articles there , its a lot of hard work but its still mine, not for some commercial company to take advantage of or to claim ownership of

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"I spent most of my money on Booze, Breitling and Boats. The rest I wasted" - mostly Elmore Leonard

I'd never heard of VerticalScope before, but from what I've read it'll be "interesting" to see what happens to WUS as a result. To be honest if they mess it up it'll be a real shame as WUS is a superb resource simply by virtue of it's immense size and the vast knowledge-base it represents.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Well Driver, look at it this way

A new topic started yesterday and i see 9 pages already
http://forums.watchuseek.com/f2/so-uh-s ... 85978.html

What site owners (and buyers) need to realize , and i am sure they do, is that the members and contributers create the value of the site (and i am not sure the members and contributers realize this enough)

P!ss off the members and contributers enough, or restrict their contributions (ie no linking to other sites allowed 'TZ' comes to mind, or exsessive advertising to said members) and the members and contributers leave , thus diminishing the value of the site/forum

Anyway ,
I really hope it doesnt happen here but I am willing to help out Admin with running costs if that is what it takes to keep it like it is , which to me means

-: open discussions which are encouraged (not another "look what i am wearing today" forum)
-: ads to a minimum
-: linking allowed
-: pvt and (under certain rules) commercial sales allowed
-: moderators are also normal people amd not the wrath of the gods ( great job btw BS Mods !! , were allowed to disagree with you
-: a place that doesnt frown too badly on addicts like myself
Etc

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"I spent most of my money on Booze, Breitling and Boats. The rest I wasted" - mostly Elmore Leonard

I just read a couple pages of that WUS link.... and when combined with other info from internet-land about VS it doesn't look too good.

The thing is, I can completely understand Ernie selling the site for a sack-full of cash - why wouldn't he really? - but it'll be a real shame if the site goes down the toilet as a result. Money talks at the end of the day, and unfortunately sites that were started by enthusiasts for enthusiasts end up becoming extremely valuable over time....which means the corporate suits with nothing but $ signs in their eyes and no love (or even an appreciation) of the source material end up taking over. I guess time will tell with WUS.

I could totally understand Admin selling BS on to someone if a decent enough offer was on the table, but I think the traffic here is nowhere near what it needs to be to attract a big enough buyer. I think the 'Source is safe for a while yet.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

I agree. That's not a knock on this site, it's just the facts. WUS is a community with dozens of watch brand forums, this site is nearly devoted entirely to one brand. Hopefully WUS doesn't go the journalistic route of another popular watch forum that rhymes with sh!tzone.

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"