Opinion: Is it poor taste for a production knife company to post in General Knife Discussion??

With this thread being in General, I'm reluctant to make a case against any particular maker/manufacturer.

knarfeng said:
Did you report the post in question and point out the "blurb"?
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I have, on at least one occasion. That post was little more than advertisement - I don't remember the specifics; but I believe it was a reminder about a sale or event being hosted elsewhere. I came across the thread later and it appeared unchanged.
craytab said:
Here's another thing about their weekly "discussion" threads, they don't really participate much. They do mention their insta though.
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In all the ones I've viewed, yes... and it is clearly aimed at drawing traffic to their social media. There are also comments like this
If we make some white G10 scales knives, would you like to dye them to your favourite colour? we wanna do some event like that.:D
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which seems out of place in general, as it swings attention to their company and serves as market research... which belongs in their own subforum.
 
Sig lines and avatars in forums annoy me generally so in that regard, Kizer's or any other dealer's signature doesn't bother me any more than another's.

The thread I saw by Kizer seemed general enough and they didn't promote their knives specifically. They certainly weren't shilling as we would commonly define it; their forum name is Kizer and it's a known dealer account after all.

I assume Kizer's motives are just to get the Kizer name into the general awareness by virtue of their screen name. I imagine more people would have a problem if these type of threads were started and participated in by true shill accounts controlled by Kizer that just happened to predominantly feature or mention Kizer knives.

I don't visit the manufacturer's forums because real discussion or differing opinions can be stymied by the manufacturer's representatives at will and I'm not passionate enough about the brands represented at this time. Until such time that GD becomes filled with dealer posts - especially those with product links - I'm okay with how things are going.
 
Hackenslash said:
I’m just not seeing it. In a 32 post thread, Kizer Cutlery has responded 8 times after the first post. That’s 25% of all posts. That’s more attentive than most OPs.

There is a link to their website and IG page in their sig line. Other than that, they only made direct reference to one IG and that was for a third party modder.

If you have a problem with what is allowed in a BF sig line, that’s a topic for another discussion. I still can’t see anything wrong here.

I did see a bunch of cool mods in the thread they started. I enjoyed the pictures.
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You need to look through their threads in general more. In nearly every one they push traffic to Instagram. Many they ask a question but never address it themselves (ie, they are not in a discussion, they are holding it).

I'm not talking about their sig.
 
knarfeng said:
I have addressed the posts you just reported.
One was moved offline.
I edited out the blurb on the other.
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Thanks. If your internet was as slow as mine, that must have been a pain!

It's not like I'm trying to be an ass about this or anything. And I'm not being anti kizer or Chinese or whatever. I wasn't even going to say anything until this thread popped up. What I do know is that I didn't participate in all but one of those kizer threads (maybe two) because they felt like ads to me. I don't like the EE threads either, I think I reported one, they just sort of make him look bad.

I think Kizer can still do these. They might not know exactly how to act here as this isn't like a social media venue. Just don't make it seem like a weekly sponsored event that you are holding for our benefit. Don't push your instagram. Participate in the discussion by giving your opinion on the subject. You know, act like the rest of us.
 
Wow this kinda developed a little! The more.I thought about this.over the course of the day, the more.it started to chafe me! I read thru the first couple of threads posted by said company and added my two cents where.I had an inkling of feeling! Since then I just have kinda seen their logo thingy at the start.of a new.thread and can't be bothered to read any of it. This.kept popping in my head today and I guess it was irking me because here I am now!!! My gut says they are trying to be helpful and friendly, but my brain says.sneaky bastids are shooting curves and the logo thingy alone.is advertising! So who knows, I'll just keep ignoring them
 
ruddyduck said:
I have no problem with it as long as the threads create good discussion, which they have. They've been a refreshing change.

IMO, if you have a problem with the threads that have been started, let a moderator know. If the mods have no qualms with it, just drop the subject. There's no need to start a thread to get the opinion of others.

You made your opinion known on the last thread they created. Just leave it at that.
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^ +1

Thanks RD, there's no need to read any further here. :thumbsup:
 
No its not. I'm all for it. I like hearing from the manufacturers, dealers, etc. In fact I wish there wasn't a pay to play for them so we could hear from more of them in regards to products and we could share with each other unrestricted.
 
Boxer .45 said:
No its not. I'm all for it. I like hearing from the manufacturers, dealers, etc. In fact I wish there wasn't a pay to play for them so we could hear from more of them in regards to products and we could share with each other unrestricted.
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I'm not sure what your responding to here but it's not pay to play for manufacturers at all, which is the topic here. Dealers are another story. You have to pay for advertising.
 
I don’t mind a company posting in GKD as long as it’s not a continuous stream Of promos I have to sort through and that would be annoying. Otherwise I just skip over like any other thread I have no interest in. But because I don’t lurk on every sub forum, I just don’t have the time, patience or desire so if something they post perks my interest then I do have appreciation for that. And if something does become annoying I can report it and let the mods handle it. So far I haven’t been annoyed by any particular company, maybe a few posters that think only their opinions matter but I have an ignore button I can employ. All in all I think it’s a good forum and is run in a very appropriate manner with the mods doing a good job of keeping it clean and healthy.
 
It depends on situation and circumstances.

To see them answer the thread in General Knife Discussion where their brand is being mentioned, or someone needs an answer about their product - that's fine.

To see them post about events or sales, or even worse - create a thread in promotion purposes - yeah, that's a bad taste.

Post about market research is more of a gray area. At one hand they're listening to their customers, and at other hand that's promotion, and they want you to spend your money on them, so again - should be at their own forum. But what makes it different, they are tryin to expand their number of customers by doing so. And maybe other companies could also take that lead and ask their customers what would they want?
 
Whether lurking or since joining, checking the sub-forums has been exceedingly rare for me. There are a bunch of them and there doesn't seem to be much going on in all of them. So I rarely think to do it. My bookmark for Blade Forums takes me right to general discussion and that's where I typically stay.

As I said previously, I welcomed Kizer's threads here. They certainly seemed to reach a larger audience by posting here. The threads seemed benign to me but I am only a basic member. It seems I'm not alone in welcoming their active interest in our interests. Common issues that seem to come up in the forum are things we all wish manufacturers would do or would stop doing. Whether or not those faceless manufacturers stop by to read our body of free market research is usually a mystery. Having Kizer all up on it here and engaging us directly felt refreshing.
 
I do not like it. It comes off as subrepticious advertisements. It's not "poor taste" or "bad form" (although, I could call it "invasive", which I dislike just as much). It doesn't break any rules ? Shall it fly... But I sure as hell will skip all those Kizer threads.
 
I think it depends on which company is posting. Is it a greedy money grabbing Chinese company, like Ganzo? Then i dont think it should be allowed. If it’s an American company, I think it is fine.

but that is purely my humble opinion. Mods will moderate.
 
Puppadore said:
I think it depends on which company is posting. Is it a greedy money grabbing Chinese company, like Ganzo? Then i dont think it should be allowed. If it’s an American company, I think it is fine.

but that is purely my humble opinion. Mods will moderate.
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Sarcasm? :confused:

Bladeforums is based in the United States, but it has an international membership, and Knife makers and companies from all over the world are allowed to start and participate in discussions. The rules concerning the content and proper areas for discussions are not based on nationality.
 
I suppose I’ll pop back in here. :) Looks like im highly outnumbered here. Although I havent changed my view, I can understand all opinions.
r8shell r8shell is correct...our opinions should not be based on nationality. Which is why I didnt state a company name. Although that companies posting prompted my opinions thread.
It is what it is...the mods will moderate, and I have complete respect for their decisions.

However, if the GKD section gets all jammed up by the Brands posting random “consumer research” threads while popping pictures of their products here and there, don’t say you weren’t warned. :)
There is currently one Brand “pushing the boundaries,” with what they can get away with. Soon to be a bunch more, im guessing.
My opinion only.
 
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