First, I think the mods in some of the areas of this forum have an impossible job. Riding herd on 10,000 experts can't be easy.
And as for the OP, remember, there are other ponds to play in. What does anyone thing will be in the Kershaw forum but
fans of the blades and manufacturer? I am a huge Kershaw fan and have some of their great knives like JYD II combo, Tyrade G10, Shallot in S110V, all the way down to the DWO and a 30 year old Whiskey Gap. Been a real fan of their products for decades. I bought 4 Crowns to give away at Christmas and just bought a Tremor for a beater work knife. Liked the Tremor so much I bought two more just to keep aside for later use!
But I stay out of the Kershaw forum completely.
This really sums it up:
Members should bear in mind that a manufacturer having a forum here does not give members license to act how they please.
It does not give them any rights to post negativity before contacting that manufacturers customer service in response to their particular problem. It also does not give members the right to post whatever or however they please in the manufacturers forum.
This should be a strong indicator to the OP the exact nature of the sub forum, and he should keep in mind that BF is actually a private enterprise. Here's the take away from Karda's post, and I think he expressed it clearly:
1) you don't get to act as you please. That's fair, as there are those that
always test the rules of decorum, so the moderators have to set and enforce the guidelines. Their governing rules are the rules of the forum. Heavy lies the crown when one foot is in each camp, the manufacturer (and in some cases your employer) and the public. Where would your loyalties lie? The moderators run the forums as they see fit
2) this one I didn't know.
You should contact the manufacturer before expressing a "negativity" about a product. I am guessing too, that you should also have the reply on hand before posting anything that rubs against the grain as without written proof it could be a violation. I haven't seen that anywhere else on BF, but usually see "hey, I don't like the way the scales fit on my knife (or the knife closes poorly, etc.) and I am a little disappointed" threads. On comes the flood of folks that express the fact that those imperfections don't bother them, but most encourage the poster to contact customer service. Most folks don't know you are to contact customer service
before posting here
3) I think the last thing would be to consider which way the wind blows in the Kershaw forum. I am reminded of what my Mother used to tell me. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Connor93, you should read that forum and get the posting rhythms of how the threads go, the general tone of the forum and its type of conversation. I think that reading that forum and its archives for a couple of weeks would tell you all you need to know about the tone of the forum and its members. My Mom's advice from almost 60 years ago might help you a lot!
There are lots of great guys on all the sub forums and I have had just as much fun corresponding off the forum as I have on. Take a look at some of the threads... hundreds of people read them, but if it is a potentially controversial or combative issue, they don't post. Smart.
I saw some great advice given by a mod a few years ago on BF by a moderator to a formite, and I agree. If you don't like what you see, don't come back! Pretty easy to understand. It was the exact situation you are having now Connor, so maybe the same advice would be as good today as it was for that other guy (no, not me!) a few years ago.
I would say though, don't give up on Kershaw
products. Sure, not every knife is their very best effort. But I can tell you they have excellent customer service and they make great knives at great prices. ALL but one of my work knives (construction guy) are Kershaw, and they not only take a heckuva useful beating, but they do it for years.
Robert