Announcement about our name change...

[Janet H]

....

If I was placing a bet it would be this is all about wanting to control the conversation.

A worthy bet. The really sad thing here is that a community of happy customers who support folks who are still shopping by answering questions and sharing experiences is the best advertising possible. An independent site (with no content control by the manufacturer) is a trusted source and you just can't buy that sort of goodwill. Regardless, we will be here and continue to offer an open and frank platform for owners.

[Andy R]

I'm still here! I kept it quiet, but I recently lost my father and I'm very involved administering his estate and taking care of probate duties. In addition, I'm very busy with some other activities that are keeping me from participating as much as I'd like.

I'm sorry to hear about your Dad.

Regarding being busy, I think it's proper that you begin disclosing things a little more transparently. Please don't treat the community like you did Janet & I. Being honest and forthcoming is essential in fostering an online community, please provide us that much respect.

Earlier this month Jim abruptly proposed to our moderating team that we should ban Bill Martin's account, he's the former Marketing Manager for Grand Design. The account had not logged in or visited the site in over a year. The request was out of the blue and I asked what prompted it. Jim disclosed that it was a concerted effort by various Grand Design Social Media page admins. He then continued to disclose that he had just returned from a trip to Middlebury to attend what is called the Grand Design Social Media Summit. He asked us not to share the details of the meeting with you all (a larger audience).

I was taken back because decisions on how our community was managed were being influenced by a group of people who were being organized and possibly receiving financial perks from Grand Design (I'v heard confirmation that the summit is an all expenses paid trip).

About a week after the above took place, I was looking for a new domain name for our community. I randomly came across a domain name (link) that was coincidentally registered at the same time the Social Media Summit was taking place. Everything was becoming clearer, Grand Design was intending to launch their own forum. They are even planning to call it the Grand Design Owners Forum:



I brought up the revelation that Grand Design was planning to launch their own forum to the moderating team. It wasn't until I uncovered Grand Design's intent to launch a new forum that Jim came forward and admitted that he was working with Grand Design to build the new forum. He then recused himself from the moderator discussions & resigned. Rob followed on the same day and a few days later both Country Camper and Howson resigned as well.

I was told by Jim that the intent of the new forum is to be technical only. I interpret that to mean customer support issues related to problems and no other chit chat. No matter what it means, it's not a coincidence that Grand Design was making legal threats and then the company launched its own forum. I spent many thousands defending our community and feel that the treatment we have received has been unfair, unfriendly & untrustworthy. Therefore I'm going to put in place a policy that I would like to request everyone to respect and follow. Please do not mention the other forum here, it will be prohibited, and I ask you all to not mention this forum over there.

[Country Campers]

Andy

I think this is childish and immature as well as a poor business decision to call out one of the long standing members of this community who has given so much for this forum. If you would have read between the lines of the past year you would have known that Grand Design was heading in this direction. With the announcement of the GDRV4life site and the lack of involvement here on this forum this was there next course. Was it handled correctly?, I am not sure , I do not know all the goings on between you and Grand Design. There are plenty of places to point fingers , I would not point any at Jim (TucsonJim).

Brian

[WhittleBurner]

Brian, I don't think it is childish and immature. I think Andy is just being honest and upfront about what has developed and who was involved. As a foum member I feel we have a right to know who was involved and if those involved don't like being called out on doing business behind the backs of all of us, maybe they should have stepped back out of moderator shoes before getting involved with another forum using the same name as one you were supposed to be representing at the time. I'm disappointed with all 4 of you and really feel this situation shows a huge lack of character of 4 people I used to think were stand up guys.

[Steve7]

Andy,

I’ve supported this forum and it’s members from the day I joined. I’ve given you credit for all that you have done. I picked up on some abrasive language from you to Jim a few days ago regarding his giving incorrect details of the current status of our relationship with GD. I felt it inappropriate on the public forum, but Jim immediately apologized to you and I thought that was it.

Now we have all these resignations of moderators we have trusted for years for advise and help. Transparency can go too far. I do not like to see conflict like this play out on a public forum, when it should be done in private between the involved parties. Sometimes less is more.

Having said this, I am very concerned regarding these new details.

[Andy R]

I think this is childish and immature as well as a poor business decision to call out one of the long standing members of this community who has given so much for this forum. If you would have read between the lines of the past year you would have known that Grand Design was heading in this direction. With the announcement of the GDRV4life site and the lack of involvement here on this forum this was there next course. Was it handled correctly?, I am not sure , I do not know all the goings on between you and Grand Design. There are plenty of places to point fingers , I would not point any at Jim (TucsonJim).

I'm simply pointing out facts. It's important people know what's going on. The fact is Jim was at the Summit when they decided to launch a new forum. Fact is Jim admitted to leading the effort to launch that new site. Fact is Jim and/or Rob solicited the other two moderators who then resigned. It very likely might not have been Jim's idea but the fact is Jim is playing a big role in it and should be more transparent.

[howson]

All I'm going to write is that I am very thankful for the help and support from so many members of this forum. I was glad that for a time I was able to give back a fraction of what all of you gave me.

I wish nothing but the best for the Social Knowledge team and hope their future endeavors, including this forum, prosper.

-Howard

[FT4NOW]

I'm happy to report Tapatalk is working again with the forum. Interesting to see what will happen with this forum in the future. Some of our great moderators have resigned, thanks for your support while you held that position.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Andy R]

I’ve supported this forum and it’s members from the day I joined. I’ve given you credit for all that you have done. I picked up on some abrasive language from you to Jim a few days ago regarding his giving incorrect details of the current status of our relationship with GD. I felt it inappropriate on the public forum, but Jim immediately apologized to you and I thought that was it.

Steve, I've exchanged messages with Jim and feel that if we had met under other circumstances we would probably get a long very well. It's obvious his loyalty is to the brand and they will likely recognize that and treat him like a king (as they should).

The other day, he said in the discussion about the legal issues "I know the whole story" and then proceeded to state misinformation about the legal issues. If you precursor your statement with "I know the whole story" you should probably not make comments that are inaccurate. So yes, I was likely terse and upset.

Now we have all these resignations of moderators we have trusted for years for advise and help. Transparency can go too far. I do not like to see conflict like this play out on a public forum, when it should be done in private between the involved parties. Sometimes less is more.

Having said this, I am very concerned regarding these new details.

I agree that keeping things behind closed doors was an option. Maybe it was the right option, I'm not sure. I felt it was important for our members to understand the various pieces at play here as they are all related to this topic about the change of our name.

[Andy R]

All I'm going to write is that I am very thankful for the help and support from so many members of this forum. I was glad that for a time I was able to give back a fraction of what all of you gave me.

I wish nothing but the best for the Social Knowledge team and hope their future endeavors, including this forum, prosper.

Howard, I respect you tremendously. You are a stand-up, ethical guy. It was nice to work with you albeit for a very short time.