Are we owned by Verticalscope?

[Rainsford]

Seems like most of the forums I frequent have been bought up by the Canadian company Verticalscope. Has TGO been acquired as well? It’s especially worrying seeing many of the gun forums go that way. Just curious!

[MacGyver]

Nope. 

[Rainsford]

24 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

Nope. 

Good!!

[TGO David]

Absolutely not.

[Ronald_55]

This has happened to a few other forums I frequent too. They seem to have gone WAY downhill after that ownership swap. 

[Guest]

Why do you say that? Is it because eventually, a big outfit like Verticalscope might decide to just flip the switch and shut the topics that it has decided it doesn't like off? Or that if (when) the government (which one? you pick.) decides to "ask" it to shut down, it won't hesitate?

[TGO David]

1 hour ago, Ronald_55 said:

This has happened to a few other forums I frequent too. They seem to have gone WAY downhill after that ownership swap. 

Whenever a community's ownership changes hands, it can be a tough transition to navigate.  Most of the big web forums out there were originally founded by people who are insanely passionate about whatever the topic focus is.  Those people, generally speaking, will have poured countless hours into building a thriving community that they themselves would have wanted to be a part of.

If and when they sell, the sale usually goes to a holding company that is primarily in the business of monetization through advertising.  If they are lucky, the original staff stay onboard and help keep the original spirit of things intact.  This is actually the best of both worlds, because the community benefits from access to more resources and the owner benefits from the "magic" that caused the community to grow.

 

1 hour ago, OMCHamlin said:

Why do you say that? Is it because eventually, a big outfit like Verticalscope might decide to just flip the switch and shut the topics that it has decided it doesn't like off? Or that if (when) the government (which one? you pick.) decides to "ask" it to shut down, it won't hesitate?

I'm not foreshadowing anything here, but I do want to address several points:

First, there are a lot of Canadian citizens who wish they had our Second Amendment freedoms.  Just because a company is based in Canada, it doesn't mean that they are anti-2A.

Second, it makes no sense for a company like Verticalscope to invest money into buying a community only to ruin it or shut it down.  They bought those communities for a reason and that reason was to make money.

 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, TGO David said:

...First, there are a lot of Canadian citizens who wish they had our Second Amendment freedoms.  Just because a company is based in Canada, it doesn't mean that they are anti-2A.

Second, it makes no sense for a company like Verticalscope to invest money into buying a community only to ruin it or shut it down.  They bought those communities for a reason and that reason was to make money.

Like us, I would opine that there are probably a lot of Canadian large corporations in mass media that are held predominantly not by "2A like minded freedom loving Canadians", but more probably held by starry eyed and deep pocketed lefties that just might be willing to take a $$ hit for the sake of some perceived woke ideology.  I have no basis of proof for this feeling, but I find myself believing in things that I would have laughingly dismissed a decade ago.

[gregintenn]

7 hours ago, TGO David said:

Whenever a community's ownership changes hands, it can be a tough transition to navigate.  Most of the big web forums out there were originally founded by people who are insanely passionate about whatever the topic focus is.  Those people, generally speaking, will have poured countless hours into building a thriving community that they themselves would have wanted to be a part of.

If and when they sell, the sale usually goes to a holding company that is primarily in the business of monetization through advertising.  If they are lucky, the original staff stay onboard and help keep the original spirit of things intact.  This is actually the best of both worlds, because the community benefits from access to more resources and the owner benefits from the "magic" that caused the community to grow.

 

I'm not foreshadowing anything here, but I do want to address several points:

First, there are a lot of Canadian citizens who wish they had our Second Amendment freedoms.  Just because a company is based in Canada, it doesn't mean that they are anti-2A.

Second, it makes no sense for a company like Verticalscope to invest money into buying a community only to ruin it or shut it down.  They bought those communities for a reason and that reason was to make money.

 

I have noticed a trend of venture capitalists buying up quality brands, replacing the products with cheap crap, and then bleeding it dry. Winchester, Remington, Craftsman, etc. come to mind. I suppose something similar could happen with internet sites.

[Garufa]

52 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

I have noticed a trend of venture capitalists buying up quality brands, replacing the products with cheap crap, and then bleeding it dry. Winchester, Remington, Craftsman, etc. come to mind. I suppose something similar could happen with internet sites.

It’s been going on for a long time but it does seem to be more acute now.  The sole purpose being to maximize profits at the expense of quality.  If every last penny cannot be squeezed out of a holding then it goes on the chopping block.  If a site does not turn a profit and can’t be sold?  Turn it off.  Same for goods or other services.

I am also of the opinion in this day and age of rampant activism in every facet of life, “unsavory” or socially questionable entities would absolutely be acquired to shut them down.

All that being said, I’ve never heard of this outfit and don’t know what they own…but I would opine that assets ultimately controlled by the Canadian government via regulations, outright demands, and whatnot, are more vulnerable to such influences than those held by US entities.  Depending on how their business is set up.  

Edited September 25, 2023 by Garufa

[TGO David]

I think the most important thing that I can reiterate here is that I have no interest in selling TGO.  I have been approached by other companies several times over the years.  It's simply not something that I am interested in doing.  TGO is a labor of love for me.  It's not about money.

 

[bubbadavis]

I'll start to get worried when I see TGO David shopping at the Nashville Ferrari dealership.

[TGO David]

1 hour ago, bubbadavis said:

I'll start to get worried when I see TGO David shopping at the Nashville Ferrari dealership.

It's hard to put a family of five in a Ferrari. 

 

[GlockSpock]

23 minutes ago, TGO David said:

It's hard to put a family of five in a Ferrari. 

 

Then you'll just need more than one!

[GlockSpock]

[RED333]

1 hour ago, TGO David said:

It's hard to put a family of five in a Ferrari. 

 

Would be a bit of a squeeze.

https://www.caranddriver.com/ferrari/purosangue

[btq96r]

5 hours ago, TGO David said:

I think the most important thing that I can reiterate here is that I have no interest in selling TGO.  I have been approached by other companies several times over the years.  It's simply not something that I am interested in doing.  TGO is a labor of love for me.  It's not about money.

 

That's good because I'd imagine this side gig only pays you in that love you mentioned.  And grief, lots of grief. 

[doug77]

Thank you TGO David!  Refreshing to see something/someone not totally controlled by money. Keep up the good work.