Clip Vs Lawn Monkey Discussion ??

[Administrator]

That discussion was getting way out of line. It had turned into a spitting contest.

If you guys want to interact directly with the companies and get product FACTS go to http://www.turfmfg.com and communicate directly with reps of Clip and LawnMonkey and leave a discussion.

When it comes to manufacturer products we are going to have to stick directly with facts only. If this starts to get out of control I will have to do something about it.

I know you guys hate any and all censorship but both of these companies sponsor LawnSite.com. My hosting, software, and programming fees are expensive and without sponsors you can say bye to LawnSite.com

[SMB]

In my opinion, censorship is a great thing for this forum. It also helped to make an "off topic" forum to keep some of the off topic stuff and some of the political stuff off of the lawn care forum. Great job!

[JVS]

The thread did generate over 1000 views with 2 pages of replies. I thought it was interesting sorry you felt it was getting out of hand.

Joe

[jaclawn]

There WAS good information in that post. The manafacturers had a chance to step in and set the facts straight about their respective products.

Who is to decide what is fact and what is not about a product? How would they know if they have not used that product extensivly?

I am wondering if that discussion would have been deleated if neither of the two were sponsers of this site?

[jaclawn]

I think that the one manafactuer that deserves a "pat on the back" is Wright Manafacturing. They have a person that posts to this site, and sets apart fact from siction about that companies products. If we had more of that type of representation, we would not have to delete posts just to satisfy sponsers.

[bridges]

SO I can't view that post anymore or what? My internet was not working so i missed out on the rest of the discussion.

Is there anyway i can veiw the rest of the discussion?


Tony

[JVS]

I am a little ashamed we cannot express our thought (as long as its clean )and not a bashing contest to these moguls who we spend our hard cash for . We may have touched a nerve somewhere, and Maybe I am wrong but I thought the point of me starting the thread was to get info on a product I wanted to be BEFORE buying it. Before this site I was unable to do this. I own Clip so if I want to express my feeling honestly and cleanly why can't I.

Joe

[Ocutter]

If I need honest info on these or any product I come here. I know I'll get the old "Its a great program you wont be sorry" from both companies. I need ammo from all that go through the plusses and negatives with any product. Thats why I come here. I realize keeping a site running is difficult. Keeping others happy is even harder. All I'm saying is that when Lawnsite gets bigger dont let politics run the system!

[Administrator]

Listen people, there are no politics here. I am Alpha and Omega. The thread has not been deleted. I moved it over to the moderator forum so I could read through it and decide what to do.

This has nothing to do with sponsorship of any kind. Read the posting guidelines. Opinions are like a**holes. We need cold hard facts when it comes to manufacturer
products. I seen to many this product is best, far superior, etc.. Do you have facts to back that up? Have you completely used all aspects of both products in comparison?

I can understand a post that says I use Acme Product and it works great for my company. My company consists of 3 crews, $375,000 in gross sales, etc.. etc.

But, when people start bashing a product that they don't know anything about how does that make it easy for a person to make a decision about a product? This goes back to Ford vs Chevy crap.

RE; Wright Mfg. will not be posting here anymore until they put up sponsorship money. I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars and high monthly hosting and programming fees to keep LawnSite.com up and running FREE to members. How fair is it for a manufacturer that is worth millions to take advantage of this resource? Do you realize how much they spend in print advertising in a year? Will it
kill a manufacturer to fork over a little $$ LawnSite.com's way?

Sponsors such as Clip and LawnMonkey can feel free to post anytime they want. Sponsors such as them have made sure we all have LawnSite.com to use.

Don't forget to use TurfMfg.com if you want to communicate directly with sponsored manufacturers.

Until I decide to do with that thread take it easy and understand my point of view please. I literally spend up to 16 or more hours a day on the internet and the last thing I need is a headache.

[Vibe Ray]

Originally posted by administrator
RE; Wright Mfg. will not be posting here anymore until they put up sponsorship money. I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars and high monthly hosting and programming fees to keep LawnSite.com up and running FREE to members. How fair is it for a manufacturer that is worth millions to take advantage of this resource?

I COMPLETELY agree with you Chuck. I am glad to see that you are standing up to these people. Thank you so much for your 16 hours a day as well....it seems like you and the staff are doing a superb job to me.
Maybe you should set up some kind of donation link on the home page where you can let the members donate, if they wish, some money as a token of our appreciation.

[HOMER]

I do not run either of these programs so I can't say one way or the other. I have to agree with Chuck's decision, he is the owner and administrator. The site is a valuable tool and if it is in the best interest of Lawnsite.com then we all should respect the decision that was made. I have enjoyed the last year with this forum and don't want any petty arguing about a certain product to hinder it's progress. A chat room may be coming soon so I think that would be the place to hash and bash a particular product.
We all, for the most part, own and operate our own businesses. I personally would not want my reputation tarnished by an arguement or my business put in jeapordy. I would have to make a decision and so would the rest of you on here.

Respect the decision please.

[Administrator]

No donations will be necessary Vibe Ray. Thanks for the suggestion though.

The Turf Inudstry is a 60 BILLION $$ a year industry. There must be hundereds of multi million $$ turf type manufacturers out there. LawnSite.com IS the turf industry on the internet. Someday these manufacturers will only wish they can be recognized with LawnSite.com. The companies that do sponsor LawnSite.com will also reap the benefits of helping me keep this going.

So far I am breaking even. You guys dontated about $900 earlier in the summer to me and I used every penny to get setup with my current host, software and design fees. I am stable and will start to make money as soon as I im ready to approach manufacturers with facts that will help them better understand how LawnSite.com can benefit their company.

[Kent Lawns]

Wright Manufacturing and CLIP used to be the same guys.
~ Don't know exactly what their relationship is anymore.

[JVS]

Why was this topoc buried?

[Charles]

I agree with the Administrator. He knows whats best for his business. Its nice that he even takes the time to explain his decisions in doing whats best for lawnsite.

[Eric ELM]

JVS, read the top post, it explains it.

[JVS]

ELM I disagree, I was and am only constructively, and professionaly inquired (ing) regarding a product BEFORe I buy it. Why did this stike a nerve? How is that a spitting contest? WHERE was I getting out of line?

[Administrator]

Did I mention any names when I closed that thread? No, I don't think so. Im not pointing fingers at anyone.

If I were going to make a software decision like this I would sit down and find out exactly what I need from the software and what I might need in the next few years. When I decided to use Vbulletin software I was looking into the future of LawnSite.com. This software is PHP4 and Mysql database driven. It can hold well over 1 million discussions without flickering. Before I switched to Vbulletin I researched the competitor software first hand. This is the software that runs my business and your software choice should be just as important.

Both companies will give you a demo. Get them, use them, call and talk to a company representative and make a decision. If you need to contact them directly in a forum type setup go to http://www.turfmfg.com and leave a post.

Like I said before. Until I sit around and think about how I want to handle this you are gonna have to chill out and wait. I have to look out for the best interest of LawnSite.com and its future. Every month my hosting and maintenance fees go up and without manufacturer support we won't last long.

Please don't give me any more hassles about this. I have more important things to worry about like getting my other Turf sites out of construction and working for you people.

[trimmasters]

For the most part I feel that topic contained legitimate opinions from users of the products mentioned. I am a user of clip, and do not recommend there product for a number of reasons, the primary reasons being there terrible tech support, now on the other hand I would not recommend lawn monkey because I feel there interface is flawed and could be improved upon greatly. Now I fell the manufactures should use a topic like this as information to improve their product, not simply request that it be removed because they don’t like what there hearing. Also if this is the way things work now, all post putting down MTD, Homelite, etc, etc, should be removed immediately. As you could see if we are not allowed to voice our opinion on equipment, vendors, etc we will have to resort to other topics which are more acceptable, such as peeing in the bushes. My question? Why is a topic like peeing in the bushes allowed to continue, while an informative subject explaining the features and flaws of various software applications removed??

[Administrator]

Listen.. ONE MORE TIME.. I make the first and last decision on anything. If you don't like it TO BAD! I am closing this thread because I am starting to get pissed. Everything that has been said is said. If you need to vent email me. Im usually a understanding nice guy but some of you are pushing me. Do you realize what we have gone through to keep this site running as it has? Do you care?

Neither CLIP or LawnMonkey contacted me about that thread requesting that it be closed. When I get a extra few minutes I am going go through the discussion and will decide what to do. One bad post can ruin the whole thread and there were more than one bad post in that discussion.

I think its a given that the MTD, homelite, etc are not quality PRO COMMERCIAL equipment. But, if my mind changes in the next 5 minutes or 5 years then so it be.

FYI.. the peein in the bushes thread was an important discussion. It dealt with stuff LCO's deal with on a daily basis. That thread got the attention of a major turf publisher and we had a lengthy discussion of just how important it was.

Thats it.. GET OVER IT.