facebook and the Ric Police

[gearHed289]

A nice fella named Mark recently started a Rickenbacker appreciation group on facebook. There are now around 1100 members. It was going nicely... THEN the company started giving the page owner grief about trademark, blah, blah, blah. SO, they agreed to add a couple of Ric employees as admins. NOW they're deleting posts and members at will should anything negative be said about the product. I have much more to say about it, but I'll keep that to myself. I've contacted several "regulars" from the group and told them about this place. Maybe we'll get more activity here? Maybe not... 

[nofi]

i love ric's 'after the purchase terrorism policy'. 

[ilan]

I've contacted several "regulars" from the group and told them about this place

Thanks for doing that!

[Dave W]

The Mark who started the group wouldn't happen to be Mark Arnquist, would it?

[dadagoboi]

That sucks big time.  How can you infringe a trademark by discussing the good and bad things about a product?  It's done all the time with car and motorcycle brands for 2 examples.

[gearHed289]

Dave, no, but it was his posts that really fanned the flames this past week. Mark was sharing some VERY useful information on how to improve some quirks that exist on some of the instruments. I don't recall seeing anything disrespectful. Maybe overly honest with his opinions at worst? Anyway... as I told the guys I contacted - I don't want to be a trouble maker or anything. I love the products. I love that they're exclusively made in the USA. I love their "keep it small, keep demand high" business model. But I will NOT be censored by any corporate goon squad. These things should be able to be discussed freely (and respectfully please). Arnquist was not aware of this place until today. We may be seeing some of his posts, hopefully.

[OldManC]

Maybe they should slightly change the name of the group and ban the Rickenwaffen tools. The members are already there and new ones will find the group just the same.

[gearHed289]

That was suggested by a number of us. They opted to allow the Ric admins, but nobody expected it to turn into what it has. I was thinking "I'm a fan a Santa Ana guitars".  OK, maybe not...

[Dave W]

Mark Arnquist just joined us. I only asked if it was him because you mentioned a Mark. I know that he and John Hall have long-standing issues. Those issues aren't going to be rehashed here. We can discuss Ricks without any personal bashing.

I expect that Rickenbacker will protect its trademarks to the extent they are allowed to by law. If - and I stress if - they are trying to stifle criticism on trademark grounds, then that goes beyond what they are allowed to do. That would be trademark bullying, and it would be unfortunate. OTOH if John or any other Rick company representatives want to post here, they are also welcome to.

It should be obvious to anyone who reads our Gibson forum that we allow criticism of manufacturers.

[Dr Quist]

Greetings I have joined

[gearHed289]

if John or any other Rick company representatives want to post here, they are also welcome to.

Absolutely!

It should be obvious to anyone who reads our Gibson forum that we allow criticism of manufacturers.

Great point.

[Dr Quist]

so is there a method of posting photos to this site ?

[Dave W]

so is there a method of posting photos to this site ?

You can upload directly from your computer, just click on the Additional Options to the lower left of the text box and you'll see it. We do limit the size and it will show up as a thumbnail that can be enlarged. Or if you have photos hosted externally on a site that allows hotlinking (e.g. Photobucket) you can just use the Insert Image icon above the text box (far left just above the smileys).

[Dr Quist]

Here is a stock tailpiece

[ilan]

Welcome Mark!

Pics of Dr Quist's bridge mod were posted on this forum 4 years ago - just a taste of what he can contribute:

http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=600.0