Important announcement

[Kirsty Hewitt]

Dear community members,

I am writing to let you know of some big news for the forum. We have agreed to sell the site, along with our other fishing forum sites, to a well-known forum business called Vertical Scope, as of today (25th April 2022).

They plan to continue to run the site as it has always run, and try and be innovative in delivering high-quality content and a great forum community experience as it always has been since its founding. Other than some new admins doing the behind-the-scenes work, and some very necessary software updates, very little else will change. The fantastic moderating team remains the same, and the forums will continue to operate as they do now.

While we are sad to see the forums go, we are excited about the future for the community. The forum will be run by a world-class organisation that excels in running forums and keeping their platforms safe, secure, and stable.

We will continue to focus on growing Thomas Turner and will collaborate with the new owners on this. You will still see posts and content from Thomas Turner on the site and we hope to offer members discounts and competition prizes in the future.

We would like to thank all of the members for their contributions to the forums over the years, and we hope this new development will be positively received.

All the best,

Kirsty and Richard, Fish & Fly

 

[vsadmin]

Hello everyone!

On behalf of the Community Management team, we'd like to offer you the warmest of welcomes to the VerticalScope family of forums! Our team helps manage the site administration and maintenance duties of keeping the site operational, and we wanted to take the opportunity to not only say "hello" but also to share a little bit about what to expect.

Who Are We?

VerticalScope is a network of forum communities around the internet. The community management staff on our team help make the work of the forum moderators and administrators easier.

What Do We Do?

Community means a great deal to us - we're all community people, and so continuity and stability are our primary aim. We bring reliability, support, and the infrastructure required to ensure that this community will be able to thrive for many years to come. It is our goal to work with the volunteer moderators/administrators to provide the resources required to increase reach, attract new members, increase engagement, and better the community experience overall.

What Will Change?

From a cultural side, next to nothing, you will eventually see our TOS and Privacy Policies in place but you’ll find they’re the same as you already work with. From a technical standpoint in the coming months, you will see some necessary software updates and a change in the look and feel as we have a platform we’ve built up that should improve performance. Apart from that, you'll now have access to better resources as well as community management staff for support and forum-related technical issues. Community is the focus here, and we know that the members of every forum work to keep things going awesomely. You're a huge part of that success, and we're here to ensure that the lights stay on, upkeep is tended to, and the infrastructure gets the attention it needs.

If you have any questions, ask away!

We're looking forward to working with the members, mods, and admins here, and we're incredibly happy to be with you.

Warm Regards,

The VerticalScope Community Team

 

[vsadmin]

Now to make a little less formal introduction. My name is Philip, I am the primary face you should expect to see here moving about primarily for maintenance and continuity. If you have questions just let me know. Glad to meet you all!
-Philip

 

[markcw]

Is this the same Verticalscope that had something to do with JKO and pirate 4x4 Sites/forums ?

 

[vsadmin]

Is this the same Verticalscope that had something to do with JKO and pirate 4x4 Sites/forums ?

VS has owned and operated Pirate4x4 & JKO for nearly a decade now.
-Philip

 

[markcw]

Thanks for the reply .I only asked because I was reading some comments on
grassrootsmotorsports.com

 

[markcw]

Thanks for the reply.
I was only asking because I was reading some comments on
grassrootsmotorsports.com

 

[vsadmin]

Thanks for the reply.
I was only asking because I was reading some comments on
grassrootsmotorsports.com

Pirate was a tough crowd. I was the primary admin there while the original owners were still on the site and salaried employees. A lot has changed there over a decade as has offroading and wheeling culture. Many members have come and gone and I hope they found a good fit on other sites if they chose to go elsewhere. Pirate is still an excellent resource and still active. JKO was a great site, still is, it just, unfortunately, lived in the shadow of pirate and never got the notoriety it deserved. I worked with all the mods on that site for many years and have a load of respect for them and their ability to manage the crowd there.
-Philip

 

[no-one in particular]

I don't like your opt of cookies system, I like to opt out of these as much as I can. There are no simple on/off opt out buttons. Which makes me feel I don't trust you. Are you here to gather information about me to sell, make money out of MY personal information?

This is a non paying site, how do you make your money from it? I guess advertising, I am not against that within reason but are we going to get inundated with adverts in the future?

Having looked at your website, and beyond the too good to be to true blurb, we have "Our communities are roll-ups of high-consumer spending categories". So what is it about exactly?

Sorry to be so direct but I would like to know were we are heading if I am to carry on using this site; I am sure you will understand that.

 

[markcw]

I don't like your opt of cookies system, I like to opt out of these as much as I can. There are no simple on off opt out buttons. Which makes me feel I don't trust you. Are you here to gather information about me to sell, make money out of MY information? This is a non paying site, how do you make your money from it?

By lots of adverts for a start .
Also you have got it in one about the data on you according to comments on a couple of their sites.
Google one of the 1000 sites they have such as
2coolfishing.com
You will see adverts left right and centre.
That's why I mentioned about the Motorsport ones .
The comments are not very complimentary.
This forum is quiet as it is with members dropping off.

 

[vsadmin]

I don't like your opt of cookies system, I like to opt out of these as much as I can. There are no simple on/off opt out buttons. Which makes me feel I don't trust you. Are you here to gather information about me to sell, make money out of MY personal information?

This is a non paying site, how do you make your money from it? I guess advertising, I am not against that within reason but are we going to get inundated with adverts in the future?

Having looked at your website, and beyond the too good to be to true blurb, we have "Our communities are roll-ups of high-consumer spending categories". So what is it about exactly?

Sorry to be so direct but I would like to know were we are heading if I am to carry on using this site; I am sure you will understand that.

No reason to apologize, direct questions are great!

We have not made any changes yet to the cookies notice or the site privacy policy. The cookies notice is UK law and something we cannot simply turn off after we set our own up here. If you have questions about your data you can refer to our privacy policy. We are not in the business of selling your data. Google already cornered the market by selling targeted ads curated by the info they collect. We use network ads like google the same way the site has always done. High consumer spending would refer to the whole network. The primary percentage of sites we operate are automotive. As far as high spending, I imagine there is not a member here who will ever want to admit what they spent on some of their favorite gear outside of their mates. All hobbies, interests, and passions eventually intersect with retail, it is what will maintain or grow your hobby/interests.

-Philip

 

[vsadmin]

By lots of adverts for a start .
Also you have got it in one about the data on you according to comments on a couple of their sites.
Google one of the 1000 sites they have such as
2coolfishing.com
You will see adverts left right and centre.
That's why I mentioned about the Motorsport ones .
The comments are not very complimentary.
This forum is quiet as it is with members dropping off.

I see you have been here since 2017. I imagine you have seen an ad or 8 on the page before we got here.
-Philip

 

[markcw]

I see you have been here since 2017. I imagine you have seen an ad or 8 on the page before we got here.
-Philip

Actually I managed to get rid of them all.It doesn't matter how I did it but it worked, ,and then the site got reorganized but I still managed to stop most of them . It's only now and then one pops up at the top of a sub forum ,not after every post on said forums .

 

[markcw]

No reason to apologize, direct questions are great!

We have not made any changes yet to the cookies notice or the site privacy policy. The cookies notice is UK law and something we cannot simply turn off after we set our own up here. If you have questions about your data you can refer to our privacy policy. We are not in the business of selling your data. Google already cornered the market by selling targeted ads curated by the info they collect. We use network ads like google the same way the site has always done. High consumer spending would refer to the whole network. The primary percentage of sites we operate are automotive. As far as high spending, I imagine there is not a member here who will ever want to admit what they spent on some of their favorite gear outside of their mates. All hobbies, interests, and passions eventually intersect with retail, it is what will maintain or grow your hobby/interests.

-Philip

If anyone asks me how much I have spent on fishing tackle ,be it fellow anglers, friends or family ,I wil tell them.
What's the point of lying about it espescially with anglers you fish with and know what tackle you have .
I took my wife with me when I bought my last pole and a few other things .
I came out of the shop after spending just shy of £2000 , she didn't bat an eyelid .

 

[vsadmin]

Actually I managed to get rid of them all.It doesn't matter how I did it but it worked, ,and then the site got reorganized but I still managed to stop most of them . It's only now and then one pops up at the top of a sub forum ,not after every post on said forums .

Your browsing experience is your business.
-Philip

 

[no-one in particular]

No reason to apologize, direct questions are great!

We have not made any changes yet to the cookies notice or the site privacy policy. The cookies notice is UK law and something we cannot simply turn off after we set our own up here. If you have questions about your data you can refer to our privacy policy. We are not in the business of selling your data. Google already cornered the market by selling targeted ads curated by the info they collect. We use network ads like google the same way the site has always done. High consumer spending would refer to the whole network. The primary percentage of sites we operate are automotive. As far as high spending, I imagine there is not a member here who will ever want to admit what they spent on some of their favorite gear outside of their mates. All hobbies, interests, and passions eventually intersect with retail, it is what will maintain or grow your hobby/interests.

-Philip

You call this privacy!

• By visiting a Site or otherwise providing us with personal information, you agree that we may collect, use and share your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not visit the Sites or provide us with any personal information.
• As used in this Privacy Policy, “personal information” includes information that can be used to identify you as an individual or allow someone to contact you, as well as information attributed with such information.

And you call this opting out:-

• Advertisements displayed to you on our Sites and elsewhere may be customized to your interests and preferences based on your personal information and usage information collected through our Sites, unless you opt out by following the instructions on the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada Opt-Out Page, Your Online Choices from the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance, NAI Opt-Out Page, Ad Choices Opt-Out Page, and LiveRamp Opt-Out from Sharing First Party Personal Information (You may have to opt out using each of your web browsing applications and devices separately.) However, if you opt out, we may still suggest offerings to you on our Sites based on your history at our Sites.

And this:-"Your Content and public user profile is public, unencrypted and non-confidential. This means that it can be read and used by others, including advertisers."

And why when I chose to opt out of your cookies I got a download option from google, why couldn't I just switch off your cookies

There is a lot more but this is enough for me to understand what your about, no need for you to explain any further; I have it all in hand. Your not really just a harmless well intentioned community are you. It is the deceit of it I don't like, the community word is used all over your site and your introduction but, dig a bit and the reality becomes very real. Why can't you guys just come out up front and say what your doing, why do you always hide behind a load of verbiage. Nothing personal, I guess you just do your job.



And my second question, I have signed and agreed a terms and condition with the last owners of this site. They are now null and void as I have not signed any terms and conditions with your company. Will you be offering for us all to sign a new valid terms and conditions contract with yourselves?

 

[vsadmin]

I see only one question posted.

When the new terms are posted, like all other online media companies. When you use the service you are agreeing to the terms of use. If you want your account anonymized I can help you with this. There is nothing hiding here, I linked all the info for you to read. The previous terms are just less wordy than ours but they cover the same things.
-Philip

 

[no-one in particular]

I see only one question posted.

When the new terms are posted, like all other online media companies. When you use the service you are agreeing to the terms of use. If you want your account anonymized I can help you with this. There is nothing hiding here, I linked all the info for you to read. The previous terms are just less wordy than ours but they cover the same things.
-Philip

Is there not a box I have to tick to agree?
I recently in January cancelled my internet with a company, switched providers. The old company said I had broken the contract early which was for 18 months and sent me a bill for £174. However and crucially, this company had been taken over by another company 6 months previously so, I argued that the contract I had signed with the old company was null and void and I was under no obligation to pay them as I had not resigned a new contract with the take over company. It was the Post Office internet taken over by Shell for the record. I stated I was prepared to go to court to argue that out. They waved the £174 straight away. In truth I did not know if I had a legal foot to stand on but as a matter of principle and legally binding, I was sure I was right. I think the same criteria applies to yourselves. No money involved with this so not as important however, it does stand whether I or any of us have any legal agreement with you. What do you think?

 

[vsadmin]

Is there not a box I have to tick to agree?
I recently in January cancelled my internet with a company, switched providers. The old company said I had broken the contract which was for 18 months and sent me a bill for £174. However and crucially, this company had been taken over by another company 6 months previously so, I argued that the contract I had signed with the old company was null and void and I was under no obligation to pay them as I had not resigned a new contract with the take over company. It was the Post Office internet taken over by Shell for the record. I stated I was prepared to go to court to argue that out. They waved the £174 straight away. In truth I did not know if I had a legal foot to stand on but as a matter of principle and legally binding, I was sure I was right. I think the same criteria applies to yourselves. No money involved with this so not as important however, it does stand whether I or any of us have any legal agreement with you. What do you think?

The previous and incoming terms both state that by using the site you agree to the terms. This is not a monetary agreement, however, we have site rules and terms of use. You may terminate your account's active status at any time.
-Philip

 

[no-one in particular]

The previous and incoming terms both state that by using the site you agree to the terms. This is not a monetary agreement, however, we have site rules and terms of use. You may terminate your account's active status at any time.
-Philip

If I do terminate my account with you will I have a written guarantee that all my personal information will be completely erased and it will never or can be used by your company.