I think of "other" forums like Walmart. You go in there ( I never would shop there ) for cheap crap. RWI is more like Bloomingdales. More refined. The TD's here are above others. I know the folks that run this site, don't just let anyone in.
Why thank you BMW, you just managed to insult me (I am co-founder and admin of
www.rwg.bz remember) and the many members of the other fora who visit and enjoy RWI.
I don't consider any other forum to be "Walmart", each has it's place, it's own style and it's devotees. Nothing wrong with diversity and it is in fact important. Some folk prefer Breitling, some Rolex and in the same way people have their preference for a particular forum.
I do not know of one single dealer at any of the fora who should not be there from the POV of performance. No forum dealer anywhere will rip you off or scam you, none of the fora would allow this. We chose to make a stand on The Twins for ethical reasons, nothing to do with the customer experience. that is our right and everybody including Josh respects it. He doesn't agree with it of cause but he has no trouble with us taking that stand. At least he didn't last time we spoke.
[BLINK]Warning! Off Topic rant below:[/BLINK]
At any rate, the danger with Walmart is not the shopping experience, it's the effect it has on smaller retailers and the market in general. From the POV of shopping I'd love to see them here, from the POV of a guy who has friends in businesses that would be greatly impacted by their arrival on our sunny shores I do not. Walmart is beaten for all the wrong reasons. They sell quality at the lower end of the price scale so they tend to set up in lower socio economic areas. Regrettably (for Walmart) this tends to attract society's less than fortunate members. TBH I see the pics on "People of Walmart" to be a much more damming indictment of American culture (or the lack thereof in certain areas) then of the company itself. Walmart didn't breed these people, they just shop there.
By all means, bash Walmart for their killing of small business, of small local chains and stores, of that great American tradition of "Main Street" of their abhorrent treatment of worker's rights and the several other crimes they are guilty of but how exactly are the deplorable standards of decency, dress and decorum exhibited by lower class America displayed on "People of Walmart" in any way their fault? I think these problems are a lot more deep seated than the existence of some cheap retail store.
