What really bothers me is when the almighty dollar gets in the way of running a site properly. Having said that, I am not speaking of this site whatsoever and am speaking of Corvette Forums. I run several sites and have been through what I am seeing and at the end of the day, regardless of whether there is a marketing agreement between the site and business, the website has to still stay an impartial resource to its members.
The fact that one cannot supply a link to a seller where he got a good deal because they are not a supporting vendor is wrong. The fact that one cannot offer an honest opinion of a supporting vendor is wrong. The fact that the supporting vendor can do as they please in promoting their goods is wrong. Come to think of it, some of it may apply to this site and I apologize if it does, but an agreement between a supporting vendor and a website is just that, between them two resources. There should be no reason whatsoever that members should feel restricted in their recommendations, links or opinions.
Imagine if Kerbecks went to the other Forum and said we are going to pay you 50k but want our site exclusively on your site. That website just went from being a great impartial resource to a Kerbecks (used for example only) business website. Think of all people who go there lose from not learning about other good vendors.
Just my 2 cents sorry if a bit is close to home...