The rules are pretty clear for Trade.. Trade users cannot START threads about their business but they can respond to threads where it is appropriate ie. when a genuine user has asked a question that they could answer.
Brant doesn’t Astroturf. Brant uses the search function of the forum to search for keywords that refer to his business or his name. he’s got that search bookmarked and he uses it every day. We know this as his searches are the most popular forum searches in our logs.
This is an example of a business engaging very effectively with the users of this forum. It’s well within the rules and having the resources of a manufacturer/distributor/designer on hand very quickly when a product of theirs is mentioned is surely a very good thing for everyone.
If we suspect anyone of ‘astroturfing’ (What an awful word BTW) then we would consider that as inappropriate trade use and the instigator(s) would be banned.
The balance we try and strike is one where the bike industry has an opportunity to engage with you the customers but not one where industry types get to post direct advertising on the forum.