A few words to put things in perspective

[Tony Prew]

Kudos to you Brian for having the integrity to hold to your value's
I for one don't want to see Koi-Bito fall down the path of several koi mags that have become so commercial that they carry more advertising then content
Having said that we must understand that advertising does help to defray operating cost and I'm sure Brian has some serious operating cost's keeping things afloat. If you want to play in the big leagues you have to be a big league player. Mom and Pop operations need not apply. Anyone that is seriously in business knows that advertising is needed to increase exposure in the marketplace and if you have knowledge and integrity that will give your business more validity. So I have to agree with Arthur that word of mouth accounts for 99% of all business referals while advertising opens more doors to expose ones business to new customers. The forum offers a unique oppourtunity for everyone to share information and idea's with open discussions of pros and cons allowing all to gain more knowledge and insight. As professionals we can offer advise on certain products based on the sheer numbers of experiences with these products in many different applications
compared to the general hobbiest. Everyone that uses this forum can PM anyone that uses the forum if they have a desire to conduct business or have a more private conversation . That should be based on your knowledge, not ones ability to sneak in a little plug for your business. To me Integrity is most important. You either have it or you don't.