VerticalScope is in the business of buying forums for the sole purpose of making money, for however long that is until the site is ran into the ground. More soul sucking corporate greed that is very much bordering on monopolization.
Their site: https://www.verticalscope.com/
They are much like iHeartRadio (formally Clear Channel). Look at any of the 'local' radio station webistes they own across the country and the corporate influence is obvious. Individuality and regional identity is completely gone and they all have the same playlists for their format.
Back to VS.
Like how the corporations do, they try to keep it on the down low as much as possible, with the exceptions they like to brag about. Their newest aquisition didn't even post anything about it on their home page, but the thread started on the site is already burning up.
Thread on Advrider : https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/a...rider.1534813/
For anyone that doesn't know, ADVrider is one of the worlds largest motorcycle sites, mostly catering to adventure/off road travel.
VS will change many things as time goes by and everything posted there is ultimately for their benefit. They are into selling information like FaceBook and others do. It'll also become a security risk for all the users as peronsal information 'leaks' are all too common with these type of corporations. The users will be the last to know as is common practice.
Just something else to look out for if considering joining a site. VS says they arleady own 1,200+ sites, but good luck finding a list of them. VS does list some of the more prominent ones on their site. One way to see if it's a VS owned site is to check the TOU (terms of use).
For example, take a look at Vtwin forum https://www.v-twinforum.com/and Toyotanation https://www.toyotanation.com/
In their TOU, it's devulged they're owned by VS. It's also at the very bottom of the home page.
Taking a look at many of the sites they own and they all look identical. VS does that and calls it streamlining. It's really just lazy corporate BS and an indicator of their soul sucking potential.
There are a lot of other safety and privacy issues with large corporations owning a major chunk of popular internet forums. Knowledge is power. Who's power is up to you.