I saw some other posts in a Model 978 thread that thought I'd use this thread to make a few observations. These may be impacted by exhaustion and the distraction of a painfully long task list that needs to get dealt with before the end of next week, but for whatever reason I'm compelled to toss them into the mix...

1. The posts that triggered this thread seemed fairly benign to me. Outlaw accepts that the delays bringing a new processor to market are going to lead some consumers to look elsewhere - they've never shied away from this reality - and the competitors being discussed were all pretty solid options. Some have experienced problems, such as some HDMI board failures in a few Onkyo models, which is useful information to have when trying to make decisions. Most of the products being discussed in that thread were similar in price to the Model 978 or more expensive, if it matters. So far, no one has ever been taken to task by Outlaw for discussing other products in this forum, and as long as such discussions are kept civil and open-minded I don't see that changing, even when it occurs as somewhat off-topic chatter in a thread about an Outlaw product.

2. That particular thread (at least in recent weeks) hadn't focused much on where products were manufactured, but it has been discussed before in a number of threads and it will come up again. There are some people whose purchasing decisions are strongly swayed by the product's country of origin. Some of it is done as a way to avoid "higher risk" manufacturing sources, but it is more often done as a way to support alternatives that (potentially with higher first cost) are not built in those countries. The main country that people are avoiding in this regard is China - quality products can be built there with proper supervision and care in selecting a manufacturing partner, but the global economic impact of shifting more and more manufacturing there is something that not everyone wants to support with their own dollars. That is their choice, and it is going to be a subject of discussion whether you choose to make the same choice or not. I commend folks in this forum for making significant efforts to keep such discussion civil, and Outlaw has in past discussions been open about how economic pressures have led them to certain decisions while respecting some customers' decision to pass on Chinese-built products. (They've also made efforts to stick with domestic manufacturing for some product lines, even though it means they have to charge more.)

3. I've spent time in some forums where moderation is fairly active (even got banned from one of them, although that was a pretty extreme situation). This is not such a forum. It helps that traffic is light, but we also try to keep each other honest. The only formal moderation that I've seen done recently is nuking obvious spammers every so often. Only a handful of threads have ever been locked, and only a couple users ever banned. I don't know why you or your thread would be a turning point in this regard.

4. All that having been said, if folks wish to use this thread for its intended purpose, they of course can and will do so.