A  healthy segment of Vertical Scope's properties consist of community-based forums. Though, in the off-road segment, this is not the case. In 2009, Vertical Scope purchased the once industry giant, Off-Road.com, which at the time was on its decline under the ownership Advanstar, who took reigns of what was once the second largest motorsports website in the world next to NASCAR.com. The editorial content-driven website, Off-Road.com, has seen its community forums dissapate in recent years, while other forum-based sites such as Pirate4X4.com and Race-Dezert.com (RDC) have filled the void of the niche industry.

With the acquisition of Pirate 4X4 from site founder Lance Clifford, who will remain on the payroLl, Vertical Scope now owns a massive footprint, particularly for such a nich industry that has enjoyed growth throughout recent years. The question remains, though, how will VerticalScope monetize its arsenal?

With Off-Road.com, little has changed since it has taken ownership. Content production is at a lull in comparison to its heyday with very little viral leverage amid its social media assets.

Just as was the case when Advanstar took over, Vertical Scope changed content management system software platforms. Advanstar, in its takeover from a largely HTML-based website in the early-to-mid 2000s, mangled or inadvertantly deleted profitable tech and historical content that was timeless in scope. Vertical Scope, executed its transition to (according to my memory) Red Dot CMS, which is now Open Text, seemingly flawlessly.

With Lance Clifford still behind the wheel, the edgy Pirate 4X4 community is less likely to declare mutiny over the Canadian conglomerate that now owns the VBulletin-based community website, which suffers greatly in the content organization department on its editorial-based landing page but reportedly manages a favorable income from its conventional sponsorship/advertising as well as from its community-derived monthly membership upgrade fees.

On the other hand, Off-Road.com, which boasts no significant advertising initiatives beyond Google Ads, maintains a relatively well-organized content structure, which may well make for a perfect match. Add to that both website forums make use of the commercial forum software VBulletin, which has proven relatively easy to merge to separate forums into a single install.

While that's not to say the sites would or should be merged, it is certainly a viable plan, so long as the powerful Pirate 4X4 community brand is not upset and sent into a viral rampage. With such an fusion of resources, both can quickly benefit from the merger. Editorial professionallism meets viral community with advertising horsepower. If this is to be the case, the road ahead requires a strong, savvy and forward-thinking leader. And with that, RDC and its hold upon the off-road racing market, could well be led to meet a formidable competitor.

TWITTER ANNOUNCMENT: https://twitter.com/#!/vertscope/statuses/157479890982158338

• AutoGuide welcomes Pirate4x4 - the largest off roading website in the world to the group! Very excited!

PIRATE 4X4 FORUM THREAD: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1035378 / http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=13838870#post13838870

(Lance Clifford:) The rumors are true (sceep ), and Pirate4x4.com has been sold to Vertical Scope as of today.

It's been a hell of a ride. From its humble beginnings as a fun hobby back in 1996 to an industry power house with millions of visits a month, Pirate4x4 will always be my baby.

I know what you all are thinking. Change sucks. I couldn't agree more. However, I have been hired by Vertical Scope to continue to run the site so it will be business as usual around here. Will there be changes? I don't expect many, if at all. Their advertising structure will be nearly identical to what we currently have in place, so things should be virtually transparent to all users.

I love Pirate4x4, and I thank each and every one of you for being a huge part of making this place what it is.