Brian...meant to email ya...but ran out of time.
No, that's not the reason. Posts about non-sponsors are not always pulled....hardly ever. However, when there becomes a pattern of what appears to be 'working the board'...or 'spamming' the site by the same company having multiple threads...or threads constantly on the 1st page...then that pattern will be stopped. A lot of these topics are started and questions are asked that should be asked directly to the company, not here on TradGang. Another ploy is to seize upon a post made in passing. Once and innocent post is made....there are members that seemingly 'appear' and the thread turns into a picture/praise fest for the company...and all that was asked for was a simple brace hieght recommendation(example)....again, should have contacted the bowyer directly.
No way should some of these company's have more exposure than paying sponsors. Unfortunately when this pattern is 'found out'....then all threads from that company are removed even if they are made in passing. Casualties of War if you will. We hate it, but we have to protect those that support the site or we wouldn't have one.
Unless you run a site this size, you really don't know how hard it is to keep on track, and how many folks will try and take advantage of it and how many ways they will try. Sometimes these folks spend more time and effort than the Sponsorship costs!!!