It does not matter who owns the forum or who made (or designed) the knife. All that matters is if the guy that bought the knife is happy.
I've tried more knives than I can count and will say that I've come across a lot that I wasn't happy with. I can't say that about Doug's Benchmade knives. For me, they are worth every cent and are a great value. I will admit that I prefer the fixed blade over the folder but I'm just a "fixed blade kind of guy". In fact when my uncle asked what knife he should get, I gave him one of Doug's. With all of the knives I get each year, that is saying something.
Are Doug's knives the best? To some yes, to others no. It depends on what you want in a knife and I am not going to tell anyone that "this is the best!" At the same time, I also have knives from other companies that I am thrilled with and a couple may even have my name on them as the designer. But owning one knife does not make another knife better or worst.
I will say that such threads are really a waste of time because you will never get everyone to give you one answer. They also seem to be a perfect magnet to draw in every guy on the web that wants to voice his opinion as "an expert". The only expert on what knife YOU will be happy with is YOU!