ET is no longer ET. Back in 2005 when I first placed it in my favorites, there was some bickering but at the same time one could learn from those who have been around the block. Fast forward to 2009 and the emptiness is visible. What is the solution? Maybe creating ET VIP where only certain people possess the right to post or where moderator has the power to run a tight ship where stupid and worthless posts would get deleted. Whatever the formula is, it would be nice to keep folks like Austin, Eric and many others who have something important to say around. Most noobs do not recognize who is who on ET and want to show to the world that the student has surpassed the master, or to inflate their egos .. or to just let go of stress, the list go on. The people who are hurt are the ones who already have a couple of years invested in the craft, carry a couple of battle scars and while nowhere near the level of 1st. league players do have several belts and are ready to pick a pointer or two while sitting around a virtual campfire. cheers! Saxon22
This is for all those who feel like ET no longer has any value: What's interesting is that there's a repeating pattern of complaints that persists no matter what the year is. The quote above complains that these days aren't as good as they were back in 2005. In 2005 there were people complaining that the site wasn't as good as it was in 2001. Then of course there were people who complained in 2001 that ET had gone to hell and just wasn't what it was back in 1999. And even back then there were people who reminisced about the good ol' days of ET back in 1997. Now, what's interesting is that the site has not changed in any significant way since it was first started. The site structure is the same as it's always been. There are a few more discussion forums than there were in the beginning but the forum rules and moderation standards are the same. In fact, we even have a handful of moderators that have been with us the whole time. I've owned the site since day one, so there hasn't been any ownership or management change either. So with all that said, guess what is guaranteed to be posted in 2012? "...I remember the good ol' days of this site and let me tell you, ET is not what it used to be. There were actually some experienced and helpful traders when I first became a member back in 2009 but now this place has gone to hell." However, a closer look at all this reveals the real truth, which is simply this: ET hasn't changed at all. You've changed. What you found interesting four or five years ago is not what you find interesting now because you've had more market experience, and have likely learned some tough lessons along the way. You browse the boards trying to find a thread that will spark your interest like it did years ago when you first joined the site, but it's now become more and more difficult as your knowledge on the subject has increased and you've matured. You've gotten older and your tolerance for those people who act like idiots on message boards had decreased dramatically, which is why it appears like the "Quality of this place has deteriorated dramatically" and you cry out that "Something must be done!". The real story however, is that everyday new people discover ET for the first time. To them, this place is just the destination they've been looking for to network and interact with other traders. In fact, they love the site not just because it contains the collective wisdom of traders from all over the world for the past ten years, but because there are personalities that make the site fun and entertaining. They enjoy the ball-busting and the clash of personalities. They enjoy reading the Journals from those that are bold enough to post their trades and talk about their strategies. And they even enjoy the debates and jokes in the P&R and Chit Chat forums. So if you're reading this and your one of those people who now find themselves struggling to find anything of value on ET, then your just the type of the person we want on this site, because your the guy who's gone full circle. You're the guy who no longer looks to the site for useful content: You're the guy who provides it. You're the experienced trader that the newbies want to learn from. You're the guy who focuses on putting out great posts, every single time, no matter how many clowns and detractors there are. And if you take on that role starting now, in 2012 your posts will be the reason other traders will refer to 2009 as "The good ol' days".
Baron, extremely well said. As one who has been around awhile that pretty much sums it up. Looking forward to the round of complaints in 2012
That's the longest post I've ever seen you make, Baron. One of the main differences is the fact that the site is now dominated by multi-alias assholes whose posts make up the majority of the content, not only in P & R, but in other areas as well. Of course, since these multi-alias assholes draw so many page views, you don't want to get rid of them. One guy has created what, 200-300 usernames? Any interest in stopping him? Is he making the site better? Another big change is the way in which the mods behave. The moderators are now actively involved in creating content at the site, something that was not happening when I first got here. Take the posts of monty21 for example. Blatantly Anti-Semitic posts and yet you do nothing about it. Take Joe, with his Arnold Schwarzenegger-like threats ('I'll take you out!' 'I'll shut you down!') and his tendency to ban anyone who ruffles the feathers of his favourite bumboys on the site. The TOU are enforced when the mod feels like enforcing them, and ignored when it suits. Like I've always said, it's your site and anyone who complains about the way you run it is an idiot. You're running a for-profit business and you know what you're doing in terms of increasing revenues and profits. But let's not pretend that things haven't changed dramatically, and let's not pretend the changes aren't for the worse if your need is high quality content. If your need is internet message board-style flame war entertainment, as you said, then absolutely, the site is just as good as it used to be and probably better. Let's not pretend that many of the really high quality members are simply gone, to be replaced by...well, you know better than anyone else.
Which end of the spectrum of mental disorders do you want to cater to, the Trolls or the Narcissistic spammers? The Trolls make this place interesting, it's like Whack-a-Mole with the ignore button.. the narcisstic guys that can't trade worth shit always get killed by the trolls.. and yes there is collateral damage in that real traders also get killed by trolls... but it's more interesting that way... besides anybody that's been on forums for any length of time can live with the trolls.. if you want academic threads, go for it, somewhere..... they put me to sleep......
Wow! That IS the longest post I've seen written by Baron... How many PMs or thread have you received??? No... seriously. You can't blame every little thing all on Baron and ET policy for the content. 1. They say and I agree with the opinion, 95% of the traders fail in the long run. Obviously, there's a high turnover in this business and it can be said with the so-called "profitable / successful" traders. Just because they've written good posts or posted a great P&L blotter, that doesn't guarantee that they will continue making money. The fact is those who start making money are more vulnerable to losing it. The reason is when you're a newbie you don't have a bias over how someone "should" trade so it's easier for them to shift and change the way they trade. All they have to do is build it. But for a moderately successful guy, the trader has to break what they have built in the past in rebuild their style to fit the current market. It's just harder to stay on top compared to reaching it. Really. 2. I've taken breaks from ET here and there due to professional reasons, mainly due to compliance / contractual stuff. Some thought I got tired of ET and actually, Baron thought that I quit trading. There are others that I met in ET that are on a break, right now, for a similar reason. We all have a life outside of ET and professional obligations that can affect the posts we make in here. 3. People are willing to agree to a nice person rather than the context of the post. I've, intentionally, experimented this a few times (of course, I'm not a nice person to start off with, I have a major ego issue but I'm fine with it... I don't claim to be a saint or a guru of any kind). What's interesting is that once they hate me (or once I have a major disagreement with them), no matter how much contribution... it's going to be perceived as BS. I write one little phrase "Psychology is useless..." and the reader's adrenaline start kicking targeting me as their enemy. Though, the fact is that the whole phrase is "Psychology is useless until you find a edge. Controlling emotions on a losing strategy doesn't make the strategy profitable." .... Anyways, I think Baron's being a bit nice about complaining = change. To make it more simple... the problem is not the site but the within the people complaining about the site. Complainers are the biggest hypocrite and actually the ones who should leave this site. * I troll, attack and flame people but I do it for the sake of the other person. Who really cares what I feel about this whole topic, right? But all I expect from this is for ET to stay the same.
The announced demise of ET is premature. Per the emails I've gotten asking to keep posting and out of the respect for Baron, the following: Everyone comes here to fill need(s). All humans do everything from a selfish need perspective. Even the act of "giving back" fulfills a selfish need of satisfaction. Human Behavior 101 Some of us came here solely for the social aspect, absolutely nothing else. Where is a home-based trader to go if wanting to talk shop? Unless you work at a firm of some sort, there is no one around you to talk about work with. Do you know how empty and lonely that aspect can be? Anyone here ever sat around groups of friends, family or just random people while listening to them commiserate about work? When it came time for you to share with the group, how well did you fit in? Exactly. The need we have to be filled is social acceptance. We want to gather with like kind while avoiding the various segments of insanity outside the desired social circle. * I was here for the social aspect only. One can look back thru my posts over three years and judge whether there were attempts to share constructive conversation or not. It stands alone for whatever that may be. EricP started a thread which I didn't agree with more of than not, but was sure interested in what he had to share. Anyone who wonders why only need scroll back thru his posting history to discover why for themselves. So picture the two of us sitting in a bar, having casual drinks and talking shop with anyone who wants to join us at the table. Others stop by to share. Atticus is one of them. We're all together, having fun and learning from each other in a socially structured environment. Then some little, scrawny loudmouth drunk stumbles over and starts harassing the table. We all look at each other and try to dismiss the jerk. But he's the loudest a**hole in the bar, and pretty soon every other table is looking at us to see how the situation is "handled". I can tell you how it would be handled in person, face to face. The loudmouth troll would be flattened. Laid out like a used rubber. Order would immediately be restored, social structure again intact. ** But that's not possible in a public message board. Those of us from all parts of the profession seeking a casual social atmosphere cannot find that here, because it does not exist. Simple as that. The skinny little loudmouth trolls are truly the egocentrics: they are the ones who need to be seen = heard by everyone. That is the real truth. Why else would anyone troll? What inner selfish need does that fulfill? Insecurities trying desperately to be supported. We've seen Atticus flamed and trolled numerous times in the past. Would those same brave cyber-twerps talk to him exactly like that in person, face to face? I for one would buy a plane ticket to anywhere in this country just to watch the outcome of that ultra-brief exchange. So that's it in a nutshell. I don't hate ET the forum or the loonies & goonies who are addicted to trolling. Hey, it's a free message board. Come in and have your self-therapy applied. Those who are here to release stress & angst thru aggression know damn well it's the only place they dare do so, because the same verbal sewage spewed face to face would cost them the bone structure of their face. ET is what it is, always has been and always will be. It serves the needs of some people, filling whatever selfish purpose it may for all. As for me and many others, nothing here we can give to or take from. Our selfish need is social conversation without being hassled by twerpy little pretentious drunks. If this bar is rife with them and for whatever reason they are protected from being properly beaten senseless, just square up the tab and move to a different bar with a classier crowd. Birds of a feather. You are who you drink with. Salude`
Haven't been around too long but this post deserves a bold <b> +1</b> It's the exact same thing as when old people tell you how the 1950's were the good ol days, and the next generation says "remember the 1970's? Those days were so much better", and now I have friends in their late 20's that brag about how great things were in the 1990's!
It was so much better before last November and then it got even worse in January. I don't know what happened, but everything Changed. I was Hoping it wouldn't, but it did.