I have been on ET for about six months, and during that time I have come to appreciate that there is a lot of trading knowledge on this site, both live and in the archives. Some posters are very knowledgeable and clearly successful traders, and even those who are still working to become successful (like myself) can make positive contributions to the discussions. I have learned a lot on the site and it continues to help me improve as a trader. However, I have been absolutely dismayed from day one by what seems to be a pervasive lack of civility on the site, that I think really takes away from its effectiveness and discourages new folks from joining (and likely causes some veterans to leave). Without naming any names, some posters consistently post in very inflammatory terms, make ad hominem attacks, and generally create a very distasteful environment for everyone. The same points can be made civilly and respectfully in discussions, and in fact elevate the discussion since a poster can focus on the subject matter at hand rather than feeling the need to defend oneself against onslaughts (or attack others preemptively). I cannot imagine that if we were all sitting in a room together that we would speak to each other the way we do on this site, under the illusion of Internet anonymity. Or frankly that many of the inflammatory posters would even have the intestinal fortitude to speak that way in person. I wonder if a "code of conduct" or some set of posting guidelines, to be enforced by the moderators but with self-policing by all of us, could greatly improve things and help ensure the future sustainability of the site. Such guidelines might include, e.g.: 1. Treat others with the same decency and respect with which you would like to be treated. 2. No ad hominem attacks. 3. No profanity except in chit chat and P&R. My goal is simply to try to start a conversation on how we can improve the discourse on ET to make it more effective for our collective learning, more enjoyable for all of us, and more sustainable going forward. The above is simply an idea on how we might go about doing that. If others feel the same way I would be happy to contribute towards achieving this.
The real problem is the lack of posters. Ghost town. I'd also like to see people posting real trades with real plans. I posted some trades in my trading journal and it was crickets.
how selfish of you! who says the goal of this site is collective learning? that's arbitrary, isn't it? first we have to establish the goals , the manners will come afterwards do pay attention to the collective 'WE'
The redactions in your "quote" substantially changed the meaning of my language. I actually stated "My goal is simply to try to start a conversation on how we can improve the discourse on ET to make it more effective for our collective learning, more enjoyable for all of us, and more sustainable going forward" (emphasis added). Also, never in my wildest dreams did I envision being attacked as selfish for making a suggestion to improve the site, but, hey, you learn something new every day. As I noted in my original post, I just wanted to throw an idea out there that I thought might benefit the site. From the responses to date, it appears that there may not be support for it. Thanks to those who responded and see you on the forum!
I agree with you. Some of the members of this forum move from post to post with angry responses. At the same time you get question that should never be asked. Why would someone ask a question that you can get a good response with Google or calling their broker and asking a simple question. I hope that the moderators would take the time and remove posts from members that are being abusive. Let's have a balance between not asking lazy questions and ignoring questions that you can't add to the discussion in a positive way. 1245
Forums are dying w/ the popularity of twitter, stocktwits, etc. Add in there's very little value around here and no reason to be active.
Have you visited stocktwits? Talk about very little value. It's nothing but blowhards and frauds (Davian) touting their non-existent hedge funds.
I would love to see a rating, or up/down Reddit style system implemented. Posting would be more fun/interactive/rewarding...not to mention being able to downvote the idiots would be nice.