I think this site should consider charging for posting rights. A Nominal fee of $1.00/month would be enough to keep those not interested in trading away. This site could be a lot more than it is.
There's only one problem with your suggestion. You assume that the annoying users will somehow go away if we started charging for posting privileges. I can tell you based on experience that the annoying users would probably be the first ones to pay the posting fee. I have implemented stricter registration requirements over the last six months or so, but they are by no means fool proof. Neither would a pay-for-posting system be. The reality is that if somebody really wants to come on the boards and be annoying, they will do just about whatever it takes, even if that means paying for the priviledge.
well if they PAY, thats better than letting them screw up the board for free, and I certainly think the total number of people who only come on here for "chit chat" would drop dramatically.
It would be nice that we could post about firms that are not ET sponsers, I heard that they delete certain post that are from none sponsers fimrs. So for me i can't take this site seriously anymore because it's not really in the best interest of traders. I rather pay something and be able to post freely and have others post freely then having it free and restricted, like a monopoly for the sponsers.
It would be nice that we could post about firms that are not ET sponsors, I heard that they delete certain post that are from none sponsors firms. Wercurna, I believe you're mistaken. Members can post about any products or services germane to trading. That is fine. That's what makes online community so powerful... you can tap the masses to ferret out the pros and the cons or pretty much anything. However, where Elite Trader draws the line is when companies overtly promote on this site without sponsoring it. Those posts will indeed get deleted. Yet I've seen plenty of posts from people who aren't sponsors, responding to product questions. It does take some tact to do. Shoot, I used to post myself from time to time when I worked for Innerworth. I got a few posts deleted. And frankly, they were pushing line, going from mere information, to promoting. Most trading related companies recognize that Elite Trader is a good place to be seen and heard, even if they don't pony up to be a sponsor. It's their loss. We've got some great sponsors who really know how to use this medium to extend customer service right to their users, and tap into this user base to address what their customers really want and the coming trends in the industry-you'll hear about it here, first. I was in an IRC chat room today, and someone was talking about a well known product and how it's had some recent bugs. He noticed them too, but came to ET to verify that it was something beyond just him. It is a bit of a balancing act between giving members what they want and giving sponsors an audience. But I think Baron's got the best implementation I've seen on the 'net for finding that balance and harnessing the power of online community in a viable business plan. And it includes free membership. André