The post count per hour has plunged on this site. Perhaps requiring real names, verification would bring back credibility-- thus real traders would be interested in posting here more often about things happening inthe market/economy.
Using your "real name" does not make anyone more credible nor will it make it magically turn ET into a cohort of profitable traders ready to distill their wisdom to all and sundry. The loony bins will still be here. Just look at Jack Hershey.
Bunch of alias using pikers talking out of their asses about real names. Grow a pair you bush-leaguers ! Rennick out
Recon keep it anonymous, but run an entry questionnaire. Couple of bond pricing questions, vol questions, forward rates etc to sort the recreational punters from the traders.
Mav, what I have to say may not resonate with you, that's OK, we are all different. I don't think I'm special. So when I say I, I, I, it is with the firm belief that there are many others like me out there. Still, it could be I'm just weird. I'm not a joiner by nature. Lurkers abound, yes? But I joined ET when I wanted to ask questions. I joined BMT when I noticed some who were active here were active there as well. As you know BMT has a 2 tier membership. I was 'invited' several times to join the Elite Circle when it was 50 bucks. I have natural curiosity about everything and analyse lots of stuff, so one time I posted there my statistical analysis of Market Profile vs Volume Profile. Mike replied with a link to the main discussion thread. I clicked on it, it was in the Elite Circle and that was the end of that. Fifty bucks does not even pay for my weekly night out, so a one time payment is cheap. I am still not accredited to the other level. I have this big mental block when it comes to exclusionary stuff. If you say I have to do something to get access to something, my automatic response is take it and shove it. I don't know why, but anytime there is an us and them situation, I revolt. Perhaps it is because I grew up in a country with institutionalised racism, whatever. We don't need segregation on ET. If the problem is dross, then just enforce those wonderful conduct rules. But please, let us be, and remain, one community.
Justrading, let me try this one more time. I'm not sure why this is hard to get across but they say persistence wins out in the end so I will persist. Nobody is going to "make" you do anything. The idea was similar to BMT I guess in which we keep EVERYTHING here EXACTLY the way it is now. We simply "add" another thread that is locked. People can join if they want to. And if they don't want to, they have thousands of threads to post to on the regular forum. It's simply providing a higher level for those who "choose" to go to that level. I have never flown first class. I never wanted to. Some people tell me it's wonderful (usually on the companies dime). But I'm not going to protest that some rich guy wants to pay 4 times my seat cost to sit in the front of the plane and get a wider seat with free drinks. He can do that all he wants. I'll stay next to the fat guy and the crying baby back in coach. It's all about offering a choice. I'm all about making choices. I don't like to make people do things. If people want to join the private thread, they can. People can post on both. I imagine most of the posting activity would take place on the main forum anyway. Some of us, who take value in knowing who we are talking to, meeting people face to face and networking and sharing valuable information which we may not want to simply put into the public domain, well, the private thread would serve that purpose. I still have no idea why this concept is lost on people. When I went to college, I choice not to rush. A lot of my friends did. The secret handshakes, the secret pledges, the mystical ceremonies, whatever, good for them. It didn't bother me. I just chose not to rush. They didn't stop being my friend. They hung out with their brothers and they hung out with the rest of us. But if they want to pay extra and rush and do all that goes along with that, why take away "their choices" just to make yourself feel more comfortable? I think Baron needs to make this site more dynamic and offer more choices. There is a lot of potential here. Baron could tap in the billion dollar LinkedIn community if here were intelligent about this. Hopefully I explained this better second time around.
Thanks for elaborating, but my problem is with the creation of a two tier forum. I would happily share my details with you if we PM, I've Skyped with ET members but I don't share my personal stuff on a public board. The beauty and curse of the Internet is its egalitarian nature. Q. What do you need to be an expert today? A. An Internet connection. But if you look back a bit in this thread, Josef K expressed quite elegantly why anonymity has value in the Internet age. Sure, we put up with absolute wankers, but we also have the benefit of wonderful people posting great stuff because they are comfortable with anonymity. Now here is where you will think I'm weird. If Baron set up a separate site where the price of admission is using you real name, substantiated with documentary evidence like when you open your trading account, I would have no problem with that. I have joined forums that cater to photography buffs, expatriates etc, etc. Join if you like, don't if you don't want to, but if you join then everyone is equal. But please, no us and them.
I still don't get it. There is no us vs them. Nothing would change with the original ET. You will get all the same insightful posts mixed in with the not so insightful posts. It's not about sharing secrets or having an exclusive club. It's simply an additional thread. Look, we already have it right? I mean, do you have any idea how many private exchanges I have over the ACD thread? There are tons of guys writing me who do not have a single post on ET and refuse to post on the forum. So in fact, we already have a private little club in that all that info is being kept private, locked away for no one to see. The problem is, PM's are really a pain in the ass and don't make for good back and forth. If I was suggesting replacing the old ET I could understand you being upset, but it's simply an additional thread. Again I have to ask, do you have a problem with first class seating on an airplane? Do you have a problem with fraternities? Do you have a problem that some night clubs have private rooms in the back for big spenders?
At my peak, I got on a plane an average of 3.30 times a week. Most of it was short haul around Asia and I preferred to fly coach. The people are nicer, if you flirt with a stew and she responds it is genuine, and I've had great conversations with others. Long haul I fly Biz even on my own dime. Usually surrounded by a bunch of people enamoured with their sense of importance that they could afford the ticket and be pampered. Big deal, I grew up with two servants looking after us, that does not make me any better than you. One time I played golf with my chairman at a lovely club. We enjoyed the experience so much that after the round I enquired about membership. I was told that foreigners could not be members, that was only open to Thais. We never went back. The airplane and night club are not communities. ET is. There my friend lies the difference.