I am not a customer service rep so I don't have to abide by the above. When I see somebody going overboard on harshness, I call it as I see it. The fact is that IB changed their policy on what the meaning of the colors are. There are good reasons for doing this. There are also good reasons for leaving it alone. There are also good reasons for adding a third color into the mix. However, this discussion could be just as effective without the aggression.
As one of the Frontend developers affected, I might add a bit to the discussion. Recent tests with real trades on ER2 showed, that FuturesTrader still receives a "Submitted" Status message from the IB API, when submitting a "StopLimit" order through the API on ER2 or any other Globex traded contract, while receiving a "Presubmitted" message when placing a "Stop" order. This might be an indication, that IB really submits StopLimit orders to Globex. But if this is correct, then the OCA discussion is BS, because there FT receives the "Submitted" Statusmessage for both the StopLimit and the Limitorder part as well. Maybe you can test for yourself and come up with some conclusions. Chris
My first impression was: Why did he have to open a second thread (*) - and why did he choose such a stupid title ? (*) www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=32336
I am not sure I understand the problem with OCA orders (which OCA order is native and which is not in the above example SELL LMT above SELL STP LMT below?) but it just looks like a change of color STP LMT are still native on Globex. Maybe you are too paranoid, Orderblaster
orderblaster, there is no issue with OCA. If stop limit on globex, it is native. ib_soft tries to explain the logic and after reading this thread I can see the frustration on both sides. IMO he is being helpful and not arrogant. Furthermore, when someone with his knowledge of our systems takes the time to post you might want to encourage them to post as opposed to making them wonder why they bother. you may not agree with the logic of the color change and he tried to explain it. someone came up with a good suggestion of creating a new color. we've always been receptive to new ideas and perhaps we'll act upon that suggestion.
Thank you def as ever. If only all IB reps were like you! I think this is a really important issue and the bottom line from a trader's perspective is that we need to see a different colour in TWS for native orders as compared to non-native orders. I can recall a problem within the last 12 months where IB was incorrectly sending all stop-limits to their servers as opposed to Globex. Your programmers later fixed the problem. But if this happens again - how will we know about it? It's really important to be able to distinguish between native and non-native orders from a TRADER's perspective. If you say that all stop-limits are STILL on Globex whether OCA or independent, then I will take your word for it. But please ...scrap the dark blue colour ....it's a really bad idea! A few reps in private emails have suggested that such orders are no longer native, hence the confusion. It could be cleared up so easily by going back to the old colour scheme. Changing it, was not one of IB's better ideas.
Def, this is what one service rep told a trader recently: "Dear Trader, Both stop and stop limit orders are native orders on Globex. However when placed as part of an OCA group one of the orders will be held on the IB servers and its order status will be shown as dark blue. The other order will reside as a native order with Globex and will be shown as green. This is designed to prevent having orders on both sides of the market. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us again. Regards, IB Customer Service" 1. Can you confirm that this is NOT true? i.e. a stop-limit order even when placed in an OCA will always sit on Globex. 2. Is he/she correct in saying that a stop order is also now native to Globex. Most IB reps still say that stops orders are non native, but that now appears out of date. See: http://www.cme.com/get/suppres/notadv_gbxhostenhament5447.html If native stops are now possible at Globex, can you clarify whether IB has implemented this improvement i.e. are IB stops sent as native (as seems possible) or are they still held on IB servers? 3. Can you please put in a request to top management to institute colour schemes that make sense. A blue stop limit on Globex is native, while a blue stop limit on DTB is not. This is illogical and confusing! Traders want to differentiate colour on the basis of what is held at the exchange, and what is held at IB servers. Just like we always used to be able to. Thanks.
I thought that IB_Soft made it clear. He or his group wrote the code. They should know. As for the IB CS rep. perhaps they got confused with protective stops which globex does support natively. (they're offered via the drop down menu). It sounds like you trade one product or exchange - globex. The reps need to respond to questions in regards to over 40 exchanges and each seems to offer different variations of what is native and what is not. If in doubt, refer to our products page, click on the exchange and the way stops are handled is explained.
I trade on multiple exchanges and always liked seeing different colours for native and non native orders. I suspect that most IB users would agree that this made more sense than the new logic. What is the difference between a protective stop and a normal stop (I don't mean in trading terms ...I mean technically at IB). Can you walk through where to place a "native" protective stop, and can such an order be placed via the API? What colour will this order be in IB ...dark blue I guess from what you're saying? Which means we'd have a situation where some blue stops were native and some blue stops were not. Can you see how illogical this new colour scheme is? I'm reminded of the saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I can't fugure out where this newfound logic about order colours came from at IB. It'll just confuse the heck out of most traders.