Can we have a link just under the username for every ET member, that links to a posting that person has made to the p/l thread. It can be whatever posting that person wants to link to, it can be a good day, bad day, whatever, so long as they have a trading blotter with numbers on it. And only if that posting has an attachment with a copy of there blotter for that day. On ET there are so many people giving advice who are not even trading (and have no idea), most of it third hand stuff they read somewhere, regurgitated and then proclaimed as gospel by them , when all that is needed is the latest look at there blotter to confirm at least that they either: 1) Trade 2) Are good at making up fake blotters. So many ET gurus also, some are very smart, but if they don't have just one post on the P/L thread, then I'm not that interested in what they have to say (at least anything thats trading related), sorry. If someone is making $1000 a day, posting of that fact at least once, and the guy says something, then I will lend MUCH more weight to what that person says than some other person who is an expert in sounding like a trader yet the reality is far from the truth. Why not make such a fact instantly available if the reader so chooses? Whenever I read a post, the first thing on my mind is that is this person even trading at all? I don't care if that person has only two posts if they show some evidence of it at least - then I will listen to them differently than if I am in the dark and take there word for it. If someone has 100 000 posts yet I cannot see the evidence of at least one days trading - they are full of horse manure. Rather than having to do a full background check on them, if there was a link (whether automatic or manually set up , either way it is an option that is there), then I would immediately look at the results. There is only one way to measure credibility in a trading forum - $$$flow that can be audited by the reader. PS I have yet to post in that thread and may never do so
Here are some problems with your suggestion: 1. Some ET members do post their PnL Statements elsewhere (forums, image sites et cetera) while not posting the same image in the Trader P/L thread at ET (I think they don't like the Trader P/L thread or see some limitations in the thread). 2. There are currently three regular posters in the Trader P/L thread that talk about silly stuff elsewhere at ET. Yet, your implying that what they have to say is more important or has more merits above others that don't post their P/L statements in the Trader P/L thread. Yet, if a trader saids elsewhere they trade YM via the CCI indicator... What value is the blotter in the Trader P/L thread if the YM trader just shows a profit or loss but no trade times nor any info about the trading instrument that was traded??? Simply, no verification he/she traded YM nor traded YM via the CCI to correlate which the advice he/she saids about YM and CCI. 3. There's a reason why some blotters do not show trading instruments being traded nor the times of such trades... These are traders that feel they could lose some of their edge is such info is revealed. That reason alone prevents you from determining if their discussion about a particular topic truly has merit. 4. There are traders posting there blotters in the Trader P/L thread still being given a hard time or debated with about their advice concerning what ever topic about trading that's being discussed elsewhere at ET in other threads. That alone implies that other ET members are not using the Trader P/L thread as the sole indicator of the value of another members message post at ET. That's the way it should be and should remain as so. 5. If someone can't determine what's good advice or bad advice at ET... These are the traders we want on the other side of our trades. Simple analogy...someone posting advice in the Hardware thread about how to install a video card... Should they be required to show verification that they know how to install a video card or should we rely on ourselves and the experiences of other members to point out flaws in that trader's video card installation advice to determine if the advice has any merits??? I think most here would agree with the latter in the paragraph above via relying on our own experiences and the experiences of others to determine the merits of a particular discussion. Besides, if we become paranoid about the merits of a message and require verification of that post... That's a problem because there would need to be verification about everything else that's posted elsewhere at ET... Not reality nor possible at a public forum. May be doable at a private forum...PnL statements required prior to be allowed to join. P.S. Trader P/L thread is a good thread and should only be used for personal reasons while not imposing those reasons on others that make a choice not to participate in it by putting a label on them. Mark
What's your best trading day? Just describe it in terms of how many account prints (pages) as sent by your brokers and the number of digits in the sum of the total net.
My best trading day to date was 5 months ago (about a month after joining ET) and it was to take my account from $1200 to $2400 in one day. I had started with $3000 a few months before that and was on the verge of blowing out (for the second time). I shorted gold and risked 10% of my account that day. I was about to go to bed when there was a news flash that Iran would not allow inspection of it's nuclear facilities. Immediately I reversed when I got a long signal and by the next morning was back in business. What's your best trading day Jack? Just describe it in terms of how ever you feel like.
NZD, if that the best youve done, and its very commendable , what seperates you from most noobs or "papertraders" ? Or are you having a dig at certain vendors? Just trying to see where your coming from there.
What separates a noob or papertrader from the real thing is that a trader is having his or her balls on the line day in and out for months and years - that is where the real knowledge comes from. All I am trying to say is that ET is riddled with posts from people who don't really know because they don't trade. I was brainstorming ways in how to filter out that element and that is why I thought of this idea. It's taken months to get a gut feel for which ET posters are worth listening to and even to date - on an average page of posts I find that perhaps one post on that page is actually coming from a reliable source (an active trader) - the rest of it is drowned out by pure speculation from people who don't know (as they don't trade but make noise like they do). Those posts can actually harm the progress of someone who does not have a developed faculty to discriminate the good from the bad. Hence a kind of "qualification" if that poster so chooses, in the form of a posted blotter that can be instantly accessed, to at least quickly ascertain if that poster trades at all. The points that Niha has raised are all valid though - I'm just trying to brainstorm on ways in how to make this fine forum even better. Thanks for the compliment btw.
Yes, buts thats me in a nutshell-I like to think i contribute, i love the markets, and just quietly, my calls are as good as anyone else's ive seen....and im trying to accomplish much the same things as anyone else, just with more inherent disadvantages. At the end of the day, this is an industry site, not a (retail) trading site as such-this is proven by the fact people who blew up big time on the floor etc are given more respect than newbs, low cappers etc. Thats not a bad thing, either, im just saying. Its just that, if you exclude everyone but the pure industry hedgies, work for hedgies, floor traders, prop guys, ex floor traders, exchange employees and the supposed "big hitters", even vendors and brokers reps, you wouldnt have a site at all. Im sure there's many who would like that outcome, but that wouldnt be a forum, as such- just a big, and, kinda egocentric instant messaging thing, in effect. And they already have that, right?