There is a common misconception about this website and many people, like Landis, keep saying how things were so much better way back when. The fact is that in the late 90s not everyone was on the internet. It was still a very educational place where you could learn. This is because broadband internet was still for college institutions and the higher income crowd. Everyone else was on dial-up. At the time, Elitetrader had but a handful of members. I think by 2001, it still only had 7200 members. Today is far different with the site having over 100,000 members (cant remember the exact count) and now the internet is available to most everyone. No longer is it just for college students or those who can afford to have it. The website will never go back to those times when it was just a handfu of knowledgeable guys who probably did work at funds and institutions. Now that the internet is available to the masses, you have most everyone on this site. The only way to make this website a better place with more valuable information is to take a hard stance at moderation. However, some of the best posters who get the most hits dont post stuff about trading. So if a hard moderation stance is taken then the result will be less webhits. I dont think Baron runs this site just as a hobby and so hits are important to him. The advertising from this site places thousands of dollars into his pocket each month and probably more then what most people make at a real job. Can you create a website thats full of valuable knowledge about trading? Sure you can, but I think you need to make it a private one with its members being well known traders in the community. It sure would be nice to see how real traders think. However, such a site wouldnt generate any money and would require a great amount of time to maintain. I dont think anyone would be up for making such a site.
None of what you said, Port, means that folks like yourself can't behave in a way that contributes - not detracts - from the seriousness of the trading forum. Why, just today you resurrected yet another Black (day) thread which I had to move to chit chat and close. For the last week, you were beginning to show signs of promise, and then you go and screw it all up with that. This is why you're on my "troll" list, and almost everything you post gets immediately discarded.
Sure, rub it in. Just because I don't have time to hang around here all day long means nobody b!&%^#$ about me any more.
Ivanovich runs a great thread on currency trading and Magna runs a great thread for the traders who want to post their PnL. Absolutely no bullshit is tolerated on either thread. Those are the only parallels that I see between the two of them. *** Hey Port, I like you, but why exactly are you here? When you figure that out, maybe you can direct your attention to something that fullfills your needs instead of expecting them to be fullfilled by something or someone outside of you. Good Luck man.
Well, I started to read this forum a long long time ago thinking that I could learn something from it. However, I found out a while ago that you cant really learn anything from this site. Im not certain if there are real traders on this site, I have no idea, but I just keep coming back for entertainment sakes posting a few quick threads here and there. I have learned a great deal more from one author blogs. If a person is looking to learn then I think following certain notable bloggers is probably the best way. Everyone who follows my posts knows where I go and its helped me trade immensely. I dont think its spammers that have ruined this site, but the constant sense of commercialism and sponsorship. Look at Alex from puretick. How does he help you trade or add any worth to this site? He is one of the purest examples of why this site has gone bad.
You can learn something from traders on the site, but most of the good traders have long ago headed for the hills. You can still pick up some pointers here and there, but the best way to learn this game is simply to put in the time yourself. Those who do gain from the effort, and those who don't, won't. But bothering the moderators certainly won't get you anything worthwhile around here.
Controversial posters make ET what it is today. If it were not for them, then ET would not be ranked so high. Take myself. If I were banned, then I wouldnt be able to post. If you go through my posts, you will see that each one generates a substantial amount of views. In the Politics and Religion section, you used to see posts about Nazism and other anti-semetic dribble. The reason why it was tolerated for so long because that generated some web hits. Thats gone now because Baron couldnt take it anymore with the complaints it generated. Elitetrader doesnt get to the top of google through some dry Elliott wave garbage.
Obama's first order of business should be to wait for this twits Mom to leave the house, and then have someone from Homeland Security toss a grenade down the basements stairs. We'll know they got the bastard when the Chicks with Dicks website's traffic takes a dive.