Elitetrader appears to do a good job of moderation. It appears they delete posts, shut down threads and ban users frequently enough. So if I may ask this very sensitive question...Why does Elitetrader allow anti-semitic posts in the politics and religion session? If I were to start a topic anywhere on this messageboard about blacks or hispanics, it would be handily deleted and my handle banned. If I were to start a topic on an OTC penny stock, then the thread would be closed and an email sent to my inbox stating as to why. However, if I start up a thread on Jewish people in the politics and religion section then a long anti-semitic thread would thus follow and the moderators would turn a blind eye. Can the administration of this board please provide an explanation as to why they are so good at shutting down threads that discuss penny stocks, but fail in preventing anti-semitic posts on their message board?
I snipped this from the conduct rules and posted it in italics below. I suggest all of the guests read this, before quickly agreeing to something that they have never even glanced at, while joining this site as GUESTS. If the moderators miss something, then I have a question? Where is the complain button? Is it hard to find? I personally, seldomly visit the P & R threads, but occasionally drop into the chat threads. The conduct rules are clear in ET. As a moderator, it is clear to me that 99% of my job is to filter out spam....I do not view my position as a judge or a censure to this site. It is my opinion that a moderator should intervene LESS and only when unavoidable to maintain the integrity of the free exchange of posts. No moderation is the best moderation among adults & guests that can follow the conduct rules on their own. This is just my personal view and does not represent any other moderators view. I am not scared to reply to this post and it should not be the "can of worms", that many perceive it to be. The rules are clear here. Please excuse me for posting, as this is not really my place to do so, but I felt the need to contribute and I want to get better at helping ET, to be the best that it can be. victimizes, harasses, degrades, or intimidates an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, or disability;
i think you are referring specifically to anti-jewish posts. And it's probably the same reason why they allow posts that are anti-muslim and anti-arab (who by the way are also Semites). fair is fair i guess. read article 19 of the following link: http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html days of racial superiority or exclusivity on grounds of historic sensitivity are over.
Can you please provide a link to a thread which starts with a post specifically intended to denigrate or threaten Arabs or Muslims, outside the context of Islamic fundamentalism and the problem of Islamic terrorism which it has engendered - that is, to denigrate or threaten them generally by virtue of that fact that they are Arab? (okay... any thread except one started by Pabst) I am not saying one doesn't exist, it's just that I haven't seen it. I have seen plenty of threads and hundreds of posts started specifically to denigrate or threaten Jews, because of their Jewishness in general and not because of anything this or that Jew has done. With regard to censoring these nutbags, I am against it. Let them be seen and heard, so that people will know that creatures like this exist among us.
A negative discussion about a certain featured prop firm on this board will be handily and happily deleted in a heartbeat. I seem to remember reading a certain thread about whether a person should sign a contract with a trading firm or not. It ensued into a long opinionated thread where posts were deleted and ultimately the thread shut-down. My issue is that certain threads in the Politics and Religion section are blatantly ignored although they contain obviously bigoted and prejudice comments. Are the prop firms somehow more important then the Jewish people? There are many Jewish people on Wall Street. Is the purpose of the Politics and Religion section to offend this group of people? On a website about trading the markets I fully expect to see just that. Threads and messages about trading the markets. I honestly do not expect or wish to see long negative discussions on Jewish people or any other group for that matter. Its off-topic and simply not appropriate.
I don't see any evidence of any Rules of Conduct... Being enforced at all at any time... Which makes this place a sewer... And puts off most ** serious pros **... That could actually contribute something coherent. Personally... I feel that I am totally wasting my time here... And will disappear any day now. Quality visitors are of little or no importance to ET... only raw traffic volume. Rabid anti-Semitic posters prolly increase traffic... and are welcome. But in cases where a Broker or "Sponsor" is challenged or criticized... Even if truthfully... Accounts are routinely deleted.
truth'z a bitch isnt it, schmuel?....now go tear some ears off a gingerbreadman and twirl around in a chair.
I only have one area of disagreement with you. I have greatly cut back and limited my participation, but I'm not planning on leaving ET entirely, because it does have some irreplaceable value for serious traders, even if it does fall tragically short of its true potential. I can also attest that I have used the complain button and private messages to complain to Baron and the moderators about very many incidents which blatantly violated ET's code of conduct, and they just completely ignored it, because the code of conduct is BS, and is only selectively enforced when there exists some special incentive motivating them to enforce it. I hope HoundDogOne will stick around and try to make ET a better place, instead of just leaving.
I'm not going to ask for anyone's censure. The entire concept of <b>Free speech</b> was created to protect repulsive & unpopular speech after all. However, why allow <b>one individual</b> to use a great variety of aliases, in an effort to make it look as though <b>multiple</b> individuals support his feces-in-text-form? PLATO2, heymenth b, WAKE-UP, georgie, Aristocrat, etc... You all know this is one single depraved individual with many names- why not expose this deceit for what it is, and consolidate all of its posts under just <b>one</b> of its countless aliases?
If we look at the originations of free speech, it really only applies when a private citizen complains against the government. The right to free and open speech was originated when the colonial settlers spoke out against the British government. Free speech really doesnt apply to a privately owned messageboard that has an established policy and rules of conduct. The moderators can delete and shut down any threads they want and thats their right since they own the board. It seems distasteful to myself that the rules are selectively enforced. A discussion about a $4.25 stock is shut down immediately where as a hateful discussion about Jews seems to linger about in the Politics and Religion section. This makes absolutely no sense to myself. We must remember that the best traders out there are Jewish. If you allow this to fly, then you just slam the door in the face of best and brightest traders out there as well as color an otherwise great message board with hate speech.