Worst guides and FAQs ever in the history of the universe

Discussion in 'Interactive Brokers' started by InHiding, Aug 13, 2022.

  1. InHiding

    InHiding

    All IBKR guide and FAQ pages are absolute garbage. They have an incredible skill of describing something while actually not telling you the most important things about that particular topic. I'm an IBKR customer and I read Fidelity's corresponding pages first before I even try to understand the crap IBKR is spewing.
     
  2. Bad_Badness

    Bad_Badness

    Hmm, I found them detailed (enough) to proceed with testing on a paper account. The help files only provide an overview, but if you actually try a lot of the features on paper, it becomes clear, there are many additional details to be learned.

    e.g how a stop loss can turn into a "fixed pegged" order in some cases.

    In fact, there are so many variations and details, that they should not attempt to cover them all in the help file because it would be overwhelming to write, translate and maintain.

    Perhaps a simpler platform would be a better place for the OP. A place with more detailed examples for a simpler interface, might be better.

    Bottom line: Test with a paper account to see how things work, since that is much more informative.
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2022
  3. InHiding

    InHiding

    I know how the "things" work, I read the Fidelity pages which are a 1000 times more on topic. Most of that is applicable everywhere.
     
  4. toby400

    toby400

    Tried to find margin requirement to trade Micro Nasdaq/Micro SP500 from the UK- gave up after doing a fruitless tour of their site !!
     
  5. Overnight

    Overnight

  6. maxinger

    maxinger

    It is not garbage.

    They use very complex, very difficult-to-comprehend English.

    Or perhaps they use Google Translate to translate from simple English to very difficult-to-comprehend English ?!
     
    murray t turtle likes this.
  7. InHiding

    InHiding

    No, it's garbage. The pages are MISSING the most essential information.
     
  8. def

    def Sponsor

    Perhaps you can provide a few examples which may lead to some productive changes. There are KB articles which you can find detail on many subjects but do keep in mind we do offer products on 150 different markets around the world and may miss some things but I think this page is a pretty good start: Browse Our FAQs | Interactive Brokers Hong Kong Limited
     
  9. d0rian

    d0rian

    @def, OP is correct: IB's KB, FAQ, how-to pages are indeed incredibly poor. Far below the standards of what any market participant of your size should tolerate. Here are two specific areas for improvement:

    1) The 'Release Notes' that accompany every new TWS update or version are simply terrible (when they appear online at all, that is). Simply put: every single time TWS or the API software is updated, there needs to be a page explaining what has changed. I've lost track of how many times I've contacted support to ask why some feature no longer works, only to have them respond "oh yeah, we removed/changed that in the last release". I ask where I can read about what changes were made, they poke around for a bit and then come back saying "hm, I guess we didn't create a Release Notes for this version." (Translation: changes are documented nowhere; there's literally nowhere online for users to read what's new or different.) This is software development 101. I understand that you have 3 versions of TWS: Stable, Latest, and Beta. But again: That's. The. Job. Keep a single Release Notes page. And every time any of those versions get updated -- even if it's just a small technical bug fix -- you document it on a Release Notes page.

    2) Your KB pages are rife with links that lead to deprecated versions of the software and APIs. Again: I've spoken with support a dozen or more times about various issues, they've pointed me to a page with relevant information, and I'll send them a link to a different KB page that directly contradicts it. They'll usually respond with "oh yeah, that actually pertains to a prior version; ignore it, and use the page I sent you." OK, all good and well, but you need to actually remove the deprecated pages altogether. I get it: many markets! Many languages! Many websites! Again: That's. The. Job.

    This is fundamental stuff. It's not like IB is, you know, a restaurant with a crummy website -- they're in the good food business; a buggy website isn't great but it's only tangential to their primary offering. You're a discount brokerage whose chief product is customer-facing software. Fixing UX stuff like this should be at the very top of your list of priorities.
     
  10. %%
    MOST of it looks pretty clear, except crypto cr*p;
    and the ''complex leveraged exchange products.....''
     
    #10     Aug 17, 2022