# Website design and forum functionality feedback



## Joe Blow

Looking forward, I need to have a better understanding of what people like in terms of website/forum design and functionality and what they don't.

So, with that in mind I have the following questions:

1. What elements of the current website/forum design do you like and want to see retained in any website redesign? (this can be anything from layout to colour scheme to forum organisation/structure)
2. What do you feel is lacking in the current website/forum design and what would you like to see introduced in any website redesign? (this can be anything from layout to colour scheme to forum organisation/structure)
3. What forum functionality do you use a lot and would like to see retained and/or improved?
4. What functionality or features do you feel is currently missing from ASF and would like to see added in the future?
5. What content would you like to see added to ASF? (This can be anything from indexes, forex rates, news etc.)

Your feedback will help me to plan and implement changes when the forum software is upgraded later this year. The new software will have many new features that are already baked in, but I am interested in anything specific that you would like to see changed or introduced.

If you have strong feelings about this one way or the other, please let me know in this thread. If you see feedback or suggestions by others that you either agree or disagree with please speak up and let me know. This will help me gauge how popular or unpopular certain suggestions are.

Thank you for your assistance.


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## Gringotts Bank

The search functionality could be improved.  It's very hard to find old threads.  That's the only thing I'd like changed.

Whenever you make a decision on something as the boss, you're going to lose some people as a result.  Whatever the decision, some people won't like it.  Had you cut out (or moderated) the general chat earlier, you would have kept TH, Canoz and quite a few other highly knowledgable members.  This type of member is put off by certain types of chat and didn't want to be associated with an un-moderated (or losely moderated) site.  Since you've explained you value* freedom of speech, you would be going against your values to moderate heavily.  If you go against your values, you'll be unhappy, so regardless of whom is hurt by your decision, your values are your values... and it's your site.  So make that decision and live with the consequences of losing certain highly experienced traders/commentators.  Because that _*will *_happen.  The most knowledgable and experienced traders will _tend _to be the most sensitive to harsh or robust general commentary (no judgement; that's just the way it is).

*My question would be, "is freedom of speech a personal value or an anxiety related to loss/compromise... or a bit of both?"

Alternatively, get comortable with moderating people who post material that could be percieved as hurtful to others.  I've made a few hurtful posts I regret and would have been happy if you'd removed them permanantly and immediately.  If you lose people who post a lot of stuff like that, again, that's what decision-making involves.  All decisions involve loss/compromise.  You'll survive and probably thrive as a result of being decisive.

imo.


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## Gringotts Bank

But calling it a day (stopping everything) won't please you or anyone else here - I'm fairly sure of that.  Your decision will have to be a 'best fit' solution, and it won't be perfect.  No business and no person is perfect.  A solid, well-defined business *identity *will make you comfortable and give you renewed vigour, even if it doesn't seem that way now.


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## Joe Blow

Gringotts Bank said:


> The search functionality could be improved.  It's very hard to find old threads.  That's the only thing I'd like changed.




Can you expand on this a little? How exactly would you like to see it improved? Can you tell me a little more about the problems you are having?



Gringotts Bank said:


> Whenever you make a decision on something as the boss, you're going to lose some people as a result.  Whatever the decision, some people won't like it.  Had you cut out (or moderated) the general chat earlier, you would have kept TH, Canoz and quite a few other highly knowledgable members.  This type of member is put off by certain types of chat and didn't want to be associated with an un-moderated (or losely moderated) site.  Since you've explained you value* freedom of speech, you would be going against your values to moderate heavily.  If you go against your values, you'll be unhappy, so regardless of whom is hurt by your decision, your values are your values... and it's your site.  So make that decision and live with the consequences of losing certain highly experienced traders/commentators.  Because that _*will *_happen.  The most knowledgable and experienced traders will _tend _to be the most sensitive to harsh or robust general commentary (no judgement; that's just the way it is).




I accept that moving forward I will have to exercise tighter controls over what is posted. It is easy to fall into the trap of taking the path of least resistance, especially when you do favour robust debate and discussion and value the idea of free speech. Some stuff is just too divisive and disruptive to the community generally. And it's not because I agree with it or endorse it, just that it is really hard to know where to draw the line sometimes when you don't get offended easily.

Also, after a while you start to get tired of the rage directed at you because you moderated someone. Keep in mind that people generally consider being moderated a personal affront and accuse you of bias and even hurl nasty insults. Show me someone who claims to like authority figures and I'll show you someone who doesn't when that authority is exercised against them. It's ironic but that's been my experience.


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## tech/a

*GB*
I applaud you my friend. There are a few here who really care
Fewer who want to get involved on a close level.
But Im sure in the end Joe will come out the other end
much wiser and stronger.

I do agree that Joe has not used his dictatorship as strongly
and as *QUICKLY* as he could have. The site would be very
different had a lot of those who have left were still active.

*Joe you have to draw a line.* You own it---its your line!
It doesn't have to be right for anyone.
The question Id be asking is *"Is this good for my forum?"*

Nurturing valuable people is more important
in my view than finding new people.
The clients you have are your core.


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## Gringotts Bank

Joe Blow said:


> Show me someone who claims to like authority figures and I'll show you someone who doesn't when that authority is exercised against them. It's ironic but that's been my experience.




Yes I agree, they like the authority directed in their favour.  The choice that has to be made is "what type of member do you prefer?".  It's clear the site won't survive catering to both types.  Hard decision, but it has to be a best fit decision, otherwise the difficutlies will continue.  Personally I think it will be easier on you to just cut out the general commentary, even though I enjoy reading and contributing to some of the argy-bargy.  If you took every single comment I've ever made in GC, you won't find much value there - it's usually just me spouting some grievance on a slow trading day.  Your decision will make or break the site, but that's better than sitting on the fence, and you'll be able to sleep at night.

The search feature isn't precise enough.  I want to be able to type a phrase found in a post.


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## Joe Blow

Gringotts Bank said:


> The search feature isn't precise enough.  I want to be able to type a phrase found in a post.




A couple of quick tips:

1. If you are looking for a thread and can remember the title or part of the title, search for the keywords you can remember and click the "Search titles only" box. I use title searches about 80% of the time to find threads.
2. If you are searching for a phrase contained the text of a post, surround the phrase by quotation marks when searching. For example, don't search for global markets, search for "global markets".

Let me know if that improves things.


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## Gringotts Bank

Hope you don't mind all this advice.  One last thing.  Quality decisions can only be made when you're in a good frame of mind, and the tone of your posts tell me that's not the case right now.  A lot of people suggested takng time off, and I reckon that's great advice.  Getting yourself in a happy place will allow you to make the best decision, whatever it is.  As I said, your decision will make or break the site, but that's fine.  It's not a big deal really.


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## Trav.

Just reposting my layout suggestion and removing the SP data as you explained the price implications.

I think the key thing I am picking up from a few of the guys is that some are only interested in Fundamental and others TA. Separating the threads allows for people to focus on areas that they are interested. Also the announcements in particularly price sensitive should have there own threads.


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## Joe Blow

Gringotts Bank said:


> Hope you don't mind all this advice.




Am happy to take everything on board. Ultimately, if you don't understand what people want or expect, there will always be a disconnect. Better to know than not to know.



Trav. said:


> Just reposting my layout suggestion and removing the SP data as you explained the price implications.
> 
> I think the key thing I am picking up from a few of the guys is that some are only interested in Fundamental and others TA. Separating the threads allows for people to focus on areas that they are interested. Also the announcements in particularly price sensitive should have there own threads.




Trav, that's very ambitious and a fundamental change in the way threads are structured. I'd be interested in what other think of such an idea. I know HC do something similar with tabs: Discussion, Company Information, Announcements etc.

I think the thing that may end up making it difficult it simply the amount of custom coding that would be required. I will investigate what existing plugins are available in any case. I certainly appreciate the detailed suggestion and would be interested in what others think.


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## Joe Blow

tech/a said:


> I do agree that Joe has not used his dictatorship as strongly
> and as *QUICKLY* as he could have. The site would be very
> different had a lot of those who have left were still active.
> 
> *Joe you have to draw a line.* You own it---its your line!
> It doesn't have to be right for anyone.
> The question Id be asking is *"Is this good for my forum?"*
> 
> Nurturing valuable people is more important
> in my view than finding new people.
> The clients you have are your core.




I'll admit it, I'm a terrible dictator. And not terrible like Ivan the Terrible.

If ASF was a country and I was dictator, I would have been toppled and executed a long time ago.

I'll see what I can do about developing a bit more of an iron fist.


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## Gringotts Bank

You could attract quality TA traders by allowing members to set up subscription threads and sell their buys/sells in real time.  I'd be very keen to piggyback modest or minwa's trades, for example.


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## galumay

I think you have to decide what you want, implement it and then moderate strongly. The design and functionality is fine as is. In my experience the successful forums have zero tolerance for breaches of the rules, give people a warning, articulate whats acceptable, if they persist in breaching, wield the ban hammer!


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## Joe Blow

Gringotts Bank said:


> You could attract quality TA traders by allowing members to set up subscription threads and sell their buys/sells in real time.  I'd be very keen to piggyback modest or minwa's trades, for example.




@Modest? @minwa? You guys in? Big bucks to be made. 

Seriously though, I think you'd probably need to be licensed to do that.



galumay said:


> I think you have to decide what you want, implement it and then moderate strongly. The design and functionality is fine as is. In my experience the successful forums have zero tolerance for breaches of the rules, give people a warning, articulate whats acceptable, if they persist in breaching, wield the ban hammer!




I understand what you saying galumay. Standards are important, so are limits. So it becomes a question of where you draw the line. The difficulty for me personally is that I don't enjoy authoritarian environments. I don't like communities where people are afraid to speak because the rules are so strict that it feels like a police state with authority figures waiting to pounce. I wouldn't want to be a member of a community like that and I certainly wouldn't want to be in control of one that operated like that.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that is what you're proposing. I'm just explaining that I prefer a more relaxed, slightly looser feel. I don't like obscenities. I don't like name calling or personal attacks. I don't like trolls, and I have no time for spammers. I want people to treat others with respect. Those are my standards. This place is at its best when people are sharing their knowledge freely and engaging in discussion and debate in a constructive, co-operative way. That is what I'd like to see here at ASF. That's my idea of an ideal community. Nothing is perfect of course, but that is what we should strive for in my opinion.

And there should always be plenty of good humour and lightheartedness.  I want everyone to have a bit of fun and enjoy themselves. Let's not take life too seriously.


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## Garpal Gumnut

Joe Blow said:


> @Modest? @minwa? You guys in? Big bucks to be made.
> 
> Seriously though, I think you'd probably need to be licensed to do that.
> 
> 
> 
> I understand what you saying galumay. Standards are important, so are limits. So it becomes a question of where you draw the line. The difficulty for me personally is that I don't enjoy authoritarian environments. I don't like communities where people are afraid to speak because the rules are so strict that it feels like a police state with authority figures waiting to pounce. I wouldn't want to be a member of a community like that and I certainly wouldn't want to be in control of one that operated like that.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that is what you're proposing. I'm just explaining that I prefer a more relaxed, slightly looser feel. I don't like obscenities. I don't like name calling or personal attacks. I don't like trolls, and I have no time for spammers. I want people to treat others with respect. Those are my standards. This place is at its best when people are sharing their knowledge freely and engaging in discussion and debate in a constructive, co-operative way. That is what I'd like to see here at ASF. That's my idea of an ideal community. Nothing is perfect of course, but that is what we should strive for in my opinion.
> 
> And there should always be plenty of good humour and lightheartedness.  I want everyone to have a bit of fun and enjoy themselves. Let's not take life too seriously.




Well said @Joe Blow . 

Some strategic publication of your present legal difficulties with a sympathetic press and the fine tuning of of the present format is all I can suggest atm. 

Onward and upwards in the face of adversity.

gg


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## Zaxon

On the whole, I like how the forums are set out now.  Here are a few "keep it the same" and "change it a little", and even some more fanciful recommendations.

*Keep it the same:*

Keep the way you handle in-post attachments the same in future.  There's nothing like seeing a graph right there in someone's post, and your current sizing seems perfect.
Keep the "like" system.  It's nice to be able to give someone a like when they've posted something that resonates with you.
Keep General Chat hidden.  The board has become a much friendlier place with that tucked out of sight.

Keep the same or similar forum structure.  I think it's largely, logically and well structured.
Keep the forum theme the same (or similar).  Everything looks OK already.
Keep the avatars prominent.  That picture becomes the "face" of the person who posted.  You very quickly start to recognize people by their avatars, and I greatly miss that on other forums where they aren't used, or where the avatars are less prominent.
*Improvements:*

Allow any-time edits.  Perhaps you're trying to preserve the "integrity" of posts.  I understand that.  But nothing annoys me more than seeing a spelling mistake I've made, or a sentence I should have added to clarify my original post, and I'm blocked from editing the post because 'x' minutes have passed.  Reddit, Facebook comments, Youtube comments etc, allow you to edit anytime.
Allow any-time deletes.  Perhaps you posted something at 3 am, when you were tired/drunk.  The next morning, you wake up and think, "What a stupid post that was.  That really needs to be deleted."  But alas, it's now set in stone. Allow threads (by the OP) and individual posts (replies) to be deletable by their poster, anytime.
Step up your moderation a bit.  Rules like "be civil and don't attack other people" seem not to be enforced here (although more a General Chat issue).  Personal attacks will make people leave permanently.
Remove the Sentiment "star system" of rating each individual stock.  Virtually nobody uses it anyway, and so when you do see it, it looks a bit odd.
Have a text field where you can enter the reason "why", when you put someone on ignore.  Six months down the track, I've forgotten who's ignored for what.  A text field in your ignore list would remind you of whom you want to ignore for life, and of whom you're giving a temporary "time out".
If you click on "show ignored messages", that status should stay on for the whole thread.  You shouldn't have to reclick it when you go to the next page.

Be able to temporarily turn on/off ignored posts globally.  Sometimes you're not in the mood for trash talk.  Other times you're feeling charitable and will read anything.  Click a link to toggle a global status, and have that remembered.
*Creative suggestions:*

I have no idea if this is even possible, but here goes. There are many threads with brilliant, well written, high quality posts.  It would be nice if there was a new type of thread called an "article". Perhaps they'd have a special icon.  Somehow the format would appear different, and more like an article. People could comment on the article in posts below.  This would encourage people to do well researched, "articles" that people could refer back to.  Note: pinning isn't this concept.  I'm trying to somehow distinguish regular chat threads from posts which are deliberately written as "works of art".
There are some amazing threads.  The original poster did a good job.  Amazing posts follow.  But then some people get in the thread and start an argument, or start posting a whole lot of unrelated content to the actual thread.  It would be nice if the original poster had a way of minimizing these, to preserve the flow of the thread.  Perhaps they appear "collapsed" by default, and you'd need to click into them to read them.
Have other ways of sorting threads.  Currently they're sorted by date-time, but perhaps you could also have an option of sorting them by a "quality score" or "similar to other posts I've read" score.  I live in a "Netflix" world.  The posts I'm most likely to read should somehow bubble to the top.
Have a thread in a reply-based, tree structure (like reddit), where you can just collapse a sub-tree. This allows you to skip parts of the thread you're not interested in.  This requires allowing people to reply to a specific post in the thread, and using that to form the tree structure.  Facebook has this to a limited extent too.  Reddit has it  perfected.
Have an "OP" (original poster) tag on his posts.  Particularly if the thread was started with a specific question, it's useful on page 46 to have the OPs posts distinguished from other people's posts.
I realize that some of my suggestions are very forum software specific.  But hey, you asked for suggestions, and many of my ideas are actually in use on other forums I use.


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## Skate

Zaxon said:


> On the whole, I like how the forums are set out now.  Here are a few "keep it the same" and "change it a little", and even some more fanciful recommendations.
> 
> *Keep it the same:*
> 
> Keep the way you handle in-post attachments the same in future.  There's nothing like seeing a graph right there in someone's post, and your current sizing seems perfect.
> Keep the "like" system.  It's nice to be able to give someone a like when they've posted something that resonates with you.
> Keep General Chat hidden.  The board has become a much friendlier place with that tucked out of sight.
> 
> Keep the same or similar forum structure.  I think it's largely, logically and well structured.
> Keep the forum theme the same (or similar).  Everything looks OK already.
> Keep the avatars prominent.  That picture becomes the "face" of the person who posted.  You very quickly start to recognize people by their avatars, and I greatly miss that on other forums where they aren't used, or where the avatars are less prominent.
> *Improvements:*
> 
> Allow any-time edits.  Perhaps you're trying to preserve the "integrity" of posts.  I understand that.  But nothing annoys me more than seeing a spelling mistake I've made, or a sentence I should have added to clarify my original post, and I'm blocked from editing the post because 'x' minutes have passed.  Reddit, Facebook comments, Youtube comments etc, allow you to edit anytime.
> Allow any-time deletes.  Perhaps you posted something at 3 am, when you were tired/drunk.  The next morning, you wake up and think, "What a stupid post that was.  That really needs to be deleted."  But alas, it's now set in stone. Allow threads (by the OP) and individual posts (replies) to be deletable by their poster, anytime.
> Step up your moderation a bit.  Rules like "be civil and don't attack other people" seem not to be enforced here (although more a General Chat issue).  Personal attacks will make people leave permanently.
> Remove the Sentiment "star system" of rating each individual stock.  Virtually nobody uses it anyway, and so when you do see it, it looks a bit odd.
> Have a text field where you can enter the reason "why", when you put someone on ignore.  Six months down the track, I've forgotten who's ignored for what.  A text field in your ignore list would remind you of whom you want to ignore for life, and of whom you're giving a temporary "time out".
> If you click on "show ignored messages", that status should stay on for the whole thread.  You shouldn't have to reclick it when you go to the next page.
> 
> Be able to temporarily turn on/off ignored posts globally.  Sometimes you're not in the mood for trash talk.  Other times you're feeling charitable and will read anything.  Click a link to toggle a global status, and have that remembered.
> *Creative suggestions:*
> 
> I have no idea if this is even possible, but here goes. There are many threads with brilliant, well written, high quality posts.  It would be nice if there was a new type of thread called an "article". Perhaps they'd have a special icon.  Somehow the format would appear different, and more like an article. People could comment on the article in posts below.  This would encourage people to do well researched, "articles" that people could refer back to.  Note: pinning isn't this concept.  I'm trying to somehow distinguish regular chat threads from posts which are deliberately written as "works of art".
> There are some amazing threads.  The original poster did a good job.  Amazing posts follow.  But then some people get in the thread and start an argument, or start posting a whole lot of unrelated content to the actual thread.  It would be nice if the original poster had a way of minimizing these, to preserve the flow of the thread.  Perhaps they appear "collapsed" by default, and you'd need to click into them to read them.
> Have other ways of sorting threads.  Currently they're sorted by date-time, but perhaps you could also have an option of sorting them by a "quality score" or "similar to other posts I've read" score.  I live in a "Netflix" world.  The posts I'm most likely to read should somehow bubble to the top.
> Have a thread in a reply-based, tree structure (like reddit), where you can just collapse a sub-tree. This allows you to skip parts of the thread you're not interested in.  This requires allowing people to reply to a specific post in the thread, and using that to form the tree structure.  Facebook has this to a limited extent too.  Reddit has it  perfected.
> Have an "OP" (original poster) tag on his posts.  Particularly if the thread was started with a specific question, it's useful on page 46 to have the OPs posts distinguished from other people's posts.
> I realize that some of my suggestions are very forum software specific.  But hey, you asked for suggestions, and many of my ideas are actually in use on other forums I use.




@Zaxon you nailed it.

Skate.


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## Joe Blow

Zaxon said:


> On the whole, I like how the forums are set out now.  Here are a few "keep it the same" and "change it a little", and even some more fanciful recommendations.




Some good suggestions there Zaxon. Lots of food for thought. Thanks for your efforts in putting them all together.

Some, like having the OP tagged, are relatively simple and that is something that I will implement immediately after having upgraded.

Others, like having any-time edits and post deletes, I have fundamental objections to. ASF exists as a resource because of the integrity of its content. Having any-time edits and post deletes allows people not only to rip entire pages out the ASF book but to rewrite it at a later date, potentially making valuable discussions unintelligible. I think that is an unacceptable risk. If it is just a matter of spelling errors or wishing to add content at a later date I have what I believe are better solutions:

1. Proofreading. Before you submit a post, proofread it. After you submit a post, proofread it again. Make any changes. Then proofread it again. Make any final adjustments. Then proofread it one final time to ensure that it exists in the form that you would like it to stay in.
2. If you would like to add additional information after the post edit time limit has expired, quote the relevant parts of your own post and reply to them. This is just as effective as editing the original post.
3. If there is still an issue with a post and you really want it adjusted I can make any minor changes.
4. If you want a post deleted, contact me. I can do it. Keep in mind that if others have quoted your deleted post, those posts will have to be removed too in order for the thread to flow in a logical, intelligible way.

I think half an hour is an adequate amount of time for posts to be finalised. The risk with extending it beyond that is people will often quote posts quickly after they have been posted. To have a quoted post that is different from the original post creates confusion and difficulty for those reading the thread at a later date.

I hope you understand my reasons. As always, I would be interested in hearing what others think of this suggestion, along with all the others you have made. It is useful when others agree or disagree with suggestions or feedback and explain why. This helps me better understand what people want or don't want and why.

This post has been proofread multiple times.


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## lindsayf

Joe Blow said:


> I'll admit it, I'm a terrible dictator. And not terrible like Ivan the Terrible.
> 
> If ASF was a country and I was dictator, I would have been toppled and executed a long time ago.
> 
> I'll see what I can do about developing a bit more of an iron fist.




Just re this.  If there is clear infringement of the behavioural 'code of ethics' or the general values that you want to support/promote on your forum then coming down on someone to 'enforce' that is perfectly fine as far as I am concerned - nor should it create doubt or angst in yourself for doing it.  But I get that  that is easier said than done for many of us.  However - not doing that allows too many unenforced breaches and boundary excursions that muddies the flavour of the place...and that in itself will see the wrong people being more involved.  I am a (relatively inactive) member at futures.io...it is a very well moderated site and there are clear behavioural and community focussed expectations.  If they are repeatedly breached ( and people are given warnings) - that person is gone..with explanation but without apology.  Mike is clear and firm and the site is better for that.  He also has a good team of moderators that also do a good job.


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## sptrawler

I agree with you Joe, on the proof reading, I re read and re write my posts often after I have posted it and then re read it again and I still stuff it up.
However as you say, the general thrust and flow of the thread would be completely lost, if parts were removed or changed at a later date.
As Zaxon says, it would be great if certain threads could take prominence, as there is a wealth of information in some of them. But I assume this would be difficult to implement, also the threads I find informative and interesting and, may not be the same as the next person.
But on a general note, I find the forum is well set out and functional and generally operates well.
Since your server move the site does hang up a lot, but I assume that is out of your control.
Moderation is your domain and responsibility and the posters are generally civil, but I think a P.M to those who get a bit out of control wouldn't go astray. 
To me banter is fine, I actually enjoy it, but some are obviously only on the site to be disruptive and add nothing of value, be that in a banter, investment or general discussion sense. Thankfully you have the ignore function, which I have used one since joining the form, so it isn't a huge issue IMO.
All in all Joe, you have a pretty good site, that I'm sure it will improve now people know your a bit more about your ethos and can pm you with suggestions and feedback.
Keep up the terrific work, it is greatly appreciated IMO. 
One thought that just hit me, could you put a 5 minute delay on posts going live, so that when you have time to fix them before they show on the forum.


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## Joe Blow

sptrawler said:


> As Zaxon says, it would be great if certain threads could take prominence, as there is a wealth of information in some of them. But I assume this would be difficult to implement, also the threads I find informative and interesting and, may not be the same as the next person.




I think highlighting especially useful or valuable threads and making them easy to find is a good idea. I am looking into solutions for this.



sptrawler said:


> Since your server move the site does hang up a lot, but I assume that is out of your control.




ASF has been under attack for several weeks. I have been doing my best to mitigate these attacks and they should have slowed down in the last day or so.



sptrawler said:


> One thought that just hit me, could you put a 5 minute delay on posts going live, so that when you have time to fix them before they show on the forum.




Not sure this is feasible but I'll check. In any case, I recommend proofreading and making corrections immediately after posting.


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## SirRumpole

I don't agree with post editing either.

In some cases it's a matter of people getting "attacked" for something they said, then altering a post to pretend they didn't really say it, which makes all the replies to the original post seem meaningless and confused.


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## IFocus

Hi Joe, reading through all the discussion  those sayings "trying to be all things to all people" and "trying to herd cats" comes to mind and how to stay sane make money at the same time?

I think you can actually achieve all..........not sure about the sane bit, if you were sane would you be doing this?  

General chat seems to upset a large enough number of people, strangely I have always found many that have been offended were themselves very blunt and hardly diplomats but lets try and stay clear of the psychology.

But clearly most do not want to have to contend with these issues in their own lives never mind on a trading forum if everyone did we would have a better political system / discourse etc....but lets not go there either 

I would suggest you retain the religious, political, social any other topics that get contentious (there is clearly a population for them)  and park them in an area called the vault or lunatic asylum or basement, what ever, some title that gives a clear warning as to what lies within and keep it off the main page.
Maybe have a tab for members for easy access if hard not a biggie.
Have a header saying don't enter if you are offended by bla bla bla 
Header also clearly says normal rules still apply....be nice or else your out.

Keep general chat on the front page for every thing else nice and gentle if a thread starts to spiral.....cast it into the vault.

Of course you are going to get the odd lunatic for which is where I would suggest you get your dictators hat on and deal with but for moderation I would suggest not getting too involved in bun fights save your energy and cast the problem out of sight into the vault. 

To be honest the behaviour on this site is by far of a higher standard than any other that I am aware of of course largely driven by the quality of the posters.


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## SirRumpole

A lot of times I go into a bookstore looking for a book on Applied Stock Market Technical Analysis, have a browse, find something else I like and come out with that as well (or instead of) the book I was looking for.

So, if you want to appeal to a particular customer then only stock books that would appeal to that type of customer, and take the chance that those sort of customers will stay interested in that topic, (which from your own research Joe you say isn't happening).

But if you want to keep customers flowing then have something of interest for a wide range of people (not suggesting pr0n, you don't want people in grubby raincoats in your shop), and sort the books by subject so that people not interested in particular books don't have to go into that particular section. (It still beats me why people complain about having travel sections in bookstores just because they never go anywhere).

Then find a way to financially benefit by everyone who comes into your store, not just the ones who want to buy books that your sponsors pay you to sell. Or maybe get sponsors for other areas in your store, like travel, sport, motor mechanics whatever.

People may well get interested in investing after coming here for something else and become valued members of the site. The quality of the posts here and civility of the posters are a great drawcard for you.

Point is that I think that if you stick to one subject that may be dear to your heart but appeals to a diminishing audience then you may go down the gurgler with a warm feeling inside  of having fought a good fight, but you will go down.

There comes a time to decide whether you want a hobby or a business. Sometimes they dovetail together, at other times they self destruct each other.

Hope I'm not out of line saying this.


----------



## barney

Joe Blow said:


> Others, like having any-time edits and post deletes, I have fundamental objections to.




Just a quick question on this Joe ….. 

If someone contacted you (an hour/day/whatever time) after a post had been submitted and wanted to edit/change/ possibly delete if appropriate ….. 

Assuming you thought the changes were in the best interest of the Forum, you could personally do this yes??   Would you mind if people contacted you to do that?

That way you retain the final say

I recall many years ago I posted a picture which for some reason came up huge in display. By the time I realized how it looked, my edit period had expired ….. I recall it was just a bit of mucking around in response to one of Trembling Hand's posts … but it was way out of context and had a totally wrong vibe to how it was intended … I was glad when the Thread finally completed a couple more pages so it was off screen 

So the essence of all that babble is … I think there is a call for some post deletion if you approve


----------



## Joe Blow

I'm not going to attempt to reply to the specifics of the last two posts (barney's arrived after I started this post) or I'll be here all day, but I do want to make some brief general observations.

I have noticed an improvement in the mood here since General Chat has been swept under the carpet. The problem with General Chat is the tone of the discussion that it generates. It is acrimonious, it is bitter, and it is filled with bile. Of course, I am speaking specifically of the political and religious threads. The bottom line is that it was affecting the tone and the mood of the entire forum. It is clear to me that political and religious discussions are unable to be conducted in a dispassionate and reasonable way. Too many people get too angry and emotional about these topics.

ASF must stay focused on financial markets. I realise that now. Allowing General Chat to dominate was a mistake. The focus must remain clear and unambiguous. There is no future for ASF as a General Chat forum. General Chat can continue, but it must remain out of sight by default. There is no other way to move forward. When I upgrade the forum software, I will find a way to make it visible in the New Posts searches to those who want it there, but it will be filtered out by default for all users.

If there are people here who have absolutely no interest in financial markets or investing, you are at the wrong website.

As for pleasing everyone, yes it is impossible. Everyone here wants something different. And yes, I mean *everyone*. And every single one of those people believes that what they think ASF should be is the ideal incarnation of ASF. Trying to please everyone is a recipe for endless frustration and mental anguish. I have to accept that it is a fruitless endeavour. All I can do is listen and try and make decisions based on feedback and suggestions that I think will benefit the community overall. That's the bottom line. ASF cannot be all things to all people.


----------



## Joe Blow

barney said:


> Just a quick question on this Joe …..
> 
> If someone contacted you (an hour/day/whatever time) after a post had been submitted and wanted to edit/change/ possibly delete if appropriate …..
> 
> Assuming you thought the changes were in the best interest of the Forum, you could personally do this yes??   Would you mind if people contacted you to do that?
> 
> That way you retain the final say




I don't mind doing this. I do it on request and have no problem with it if I believe it is being requested for genuine reasons. 

However, post alterations are not requested often, maybe once a month at most. Mostly people want formatting errors corrected or attachments removed when they have been posted more than once by mistake. That sort of stuff. I am more than happy to assist with issues like that.


----------



## SirRumpole

Joe,

As far as I'm concerned you can delete any threads in General Chat that are full of bile as you say, and moderate any posts that are acrimonious or disrespectful. Religion and SSM have had their run anyway, and I can't see many other threads that fall into the bile bucket anyway.

If people are continually disrespectful to others it should be publicly pointed out to them.

But politics like it or not is important. Politicians run the world, their decisions affect the financial markets more than any other factor. Would we have had the financial wobbles recently without Trump's trade war with China ? Should we omit politics from discussions even it affects financial markets ? What about interesting and respectful threads like Electric Cars, and the Energy Generation and Storage threads. Is there a more appropriate area to discuss these that may or may not affect people's decisions to invest in Elco's or EV makers ?

There are a lot of other GC threads that have investment impacts, even the veganism thread. What about the potential loss of income for meat producers and potential gains for non meat producers ?

If you would care to ban religion or other social topics entirely that's great, but bagging GC for the sake of a couple of over heated topics seems a bit of an overkill.

respectfully yours,
SR.


----------



## sptrawler

With general chat, I wonder if a filter like it can only be accessed after x amount of posts, so the person is already committed to ASF before knowing general chat exists?
Just a thought I have seen this on another forum.


----------



## Skate

lindsayf said:


> Just re this.  If there is clear infringement of the behavioural 'code of ethics' or the general values that you want to support/promote on your forum then coming down on someone to 'enforce' that is perfectly fine as far as I am concerned - nor should it create doubt or angst in yourself for doing it.  But I get that  that is easier said than done for many of us.  However - not doing that allows too many unenforced breaches and boundary excursions that muddies the flavour of the place...and that in itself will see the wrong people being more involved.  I am a (relatively inactive) member at futures.io...it is a very well moderated site and there are clear behavioural and community focussed expectations.  If they are repeatedly breached ( and people are given warnings) - that person is gone..with explanation but without apology.  Mike is clear and firm and the site is better for that.  He also has a good team of moderators that also do a good job.




@lindsayf thank you for your post & it's a perfect time to restate the rules when posting in the 'Dump it here' thread. @Joe Blow, my basic rule template can be improved as sometimes it's hard to comply when you are emotive about the subject being discussed. It's a fine line reminding others of what is expected to maintain a friendly atmosphere as some take it as personal criticism rather than a reminder of the rules. (posted as feedback)

*Timely reminder*
Abuse, insults and personal attacks directed at other people are unacceptable in the "Dump it here' thread, I'm not policing the thread but it pays to remember that everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Please think before you reply to a post.

*THINK
T* - is it *true*?
*H* - is it *helpful*?
*I* - is it *inspiring*?
*N* - is it *necessary*?
*K* - is it *kind*?

*The 'Dump it here' thread rules*
Members who post in the thread knows the rules - but it's worth repeating.

*Opinions are welcomed*
We shouldn't ridicule or challenge posters as it serves no purpose, it's like masturbating in public, it may feel good to you, but it looks disgusting to everyone else and it just makes the other person work harder to find ways to disagree with you.

*Being right or wrong*
Whether your view is right or wrong isn't important, what's more important, the 'Dump it here' thread gives you the ability to express your views without being ridiculed or challenged.

*Experience*
Every member enjoys a different level of experience & expertise, there is never a reason to display your level of knowledge by making others feel inferior.

*Alternative view*
If you disagree with someone rather than argue the merits of their points, post an alternative view, you don't have to belittle members to get your point across. Play the "the point" not the "person"

*Never react to a post but respond* (Responding will give you time to think)
(1) Consider the context of what you are saying, put yourself in their shoes, try to understand their point of view.
*(2)* *Consider if your post adds value* to the discussion.
*(3)* When expressing an alternative view, start off by saying “In my opinion …” and try to *focus on the issues* rather than person.
(4) We are all wordsmiths to some degree & it's easy to incite an emotional, knee-jerk response, creating an emotional outburst.

*Friendly atmosphere*
Such posts that incite emotional responses tend to undermine the friendly atmosphere often resulting in long running feuds creating factional loyalty to one side or the other.

*Hard to detect
"Offending a member is hard to detect"* However, some members tend to follow patterns of behaviour, posting to invoke an emotional response, never answering questions directly to justify their position but they "always demand documentary evidence" from others to support their assertions, while offering none in return.

*# We all deserve a measured response not the alternative.*

*How to ask a good question*
(a) Ask a detailed question & you will get a detailed response.
(b) Ask a one liner, it deserves a one liner response.

*Don't ask one liners*
Most member ask questions as one liner, (not all but some) & sometimes their responses are the same, it's unhelpful.

*It takes time*
It takes a lot of time & effort to give a measured response so all I'm asking if you have a question detail it precisely, let me understand why you don't understand as playing tennis with others is tiresome, boring & more importantly it waste our time.

*Repeating*
Some members tend to follow patterns of behaviour, posting to invoke an emotional response, never answering questions directly to justify their position but they "always demand documentary evidence" from others to support their assertions, while offering none in return.

Please don't let that be you.

Skate.


----------



## Joe Blow

SirRumpole said:


> As far as I'm concerned you can delete any threads in General Chat that are full of bile as you say, and moderate any posts that are acrimonious or disrespectful. Religion and SSM have had their run anyway, and I can't see many other threads that fall into the bile bucket anyway.




You can add global warming/climate change to the bile bucket, along with any topic on immigration.



SirRumpole said:


> If people are continually disrespectful to others it should be publicly pointed out to them.




Agreed. But I don't think the disrespect will ever disappear and I don't want to be separating angry partisans all day. Political and religious threads attract angry people looking to vent. They're angry and they're going to let everyone else know. Not everyone is like this, but enough are to make it unpleasant enough to affect the entire mood of ASF.



SirRumpole said:


> But politics like it or not is important. Politicians run the world, their decisions affect the financial markets more than any other factor. Would we have had the financial wobbles recently without Trump's trade war with China ? Should we omit politics from discussions even it affects financial markets ? What about interesting and respectful threads like Electric Cars, and the Energy Generation and Storage threads. Is there a more appropriate area to discuss these that may or may not affect people's decisions to invest in Elco's or EV makers ?
> 
> There are a lot of other GC threads that have investment impacts, even the veganism thread. What about the potential loss of income for meat producers and potential gains for non meat producers ?
> 
> If you would care to ban religion or other social topics entirely that's great, but bagging GC for the sake of a couple of over heated topics seems a bit of an overkill.




I agree, but all of these topics can be framed in such a way as to be included in the Business, Investment and Economics forum. You have just done it. There are threads on Trump and the Trade War that exist now but people would rather talk about left vs. right than the actual economic implications. Most people don't want to talk about the trade war between the U.S. and China, they want to talk about Trump as a politician and how it's great that he's sticking it to the lefties or other such partisan stuff.

Politics is primarily tribal. So is religion. People choose their tribe and then fight for their tribe. They go to war with the other tribe. That is exactly what happens to politics thread in General Chat. It is mostly partisan talking points repeated ad nauseum with increasingly strident and ugly clashes between members of the partisan tribes. Left vs. right for the umpteenth time with the same arguments repeated over and over again. I'm not against it, I believe in free speech. The only thing that has changed is its visibility. I just don't want it to dominate ASF anymore. When 80% of the threads in New Posts are General Chat threads it damages the viability of ASF which is supposed to be a community focused on financial markets.

I think the question needs to be asked, why has discussion died down in General Chat? Even now, people can start new threads and post in whatever political or religious threads they like. Everyone knows where it is. I think that interest declines when the dogmatists don't have a megaphone and visibility is that megaphone. Take the megaphone away and some people lose interest.

You're one of the reasonable ones and it does bother me a little that I have had to make a decision that disappoints those who have done nothing wrong. If you can hang on for a couple of months I will restore the visibility of General Chat for those who want it in New Posts searches. I intend to move ahead with the forum software upgrade soon and will introduce it before the end of October at the latest. One of the first things I will do is find a solution to allow people who want to see the General Chat threads in New Posts searches to be able to do so. This is the best I can do and I think it is a reasonable compromise.


----------



## SirRumpole

I'm not particularly disappointed that GC is off "Recent Posts".

I can still watch it and get alerts so that's good enough for me.


----------



## macca

I agree that it is not reasonable to allow the OP to edit opening post indefinitely as it screws up the whole thread but is it possible to allow the OP to add a note to the OP as a PS: "see post 123 for an edit to my thoughts"

Anyone reading the OP would then be aware that more info is available at post 123


----------



## Joe Blow

macca said:


> I agree that it is not reasonable to allow the OP to edit opening post indefinitely as it screws up the whole thread but is it possible to allow the OP to add a note to the OP as a PS: "see post 123 for an edit to my thoughts"
> 
> Anyone reading the OP would then be aware that more info is available at post 123




I've added these kind of notes before and am happy to continue to do so if required. I will check if there is a way for the OP (or any poster really) to do it themselves.


----------



## barney

Joe Blow said:


> I don't mind doing this. I do it on request and have no problem with it if I believe it is being requested for genuine reasons.




I thought that would be the case …… Problem solved … although I don't think there was a problem

Now, if only I could find that picture so you could shrink (slash remove) it lol


----------



## barney

SirRumpole said:


> I'm not particularly disappointed that GC is off "Recent Posts".




Ok, so here's one of my random ideas … (I get one every few weeks) …… (My Doc says medication may fix it) … If anyone has already suggested it, I am now plagiarizing your work … and my apologies.

Anyway, regarding General Threads which may be causing (or perceived to have the potential to create) angst between some of those sharing said thread/s …. 

@Joe Blow  Is it possible to create/isolate a single thread which REQUIRES those who wish to participate (whether watching or posting)  …. the need to "register" their username to gain access to that thread, 

and then …… (wait for it)

The contents of that thread be *only visible to those registered* (and Joe/a moderator of course)

The general surfing public and Members not registered/interested in the subject matter … see *nothing but a Heading*  Any angst and bickering can be done in private between "interested" parties with no superfluous negativity visible on the Forum proper  ….. ??


----------



## Gringotts Bank

Joe Blow said:


> I don't like obscenities. I don't like name calling or personal attacks. I don't like trolls, and I have no time for spammers. I want people to treat others with respect.[B] Those are my standards.[/B]






Standards!  Good stuff.  This is very different to a previous statement which was along the lines of "nothing really bothers me", which I don't think was true.  Knowing what you like and don't like builds *identity *which can now be used to *shape *your new look site.  It will be what you want, and it will exclude or minimize what you don't want.  I often use harsh language in my posts, and if it means I now get moderated, that's my problem.

Also, if you don't want thugs beating down your door, there are options other than leaving such posts up on ASF.  If you felt very strongly about preventing financial scams, you could use other anonymous means to achieve that goal and keep it entirely separate from ASF.  The scammers can go and chase their tails rather than you.  I wouldn't have a bar of that sort of thing.


----------



## SirRumpole

barney said:


> The contents of that thread be *only visible to those registered* (and Joe/a moderator of course)
> 
> The general surfing public and Members not registered/interested in the subject matter … see *nothing but a Heading* Any angst and bickering can be done in private between "interested" parties with no superfluous negativity visible on the Forum proper ….. ??




Not a bad idea.


----------



## barney

SirRumpole said:


> Not a bad idea.




Thanks Rumpy ….. You have a few yourself


----------



## Zaxon

barney said:


> Is it possible to create/isolate a single thread which REQUIRES those who wish to participate (whether watching or posting)  …. the need to "register" their username to gain access to that thread,
> The contents of that thread be *only visible to those registered* (and Joe/a moderator of course)



I feel this goes against the objectives Joe has laid out.  Joe's "stated problem" is trying to attract more traffic to the board.  Locking things away in secret threads (not indexed by Google) doesn't achieve that for him.  And ultimately, we want to create a happy environment where people feel welcome and treat each other with respect.  If people feel the need to have a secret fight, I'd suggest ASF isn't the place where that should take place.


----------



## sptrawler

Zaxon said:


> I feel this goes against the objectives Joe has laid out.  Joe's "stated problem" is trying to attract more traffic to the board.  Locking things away in secret threads (not indexed by Google) doesn't achieve that for him.  And ultimately, we want to create a happy environment where people feel welcome and treat each other with respect.  If people feel the need to have a secret fight, I'd suggest ASF isn't the place where that should take place.




I agree with you Zaxon, there already is a members only area, to add another level we may as well become a sub branch of the Freemasons.


----------



## Joe Blow

barney said:


> @Joe Blow  Is it possible to create/isolate a single thread which REQUIRES those who wish to participate (whether watching or posting)  …. the need to "register" their username to gain access to that thread,
> 
> and then …… (wait for it)
> 
> The contents of that thread be *only visible to those registered* (and Joe/a moderator of course)
> 
> The general surfing public and Members not registered/interested in the subject matter … see *nothing but a Heading*  Any angst and bickering can be done in private between "interested" parties with no superfluous negativity visible on the Forum proper  ….. ??




All permissions are user group based. Let me explain. Everyone here belongs to a user group. Most people are "Registered", I am "Administrator", those who are unregistered but visit anyway are "Unregistered". I give those user groups certain permissions to do things. "Registered" users can post, use the search, edit their posts for 30 minutes, view the threads in the "Members Only" forum, stuff like that.

There are no thread level permissions except for giving or not giving permission for certain user groups to view threads in certain forums. So in short it is not possible to exclude people from certain threads unless they do not have permission to view the forum that thread is in.

I hope that makes sense.



Zaxon said:


> Joe's "stated problem" is trying to attract more traffic to the board.




Yes, more traffic, more registrations and more posts. And people being nice to each other. That will solve all our problems. Sounds so simple but apparently it's damn near impossible to have all four.

ASF could be transformed overnight if we all worked together for a common purpose, but apparently it is not to be. There is no common purpose, only individual agendas.



Zaxon said:


> Locking things away in secret threads (not indexed by Google) doesn't achieve that for him.  And ultimately, we want to create a happy environment where people feel welcome and treat each other with respect.  If people feel the need to have a secret fight, I'd suggest ASF isn't the place where that should take place.




The Members Only forum isn't indexed by Google as it's for ASF Members Only but there's not many threads in there. I created it at the request of certain members who wanted to have their content visible only by members which I understand.


----------



## Garpal Gumnut

You could use the recent litigation and physical threats to your advantage if you can get an MSM outlet such as Fairfax, News Ltd. or one of the Commercial channels 7, 9 on side as advocates. 

Even Alan Jones !!!

gg


----------



## barney

Zaxon said:


> If people feel the need to have a secret fight, I'd suggest ASF isn't the place where that should take place.




I'm sure you won't be surprised that I agree with that Zaxon …

On the flipside …  Thread "fights" often develop "after the fact" so to speak …

Purely thinking out aloud here for the possible improvement of the site for all … and on a similar tack to my previous "brainwave" lol 

I accept, and think its fair to say that some people like to argue??  I have no evidence to support my thoughts, but I suspect people who regularly "argue passionately" are often quite intelligent.  Whether we agree with their point of view or not … intelligent points of view can be interesting?? 

Just because people like to argue, that doesn't mean they are "unproductive/detrimental" in relation to the ongoing benefit to ASF??  (I am not an argumentative person, but over the years, I have often enjoyed reading posts from conflicting posters.)  



sptrawler said:


> I agree with you Zaxon, there already is a members only area, to add another level we may as well become a sub branch of the Freemasons.




LOL (Freemasons) …. funny Sptrawler

Seriously though ….. "Members Only" who don't register for the General Threads as I was  suggesting above would still *not* get access to the *"threads of friction" *…..  

LOL (sometimes I amuse myself )…. Threads of Friction could actually be used a sub heading for a "basket" of threads only visible by registration …. It may be surprising to see just how much traffic those collective "secretive threads" could create, independent of Trading and Investing

To be honest, I have never considered the "Members Only" areas … because I am a member, I have access regardless …. My suggestion in having to register for individual GC threads is a totally different concept to the current "Members Only" scenario … and would keep the frictional content off the Forums main pages 



Joe Blow said:


> There are no thread level permissions except for giving or not giving permission for certain user groups to view threads in certain forums. So in short it is not possible to exclude people from certain threads unless they do not have permission to view the forum that thread is in. I hope that makes sense.




It does make sense Joe ………… Therefore, again regarding my above suggestions …… perhaps there should/could be "levels" of "User Groups" for those that want to get involved in GC based discussions.

ie. Members can register for various "user groups"   and those User groups can have various degrees of "permission" to view the "level" they have subscribed for …

It may sound complicated, but I think it sounds productive regarding eliminating the GC thread issues. 

ps. Its Friday, so I may ramble on …. pps. Go the Rabbits


----------



## Zaxon

barney said:


> I'm sure you won't be surprised that I agree with that Zaxon …



Anyone who agrees with Zaxon is most wise, and incredibly insightful.  Plus 10% better looking than their peers.


----------



## sptrawler

Also anyone who wants to subscribe to Barney's "threads of friction", can find him on grinder. 
Sorry Barney, just couldn't help myself, what an opportunity.


----------



## IFocus

Joe Blow said:


> ASF could be transformed overnight if we all worked together for a common purpose, but apparently it is not to be. *There is no common purpose, only individual agendas.*




In any leadership vacuum this will often occur (obviously), having this conversation along with the "the time to call it a day" thread will, is to a degree leadership from your self with your musing on issues and what you want will have a positive  effect on all of us.

Perhaps you could raise your profile from time to time on the forum in a leadership role you certainly hold all our respect and our sympathy (horrifies me) in regards to the litigation issues.

Markets rise and fall and I suspect forums general interest with it, one group that comes to mind that fits the demographic that will still be drawn to forums  is a very large number of retirees with super / pension issues that at the moment is the domain of financial advisers they maybe a target audience....how I don't know?


----------



## galumay

Joe Blow said:


> There is no common purpose, only individual agendas.




Honestly, thats always going to be the case in a discussion forum of individuals. I know its not your style or preference, but honestly, less asking what people think and want and more decisive direction from you, with whatever rules and guidelines you apply and publicise, enforced with a big ban hammer, is the recipe for a successful forum from my experience. 

All the successful ones I have helped adminster or moderate had few but clear and absolute rules with a zero tolerance approach. Its your forum, not ours, however much you might have a vision of us all sitting in a circle holding hands and singing kumbaya.


----------



## SirRumpole

Joe Blow said:


> I think the question needs to be asked, why has discussion died down in General Chat? Even now, people can start new threads and post in whatever political or religious threads they like. Everyone knows where it is. I think that interest declines when the dogmatists don't have a megaphone and visibility is that megaphone. Take the megaphone away and some people lose interest.




Personally, I've cut down posting in GC because of the statement "General Chat is killing ASF" and I didn't want to be an accessory to murder.


----------



## Joe Blow

Guys, my remark about working together for a common purpose was just me thinking out loud. Relax. I am very aware that it is about as realistic as world peace. 

This thread is for feedback on forum design and functionality. If you have any, I'd love to hear it.


----------



## Joe Blow

barney said:


> It does make sense Joe ………… Therefore, again regarding my above suggestions …… perhaps there should/could be "levels" of "User Groups" for those that want to get involved in GC based discussions.
> 
> ie. Members can register for various "user groups"   and those User groups can have various degrees of "permission" to view the "level" they have subscribed for …
> 
> It may sound complicated, but I think it sounds productive regarding eliminating the GC thread issues.




Barney, my approach to solving the GC issue will be to have a checkbox in people's user settings that says "Include General Chat in New Posts Searches". This box will be unchecked by default for everyone.

Those who would like to view General Chat threads in their New Posts searches can check this box and then save their settings. From then on General Chat threads will come up in their New Posts searches.

This seems like a pretty comprehensive approach and will take a little custom coding but hopefully not too much.

Those who would like to eliminate the General Chat forum entirely can ignore the forum by clicking this link checking all three boxes and then clicking the "Ignore Forum" button.


----------



## Joe Blow

IFocus said:


> Perhaps you could raise your profile from time to time on the forum in a leadership role




I don't see myself as a leader and I've never sought to be a political figure. In fact, I've fought that perception for 15 years. ASF a club and everyone here, registered or not, is a member of that club.

And I rent the club room.

I've only sought to create a community that I would want to be a member of. I've made some classic miscalculations along the way, but that guiding principle holds firm. 

ASF is a place of diverse characters. We have all kinds here. You can't force all those people get along. They won't. All you can do is try and enforce some standards and I have done that, but not to the satisfaction of some.

I have made a lot of mistakes over the years, but my life has taken its own twists and turns. Fifteen years is a long time.

But, for all its faults, this is still a good community.


----------



## sptrawler

Joe Blow said:


> I don't see myself as a leader and I've never sought to be a political figure. In fact, I've fought that perception for 15 years. ASF a club and everyone here, registered or not, is a member of that club.
> 
> And I rent the club room.
> 
> I've only sought to create a community that I would want to be a member of. I've made some classic miscalculations along the way, but that guiding principle holds firm.
> 
> ASF is a place of diverse characters. We have all kinds here. You can't force all those people get along. They won't. All you can do is try and enforce some standards and I have done that, but not to the satisfaction of some.
> 
> I have made a lot of mistakes over the years, but my life has taken its own twists and turns. Fifteen years is a long time.
> 
> But, for all its faults, this is still a good community.




That basically sums up what people who have morals and principles do while following their dream, it can be a rocky road, but at the end you can look in the mirror and say I did my best.
Joe, when you go, this forum goes, but always remember you have introduced a lot of people that would never have met other than for this forum.
I still think fondly of Julia, even though I never met her, she holds a special place with me.
But for you I would never have met her.
Not getting soppy, but there isn't a lot of joy in the World these days, it is all cut and thrust, dog eat dog.
I find this forum a sanctuary, where there seems to be a degree of civility and a maturity, that actually engenders trust between members, that is something hard to find in this day and age IMO.
I hope you take a lot of pride from that, not many achieve it.


----------



## IFocus

Joe Blow said:


> I don't see myself as a leader and I've never sought to be a political figure. In fact, I've fought that perception for 15 years. ASF a club and everyone here, registered or not, is a member of that club.
> 
> And I rent the club room.
> 
> I've only sought to create a community that I would want to be a member of. I've made some classic miscalculations along the way, but that guiding principle holds firm.
> 
> ASF is a place of diverse characters. We have all kinds here. You can't force all those people get along. They won't. All you can do is try and enforce some standards and I have done that, but not to the satisfaction of some.
> 
> I have made a lot of mistakes over the years, but my life has taken its own twists and turns. Fifteen years is a long time.
> 
> But, for all its faults, this is still a good community.




Hey Joe wasn't having a go at you (I know it looked that way) it was a suggestion, understand your position I respect and admire you for it as an outsider I can only say I haven't observed any mistakes always thought you come across as some one who was very wise.


----------



## SirRumpole

I've noticed advertisements interspersed with posts in various threads.

Will this be the norm from now on Joe ?


----------



## Joe Blow

SirRumpole said:


> I've noticed advertisements interspersed with posts in various threads.
> 
> Will this be the norm from now on Joe ?




I'm currently testing a new system where Google decides where to insert the ads in order to optimise performance.

I will run it for a couple of weeks to see if there is any noticeable increase in revenue.

Am happy to listen to any feedback on this new system.


----------



## SirRumpole

Joe Blow said:


> I'm currently testing a new system where Google decides where to insert the ads in order to optimise performance.
> 
> I will run it for a couple of weeks to see if there is any noticeable increase in revenue.
> 
> Am happy to listen to any feedback on this new system.




I find it a bit annoying but I understand your need to make a buck.


----------



## Joe Blow

SirRumpole said:


> I find it a bit annoying but I understand your need to make a buck.




I  understand. If there's no change in revenue I will remove it. The test only started in the last 24 hours so I really haven't had a chance to evaluate it yet.

Still early days.


----------



## peter2

OK I'll turn Adblock off (temporarily) in order to support ASF.

BUT if I get annoyed it's going back on.

First ad I see is from Budget car rental. I recently rented a van from Thrifty to move some furniture. That job is done so I don't want to see adverts referencing old searches. This annoys me.


----------



## Country Lad

peter2 said:


> OK I'll turn Adblock off (temporarily) in order to support ASF.
> 
> BUT if I get annoyed it's going back on.




Ditto, let's see what ads I get.  First one - plagiarism detection in my writing. I think I would  know if I was stealing someone else's work, so Google not smart so far.


----------



## Zaxon

You can go into your Google profile, ad settings, and turn of personalized ads.  You'll still get them, but allegedly they won't be targeted towards you.


----------



## peter2

Wow that VEA transfer was lightening fast Joe. You're on the top of your game today. Wow, I had only posted it 1 or 2 min before you zipped across. I'm impressed.


----------



## Joe Blow

peter2 said:


> Wow that VEA transfer was lightening fast Joe. You're on the top of your game today. Wow, I had only posted it 1 or 2 min before you zipped across. I'm impressed.




I'm quick on the draw today.


----------



## peter2

Couldn't find a pic showing the Godfather doing this. Beneath him.


----------



## peter2

OK I'm being a good ASF community member by allowing adds to be shown on my browser. Occasionally, surprise, surprise, there's an ad that I'm interested in and click on it to see more information. 

When I'm finished, I close the ad site and to my disappointment I've no access to ASF because the ad has used the same tab as ASF. 

Is there someway that I can make all ad clicks create their on browser tab so I don't lose the ASF tab?


----------



## debtfree

Can you right click your mouse on the ad and select, open in new tab or open in new window?


----------



## Joe Blow

peter2 said:


> OK I'm being a good ASF community member by allowing adds to be shown on my browser. Occasionally, surprise, surprise, there's an ad that I'm interested in and click on it to see more information.
> 
> When I'm finished, I close the ad site and to my disappointment I've no access to ASF because the ad has used the same tab as ASF.
> 
> Is there someway that I can make all ad clicks create their on browser tab so I don't lose the ASF tab?




Hi Peter,

Thank you for your support.

My understanding is that with the Google Adsense ads that this is not possible as it is intended that they open in the same browser tab.

However, if you go the "History" section of your browser you should see the recent websites you have visited and ASF should show in this list (being your most recently visited website) and you should be able to easily return to the page you were browsing on ASF prior to your visit to the advertiser.


----------



## PZ99

Like the "Stocks" button - good move


----------



## Joe Blow

PZ99 said:


> Like the "Stocks" button - good move




ASF has partnered with Investing.com and there will be more changes coming when we upgrade to the new software.


----------



## Dona Ferentes

even better than the STOCKS button, is the stocks CONTENT


----------



## Joe Blow

Dona Ferentes said:


> even better than the STOCKS button, is the stocks CONTENT




Absolutely. Keep posting in stock threads everyone, even if its just a quick update. Posts in stock threads are the engine that keeps ASF moving forward so please keep us updated on the stocks in your watch list.


----------



## tech/a

Nice Joe


----------



## So_Cynical

Investing.com looks like a good site, the new ASX one is a pain for watchlists as you cant edit numbers, like price paid and number of units..


----------



## frugal.rock




----------



## frugal.rock

Investing.com has an app also.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fusionmedia.investing

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/investing-com-stocks-finance/id909998122


----------



## peter2

I've noticed something different recently (last few days). I'm getting pop-up ads when I click on random thread titles or random post titles. These pop-up ads appear in the middle of the screen and darken the forum content. Luckily for Joe and ASF they don't take me away from ASF. 

Is this just me, using Chrome or are others seeing it also?


----------



## Austwide

Haven't seen that at home on the PC, but I remember seeing that sort of thing a couple of weeks ago when using my phone. I think it was this forum.


----------



## qldfrog

peter2 said:


> I've noticed something different recently (last few days). I'm getting pop-up ads when I click on random thread titles or random post titles. These pop-up ads appear in the middle of the screen and darken the forum content. Luckily for Joe and ASF they don't take me away from ASF.
> 
> Is this just me, using Chrome or are others seeing it also?



Has been like that on my phone for a while
Click on a link, page or tab bully taken over by ad, click on ad top close cross, and the asf page appears nuisance and so my agreement to pay subscription to see it diseappear if option is available
Using Chrome on smartphone

My real bugger is the keyboard behaviour where I can not type without weird behaviour
I believe it is linked to latency and phone autocomplete.
And time of the day..so latency?
Only on asf and only on smartphone
Could it be linked to the fact asf tries to detect @name of asf user during typing?


----------



## Joe Blow

On mobile devices this sometimes happens but it is not supposed to happen on desktop PCs. I am currently investigating further to ensure that popup ads do not display on desktop PCs.

Please let me know if you see any.


----------



## Dona Ferentes

Joe Blow said:


> On mobile devices this sometimes happens but it is not supposed to happen on desktop PCs. I am currently investigating further to ensure that popup ads do not display on desktop PCs.
> 
> Please let me know if you see any.



the randomness is unusual and, by definition I guess, unpredictable. I can live with it, but one absolutely annoying aspect is the *X* to delete the ad is directly in front of the LOG OUT button. Hit the X and sometimes it doesn't disappear; hit it twice because of delay (I am an impatient person) and I'm logged out. That's on the mobile, btw.


----------



## Joe Blow

Dona Ferentes said:


> the randomness is unusual and, by definition I guess, unpredictable. I can live with it, but one absolutely annoying aspect is the *X* to delete the ad is directly in front of the LOG OUT button. Hit the X and sometimes it doesn't disappear; hit it twice because of delay (I am an impatient person) and I'm logged out. That's on the mobile, btw.




Thanks for the feedback. I'll do some checking on my phone and see if something can be done to deal with this issue.


----------



## Dona Ferentes

Joe Blow said:


> Thanks for the feedback. I'll do some checking on my phone and see if something can be done to deal with this issue.



probably more to do with not enough bandwidth (or Android/ crappy old el cheapo Nokia 6 that I use). 
((much prefer the laptop for productivity)


----------



## Joe Blow

Dona Ferentes said:


> probably more to do with not enough bandwidth (or Android/ crappy old el cheapo Nokia 6 that I use).
> ((much prefer the laptop for productivity)




I only use the phone for quick checking. There's no way I'd try and compose anything other than a short post on it - I just don't have nimble enough fingers.

I still use an old school Desktop PC for most things.


----------



## Dona Ferentes




----------



## frugal.rock

Haven't seen a bumblebee for at least 30 years...


----------



## bux2000

Yes........ but you do have rerlly, rerlly, big snakes

All the best
bux


----------



## qldfrog

Joe Blow said:


> Thanks for the feedback. I'll do some checking on my phone and see if something can be done to deal with this issue.



Yes this is the only reason i i metimes have to relog..
Example of keyboard mess just above
I typed "reason  i sometimes have ..."
Make me crazy


----------



## qldfrog

No 


Dona Ferentes said:


> probably more to do with not enough bandwidth (or Android/ crappy old el cheapo Nokia 6 that I use).
> ((much prefer the laptop for productivity)



Happens on modern phones android chrome here too


----------



## frugal.rock

Firefox for Android. Dislike chrome...
Use private tab, (sorry Joe...), I don't get the ads.

I searched FAR today, ticked the title box. 
It was the last result, 2nd page of 20 or so search results.... 
I wish tickers were the first result.... it's the tickers that tick.
Maybe we need a tickers tick box?


----------



## Trav.

@Joe Blow 

Is this part of the new website - Company News ???

How / Where is the news fed from for the site? I see that you have to manually put a link in the relevant stock code and it takes you here.


----------



## Joe Blow

Trav. said:


> @Joe Blow
> 
> Is this part of the new website - Company News ???
> 
> How / Where is the news fed from for the site? I see that you have to manually put a link in the relevant stock code and it takes you here.




Hi Trav, the Company News section is just a collection of small cap press releases. Sometimes small cap companies are prepared to pay to get their story in front of investors. ASX company announcements tend to be a bit dry and don't penetrate very far, so the content is rewritten into easily digestible press releases that put recent announcements into context.

If you are a member of HC you will have noticed that they regularly send out emails that promote small cap companies. It has become increasingly popular in recent times.


----------



## Joe Blow

frugal.rock said:


> Firefox for Android. Dislike chrome...
> Use private tab, (sorry Joe...), I don't get the ads.
> 
> I searched FAR today, ticked the title box.
> It was the last result, 2nd page of 20 or so search results....
> I wish tickers were the first result.... it's the tickers that tick.
> Maybe we need a tickers tick box?




I'm curious about how you're finding the search on the new software. Seems to be a little better from what I have experienced so far.


----------



## barney

Joe Blow said:


> I'm curious about how you're finding the search on the new software. Seems to be a little better from what I have experienced so far.





From my point of view @Joe Blow   .... The search seems to be way way better .... Even without ticking the "search titles" box it seems to always find what I'm looking for   ..... Hopefully others are finding the same.


----------



## frugal.rock

Joe Blow said:


> I'm curious about how you're finding the search on the new software. Seems to be a little better from what I have experienced so far.



No issues with the searching to date.
Much obliged.

The only thing I seem to have trouble with now is seemingly the forum icons and functions are very touch sensitive when using in the phone. 
IE, trying to scroll often ends up selecting something.
I updated Firefox to a new version though as well, so it may be the issue, couldn't say ?
Haven't investigated either way though, could even be the phone...

I do like the new look, and the ease of pasting links straight into the client box/ typing area.

Cheers and apologies I never made it to the (oh no, it's beta) testing party.


----------



## finicky

Is anyone else getting their top tool bar for bold, italics, emoticons, link, images, etc, greyed out and non functional?
I am using exclusively a Samsung Galaxy TabA tablet.


----------



## Joe Blow

finicky said:


> Is anyone else getting their top tool bar for bold, italics, emoticons, link, images, etc, greyed out and non functional?
> I am using exclusively a Samsung Galaxy TabA tablet.




I don't have a tablet, but everything is working fine for me on an Android phone using Chrome browser.

Maybe try a different browser and see if that helps.


----------



## Garpal Gumnut

I noted this afternoon that when you upload a .png image chart in to the box from your macosx directory it is ready to post. No need to click on small or large button otherwise it appears twice.

gg


----------



## finicky

@Joe Blow
"Maybe try a different browser and see if that helps"

Ok, so I always use Chrome but now have tried Firefox and got this result, specific to Aussiestocks:


----------



## finicky

Here is what my field looks like, with the greyed out tool bar, when I post using Chrome.
Edit: I should add that this has been the case from day 1 of the new overhaul of the website.


----------



## Joe Blow

finicky said:


> Here is what my field looks like, with the greyed out tool bar, when I post using Chrome.
> Edit: I should add that this has been the case from day 1 of the new overhaul of the website.




Try clicking the cog icon (i.e. the only icon that is clickable) on the far right and let me know what happens. Thanks.


----------



## finicky

*I* _hate_ you, lol


----------



## galumay

Joe, I would like to suggest a change to the structure of one of the sub-forums.
Currently the "Australian Stock Market Discussion" sub-forum contains the ASX individual company threads, as a further sub forum called "ASX Stock Chat" as the screenshot below shows,




Then below those 'headline' threads are pages of other threads, I have no interest in any of these threads and I am sure I am not alone in that. But there is no way for me to collectively hide all of those threads and still see the 3 ASX Stock Chat headline sub-forums containing all the individual company threads, as the screenshot below shows,




I believe those three sub-forums should be separated out so that those of us who only want to see and engage in the threads about specific company threads can do so while ignoring all the other fora.

Currently I have to individually ignore each individual thread in the Australian Stock Market Discussion as its created which is a bit of a PITA.


----------



## Joe Blow

galumay said:


> Joe, I would like to suggest a change to the structure of one of the sub-forums.




Let me give this some thought and I'll get back to you about it.


----------



## galumay

Joe Blow said:


> Let me give this some thought and I'll get back to you about it.




Thanks Joe, I realise I wasn't clear either, the greatest impact of how this is structured is that my go to view is the Forums, New Posts view, and this feed gets cluttered with all those threads that have nothing to do with the new posts I want to see from the specific company threads.


----------



## Joe Blow

Any change to the forum structure is a significant change. After many years with the same structure, people get used to the way things are and thus change can be disruptive and annoying unless it is something that is both an improvement and wanted by the majority of forum members.

The only way to make the three stock subforums independent of the ASX Stock Chat forum is to not make them child forums of it, but forums in their own right.

This change would look something like this:




Please note that this screenshot was taken at a test install of the forum where the new design was being developed. That is why there are almost no threads in the various forums.

I would like everyone who cares about the forum structure to comment and share their views on the layout above. Is this layout/forum structure one that you would prefer? If it is, and you don't wish to comment further, then simply like this post.

If you do not like it, or like it and would like to comment on this proposed change, or if you have another suggestion altogether, then please post your thoughts below.

I will wait until enough people have had their say before making a final decision.


----------



## Joe Blow

Joe Blow said:


> Any change to the forum structure is a significant change. After many years with the same structure, people get used to the way things are and thus change can be disruptive and annoying unless it is something that is both an improvement and wanted by the majority of forum members.
> 
> The only way to make the three stock subforums independent of the ASX Stock Chat forum is to not make them child forums of it, but forums in their own right.
> 
> This change would look something like this:
> 
> View attachment 112499
> 
> 
> Please note that this screenshot was taken at a test install of the forum where the new design was being developed. That is why there are almost no threads in the various forums.
> 
> I would like everyone who cares about the forum structure to comment and share their views on the layout above. Is this layout/forum structure one that you would prefer? If it is, and you don't wish to comment further, then simply like this post.
> 
> If you do not like it, or like it and would like to comment on this proposed change, or if you have another suggestion altogether, then please post your thoughts below.
> 
> I will wait until enough people have had their say before making a final decision.




No response so far. I can only assume that there are no objections to this proposed change. I will leave this open for comment until tomorrow at midnight and then make a final decision on Monday morning.


----------



## galumay

I realise I am only 1 member, and likely use the forum in a different way to most, but that is exactly how i think it should be structured and it would solve the issue of my new posts feed being cluttered with threads I am not interested in.


----------



## Dona Ferentes

Its all grist to the mill.


----------



## finicky

How much work does it take?


----------



## Joe Blow

finicky said:


> How much work does it take?




Very little. About 10 minutes at most.


----------



## frugal.rock

I have a similar issue with the tool bar, not greyed out, but the smilies don't come up most of the time.
If I exit the typing/client area, and go back in, usually ok.
If not I try hitting the cog and then the smilies work.
On Android phone using Firefox.


----------



## Joe Blow

Testing this new forum structure this afternoon so everyone can see how it works in practice.


----------



## galumay

It actually looks more logical IMO.


----------



## peter2

This new order seems to put more emphasis on the stock side of the forum as there's now four tabs instead of only one.


----------



## bigdog

Joe 
Were you able to get the posting sort sequence to latest and not the first posting

Joe, can you please PM me with your response and how to change to latest sort sequence

John


----------



## peter2

Dump it here thread is gone!  






Interesting.


----------



## Joe Blow

peter2 said:


> Dump it here thread is gone!
> 
> Interesting.




That is very interesting. Mostly because it's still here.

Hmmm... do you have it on ignore?


----------



## peter2

We should start a poll.   Who done it? 

(1)  Joe Blow
(2) skate
(3) ASIC
(4) China
(5) turned invisible all by itself

any other possibilities?


----------



## peter2

P2 doesn't ignore anything or anyone.


----------



## Joe Blow

peter2 said:


> P2 doesn't ignore anything or anyone.
> 
> View attachment 112654




Then that truly is a mystery. At least for the moment. There would appear to be gremlins in the system. Or perhaps in the server?

Anyone else been experiencing any random weirdness?


----------



## peter2

Maybe the Happy Cat didn't like my mention of a fur ball?   

Joe, the link to the thread in your post didn't work either.    Am I the only one?


----------



## frugal.rock

Maybe, I just read Skates latest post...


Joe Blow said:


> Anyone else been experiencing any random weirdness?



Yes, everyday, it generally starts after I wake up and look in the mirror... 

Forum related weirdness today however was a post in the Daniel Andrews thread... post didn't show in what's new or new posts whether logged in or not.
(I wouldn't rule out external interference Joe...)


----------



## peter2

OK, I can read the Dump it Here thread and skate's latest posts when not logged in.

When I log in, everything related to the Dump it Here thread is gone.


----------



## Joe Blow

peter2 said:


> OK, I can read the Dump it Here thread and skate's latest posts when not logged in.
> 
> When I log in, everything related to the Dump it Here thread is gone.




OK, here's a shot in the dark. Can you find any of @Skate's posts?


----------



## debtfree

I'm logged in and all seems ok.


----------



## frugal.rock

Joe, Can you ignore the thread on P2 account and then un ignore?


----------



## peter2

Joe Blow said:


> OK, here's a shot in the dark. Can you find any of @Skate's posts?




Yes, the search seems to be working.




But when I click on the _*Dump it Here*_ link.   I get the OOPS message
.


----------



## frugal.rock

Might be a CMC broker induced problem... haha


----------



## peter2

is it possible that @Skate has accidently put me on ignore?   



	

		
			
		

		
	
 I promise I won't trade around the Happy Cat signals.


----------



## Joe Blow

peter2 said:


> is it possible that @Skate has accidently put me on ignore?
> 
> View attachment 112660




That's what I was thinking. I recently introduced a two-way block feature where if someone has you on ignore, not only can they not see your posts, but you also cannot see theirs.

Can you read any of @Skate's posts?


----------



## frugal.rock

G'day Skate, 
Have you possibly or accidentally put P2 on ignore?
He can't find Dump thread...


----------



## peter2

No I can't see any of *skate's* posts. I looked in threads where I knew he posted recently (AusTraders spec thread), nothing.
All of *skate's* likes to my posts are gone also.  From my POV, *skate* doesn't exist in ASF when I'm logged in.


----------



## frugal.rock

@Skate  is fed up with your fur balls...


----------



## peter2

I have to tread a fine line with the cat digs as @myrtie100 will let me know if my feline comments are out of line.


----------



## Skate

frugal.rock said:


> G'day Skate,
> Have you possibly or accidentally put P2 on ignore?
> He can't find Dump thread...




@frugal.rock I have never put anyone on ignore & there should never be a time when the "Dump it here" thread is not accessible.





Skate.


----------



## myrtie100

It seems P2 is trying to figure it out with Joe @Skate. Something weird is going on.


----------



## frugal.rock

Am sure it's unintentional.

The situation brings up a disturbing scenario though, imagine if for example P2 ignored me, by default I would never be able to learn anything more  from P2...

While I think P2 owns his posts, once posted Joe becomes the owner...
(unless it's got something to do with Google or Apple... cause then they own it... meh)

I don't like the 2 way thing.... I can understand and respect if someone ignores me, but to be deprived of their content, not fair.


----------



## frugal.rock

__





						Dump it Here
					

Will it be similar to action strategy, do you accept followers? With the PPOR move, i have had to distance myself a bit from the forums. The advantage i found with the action strategy is that i have a whole personal aka excel record of the week to week strategy and buy sell actions and so can do...




					www.aussiestockforums.com
				



Skate, that's P2 last post link, does it work for you or do you get a oops message?
That's weird, it's the link to P2 pist, but it's not showing the text from his post on the preview..
Cheers


----------



## frugal.rock

Skate hasn't ignored...
Joe, a link to P2 last post in Dump thread shows up with different text in preview box (new with update)
Possible correlation




__





						Dump it Here
					

Will it be similar to action strategy, do you accept followers? With the PPOR move, i have had to distance myself a bit from the forums. The advantage i found with the action strategy is that i have a whole personal aka excel record of the week to week strategy and buy sell actions and so can do...




					www.aussiestockforums.com


----------



## galumay

I cant see any of those threads either - because I have Skate on ignore.

@frugal.rock the advantage of the 2 way ignoring is that it stops troll posting from people you have ignored, I have had a couple of trolly stalkers on ASF who I had out on ignore and they were following every post I made with followups - and I assume they were not constructive comments! 

I guess its hard to find the perfect solution! For me the 2 way ignoring is an improvement, I dont want those trolls reading my posts either. But I also understand your belief that you should be able to see my posts even if I ignore you.


----------



## Skate

frugal.rock said:


> __
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Dump it Here
> 
> 
> Will it be similar to action strategy, do you accept followers? With the PPOR move, i have had to distance myself a bit from the forums. The advantage i found with the action strategy is that i have a whole personal aka excel record of the week to week strategy and buy sell actions and so can do...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.aussiestockforums.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Skate, that's P2 last post link, does it work for you or do you get a oops message?
> That's weird, it's the link to P2 pist, but it's not showing the text from his post on the preview..
> Cheers




Yes, the hyperlink works for me.

It appears @peter2 last post in the "Dump it here" thread has been deleted.

Skate.


----------



## Joe Blow

Skate said:


> Yes, the hyperlink works for me.
> 
> It appears @peter2 last post in the "Dump it here" thread has been deleted.




I just checked and can see @peter2's post. Can you please check your ignore list just to see if peter2 is there. I can't come up with any other explanation.


----------



## Skate

Joe Blow said:


> I just checked and can see @peter2's post. Can you please check your ignore list just to see if peter2 is there. I can't come up with any other explanation.




Sure I'll check

I've never put anyone on ignore 

I have also noticed all @peter2 Private Messages are missing if that helps

Also, I was recently disconnected fro the forum - was that you @Joe Blow ?

Skate.


----------



## Joe Blow

Skate said:


> Also, I was recently disconnected fro the forum - was that you @Joe Blow ?




No, I've never logged anyone out and am not even sure if I can.

OK, this is turning into a real mystery.


----------



## Joe Blow

frugal.rock said:


> I don't like the 2 way thing.... I can understand and respect if someone ignores me, but to be deprived of their content, not fair.




It's not mandatory and was introduced to stop stalkers. There has been situations where someone has placed another user on ignore and the person who was on ignore has continued to follow the person around and comment on their posts knowing they were on ignore.


----------



## peter2

Hey, it's all back.  I'm whole, again.


----------



## peter2

What ever was crossed between skate and peter2 is now uncrossed. Phew.


----------



## Skate

Joe Blow said:


> No, I've never logged anyone out and am not even sure if I can.
> 
> OK, this is turning into a real mystery.




@Joe Blow - I was disconnected from the forum. 

I had to rejoin the forum filling out the relevant (new member form) & now find my setting has been reset. 

Skate.


----------



## debtfree

frugal.rock said:


> _Am sure it's unintentional.
> 
> The situation brings up a disturbing scenario though, imagine if for example P2 ignored me, by default I would never be able to learn anything more  from P2...
> 
> While I think P2 owns his posts, once posted Joe becomes the owner...
> (unless it's got something to do with Google or Apple... cause then they own it... meh)
> 
> I don't like the 2 way thing.... I can understand and respect if someone ignores me, but to be deprived of their content, not fair. _



_______________________________________________________________________________________

If you have been put on ignore @frugal.rock Peter2 gave a clue around this by logging off, then you should be able to read these posts. 
The only one you won't be able to read is the ones in the Private ASF Members Area which is where quite a few of @peter2's post are, so behave. 😉 (You have to be logged in for this area.)


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## frugal.rock

No worries, thanks for the explanation.
The logout thing that Skate has mentioned I experienced today on the phone.
The phone just suddenly went to the lock screen, which I normally have to press the power button or finger print button, it happened more than once so I think it's not me, glitch from site, android etc...


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## Skate

peter2 said:


> Hey, it's all back.  I'm whole, again.
> 
> View attachment 112665




Hi Peter

It's a mystery to me - it seems once I was kicked out the forum my settings have reset.

I'm glad all is well once again.

Skate.


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## Joe Blow

Skate said:


> @Joe Blow - I was disconnected from the forum.
> 
> I had to rejoin the forum filling out the relevant (new member form) & now find my setting has been reset.




No idea what happened there. Gremlins in the system is all I can put it down to.

I'll move these off topic posts back into the other thread to keep everything neat and tidy.


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## Joe Blow

I'd just like to take a moment to clarify the use of the "Great Content" reaction and how it differs from a "Like".

My hope was that by adding a "Great Content" reaction, in time there would be a way of collating all the posts at ASF containing high value content that would be useful to members of the community for years to come. I think we all know the sort of content I mean; long form, in depth, insightful content that adds real value.

The issue with just having a "Like", as we have had in the past, is that it can be applied to anything. You can like an epic post with high value content and you can like an AC/DC concert video in the music thread. Having a "Great Content" reaction was intended as a way to vote for high value content and to distinguish that from other content that was worth a "like", but probably not the sort of stuff that you would want to see on a list of ASF's greatest posts.

So if you could save the "Great Content" reaction for the sort of posts - both new and old - that you think should be on a list of ASF's greatest posts, I think in the future that will become a very useful resource.

Thanks.


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## Dona Ferentes

Sometimes Jump to New is there, and sometimes its not

Oh, and I bought some shares, and the price went down.


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## Joe Blow

Dona Ferentes said:


> Sometimes Jump to New is there, and sometimes its not




I changed this yesterday, so hopefully it should be there all the time now.

The idea of that feature was that it would be a quick way to jump straight to unread posts in a thread. However, the way it was implemented by the developers meant that it would disappear when there were no longer any unread posts in a thread. I thought that this reduced its usefulness and changed it so that once there were no longer any unread posts in a thread it would still appear and when clicked would take you to the most recent post in that thread.

If it's not doing that now, please let me know.



Dona Ferentes said:


> Oh, and I bought some shares, and the price went down.




Sorry to hear that. Hopefully they will go up again.


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## Dona Ferentes

Joe Blow said:


> I changed this yesterday, so hopefully it should be there all the time now.
> 
> The idea of that feature was that it would be a quick way to jump straight to unread posts in a thread. However, the way it was implemented by the developers meant that it would disappear when there were no longer any unread posts in a thread. I thought that this reduced its usefulness and changed it so that once there were no longer any unread posts in a thread it would still appear and when clicked would take you to the most recent post in that thread.



Interesting. A labyrinth of complexity. I appreciate all you are doing, and have enough flexibility to navigate alternative pathways. I always get where I'm wanting to go (and plenty of bandwidth helps). Sometimes learn something new, too.

Also, and probably linked, I note Forums>History is a personal pathway, with bold for the recently unvisited. Very useful  ... because normally I go to Home>Recent Posts and/ or Search for specific companies.


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## Joe Blow

Dona Ferentes said:


> Also, and probably linked, I note Forums>History is a personal pathway, with bold for the recently unvisited. Very useful  ... because normally I go to Home>Recent Posts and/ or Search for specific companies.




I think this feature is a hidden gem that more people should take a look at. Very useful.


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## Trav.

@Joe Blow just a quick question mate on how the software searches ( ranks )

I searched for silver




and the results were ranked a little bit odd for me.

I then looked at the advanced search and noticed that you have the option to sort (order) by




So I was just curious to see what is the default is for a basic search and maybe be able to add order by activity / number of replies...

Cheers


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## Joe Blow

Trav. said:


> I then looked at the advanced search and noticed that you have the option to sort (order) by
> 
> View attachment 116807
> 
> 
> So I was just curious to see what is the default is for a basic search and maybe be able to add order by activity / number of replies...




Relevance and date are the two primary criteria used and I prefer relevance as the default as there is no guarantee that more recent threads are more useful. 

Search is an area where there may be opportunities for more advanced fine tuning but I haven't really looked too deeply into it as yet as it does get pretty technical, and I'm not a technical guy. But I should dig a little deeper and see if it can be improved.

I think being able to sort threads by the amount of replies is a useful idea and I will check over the Christmas break to see if that it something that can be easily implemented.


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## Trav.

@Joe Blow Cheers mate for the prompt reply.

Enjoy your break and definitely no rush to implement anything.


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## Gringotts Bank

Sorry to complain, but I still find navigation extremely tricky.  Takes me ages to find my thread to post on.  Tabs have overlapping functionality, like what is the difference bewteen "new posts" and "latest activity"?


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## Skate

Gringotts Bank said:


> Takes me ages to find my thread to post on.




*Two suggestions*
1. On a PC - Save a link on your favourite bar
2. On a Phone - Add a link to the Home Screen

Skate.


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## peter2

You can mark your threads using the watch function allowing them to be easily accessed through the watched menu.


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## Gringotts Bank

Sometimes I've posted on my thread, and I come back 5 mins later and it's not on the home page where I would have assumed the latest posts are located.  I never know why.  Anyone?


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## Joe Blow

Gringotts Bank said:


> Sorry to complain, but I still find navigation extremely tricky.  Takes me ages to find my thread to post on.  Tabs have overlapping functionality, like what is the difference bewteen "new posts" and "latest activity"?




Just click on your profile tab and then select "Your Content" from the drop down menu. That will take you directly to all your posts. Alternatively watch the thread as Peter has suggested.

"New Posts" shows you all the threads that have recently been updated with new posts. "Latest Activity" shows you a live feed of all forum activity, including new posts and likes as they happen.


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## Joe Blow

Skate said:


> *Two suggestions*
> 1. On a PC - Save a link on your favourite bar
> 2. On a Phone - Add a link to the Home Screen
> 
> Skate.




Thank you for the suggestions.

1. Could you please expand on this suggestion?
2. There's a link via the "Hamburger menu" (i.e. the menu with three horizontal lines at the top left), alternatively just click the ASF logo to save yourself an extra click.


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## Skate

*Microsoft Edge (Google Chrome is much the same)*
1. On a PC - on the address bar select the star icon & add to favourites.
2. On a phone, everyone would be able to add the ASF to the "home screen" so I won't cover that.







Skate.


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## Joe Blow

Skate said:


> *Microsoft Edge (Google Chrome is much the same)*
> 1. On a PC - on the address bar select the star icon & add to favourites.
> 2. On a phone, everyone would be able to add the ASF to the "home screen" so I won't cover that.
> 
> View attachment 148429
> 
> 
> View attachment 148430
> 
> 
> Skate.




This is a browser function as far as I'm aware.  Just click "Ctrl-D" on your keyboard and the active URL can be added to your favourites with a single click. I don't think the forum software has the ability to add site URLs to your browser favourites/bookmarks.


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## Skate

Joe Blow said:


> I don't think the forum software has the ability to add site URLs to your browser favourites/bookmarks.




*Joe, you are correct *
_"Just click "Ctrl-D" on your keyboard and the active URL can be added to your favourites with a single click." _

*I said the same thing with fewer words*
On the address bar select the star icon & add to favourites.




Skate.


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