# Questions from Beginners



## Julia (11 November 2009)

I'm sure we can all remember when we started out in the market, feeling ignorant and not sure what questions to ask.
I notice quite a few newbies apologising for their "naive, newbie questions".

No need to apologise and most of us are happy to help if we can.

But there's one thing which really annoys me, and that is if I spend some time responding to a question, often via PM because of the quasi personal info involved in the response, and the questioner doesn't offer even any acknowledgement.

I suppose it's just possible that some new people are not aware of the PM facility and don't notice that they have a PM waiting, but that wouldn't happen if they read all the appropriate information as Joe suggests before posting.

So, people, if you want help when you come onto ASF, please have the courtesy to acknowledge responses, whether on the thread or privately.

Maybe just remember that no one here has any obligation to respond to questions, many of which are repetitive and could be avoided if the questioner were to simply use the Search function.


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## Putty7 (11 November 2009)

Hi Julia, not sure if Joe could throw a comment in here to clarify this but unless you are looking at your PMs they sometimes remain unnoticed, I always answer mine regardless of time difference between when sent and when I have woken up to the fact I have one, might just be I don't have something set right on the web page.


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## Joe Blow (11 November 2009)

Putty7 said:


> not sure if Joe could throw a comment in here




Very happy to. 

ASF's Private Message system has several options that some members may not be aware of.

You can find all these options in the Edit Options section of your User CP. Just scroll down a little to the section titled "*Messaging & Notification*". The options are listed under "*Private Messaging*".

The first option simply allows you to disable the entire Private Message system or to enable it if you currently have it disabled. The PM system is enabled by default.

The second option allows you to decide whether you will permit all ASF members to send you PMs, or just moderators and those on your Buddy List. As most ASF members probably do not maintain an active Buddy List this option probably wont be relevant to most members.

The third and fourth options relate to PM notifications.

The default notification is simply a bold number in the "*Members*" box towards the top right of your screen which indicates how many unread PMs you have. However, you can also be notified in two other ways.

The third option enables *email notification*. This send out an email to the address you have listed as your contact email here at ASF every time you receive a PM. This is very handy for those who may not visit the forum every day but would like to be made aware of the receipt of a Private Message.

The fourth option enables a *PM notification box* that pops up on the screen and must be clicked in order to continue every time you receive a PM. This is instant notification and ensures that you never miss a Private Message.

The PM system is a very useful feature here at ASF, so be sure to customise it to your personal preferences and make the most out of it.


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## Putty7 (11 November 2009)

Between etrade, ASF, facebook, ebay and anything else I have on during the day it wasn't something I was taking a lot of notice of, will throw on the notifications, thanks Joe probably should have poked around in there a bit more


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## Wysiwyg (3 January 2012)

Julia said:


> But there's one thing which really annoys me, and that is if I spend some time responding to a question, often via PM because of the quasi personal info involved in the response, and the questioner doesn't offer even any acknowledgement.



I have seen and experienced that often on this forum. Would think a complete stranger would appreciate any help but these ignorant posters don't deserve any. Along with that are the thread starters that never participate in the topic. The internet is a cold medium for communication at times.


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## tech/a (3 January 2012)

Wysiwyg said:


> I have seen and experienced that often on this forum. Would think a complete stranger would appreciate any help but these ignorant posters don't deserve any. Along with that are the thread starters that never participate in the topic. The internet is a cold medium for communication at times.




Waiting 2 yrs for a reply is also a bit tedious


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## motorway (3 January 2012)

Ditto Ditto and Ditto

Motorway


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## lindsayf (3 January 2012)

a bit impersonal but another forum I spend time in has a 'thanks' tab on each post and displays the usernames of those that click it at the bottom of the post.  I find it a good addition to that forum.  You can readily see how many appreciated the content of the poster.


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## Ves (3 January 2012)

I'm not sure if I've ever been guilty of this, but if I have it's for the following reason:

I don't have anything additional to add to the thread; therefore I usually won't "clog up" space with a thank you message. Although, generally I try to add something of informational value to prevent this. This is not a corporate environment per se, but in the office a lot of firms discourage "redundant" (their words not mine) replies, thank-yous and greetings via email. 

I like the idea of a thank-you tab, although I have never seen a forum software use it in action.


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## Julia (3 January 2012)

Ves said:


> I like the idea of a thank-you tab, although I have never seen a forum software use it in action.



It does sound like a great idea.
In the meantime, some of us - when simply agreeing with a post but not wanting to add anything - take about two seconds to type     +1.    in the Reply box.
This adds to the sum of opinion on a topic and allows the previous poster to know his comments are appreciated.


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## lindsayf (3 January 2012)

see for example of the thanks tab

www.bigmiketrading.com 
www.aulro.com

L


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## burglar (3 January 2012)

+1 Julia


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## pixel (3 January 2012)

lindsayf said:


> a bit impersonal but another forum I spend time in has a 'thanks' tab on each post and displays the usernames of those that click it at the bottom of the post.  I find it a good addition to that forum.  You can readily see how many appreciated the content of the poster.



 +1
I guess we're spending time on the same "other forum" 

But Joe's ASF is infinitely better moderated. No trolls, no flaming. Just civilised discussion. Love it.


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## drew70 (16 February 2012)

Hi all, I have been an avid reader of this site for a while now but this is my first post..  I did a search to see if this had been discussed previously and couldn't find anything, although not sure i worded it right. sorry if this is in the wrong forum or already talked abot.  Anyway,  I trade shares through Cmc markets and have only been trading for a little while.    Yesterday i made a couple of buys, the transaction went through (according to the message i recieved on their site). When i went into the stock holding tab, it was showing the shares in recent buys but they were not available to sell. This is unusual. i have been with them for nearly 10 months and they are always available to sell pretty much straight away. Anyone with any ideas on why this would happen? i have emailed them,  asking why but have not heard back from them. 

much appreciated
Drew


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## pixel (17 February 2012)

drew70 said:


> Hi all, I have been an avid reader of this site for a while now but this is my first post..  I did a search to see if this had been discussed previously and couldn't find anything, although not sure i worded it right. sorry if this is in the wrong forum or already talked abot.  Anyway,  I trade shares through Cmc markets and have only been trading for a little while.    Yesterday i made a couple of buys, the transaction went through (according to the message i recieved on their site). When i went into the stock holding tab, it was showing the shares in recent buys but they were not available to sell. This is unusual. i have been with them for nearly 10 months and they are always available to sell pretty much straight away. Anyone with any ideas on why this would happen? i have emailed them,  asking why but have not heard back from them.
> 
> much appreciated
> Drew



 Hi Drew,
it would help if you told us, which shares you're talking about. And when you tried to sell them.
Two possible reasons come immediately to mind:
1. you tried to sell after hours;
2. trading in the shares was halted, maybe even suspended

A variation on theme 2: The share might have been placed in Pre-Open for about ten minutes, pending an announcement, which in other systems comes as "Notice Received". Whenever a company makes a price-sensitive announcement, such as a profit guidance, financial report, or similar, ASX puts the shares in a temporary Pre-Open, so traders have the opportunity to digest the news and make up their mind whether they want to buy, sell, or hold.


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## drew70 (17 February 2012)

pixel said:


> Hi Drew,
> it would help if you told us, which shares you're talking about. And when you tried to sell them.
> Two possible reasons come immediately to mind:
> 1. you tried to sell after hours;
> ...




Hi pixel, thanks for answering, the two were MAD and PEN, they were both brought after open and they were trading like crazy so there was no trading halt. They didn't "clear" until well into the afternoon. 

thanks


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## Logique (17 February 2012)

Julia said:


> It does sound like a great idea. In the meantime, some of us - when simply agreeing with a post but not wanting to add anything - take about two seconds to type +1 in the Reply box. This adds to the sum of opinion on a topic and allows the previous poster to know his comments are appreciated.



Agree with most of the points you make Julia, however I dislike auto tabs, it's a bit too 'social media' for me. They would add to page clutter, and after a while, familiarity would make them invisible. 

Unless Joe actively discourages it on bandwidth considerations, I think a simple '+1' or 'thanks' is good practice.


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## drew70 (20 February 2012)

just to follow up on my previous post, i have just recieved a response from cmc markets. Better late than never i suppose. 



"_Thank you for contacting CMC Markets Stockbroking.

I can confirm that once shares are purchased online they are available or should be available instantly to sell.

Currently I am not aware of this issue or one like this in the past. If this does happen in future the best advice is to contact CMC Markets straight away so we can investigate.

If we can be of any further assistance please contact us via phone or email between the hours of 7:30 am to 5:30 pm AEST Monday to Friday_."

 Well i know i didn't imagine it, so this didn't shed any light on the matter and it doesn't help contacting them by email. not exactly the quickest response time

Maybe it was just a once only glitch..


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## Gringotts Bank (20 February 2012)

CMC have always taken 2-4 days to reply to any email enquiries I've made.
Etrade is more like 2 days.
Bell is same day or next day.


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## Jester (27 April 2012)

Hi all,

I am brand new myself and am really appreciating the forums,  Everyone appears very helpful and patient.  It's a lot more complicated then I realised, so it helps a lot, keep up the great work!


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## mr. jeff (27 April 2012)

Gringotts Bank said:


> Etrade is more like 2 days.




Once you spend more than ~ 2K/year on fees they will give you an account manager and a direct number which is answered straight away. Not bad but you pay for it.


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## VeryGreen (28 April 2012)

Oh my!

I hope I always display my gratitude. Not knowing my a$$ from my elbow at the moment I am hoping that I get LOTS of free, juicy, no strings attached advice. 

I've been reading bits and pieces and my first thread here was titled something like From a newbie, thank you. 

I'm so happy this place exists because reading it is really showing me how little I know. Feel free to roll up the newspaper and wrap me on the nose with it if I appear to be ungrateful.


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