Reinvigorate ASF as a stock forum

[Joe Blow]

To all those who wish to make ASF a better place, I would simply ask that you obey the site rules and treat others with respect at all times, irrespective of how much you might disagree with them. If everyone did that one thing ASF would be the perfect forum. Of course, we all know that's never going to happen, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect people to give it their best shot. Every single ASF member has the potential to make this forum a better place every single time they visit.

The bickering in this thread highlights the fact that people are never going to see eye to eye all the time. There will be disagreements and arguments. It's how you act towards those you disagree with that matters. Personal attacks, insults, accusations and provocation never, ever help. They only serve to worsen and escalate an already bad situation.

ASF is a community and every single one of you is a citizen. So, are you going to be a good citizen or a bad citizen? The first step towards making ASF the forum you would like it to be is being a good citizen every time you visit. The moderators and I will do our best to enforce the rules in a fair and evenhanded way, but we need the support and assistance of every single ASF member. After all, any community, whether in real life or on the internet, is only as good as the sum of its citizens.

 

[yonnie]

And if you scroll back not once was my post directed at you , it was someone else AND that person knows why , we allready had the chat on the subject and i was merely being a smartarse

I really dont know why you ASSUME I`m only paper trading???

how can you say that if you dont know my personal circumstances at all?

 

[professor_frink]

I also agree. I have personally been put off from posting on "serious" threads for fear of being subjected to the scorn and ridicule that does seem to be rather prevalent at times on this forum. Us newbies do ask some truly stupid things at times, but that is how we learn. If shown the error of our ways in polite and constructive language - we will learn or at least consider an alternative viewpoint offered by a more experienced trader/investor. If scorned and ridiculed in a condescending manner, it's far more likely that ASF will lose a potential member.

It may also be possible that opinions/methods that differ from one's own aren't always wrong - just different?? Several ways to skin a cat, and all that

Having said all that though, I do often find myself laughing at my screen at some of the argy-bargy that goes on - it can be very entertaining when it's not directed at yourself

Hi DocK,

Whilst I can understand why you would be concerned at some of the responses that can fly around on the forum from time to time, putting yourself "out there" and making your views, ideas and strategies known can be a great way to get in contact with like minded individuals, and generally I've found it to be an overwhelmingly positive experience. When I first started trading index futures back in 2006, just by making regular contributions to the SPI trading thread at the time(which has some of the worst examples of forum behaviour I've seen in my time here and it ended up getting closed down), I ended up making contact with quite a few other traders, and spent months in contact with them exchanging ideas, various bits of market related information, spent time in the Chatroom section of the site discussing what was going on in the market at the time quite often too. A lot of this happened outside the scope of the thread on the forum, but was incredibly valuable, and has helped me develop as a trader.

If you have some ideas you want to share and you do, odds are there is someone on the forum that has had some kind of experience that can be of help, and it may not come in the form of a reply to a thread you post in. That's one of the great things about sites like this one - there are some brilliant networking opportunities to be had, you've just got to put yourself out there to be found

As is often the case, an example from traderfeed says it better than I can:

http://traderfeed.blogspot.com/2010/03/thoughts-on-networking-and-success.html

It always surprises me that people who otherwise seem to desire success don't follow through on their desires with solid, persistent networking.

Life is a team sport. You learn from others, you benefit from their experience, you develop your thinking by incorporating their perspectives--and they learn, benefit, and develop in their interactions with you.

Never, ever be afraid to make yourself visible. Put yourself out there: your ideas, your experience, your interests. Cold call 20 promising people; it's the one or two that respond meaningfully that will add to your life and career.

No one will cheerlead for you; no one will discover you; no one will take you under their wing if they don't see and hear from you.

Reach out to likeminded traders. Put out enough information that likeminded traders can reach out to you. No matter how inexperienced you might be, don't be afraid to reach out to those who are more accomplished.

It's not about crass self-promotion. It's about recognizing the synergies that are possible in positive working relationships.

Go for it.

 

[nunthewiser]

I really dont know why you ASSUME I`m only paper trading???

how can you say that if you dont know my personal circumstances at all?

yonnie


Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 492 Re: Reinvigorate ASF as a stock forum

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I agree with sinner.

I was thinking about starting a thread about my penny world, but cant be bothered really

Originally Posted by nunthewiser
Yes being questioned about your paper trading scenarios by people using real trading techniques would be a rather tiring excercise.
I totally understand.

Like i said, my previous post was merely a humerous response to your post .

It was in regards to THIS conversation

https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=564093#post564093

The conversation in question begins at post# 23

we already covered this in the thread.

Sorry if my response offended you

I have nothing more to say on this matter.

have a good day

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

Nun, Get thee to a nunnery sir.

It is inexcusable, you will need a good whipping.

This behaviour with the paper trading lad is way beyond a joke. Stalin and Hitler's crimes pale into insignificance against your slights upon his as yet unproven prowess with his hardearned.

gg

 

[dutchie]

Feedback on this decision, of course, is always welcome!

Hi Joe

Feedback - I do not like the new system. I feel that all posts should be of equal importance. If this is a stock only related forum (not that there is anything wrong with that) then why have general chat etc. at all.

Cheers

Dutchie

 

[Joe Blow]

I like what you have done with the "general chat" not appearing on the main menu scene #1 home page. Very clever. Thank you Joe !

Feedback - I do not like the new system. I feel that all posts should be of equal importance. If this is a stock only related forum (not that there is anything wrong with that) then why have general chat etc. at all.

The profile of the General Chat forum and indeed the very existence of the General Chat forum seems to be an issue that polarises ASF members.

Two responses to the change and two very different opinions. This change can be rolled back with the click of a button so I am very interested in getting some more feedback on this.

 

[Logique]

Feedback to Joe and Mods:

it's your forum, it's perfectly reasonable that you remove links, or posters, or remove General Chat altogether if you so wish. When browsing, I don't access the forums via the home page anyway.

Joe, you and the other mods do a great job, and realistically, you signed on to moderate a stocks based forum, not to run a social commentary site. That said - I've really enjoyed sharing general chat ideas with other posters in the run up to the federal election, thanks for the opportunity.

All the best,
Logique

 

[sails]

Hi Joe

Feedback - I do not like the new system. I feel that all posts should be of equal importance. If this is a stock only related forum (not that there is anything wrong with that) then why have general chat etc. at all.

Cheers

Dutchie

Dutchie, my initial reaction to the change was also quite negative as I like to keep ASF minimised throughout the day and then periodically click on the "home" button to refresh. All the latest posts would then pop up in bold on the home page. Very convenient...

But then I can also understand from Joe's point of view with new people coming to ASF and some of the obscure general chat titles.

So now I click on the "new posts" button instead of the "home" button to refresh the page and that brings up ALL the latest posts. Within a few days it will become automatic and no longer a frustration...

 

[DocK]

I also don't generally use the home page, but click on "new posts" which shows all - I find it easier that way and it's no biggie to just ignore any posts that don't sound interesting to me. The only suggestion I can think of to possibly make the home page easier to navigate would be to include a column beside the name of the thread with the name of the forum it belongs to - that way it will be obvious to all which recent threads are stock related, appropriate for beginners, general chat etc.

Just my - I personally thought things were fine as they were. I think doing away with general chat altogether would result in many members not visiting as often - I doubt I'm the only one who only contributes to general chat but reads and learns a lot from the other stock threads.

 

[nioka]

Regardless of the manner that the posts are available I have seen the fall off of stock related posts over the last couple of years. I have noticed the number of those logged on at any time reduce. What we need for the forum to survive and I mean survive, is that there were more stock related posts.

Remember this is a FREE forum and by free I mean no cost to those logging on. As such it relies on advertisers. I doubt that the advertisers are happy to contribute to a "general chat show". By drawing attention to the problem I believe that we have already seen an increase in investor contribution. I hope this will continue for I believe that Joe does a good job but he needs everybodys support.

If there are those that only want to chat then they have to live with the fact that this is basically a stock forum that provides facilities to chat. We live in a commercial world. There are not a lot of freebies.

Joe, Can I suggest a poll of some sort to settle the issue. In the meantime I will concentrate on stocks but be happy to join Dorythy Dix at times.

Back to checking stock news.

 

[kgee]

The profile of the General Chat forum and indeed the very existence of the General Chat forum seems to be an issue that polarises ASF members.

Two responses to the change and two very different opinions. This change can be rolled back with the click of a button so I am very interested in getting some more feedback on this.

Joe is there anyway you could keep the same format but split the page?
I love this site but it always depends on how many wines I've had as to where i should direct my attention?
Put a Dollar sign on one half...and a yabbering fool on the other
and squeeze the advertizers down the middle
then we can track it for popularity and make up some new rule for heaven hell and purgatory
And at the same time share a little usefull information and personal anaysis, spin a little bull**** and at times get righteous and indignant
What more could you ask from a website?

 

[dutchie]

Sails - I agree that it might just be that I need to change the way I access ASF.

I can agree with a lot of the sentiment expressed by other posters to make threads more relevant to stocks and trading.

However I can see that in nearly every forum I have visited there are always posters who want to make general observations on life, the news etc.

If the General Chat threads are not on the main page then newbies may not even know that there are General Chat threads.

Some of the threads are relevant to the stock market (i.e. which political party is in power, what new policies are being considered etc).

Would it be possible to extend the new post list so that you can go further back (past the 21 odd shown initially)?

 

[nioka]

Would it be possible to extend the new post list so that you can go further back (past the 21 odd shown initially)?

If I've been away from the computer for a period I always have clicked on "New Posts" because in goes back to include posts not currently on the home page. It shows all the posts since you last logged on not just the 21 odd. Just click on page 2 etc.

 

[Julia]

Joe, you're providing us with a free forum, so the decisions are yours, of course.
I did prefer the General Chat threads being included on the Home Page but can easily access these via the "Forums" link.

I've found the New Posts link only gives a complete picture if you have read right through it on the previous visit. Ditto clicking on the icon which takes you to the "first new post". If you haven't read a particular thread during the previous log in, these don't take you back actually to the last post you did read but just to the last post that was made when you were previously logged on.
Sorry, that's a horribly garbled explanation.

Personally I liked Timmy's idea of the Home Page being split into two: the stock and stock related threads, and the general chat threads.
It has previously been observed that especially the political threads are very relevant to what happens in the business world and therefore markets, so should not be dismissed as irrelevant or unimportant.

Just looking at many of the stock threads, and of course this is just a personal view, I wouldn't even access most of them because they're stocks that rarely fit my risk profile. But I do understand that there are many who like trading these.

I don't think any of us know exactly why, but I'd say the fall off in support and in posts has been for two main reasons: 1. the current market conditions - whilst Nioka, e.g. enjoys this situation I think many more prefer to stand aside until there's more stability. 2. the "them and us" culture which has developed between the apparently acknowledged trading experts and those with less experience, both technically and in a general financial sense. The experts can be humiliatingly cutting and sarcastic and imo this would be very offputting to someone whose offence is simply inexperience.
We have all, I'd say, asked some dumb questions at some stage.

That said, I'd hate to see ASF turned into some prissy sort of politically correct environment where we can't have fun, be derogatory about politicians etc. I did feel a bit like a schoolgirl yesterday when I read the directive to be a "good citizen", though I do understand the motivation behind the directive.

Dunno, Joe, you have a tough job if you're trying to please all of us. Probably impossible. Unless the general chat threads are banished altogether in order to create a purely stock forum, I'm happy to adapt to whatever format you think is best. Thanks for giving us an opportunity to make our suggestions.

 

[Wysiwyg]

Regardless of the manner that the posts are available I have seen the fall off of stock related posts over the last couple of years.

As has been posted before, the stock market took a huge dive and I assume many did not know how to handle it and lost a lot of hard earned during it. I am positive the majority are very reluctant to enter the market and thus chat stocks on forums. Why can't you understand this?

I have noticed the number of those logged on at any time reduce.

Have you also noticed there are twice or three times more guests looking than there are registered users logged in?

What we need for the forum to survive and I mean survive, is that there were more stock related posts.

There is a fine balance of stock and non stock related posts here. When the bull is running there is more posts stock related and while the market is in the downers there is obviously less. Is this not blatantly obvious?

Remember this is a FREE forum and by free I mean no cost to those logging on. As such it relies on advertisers. I doubt that the advertisers are happy to contribute to a "general chat show".

How would you know what advertisers see? They are primarily looking for exposure and they get plenty here by the hundreds of guests that peruse and/or join this site every day.

If there are those that only want to chat then they have to live with the fact that this is basically a stock forum that provides facilities to chat. We live in a commercial world. There are not a lot of freebies.

People make up their own minds. You do not determine who posts what and where on this forum. There is a great mix and forum layout which makes this forum unique from the other Australian Stock Forums.

 

[nunthewiser]

As has been posted before, the stock market took a huge dive and I assume many did not know how to handle it and lost a lot of hard earned during it. I am positive the majority are very reluctant to enter the market and thus chat stocks on forums. Why can't you understand this? Have you also noticed there are twice or three times more guests looking than there are registered users logged in?
There is a fine balance of stock and non stock related posts here. When the bull is running there is more posts stock related and while the market is in the downers there is obviously less. Is this not blatantly obvious?
How would you know what advertisers see? They are primarily looking for exposure and they get plenty here by the hundreds of guests that peruse and/or join this site every day.

People make up there own minds. You do not determine who posts what and where on this forum. There is a great mix and forum layout which makes this forum unique from the other Australian Stock Forums.

Good post.

 

[Tink]

Hi Joe

My feedback is - I dont mind either way, as General is still as easy to find this way if you want to look at it.

I can understand you changing it, especially for the newcomers

Keep up the good work, to you and the moderators.

Regards, Tink

 

[nioka]

As has been posted before, the stock market took a huge dive and I assume many did not know how to handle it and lost a lot of hard earned during it. I am positive the majority are very reluctant to enter the market and thus chat stocks on forums. Why can't you understand this?

I dont understand why you cant see that ....you....are wrong, wrong wrong.

 

[Agentm]

The profile of the General Chat forum and indeed the very existence of the General Chat forum seems to be an issue that polarises ASF members.

Two responses to the change and two very different opinions. This change can be rolled back with the click of a button so I am very interested in getting some more feedback on this.

imho general chat is for the time wasters, its not really forum investment material, and having it separate is a brilliant move, it also lets you identify those who are just there to chat and those whom are really contributing to quality of stock threads and stock issues..

sure i can appreciate the popular chatters that never post on the stock threads will not see their threads up all the time, but who cares, they clutter up the important stock threads, which is why we are all here isnt it??


please dont change it around, for me seeing the schapelle corby thread or the julian gillard thread gone is a huge relief..

is it possible to have a longer index page on the home page? one that expands a few pages longer? or scrolls down a long long way further??

cheers