The Five Commandments of Aussie Stock Forums

[kincella]

"Robots Unlike Mofra I didnt expect you to grasp my comments. However I did expect you to understand yields and return on investments concepts, but I guess one should never assume."

the above was posted by Taltan, yesterday on the housing thread.....I find that insulting to Robots.....and other viewers.....readers.....

it seems to be fair game....on the housing thread, to insult and ridicule...and name call anyone with an opposing view.....robots and myself were singled out for this.....
I dont intend to return, until you stop the personal attacks.....
just to remind you of this rule.............

1. Thou shalt treat other ASF members with respect.

In short that means no insults, name calling or personal attacks. It also means do not deliberately provoke others. We will no longer be allowing inflammatory threads that are intended solely to provoke and divide the ASF community. If you are starting a thread on a controversial topic please ensure that you frame the discussion in a constructive way. A little pot stirring is fine, but any post that directly insults another ASF member or encourages hatred of or vilifies a particular group of people will be removed and an infraction will be issued.

Those who continually demonstrate that they are unable to treat others respectfully or who persist in provoking others will have their ASF account permanently suspended.

 

[Joe Blow]

"Robots Unlike Mofra I didnt expect you to grasp my comments. However I did expect you to understand yields and return on investments concepts, but I guess one should never assume."

the above was posted by Taltan, yesterday on the housing thread.....I find that insulting to Robots.....and other viewers.....readers.....

it seems to be fair game....on the housing thread, to insult and ridicule...and name call anyone with an opposing view.....robots and myself were singled out for this.....
I dont intend to return, until you stop the personal attacks.....
just to remind you of this rule.............

1. Thou shalt treat other ASF members with respect.

In short that means no insults, name calling or personal attacks. It also means do not deliberately provoke others. We will no longer be allowing inflammatory threads that are intended solely to provoke and divide the ASF community. If you are starting a thread on a controversial topic please ensure that you frame the discussion in a constructive way. A little pot stirring is fine, but any post that directly insults another ASF member or encourages hatred of or vilifies a particular group of people will be removed and an infraction will be issued.

Those who continually demonstrate that they are unable to treat others respectfully or who persist in provoking others will have their ASF account permanently suspended.

Robots gives as good as he gets, but you're right, those two property threads cause us more management headaches than any other threads on ASF and for that reason they have now been permanently closed.

Any attempt to open new threads on the same topic will result in the threads being deleted and the thread starter being permanently suspended from ASF.

Enough is enough.

 

[DocK]

Hi Julia,

In the past we have occasionally had problems with people who have no interest in the stock market showing up with the sole intention of disrupting the General Chat forum. This is what motivated me to consider restricting posting in the General Chat forum to those who have demonstrated an interest in trading/investing. The post qualification would be a nominal amount and would not be difficult for those with a genuine interest in the stock market to reach fairly quickly.

Anyway, I am still open to suggestion and would be interested in the opinions of other ASF members on this proposed change.

If I may suggest one aspect that could be considered? To use myself as an example - I do have a great interest in the stock market, but very rarely post in the "serious" threads, but post mainly in the general section. This is not due to lack of interest, but lack of knowledge. I'm still in the learning stage and really enjoy reading and learning from threads about investing strategies, brokers, software etc - but I know I have very little or nothing of value to add and therefore do not post. I benefit a great deal from the more serious side of ASF, but am not able to contribute (yet). So far, I have been able to find the answers to most of my many questions through searching prior threads - although a couple of questions posted have been promptly and politely answered by regulars.

On the other hand, I do like to be involved, and enjoy posting in the General Chat forum on topics that interest or amuse me - and feel as qualified as the next poster to air my opinion on non-investment matters. Naturally, in my opinion it would be a shame if newbies like myself couldn't post at all until we had accrued a certain number of posts in the trading/investment threads. I would have thought the more serious members would be more annoyed by people like me posting valueless content purely to boost my post count ? After all, anyone who finds the general chat annoying can ignore that part of ASF entirely without any bother.

 

[Mad Mel]

Joe, something that I've seen used on other forums which are based on the same software is a 'Thanks' feature. It allows people to display their agreement with a post or indicate that they feel it was valuable, without cluttering the forum with short messages. As an example, I would 'Thank' DocK's message above, because it reflects my thoughts as well, so there's no point me reiterating it. It could be an option to the 100 character limit. Just something to consider. Cheers.

 

[explod]

Robots gives as good as he gets, but you're right, those two property threads cause us more management headaches than any other threads on ASF and for that reason they have now been permanently closed.

Any attempt to open new threads on the same topic will result in the threads being deleted and the thread starter being permanently suspended from ASF.

Enough is enough.

This is a sorry state of affairs IMV Joe, and I perhaps now lament my own near rantings on these threads also. A few weeks ago for example Robots and I p/m ed each other in the freindly aussie way, agreed to disagree and also continue to belt each other as we thought fit.

Although I supposoe ASF purports, by the word "stock", to be confined to that area of investing, a great deal of good exchange revolves around some much more unrelated and sometimes trivial content.

The are shades where property, as product, is part of the ASX which should clearly rule it in, but as a topic of conversation for investors, is hard to rule out also.

Perhaps the titles parts, "to keep rising/falling for years' may have been a key to the problem, as in fact no investment continues on an even trajectory and if you are in on the conversation you are most probably black or white.

Could we perhaps consider threads such as "The residential Property Market" "The Investment Property Market", "Commercial Property" or
"The Best Ways to Invest in Property" etc.

cheers Explod

 

[nunthewiser]

RIP housing threads :behead:

Gunna miss Robots and roundabout discussions :hide:

 

[satanoperca]

The are shades where property, as product, is part of the ASX which should clearly rule it in, but as a topic of conversation for investors, is hard to rule out also.

Could we perhaps consider threads such as "The residential Property Market" "The Investment Property Market", "Commercial Property" or
"The Best Ways to Invest in Property" etc.

cheers Explod

Fully agree, while some of the posts were benign, alot contained good arguements supported by facts.

I for one found the threads interesting and constructive in gaining a better understanding of the property market.

It would be a shame that ASF does not have a single thread on property.

Please mods allow a single thread on residential property.

Cheers

 

[Joe Blow]

Unfortunately it all comes down to management.

When a thread requires no management it is of no concern to myself or the moderators. We have no interest in intervening in threads that are constructive and civil. But when a thread takes up an excessive amount of our time because of trolling and personal attacks and it ceases to serve any useful purpose, there is no point in allowing it to continue.

I will have a think about allowing another property thread but if it were to happen there would be a zero tolerance policy with regard to trolling and personal attacks, punishable by instant month long suspensions.

Ultimately the success or failure of any thread is in the hands of the thread participants. There are threads thousands of posts in length where the moderators and I have not had to intervene once and there has not been one single reported post. If the property threads were like that we would have absolutely no problem with them, but sadly, that is not the case.

 

[nunthewiser]

I understand and respect the fact of it creating extra work for you and the moderators .. Thats fair enough if its come to the point where you guys cannot be bothered with it anymore ........Understandable even .

How about if I or any other of these posters here that will miss the banter puts there hand up to volunteer as the moderator for the 2 property threads only ?

Sincere offer, i do understand it may not be practical or easy enough to organise but it is another option to keep a very active couple of threads still in motion .

NOT with banning powers but the ability to remove any offensive or attacking posts ?

 

[satanoperca]

Fair call Joe, it seems quite unreasonable for mods to have to monitor every posts and every thread.

I will have a think about allowing another property thread but if it were to happen there would be a zero tolerance policy with regard to trolling and personal attacks, punishable by instant month long suspensions.

If you do reach the conclusion that a general property thread is appropriate then it seems quite reasonable if you infringe the rules, then out to the dog box for one month to think about what you have done.

I will also miss Robots daily commentary and pick me up comments.

Cheers

 

[Joe Blow]

What some people don't seem to grasp about moderation is that it is all about the management of the ASF community, nothing more.

There are members who have been here for five years or more who have never received so much as a warning. Those who consistently obey the site rules and behave themselves will, in all likelihood, never hear from the moderators or myself.

There are no ulterior motives or axe grinding, all we are trying to do is make ASF an enjoyable and constructive place for everyone. People are judged solely by the content of their posts. There are no other considerations.

I will have a bit more of a think about property threads before making any decision.

 

[cuttlefish]

Joe just a thought - the house price rising thread is one of only several threads on the whole site that have had more than 7000 replies and over 200,000 views and provides a concentrated location for discussion of property prices. Given those statistics, does it not also seem reasonable that it will also be one of the most active in terms of moderation.

The volume of views and replies would make it the equivalent of multiple threads in terms of posting/viewing activity and thus also moderation work.

If I do a search on ASF for 'invest' and limit it to threads with over 7000 replies only three threads show up, the 'house prices to keep rising' thread being the third in the list. So it could be argued that the property thread is the third most popular thread on investment on the whole ASF site.

 

[Joe Blow]

Joe just a thought - the house price rising thread is one of only several threads on the whole site that have had more than 7000 replies and over 200,000 views and provides a concentrated location for discussion of property prices. Given those statistics, does it not also seem reasonable that it will also be one of the most active in terms of moderation.

The volume of views and replies would make it the equivalent of multiple threads in terms of posting/viewing activity and thus also moderation work.

If I do a search on ASF for 'invest' and limit it to threads with over 7000 replies only three threads show up, the 'house prices to keep rising' thread being the third in the list. So it could be argued that the property thread is the third most popular thread on investment on the whole ASF site.

We're prepared to accept a reasonable amount of managment in the course of maintaining the ASF community but the property threads simply got out of control. There was far too much trolling and personal attacks by too high a percentage of thread participants. We did out best but would often find ourselves removing a dozen posts at a time that were off topic or otherwise over the line. Unfortunately, the threads developed a toxic culture all of their own that was unlikey to improve. The moderators and I often discussed shutting them down numerous times but let them go in the hope they would improve. Despite many interventions by us, they never did.

It is unfortunate that those who did not resort to trolling or personal attacks have been penalised by the thread closures and I do acknowledge that and personally I do find it disappointing. However, I am considering what can be done about it and whether or not a new thread can be started with a zero tolerance policy.

 

[theasxgorilla]

How about if I or any other of these posters here that will miss the banter puts there hand up to volunteer as the moderator for the 2 property threads only ?

Sincere offer, i do understand it may not be practical or easy enough to organise but it is another option to keep a very active couple of threads still in motion .

This is very kind offer Nun, thank you. As Joe has mentioned the approach to property threads is currently being reviewed. Who knows what the future holds.

In the meantime, if you think a situation calls for the attention of a moderator, please use the "report post" button. The majority of posters have excellent judgement about what is reasonable.

Thanks again!

 

[robots]

hello,

good evening, hope all well

yes an interesting topic but life is forever changing and this is a new place in time now,

perhaps me and Nun can share the moderation of any new thread,

we all part of something special, a bond which will continue on through our journey man

thankyou
Doctor Robots

 

[Bill M]

It is unfortunate that those who did not resort to trolling or personal attacks have been penalised by the thread closures and I do acknowledge that and personally I do find it disappointing. However, I am considering what can be done about it and whether or not a new thread can be started with a zero tolerance policy.

I am very disappointed about the closure of the property threads. They were very informative and interesting to read. As someone who has never abused anyone and likes to put in a positive response to threads I am one of those who feels penalised unnecessarily. Why can't we just ban repeating offending posters like they do on other forums? Lets say someone starts abusing someone on the CBA or NAB threads should we close them down forever too? It just doesn't make sense but then again it isn't my website so I respect that and thank you for allowing me to participate in those threads that touch every Australian in one way or another.

 

[MACCA350]

Oh dear, the thought of Robots holding the trigger the following movie scene comes to mind:

General Kimsey: If you're trying to make me feel better about this scenario, give it up.
Truman: To tell you the truth, I'm kind of encouraged. This guy Chick here was an Air Force commando for six years.
General Kimsey: We got robbery, assault, arrest, resisting arrest. We got a collection agent for the mob. Two of these guys have done serious time.
Truman: Look, they're the best at what they do.
General Kimsey: So am I. And I'm not so optimistic. We spend 250 billion dollars a year on defense. And here we are. The fate of the planet is in the hands of a bunch of retards I wouldn't trust with a potato gun.



cheers

 

[drsmith]

It is unfortunate that those who did not resort to trolling or personal attacks have been penalised by the thread closures and I do acknowledge that and personally I do find it disappointing. However, I am considering what can be done about it and whether or not a new thread can be started with a zero tolerance policy.

A minimum character limit (100 ??, 1000 for posts starting with hello).

 

[MACCA350]

A minimum character limit (100 ??, 1000 for posts starting with hello).

 

[MACCA350]

So what's the verdict fella's?
We've got auction results coming tonight but no where to post them.........and it won't be the same without Robots and Kincella's gloating

cheers