Where did everyone go?

[shadowninja]

Could have a thing like You Tube where you can rate a post out of 5. Regular posters will end up with an average score based on their posts. Sounds like a PITA to implement, however.

 

[timsk]

Hi Ambrose,
If you can put your linguistic prowess and fine literary mind to solving the problem referred to in my post, then I'm sure that the next time neil comments on what you say it will be to pat you on the back and compliment you for making such a positive contribution. And for the record, I did say 'it's sort of [tautologous]'

 

[searchlight]

Well I thought it was quite educational

For me, it certainly was educational. I learned something. One rarely learns something on T2W nowadays.

 

[Ambrose Ackroyd]

I made the post because, to be quite honest, I had no idea what the word meant.

I thought it might be helpful to post the meaning so that we could understand what Tim was sort of getting at.

A good post from a good writer would probably not have included such a ridiculously obscure word.

As for Neil, well he sounds to me like a Nigel.

All Nigels I have ever had the misfortune to encounter in this world have been dipsticks.

 

[mb325]

How was the rep system abused?

 

[Mr. Charts]

So "tautology" isn't the -ology of teaching, then..........?
I must go and see what I was taught about the tautology of triple triptychs of the trinity then.
Not to mention trying the tripartite triple angled triangle.
This site is so educational Ed Balls would love ruining it.

 

[timsk]

How was the rep system abused?

Relentlessly, obsessively, outrageously and, on occasions, quite wittily.

Okay, serious answer . . .
1. members would use it as a means of bookmarking threads.
2. as a means of communicating a quick short message to another member as it's easier than sending a PM. (i.e. the post may not have had anything of merit to it at all.)
3. Negative repping, i.e. to make other members think you've repped someone when, in fact, your little message was to say how much you disagreed with their post - or to pass on an insult.
4. out of guilt or loyalty to someone who has repped you.
5. sympathy for someone who has been given grief unjustly but doesn't really deserve a proper rep'.
6. offering 'free' reps to anyone who posted on your thread as a means of bumping the thread.
So on and so on - the list is endless.
Tim.

 

[0007]

Repping - yes, well-abused. Any system for assessing posts has to be easily quantifiable - which is (obviously) why the old system failed because it relied on opinion. Although my opinions are always incisive, correct and logical, it's just possible that you may disagree

The 2 metrics which I believe even the most awkward ba$tard$ on this forum couldn't dispute are: 1. number of posts, 2. sub-forum categories in which they reside. Thus someone who posts a good line in jokes and in the Foyer only, would therefore not be seen as a trading genius (although he/she might be). This doesn't mean that Trading posters are all good but you might be able to infer something of the member's interests at least. Those who post loads and loads of twaddle masquerading as serious trading advice do eventually get rumbled "in the court of public opinion" leaving the likes of Mr.Charts etc to be recognised as worthwhile reading.

So how about a little icon beside the poster's nick, that when you click it shows a mini histogram / pie chart / fancy Java-fangled oddity giving a clear indication of where they've been posting, together with the existing total posts count. You could then draw your own conclusions. For instance, you would see that I am particularly gobby in the news & current affairs threads (I just think, sorry - know that all politicians are lying, dishonest....... etc etc) but have a low count in "how to become a millionaire".

The weakness of my suggestion is the possibility of equating quantity with quality (isn't the Sun the best newspaper?? ) but it could possibly provide some insight easily and instantly available to the average lurker. Possibly the techies and web designers may not like this seemingly trivial (they never are) task but the viewers (or do I mean advertisers) are king aren't they?

 

[pedro01]

Tautology refers to redundancy, repetition, and circular reasoning within an argument or statement.
In logic, a tautology is a statement that is true regardless of the truth-values of its parts.

For example, the statement "All crows are either black, or they are not black," is a tautology because it is true no matter what color crows are.

The opposite of a tautology is a contradiction, which is a statement that is always false.

In linguistics, a tautology is often a fault of style. It was defined by Fowler as "saying the same thing twice". For example, "three-part trilogy" is tautologous because a trilogy, by definition, has three parts. "Significant milestone" and "significant landmark" are also if less obviously tautologous, because milestones and landmarks are again significant by definition (could one imagine an "insignificant landmark"?).

any advice on the use of the word 'pedantry' ?

 

[Ambrose Ackroyd]

Are you sure you don't mean peasantry which is what you find in abundance on these boards ?

 

[GammaJammer]

pretty much true.. i used to post something more useful when i joined this forum.

You're kidding right?

 

[montmorencyt2w]

ouch !

Harsh but I can't help feeling there's some truth there.

So the lesson is: don't ever be a beginner at anything. Don't try and learn. It's all much too hard. Leave it to the experts. Go and play with your toys sonny...

?

 

[montmorencyt2w]

Repping - yes, well-abused. Any system for assessing posts has to be easily quantifiable - which is (obviously) why the old system failed because it relied on opinion. Although my opinions are always incisive, correct and logical, it's just possible that you may disagree

The 2 metrics which I believe even the most awkward ba$tard$ on this forum couldn't dispute are: 1. number of posts, 2. sub-forum categories in which they reside. Thus someone who posts a good line in jokes and in the Foyer only, would therefore not be seen as a trading genius (although he/she might be). This doesn't mean that Trading posters are all good but you might be able to infer something of the member's interests at least. Those who post loads and loads of twaddle masquerading as serious trading advice do eventually get rumbled "in the court of public opinion" leaving the likes of Mr.Charts etc to be recognised as worthwhile reading.

So how about a little icon beside the poster's nick, that when you click it shows a mini histogram / pie chart / fancy Java-fangled oddity giving a clear indication of where they've been posting, together with the existing total posts count. You could then draw your own conclusions. For instance, you would see that I am particularly gobby in the news & current affairs threads (I just think, sorry - know that all politicians are lying, dishonest....... etc etc) but have a low count in "how to become a millionaire".

The weakness of my suggestion is the possibility of equating quantity with quality (isn't the Sun the best newspaper?? ) but it could possibly provide some insight easily and instantly available to the average lurker. Possibly the techies and web designers may not like this seemingly trivial (they never are) task but the viewers (or do I mean advertisers) are king aren't they?

Sounds like a pretty constructive suggestion to me. I would have repped you, but after all that's been said about repping (even if it has changed), that no longer seems appropriate. Your suggestion is better than the old rep system, anyway, and probably better than what is currently left of the old rep system. I also think a star rating per post might have some merit, with a poster's average star rating stored somewhere, not necessarily permanently "on display" - better if it's there if you want to check it but doesn't need to be "in your face".


Ambrose: I was almost with you on "tautology", but I'm afraid you lost me when you went off into wild generalisations.

 

[montmorencyt2w]

Suggestion: Forum streams

Actually, GJ has a point. People like him don't want the clutter of the "low-end"/newbie "noise", and people like me don't always want to be patronised by some of the hardened pros.

I have a serious suggestion, intended to be constructive:

I was going to use the word "segregation" but that has bad connotations..."streaming" is the best I can come up with for now: I suggest that the forum be divided into different streams for different levels of trading experience. Members would be obliged to state their number of years of experience when registering (at present it's only optional I think), and this would be actual years not wide ranges (so not "more than 5 years", but 7 years, 20 years, 3 years or whatever).

Forum areas would be restricted to appropriate levels of experience, with some leeway, e.g. you could read, but not post to a forum stream one level above or below you. OR you could read 2 levels either way, but only post 1 level either way. Some tuning would be needed in the light of experience.

Some areas, like the social threads, would not be restricted. Maybe there could be a small number of trading-related unrestricted threads too but that would have to be carefully moderated to avoid abuse.

The forum admin would have to take what members give as their experience on trust, in the hope that people who lie about it would soon be rumbled. The "years of experience" could could be automatically updated each year, or members would be reminded to update it automatically (and barred if they didn't respond). If people take a break from trading that could be allowed for. Not sure what you do about people who are "educators" but not necessarily active traders.

 

[pedro01]

In my opinion, there is only 1 change needed to this site - keep the spammers out.

For all new members, they should be allowed to post or make new threads BUT - they don't appear on the site until they have been approved by someone (maybe a new team of bullzhit inspectors).

At the point it becomes obvious they are genuine contributors, their status is changed so that no approval is required.

Other sites do this...

 

[arabianights]

Actually, GJ has a point. People like him don't want the clutter of the "low-end"/newbie "noise", and people like me don't always want to be patronised by some of the hardened pros.

I have a serious suggestion, intended to be constructive:

I was going to use the word "segregation" but that has bad connotations..."streaming" is the best I can come up with for now: I suggest that the forum be divided into different streams for different levels of trading experience. Members would be obliged to state their number of years of experience when registering (at present it's only optional I think), and this would be actual years not wide ranges (so not "more than 5 years", but 7 years, 20 years, 3 years or whatever).

Forum areas would be restricted to appropriate levels of experience, with some leeway, e.g. you could read, but not post to a forum stream one level above or below you. OR you could read 2 levels either way, but only post 1 level either way. Some tuning would be needed in the light of experience.

Some areas, like the social threads, would not be restricted. Maybe there could be a small number of trading-related unrestricted threads too but that would have to be carefully moderated to avoid abuse.

The forum admin would have to take what members give as their experience on trust, in the hope that people who lie about it would soon be rumbled. The "years of experience" could could be automatically updated each year, or members would be reminded to update it automatically (and barred if they didn't respond). If people take a break from trading that could be allowed for. Not sure what you do about people who are "educators" but not necessarily active traders.

bureaucracy bureaucracy bureaucracy bureaucracy bureaucracy bureaucracy bureaucracy bureaucracy bureaucracy bureaucracy bureaucracy

No, we don't need any of that ****e.

It's a chicken egg problem. The more experienced traders the more will be attacted.

 

[GammaJammer]

I think the idea of segergating unfortunately fails on a few levels, not least because people would outright lie about their experience. A lot.

And anyway - who's to say that someone has nothing to offer if they've only been in the market 3 years as opposed to my fifteen. Just cos I was a f*kwit for the first few years of my career (quiet at the back) doesn't mean everyone is

 

[timsk]

Sounds like a pretty constructive suggestion to me. I would have repped you, but after all that's been said about repping (even if it has changed), that no longer seems appropriate.

Mike,
The rep' system is left in tact in as much as you can still rep' 0007's post and leave a little message saying that you think his post is good - or that you want his babies - or whatever. It's just that this no longer counts towards accumulating green dots and gold stars etc.

Thanks to everyone with their suggestions as to what could - or should - be done to improve things. Keep the ideas coming, we'll find a way that works - eventually.

Pedro01 - are you able to post a link to a site that operates along the lines you mention in your last post please?
Tim.

 

[mb325]

1. members would use it as a means of bookmarking threads.
create a function allowing users to save a favourite thread or even a favourite post?

2. as a means of communicating a quick short message to another member as it's easier than sending a PM. (i.e. the post may not have had anything of merit to it at all.)
either disable the comment part of repping, or enable a 'quick message' function from the reader to the poster

3. Negative repping, i.e. to make other members think you've repped someone when, in fact, your little message was to say how much you disagreed with their post - or to pass on an insult.
from 2, disable the comment function

4. out of guilt or loyalty to someone who has repped you.
increase the amount you have to 'spread around', or don't allow members to rep people who have repped them in the last 24 hours

5. sympathy for someone who has been given grief unjustly but doesn't really deserve a proper rep'.
this doesn't matter that much as the posters who gain loads of stars won't be getting the majority in this manner

6. offering 'free' reps to anyone who posted on your thread as a means of bumping the thread.
put a limit on the amount of times people can rep posts in the same thread, once they rep say 3 posts, turn it into a 'thread rep'. or ban people from repping posts in their own thread

Also maybe to separate the comedians from the traders there could be two rep buttons, one for lulz and one for good content.

 

[Technically Fundamental]

Segregation? Oh no! Where would I go? My dad is greek!

Nah seriously though I know I don't come here to listen to anyone except people who I outlined in my controversial thread. If I was surrounded by people who knew as little as me I be sliding out of here quicker than greased lightening.