I found "The Death of Silicon Investor" from a link posted on another thread. I thought this subject has potential for a SubjectMark and I read about the last four weeks' postings.
This seemed like such a pertinent thread for a subject I am interested in. And then I came across stuff like this:
"The convenient lies of the fascist right have no common sense to them, only exploitation, unfairness, dishonesty and did I mention exploitation? What you stand for is anathema to a just society. What you stand for is sick...."
That sort of posting, found on almost any thread you randomly pick, is the REAL Death of Silicon Investor. SI has become a picnic ground for people who insist on fighting an ideological war here. They have every right to their own opinions, but SI is not a proper forum for the war.
Until SI exercises its right to exclude people whose interests are incompatible with the activity of investing, those who are still in the market will increasingly ignore SI as a discussion medium. Is that not a 'death spiral'?
I am not anti-freedom-of-speech. However, I am strongly pro-'legitimacy-of-context'. SI should not be a dumping ground for personal attacks of an ideological nature. If a message is not somehow about the nature of investing, it should be excluded. If a poster's messages are repeatedly excluded, he should be banned as well.
I don't argue that disagreement and confrontation should be avoided. I don't say that shorts should not have a voice here. I think it's entirely suitable to dig one's claws into a company's business activities, management decisions, or the analysis of a stock's price behavior.
Tear a stock apart or wrap it all in blue ribbons. That's all investment-relevant.
But post messages like: "DO YOU WORK FOR A LIVING ?????" and SI will be washed down the tubes.
If SI can not restore itself to the premiere type of board it once was, SI will surely fade away.
Does anyone remember when 'search engine' and AltaVista were synonymous for each other? Does anyone even use AltaVista any more? It won't find a "Death of Silicon Investor", but offers a link to buy one on eBay.
Google has captured much of the search engine business, can be downloaded to be a browser toolbar, and finds "Death of Silicon Investor".
SI is now at that crossroads. It can choose to become an AltaVista or a Google. I don't think I see any reason for optimism here. |
