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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: chic_hearne who wrote (12232)	8/19/2000 6:28:05 PM
From: SI Bob	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 436258

While you were gone the other SI Admins took it upon themselves to ban MythMan for unjust reasons. I hope you plan to reverse this decision of your peers. There is only one other SI Admin. That's Jeff. I don't think it'll violate any rules of my conduct for me to say here that I am the person who suspended MythMan's account. If the market goes up, we are taunted by the clowns because the market went up. If the market goes down, we are taunted by the clowns because they think the short sellers make the market go down. If the market doesn't do anything, we are taunted by the clowns I think most of the Clown Free Zone shares the opinion that most of the other SI members are unable to understand the complex economy The whole idea of referring to those who disagree as "clowns" is likely an important piece of this problem. Someone disagrees with me, therefore they're a "clown", "idiot", "fool", "Bozo", "moron" or whatever. Such a label makes it easy to dismiss them and their statements. And elevates me by knocking them down. Let me paraphrase your statements in the hopes of making my point clearer. "Those idiots are too stupid to understand market-related things so they taunt us all the time." Do they taunt because they've been taunted? Perhaps. It's often the case. It's one thing to prove our outlook is the correct one. It's another to make ours appear better by criticizng any other outlook. It's quite another to (attempt to) make ours appear to be the only correct one by referring to others as idiots if they don't use our approach to the market. I think that this is very unfair that 10-20 taunts by the clowns, followed up by one or two responses by an anti-clown leads to one of us being banned That would be unfair. Fortunately, it's not the case. At least not that I'm aware of. If we've missed something, let me know. But before you do, please check the profile of whoever you think was doing the taunting and see if they're currently posting. They might not be. MythMan has lots of company in Fort Bob right now. And will be released earlier than his cellmates because his posts, though still inappropriate, were provoked to a certain extent. I hope the SI admins can come up with a better way to moderate the disputes that go on between the clowns and the anti-clowns. This seems very unfair the way the situation is currently handled. Perhaps it's not in the hands of the admins at all. While I've never had the following conversation with anyone verbatim, it's the way a lot of these discussions come across to me: Member: "So-and-so just called me an idiot." Me: "Yes, they did. In reply to your post calling them one." Member: "But when I said it, it was true." It's not possible for me to keep up with every post in this thread, but I've read enough during its existence that the "they're taunting us but we're not taunting them" gambit really doesn't work with me. ;) Regards, SI Admin (Bob)

To: chic_hearne who wrote (12232)	8/19/2000 7:12:25 PM
From: EL KABONG!!!	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

chic, I realize you were addressing SI Admin Bob in your post, but I'm going to stick my two cents worth in anyway. <g> I am a long term, buy-and-hold type of investor. As such, I realize that the market goes up and the market goes down. I have cyber-friends on SI that are day traders, swing traders, longs, shorts and all kinds of other investment strategies. I get along well with all of them, even though our strategies are vastly different. Sometimes I will see a trader has posted that s/he is short a stock where I have a long position. Do I get upset about this? No. In the skimpy times frames where traders make/lose money, my stocks are going to be volatile to some extent. I realize this and have freely elected to ride out any volatility over time. So I don't "attack" those who are short my stock. And I don't look at it as though they have their fingers in my wallet. My strategy is to have time work for me, and history shows this to be a winning strategy, as most stocks appreciate at approximately 10% or 11% per annum on average. I am an investor, not a trader. There is a difference. However, people who do fight with the shorts (or the longs) do so because (usually) their position on any given day is diametrically opposed to the the short (or long) position. Take a look at the threads with lots of squabbles without posting your opinions or comments. Generally speaking, you will find swing traders (or sometimes day traders), but mostly people who call themselves long term investors with a long position. On the other side, you will find the shorts, who by definition are short term traders with short positions. I can understand the long traders arguing the merits of their position with the short traders, but the true thread longs shouldn't even be involved in the dispute. If they are truly long term investors, then they should be willing and able to ride out volatility. And there's the rub. They label themselves as long term investors, but in reality they are not. They are traders masquerading as investors; fair weather friends if you prefer that label. Simply avoid posting on threads where herd mentality rules the roost, and you'll avoid most of the squabbles. And develop a thick skin. Learn to disregard the rude commentary emanating from the ignorant masses, and focus instead on your total returns, whether from a long position or a short position. You'll be much happier and live longer for the effort. He who laughs last laughs best. No one else has to know how hard you're laughing at any given moment, if you catch my drift. <g> A good day to you. KJC