I have a few comments on your post, trader_joe, and at the end, a comment for the thread.
a) How does a trader who has no credentials in the field, no publications even and has not put in a 'track record' gratis ask for money and claim equal status with those that have been around and taught, wrote educational treatises, held seminars, honorary roundtable forums in trading expos, etc? What is the benchmark of experience measured against? Compared to whom? Compared to SI traders? or compared with educators of repute?
There are plenty of poor traders, if not frauds, among the group you suggest.
c) Silicon Investor SHOULD be used as it was intended a FREE forum for exchanging stock related data and not a pedestal for self-congratulatory effusion and gushing self-directed accolades.
go2net.com - Terms of Use.
Interesting, note items 4 and 6.
4. posting or transmitting any advertising, promotional materials, or any other forms of solicitation, including but not limited to "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," or unsolicited mass distribution of email;
The definition of solicitation in the context of SI is going to be difficult to interpret. Is posting a representative chart solicitation? Answering a question? Crowing about one's success? Failure?
What about someone who enthusiastically promotes an illiquid, unheard of stock? Or any stock for that matter. Are they a pumper? Simply a visionary ahead of their time? Promotion of that sort goes on 24 hours a day. We can be safe in assuming that many posters within the SI community have questionable if not illegal motives.
6. starting a thread on a message board that has to do with a stock or stocks (any message found under such thread may be deleted without prior notice);
Well there you go, almost every thread is against the terms of use and I expect SI to shut its doors promptly.
c) Silicon Investor SHOULD be used as it was intended a FREE forum for exchanging stock related data and not a pedestal for self-congratulatory effusion and gushing self-directed accolades.
I see you are a little new around SI, both from your profile and your posts. Take it for what it is, do not expect it to be more than that. Its foolish to expect that hundreds of thousands of unnamed posters, trader_joe, are going to aspire to some higher calling. Lets look at the real world of retail and institutional investing and trading - that crowd hardly displays model behaviour, certainly its not going to be achieved in nameless on-line forums.
e) I have often set up loans for entrepreneurial endeavors so they could engage advertisers, publicists, backers but not to take advantage of the 'public' for solicitation to profit.
What's your point? Have you no comment on the not-distant past, where billions upon billions of worthless paper was off-loaded onto the public? Development grade companies with no real prospects being pumped and promoted by investment bankers both reputable and not, the risk being pawned off on the public.
Caveat emptor, not often considered during these heady times.
Most people, traders, educators, housewives and husbands, frauds, flakes, and honest folk alike, on SI, Yahoo, Raging Bull, etc., are *talking their positions*, with high hopes of profit. Each hopes to 'score'. Some have a decent understanding for the process. Most do not. It has always been this way, and despite advances in information delivery, it likely always will be. It is, of course, not a zero sum game. The house get's their cut regardless.
f) Having a public forum used solely to promote commercial endeavors is an invasion of privacy. This would be compared with unsolicited e-mail or spam mail, or banners 'blinking' on websites which was an intrusion on our enjoyment. We come to SI to learn, to post, to enjoy sharing stock talk. We open a magazine and we are PREPARED to see advertisements but not where we have paid our dues for a FREE FORUM FOR DISCOURSE. There should be contraints or SI against opening a number of threads, and/or posting solely on the vested interest of solicting to join a pay services of questionable repute.
You are a grown up, use Barbara Bush's advice, "Just Say No!".
In other words, abstain from clicking. You can do it. Others can say what they will. Your constitution advocates it.
Regarding the thread:
Clearly there are shams and frauds and folks with no business being in this business, and no business representing themselves as having anything to offer others.
Just as clearly, there are plenty of people meeting that criteria who are employed directly within the business, duly licensed by appropriate regulatory bodies. Perhaps more attention should be trained on them than currently is.
Just as certainly, there are professionals and honest folks who have worthwhile contributions to make, across all aspects of the trading and investing spectrum.
Addressing 'Why teach if you can trade', I have to assume that the thread originator has either a) not been a professional trader or b) has not been an individual trader for long.
Trading is boring. At least, in my opinion, it should be. Those that have been consistently successful through many years will probably echo this. Emotion has no place in the psyche of most professional traders, although I'm sure exceptions exist. For many traders, patience and fewer trades are the key to success.
And for many, this translates to boredom - and for some, this will drive them to create new opportunities for themselves.
Some traders gravitate to education because it is their nature to share. Some may do it to pass the time. Some may do it to generate a new line of business, recognizing that they may not always be interested in being behind a screen, waiting for a setup to play out.
Over the years I've been fortunate to run into a number of true professionals who have talent to share and graciousness to give. Some do it freely. Some charge for the privilege. One I know gives their all for free on a publicly accessible web site, yet people pay for direct interaction even though they could, if they had the desire, teach themselves.
I've also witnessed plenty who are obvious and possibly provable frauds.
But such is life, there are good and bad people in this industry, like all others. To my mind it makes little sense to pontificate about the obvious in life here. And with that comment, its likely my own contribution here is now complete.
Regards,
Michael |
