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To: Bill who wrote (17292)	5/19/2003 12:05:35 PM
From: SI Bob	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 32883

Reading back on what I've said on the subject, I see I've done the usual thing of having something in my head but not conveying it and somehow expected that it was conveyed just because I was thinking it while typing something else. So here goes... On a personal level, I have ZERO problem with people who post about the market also posting (even a LOT) about non-market things. It's a clear sign of a real community. My problem is with the dilution caused by people who see this not as a stock site, but as a site only for political discussion or pot-stirring. And the admin workload that can result when those kinds of discussions turn ugly, which they always will when religion or politics is the subject. I do share Matt's view of "If you're also posting about stocks, which contributes to what this site is really about, knock yourself out with the off-topic stuff as much as you like. If you're not here to ever talk about the market, why are you here?" For futher clarification, the signal/noise ratio I prefer is 5:1. It's currently about 1:4. Much of it because of a lack of focus on what this site really is. The technology, as I've often said, doesn't care what's being discussed and can be deployed elsewhere for different topics. The downside comes in when it's used primarily for other topics on a site that holds itself out to be a meeting place for market participants. That the amount of "noise" is so high isn't the main problem. It's that the amount of signal is too low. Noise can come down some but I'm more concerned with signal going up. To put it another way, this is a MARKET discussion site. Non-market discussion is welcome and it's a sign of good site health when the people who came here to discuss the market also congregate in non-market discussion. The problems started with the doors being thrown open a bit too wide for people to use the site who never have had and never will have any interest in discussing anything having to do with the market. But the problem I'm seeing won't require any heavy-handed fixing and, as others have pointed out, will correct itself to a certain extent when/if the market actually starts doing better. I'm not in any panic to address it. And, I think that's the last of the public messages I need to reply to. On to other things.