The tone of the board these days is hostile. It mirrors society as a whole meaning zero tolerance for any view other than ones own. I am mostly a "lurker" these days with few posts worthy of reading. I could limit, and may, myself to just fund topics and screen out the OT. How many people are we turning off from contributing to MFO by the general tone of things? Speak up and let MFO know what you think of the general attitude of this site. It has changed over the years, some for the better but there is that element that is discouraging.
Comments
@Art- Well, you've gotta concede that they interact, at least. I also agree that the tone of the discussions are often are more hostile than they need to be.
However, there is really only one way. Ignore feature. Those I ignore, their posts never make it on my view. If others who are not on my ignore list have replied to posts who are on my ignore list, give me a link and I might chose to visit (not!)
I have mentioned this before. I come here to cut through all the noise and garbage elsewhere. Then what do I find? Every single garbage link I already didn't want to see or have already seen elsewhere. Then on top of that if I'm not supposed to respond or supposed to be bullied, I'm not taking it.
The problem is when someone makes a personal attack with an adjective directed specifically against a person. If you can't receive, then don't give.
Self-regulation does not work in the Financial industry and it will not work on MFO. Fix it or live with it.
"Trump slams Robert De Niro as 'a very Low IQ individual' "
The question that I'd like to ask is simply this: Isn't it a distinct possibility that this sort of demeaning comment from the President of the United States has effectively set the tone for political discussions in this country? Including right here on MFO?
But, don’t despair. Even by just clicking on the “Discussions Plus” tab, you’ll find that of the last 10 topics to receive comment today, 7 of them (or 70%) deal directly with making money or wealth management. That doesn’t look like a bad percentage to me.
Last 10 Posts Receiving Comment: (* money related)
— *Bitcoin Brokerages?
— *The Momentum Bond Fund to liquidate
— MFO and why we are here.
— Trump Deserves A Nobel Peace Prize
— * Is It Better To Have A Team Or A Single Manager Overseeing Your Fund?
— * Josh Brown: You Have To Live Through The Statistics
— Tariffs Won't Make America Great Again
— * Long-Term Bonds as Insurance?
— * Cyclical to Non-Cyclical Stock Weighting Ratio At 40 Year High
— * Zero Cost Mutual Funds a Near Term Reality
I'd have to give the "tariffs post" a money related.
How do we ignore posts/threads/users here? I know how it's done on M* but I've never found a way to do that here.
I skim, but will rarely post, in the political threads. Because, just like over at M* once a thread goes political, it rarely stays political and delves into the ad-hominum and wingnutty trolling the internet is famous for.
The financial and non-noise commentary here and there is well-worth sticking around for, and fwiw saying I value those contributors who contribute to learning and civic discussions regardng the main reasons why we're here in the first place.
Allow me to point out that-
1) The title of the post obviously advertises that the post is political in nature.
2) The poster himself is well-known (here on MFO) as a source of controversial political posts.
Notwithstanding, the post has generated 376 views and 37 comments as of this moment. Each and every one of those views and comments required someone to actively make the choice to view that post. Neither Art nor anyone else was forced to be exposed to that post unless they made a personal decision to do so. It's as simple as that.
Changing subjects - One thing folks overlook is how absolutely dull the financial markets have become. After the March excitement, the Dow and S&P have pretty much treaded water. Suppose small caps and tech are still moving a bit. But, do you realize how rare it is for gold to settle on a number (like $1300) and just hang in that same zone month after month? Very odd. Oil’s been moving a bit. That’s about all.
So it’s natural, I think, that folks’ attention should stray away from financial topics. I’ll say that, for better or for worse, I must have finally achieved “perfect balance” within my portfolio. It rarely gains or loses more than a hundred bucks or so on any given day now.