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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.

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MFO and why we are here.

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

  • edited June 2018
    I personally think we should have a different subside folder section labeled 'trump related/politics and congress govt related news' lol
  • edited June 2018
    Actually, not a half-bad idea. If there was a "political" section, no one could complain since they could simply ignore it if they so chose.
  • "The Observer exists as a public service, as a place for individuals to interact, grow, learn and gain confidence." How does the political talk do any of the mentioned items?
  • edited June 2018
    @Art I know you've commented in the past that you feel comments should be solely devoted to making money via mutual funds. Is making money a completely apolitical activity wholly divorced from the real world? If there are political consequences to making money--for instance banking regulations being loosened allowing Wells Fargo and other recent misbehaving companies off the hook--is that unworthy of discussion? Or tariffs imposed on economic goods by a president that will impact companies in portfolios. Or how labor at companies could be hurt by share buybacks at companies that don't reinvest in their businesses? Or how tax cuts benefit the companies in your portfolio but hurt the rest of society. Even if one feels none of these issues matter, that it's "all about the Benjamins" as far as one is concerned, not everyone feels that way. How money is made, who is making it and what the social/economic consequences of that money making are is an intensely political activity. If some people want to discuss that, what is wrong with that? What I agree with you though is about the tone of the discussions as they often are more hostile than they need to be.
  • "The Observer exists as a public service, as a place for individuals to interact, grow, learn and gain confidence." How does the political talk do any of the mentioned items?

    @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.
  • You want to discuss the facts of those topics you list with civility then i am all for that.
  • Moderation. Off topic is Off topic. Or even get rid of Off Topic.

    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.
  • Stating what I think is the obvious, a MFO visitor can click on the 'Fund Discussions" category an avoid the off-topic posts all together. However there's no guarantee that the fund posts won't be littered with political commentary.
  • Browsing through the SF Chronicle, I just happened across an AP wireservice article, which I didn't even bother to read. It's headline:

    "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?
  • edited June 2018
    Yikes - If you click on “Fund Discussions” https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/categories/general you will find a wealth of money related topics. Unfortunately, 90% are put up by just one poster and far too few participants choose to comment on them. I’m not sure why they don’t elicite more responses.

    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
  • Evening @hank
    I'd have to give the "tariffs post" a money related.
  • You can count me as one reader who has been turned off by the political comments, and I have participated less often because of it. Can’t take a financial site seriously if it’s been overrun by angry political arguments.

  • 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.

    Moderation. Off topic is Off topic. Or even get rid of Off Topic.

    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.

  • What do the 'angry arguments' have to do with taking MFO seriously? You ever used MFO Premium? Just stick to the financial discussions if you don't want to read about policy that is related, but not directly, to personal finance.
  • Lewis Braham said it very well, above.

  • 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.
  • Mark said:

    Stating what I think is the obvious, a MFO visitor can click on the 'Fund Discussions" category an avoid the off-topic posts all together. However there's no guarantee that the fund posts won't be littered with political commentary.

    You know you are kidding. We have ONE person here who is claiming moral authority on what is "Fund Discussions" and what is "Off Topic". This is why I've been asking for "Ignore" feature. We want individuals to be responsible? Give them that opportunity.
  • I think @Old_Joe is probably right. It seems as if everyone feels entitled to be rude, crude, or hostile because that's the tenor of interactions on social media and cable TV. In our household, I tend to spend more time watching cable news and I now find that my wife overhears the tenor of the conversations and asks me to turn off the sound because it's so intrusive. I think it goes for both sides of the issues; both sides shout, demean, and belittle. The net effect is truly unpleasant on the ear and the psyche.
  • edited June 2018
    Presumably "Trump Deserves A Nobel Peace Prize", posted by Maurice, is an example of the political content so disliked by Art, the author of this post.

    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.


  • edited June 2018
    I’d favor banning all cable news networks from the airways for a month or two. Might make our attitudes towards discourse (and each other) more civil. Might even cause a few to reach for a real newspaper. Alas, it won’t happen. I’ll confess to over-dosing on MSNBC evenings, and, no doubt, others are feasting on Fox.

    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.:)
  • Our local OtA news outlets are mostly awful in their coverage choices, bleed-leading and all that. It is true that they do not yell at each other.
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