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Some Rules and Request for feedback

We are about to do a little late summer revamp to the site -- some fixes and minor alterations (see this for the source of ideas).

As that gets underway, I have been addressing some blog and comment issues piecemeal, and decided its time to address them generally.

Any feedback -- but particularly from regulars and long time readers -- will be greatly appreciated:

1. Purpose: This blog has evolved into a place where we can discuss general market and economic issues. It is a counter-balance to the general mindless cheerleading of Wall Street, the spin of the Federal government, and the superficial coverage presented by much of the MSM.

2. Slant: This is not a Bear cave. However, when "the facts themselves are biased" I present them -- especially when the headline spin is all most people hear. Again, if you want MSM or cheerleaders, there's plenty of that elsewhere.

3. Contrariness as a virtue:  On a related note, you can expect lots of pushback here. When I flipped Bullish in October 2002, I got the same angry response (a good sign). If the perma Bulls weren't so nervous, they wouldn't troll here.

4. Trolls:  Speaking of which: As the site has gained popluarity, we have attracted some "lesser" commenters. I am becoming far less tolerant of their nonsense. While I greatrly encourage debate, I want to hear why I am wrong. I will put up with very long comments that are detailed, well reasoned, smartly argued, full of facts and links. Diss me personally in my house and you are gone w/o a warning.

4. Anonymous posts:  On a related subject, I have allowed  anonymous posts, as there are people here who work on Wall Street or in the Print or Electronic Media -- for professional reasons, they need a pen name.

That was fine when we had "only" a few 1000 hits per day; The site now gets 13-15k unique visitors and 20-25k pagve views per day. Anonymous postings have become problematic, and I am thinking of requiring a real address (even if its a yahoo or google email). 

Your thoughts on this?

These last four are my general requests to readers:

5. Category:  Every sub-topic has a category link at right; If you have a question on Inflation or Sentiment or Technical Analysis or whatever on any related subject, please use that as a research tool. Its lazy to ask in a  comment, when you can just look it up.   

6. Search:  Ditto: There is also a search function at right; It is very robust and limits search just to this site;  Please use it before giving me homework assignments;

7. Politics:  Studies have shown that people percieve poltical information far differently than other sorts of input. There is little  rationality and less flexibility than regarding other topics. Based on that, I would greatly prefer that the political discussions stay focused on the impact of politics on the Markets and Economy.

For the future, lets all agree: Hillary is unelectable, W ain't the sharpest knife in the drawer, Bill Clinton was a cad, and Rumsfield is incompetant. I'd prefer those who wish to debate the fine points of these and related issues to take them to Atrios and Instapundit or Daily Kos and Little Green Footballs.

8. Investment advice: We do not present investment advice here; Thats what the "lawyer approved" premium site is for. However, if you are a savvy self-directed trader, you can often find items here that help make or save you money. I don't have a "tip jar" here, but it is considered good nettiquette to send a token off of the wish list IF YOU MADE MONEY. Its doesn't need to be a $15,000 watch; A $10 CD is fine -- its the thought that counts.

If you are here just for the debate and information and intellectual stimulation, then any token, while appreciated, is not necessary.

~~~

I greatly appreciate the feedback from the very intelligent and insightful readers of this blog; There are quite a few interesting improvements on the way -- many based on your suggestions.

Please keep the ideas and suggestions coming . . .

Saturday, August 19, 2006 | 05:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (50) | TrackBack (0)
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Comments

I love your site . I don't always agree with some of the points addressed and try to " agree to disagree " . I believe that this site needs open , constructive debate but I need to stay anonymous . I've worked at 3 investment banks and 2 hedge funds and can't use a "real" name . I will still read your site nevertheless and wish you the best in your endeavor regardless of your changes

Posted by: LN | Aug 19, 2006 6:14:32 PM