Poll: Closed Boards

It would have been understandable if they disallowed the creation of non-financial boards from the beginning, but I suppose that is a question of shading,

You seem to have lost sight of the reality that for many years TMF had appeared to welcome the community of nonfinancial boards. It had always seemed to me to be a great balance, and enabled people to learn from each other in a variety of arenas. A TMF “host” introduced each newly formed board and welcomed TMF members to it. This is not “a question of shading,” not by a long shot. They have turned their backs on a highly valued and long-standing component of TMF that they inspired, enabled, and supported for many years, but now have decided tough noogies because they no longer find including these boards consonant with their needs, image, whatever.

=sheila

2 Likes

I would imagine that they welcomed the non-financial board initially since it provided more engagement with the site. I would this had not actually changed, but for sure the intention was never to start another general purpose social media site for people to hang out who had no interest in the financial content. It was merely a supplement for the people there for the financial content.

By “shading” I was referring to the fact that some of the new boards bordered on financial, like computer help, and they didn’t think a lot about the ones which were clearly not financial in any way.

I might note that I am surprised at the short tempers here and with Twitter, people quitting without waiting for a moment to find out what is actually going to happen. Suppose, for example, that TMF listens to all the complaints and reactivates at least the more active closed boards. And the new software is great. But you aren’t here to notice.

shiela727: You seem to have lost sight of the reality that for many years TMF had appeared to welcome the community of nonfinancial boards.

When I discovered TMF they didn’t allow non-financial boards. All boards seemed to be stock boards, identifiable by their stock symbols. Somebody (I believe it was Joseph Mailander, aka Jean Paul Sartre, jps) started a board with the stock symbol NADA. It became a very popular board. Joseph was a good, witty writer, and he attracted a coterie of acolytes, with no investing topics ever mentioned. When the powers that were figured out what was happening, they closed the board. Then someone pointed how how active NADA was compared to the other boards, and how many eyes were there, = advertising potential), The Fool relented, and allowed The Land of Off-Topic Posts, which immediately became the most active board. The board became a brawling street fight. Some posters even tried to sneak in some salacious posts. Horrors! Then started the censorship. LOOTP had its own personal TMF monitor, much to the distress of jps &co. (Who was that TMF monitor? Is he still with the Fool?) At length LOOPT migrated (to Yahoo?) as a private board and never came back. When last heard from, LOOPT was a barren wasteland. Its husk may still be found in the darkest archives. Maybe ten posts a year from lost souls.

CNC

Suppose, for example, that TMF listens to all the complaints and reactivates at least the more active closed boards. And the new software is great. But you aren’t here to notice.


I hate to say it man, but I think that once that "boat sails"... again, hard pressed to get SOME people to return, even if TMF backtracks. And, why "shooting oneself in the foot" is a bad idea...

Yes, I'm seeing a ton of knee-jerk reactions to the events unfolding... but right as we "come out of(?)" a pandemic? TMF timing is also very poor, but we have no idea how long this has been in the works. Some things have, maybe, not been accounted for... on both sides!

[ww.justsayin.pl](http://ww.justsayin.pl)
2 Likes

When last heard from, LOOPT was a barren wasteland. Its husk may still be found in the darkest archives. Maybe ten posts a year from lost souls.

CNC

The board monitor who so afflicted jps was TMF Bogey, only recently gone (retired?) jps started another board, the martini club. He wanted space from LOOTP, apparently. He and Bogey had some lively discussions there. Then the bard was renamed (in the dark of night)to Apple Martini Board. I think jps got terminal when one of his posts was pulled for no reason. No reason at all, other than he dropped the F-bomb. jps was sooooo touchy.

CNC

Point being that people are canceling their trips before they know where the boat is going.

Point being that people are canceling their trips before they know where the boat is going.

I agree with you that it’s premature to cut and run. Athough I guess it’s easier for me to say that because one of my super important boards was quickly resuscitated.

We will see what happens, since no one at TMF has thought it appropriate to give us any idea what to expect.

=sheila

One has to wonder what brought you to TMF if none of the still existing financial boards is of interest.

Originally, in 2000, it was CANSLIM Investing, then later, Saratoga Trading Company and other technical analysis boards.

Point being that people are canceling their trips before they know where the boat is going.

They’re not leaving because of where the boat is going. They’re leaving because TMF threw most of them off the boat several weeks - perhaps months - before changing the direction of the boat, and made it very clear that they’re not the type of passengers the boat is looking for.

Remember, none of what’s happened over the past few weeks had to go down that way. TMF could have kept the non-financial boards open until the actual software shift was required. They could have framed the change as an upgrade to the existing boards, rather than closing them. CMF_Fuskie - the only TMF representative that has really engaged the board community - could have provided some visibility into what the board topic policy would be under the new boards software. Fuskie also could have been tasked with encouraging existing posters to stay, rather than - repeatedly - pointing posters to alternative platforms for engaging in discussions that aren’t directly related to personal finance.

Of course, that’s not the path they chose. They made it very clear that wherever the boat is going, most of what the current passengers have been doing on the boat over the last many years will not be welcome and (probably) won’t be permitted. They’ve done everything to make it clear that they do not regard this as a transition, but an ending, for a lot of the board activity that’s taken place over the last ~25 years. That’s why the people who had been using the boards for mostly that type of activity have left.

Albaby

33 Likes

They’re not leaving because of where the boat is going. They’re leaving because TMF threw most of them off the boat several weeks - perhaps months - before changing the direction of the boat, and made it very clear that they’re not the type of passengers the boat is looking for.

Remember, none of what’s happened over the past few weeks had to go down that way.

rec rec rec rec rec rec rec

=sheila727

4 Likes

I came to similar conclusions, Albaby.

TMF wants to refocus the business plan, and there are some boards that don’t fit the new business plan. Users of those boards don’t really financially support themselves, either.
They are freeloaders.
In some ways, the free side is a “tragedy of the commons”?

To achieve the desired change, TMF either brought in a Sea Gull manager, or adopted a sea gull manager plan.
A business brings in a sea gull manager when “change” is desired, but will cause upheaval amongst the ranks.
The sea gull specialist comes in, makes the changes, the ranks are upset.
The company points at the sea gull, and blames him.
He leaves (he is fired!, flies away!) Taking the angst with him.
Meanwhile the company has achieved its “change” goal. And the c-suite is safe from the ire of the ranks.

Over the last 15 years or so, TMF c-suite has decreased their interactions with the “free” side. This is especially true (IMO) since they brought in the management team… about 10 years ago?

:alien:
ralph

The terms: freeloader, sea gull manager, etc are used to describe a concept…
No “value judgement” intended.

1 Like

TMF wants to refocus the business plan

Maybe they should try focusing on the marketing emails for their Fool Services so that they don’t look like spam sent by a 5 year old.

PSU

8 Likes

What incentive would they have to trying to keep you around?

Eyeballs.

An eyeball is a potential click-through to advertisers, no?

The more eyeballs, the more chance one of those eyeballs will click on an ad.

5 Likes

Using AdBlock Plus, I never see any ads, but if the ads are for financial products then the presence of non-financial eyeballs may be irrelevant.

but if the ads are for financial products then the presence of non-financial eyeballs may be irrelevant.

As they are everywhere—the ads are for everything, especially things I’ve just looked at elsewhere.

=sheila

1 Like

As of now, 23 yes reopen those boards, 6 “why not,” and 6 no.

I have no idea what skin is off the noses of those 6 no’s if the boards reopen.

Ken

2 Likes

As of now, 23 yes reopen those boards, 6 “why not,” and 6 no.

But few responses to - what is it worth ? :wink:

As of now, 23 yes reopen those boards, 6 “why not,” and 6 no.
***************************
But few responses to - what is it worth ?

I can easily see many who would have responded, but chose not to because of how clear it is that no one up there is listening.

=sheila

4 Likes

I can easily see many who would have responded, but chose not to because of how clear it is that no one up there is listening.

You never know who might have influence…