A reiteration of the "Statement of Purpose" of this group [View all]
For as long as I have been a member of DU, this group has been a relatively quiet, low traffic back corner of Democratic Underground. It always seemed the reason for that was because it had a specific directive; the discussion of investing as a PERSONAL matter or issue, as opposed to one that was generally or broadly noteworthy.
By that I mean the mundane, the boring, the specific, as opposed to the flashy, the exciting and the general discussion of the topic at hand.
Personal Finance and Investing.
I have always viewed this group as one that is not necessarily a forum to discuss sensationalistic trends or financial news stories that have gained wide attention because of their unusual nature.
Those sorts of topics are best suited for General Discussion or the Economy Group, in my opinion.
I requested the administrators of DU to be made a host of this group a couple years ago. I asked for that designation precisely because of an uptick in traffic and the predictable off topic posts and threads such traffic would provide.
I said it before and I will restate it now, I do not want to be heavy handed in any way whatsoever in the moderation of this group. It is my sincere desire for there to be open and frank discussion of the topic at hand. The “powers” of a group host are relatively limited anyway. All I can do is lock a thread as off topic and ban members from participating, both of which I have done precisely once each in over two years as host. The banned member, BTW was a somewhat new member of DU, was sort of stalking me, was “Flagged for Review” shortly after and has not had posting privileges restored.
But above all I think it is important, nay, PARAMOUNT that accurate information be the rule here, not the exception. Leave the folks that don’t know or care to know the difference between an account and an investment to post elsewhere.
Why?
Because in many cases we are talking about people’s life savings here. Accurate information is of the utmost importance, because the opposite, if acted upon could be financially ruinous.
This is the Statement of Purpose of this group;
The regular posters here have done real, GOOD work in the past and have provided guidance that made an actual, positive difference in people’s lives. That is important and something to be very proud of. It needs to continue.
I have no desire to lock threads that discuss topics relevant to the SOP if they contain information of general interest to the group. But starting threads that are not in line with the primary focus of this group and are best suited for other groups or forums, do a disservice to those who have come to know this group for that which it is noted, and as such, I encourage posters to put up such threads in a more appropriate forum.
May all your trades be net gains
Paul
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