My understanding is that the site is currently managed by a Drupal framework, which may mean that functionality improvements are restricted by what things are compatible with the framework, and switching frameworks is can be a very big job, because it generally requires remapping databases. These frameworks are usually designed so that you have lots of flexibility with look and feel, but the add-ons can be constrained. It is possible that the framework was chosen based on cost and meeting minimal requirements, but this may have constrained the ability to evolve further,especially if the original framework designers have moved on to other things. As a result, the tech guy may have more constraints than someone who built the site from the ground up.
I do support having more tools, and I think thumbs up/thumbs down or karma or something like that would be a big help. We did point out in our last meeting with Chad that some karma-type system would help a lot with some of the issues we are dealing with now, and he seemed to agree, but it’s hard to say if anything is going to come of it. I can confirm that it’s not because we haven’t asked.
I do go to reddit. It’s far from perfect but it’s eons ahead of AF.
And what part of “I’m not looking at the mods, this is on Chad” do you not understand? Where you can do more to affect change would be if you have more meaningful access to Chad (I’m assuming you do). It’d be nice if you, bchad, and S2000 (forget numi) went to Chad and asked for some changes to help the site out. It’d mean more coming from you.
I know you can’t make site changes, but how about you try to do something about it? Why the hell do you not want to see this site evolve?
Edit: Didn’t see bchad’s post before posting this. I’m glad to hear it’s been brought up. Still disappointed we don’t hear more from Chad. If this site is limited to this technology, fine. Rules need to change then.
Can’t believe I’m sympathizing with Itera, but I think the tech is fine and on par with most message boards. The only thing missing was stricter moderation, which we are now apparently getting, based on my posts being deleted.
Most people are missing the point here,RR will come back again in a month or so posting SRK abs and other stupid crap,I bet by then some users would definately get more angry than CVM did and they probably would get banned due to their outburst and yet RR goes around trolling the whole AF.Just count how many really angry threads were started due to rahul making other members frustrated that could have been made the whole forum a lot more constructive if they had not been posted.Lets face it CVM had his funny moments,so does igor and some other people of that nature,what has RR for the sake of god ever added of value to this forum ?He appears with a sudden gang of indians who praise him and his posts and then starts to make totally stupid and local threads. I really dont see how he goes around without punishment.
I’m not convinced that the silly-sounding posts that come out of India-based posters are true trolling. Some might be, and we try to squash the more obvious ones, but I think a lot of them are just really young and/or naïve posters who are in over their heads without knowing it and trying their best to ingratiate themselves to a new community.
They miss the mark often, because they perhaps underestimate how cutthroat and unforgiving the institutional finance community can be, and sometimes they try to create a new persona to fit it, and then come across as a kind of caricature of a finance type that feels like it’s drawn from Bollywood stereotypes.
Of course, we have people like that here in the west (just with Hollywood stereotypes instead), but their play-acting gets the non-finance parts of western culture right, so it doesn’t seem as odd/comical to the old-timers here. It’s still a comical, but the comedy is limited to the finance naïveté, and not that plus the mixed cultural signals.
I’ve had contact with lots of South Asian (and East Asian) expats for most of my adult life, and so I recognize the pattern of engagement. It’s not generally the way we in the West try to ingratiate ourselves to a new community, which is why people from the West might think it is trolling, but it isn’t designed to piss people off the way it ends up doing.
So as mods, we try not to ban people for this kind of stuff and give them a little time to adapt and some advice as well. For example RR’s posts were not really all that bad in the beginning (save one noteworthy misstep which he ultimately retracted ), but the constant teasing has produced a defensiveness in him that makes his participation more abrasive. If one laid off on the teasing, he would likely be a decent, if somewhat zany, member of the community, which is why banning CvM, who could be vulgar and outright obscene and verbally abusive, doesn’t mean one must ban RR or seem inconsistent.
CVM was the man.He shared with me his ER model few months ago and it helped me a lot in my job.I don’t think he should have been banned.Ban guys like Gab who has no ability to participate in CFA/FRM and just trolls the forum.
CVM’s remarks were witty (at least few months ago) rather than hateful or racist.However lately CVM started behaving like Xray/Gab/Hippo and other idiots.I feel sorry for his downfall.
this is correct. i remember because i inspired the name. iheartmath was a girl. i said i heart iheartmath at some point in a conversation that included mostly myself, iheartmath and JTLD. a few days later, it was confirmed that serial poster JTLD was banned. soon after a character named iheartiheartmath appeared and has since racked up 1900+ posts.
you clearly think Chad is God. “why doesn’t God come down to earth and stop all the bad that happens in the world?” “and why doesn’t God bestow us with superior technology than our God denying enemies?”
We tolerated CvM a long time because he did add value to the forum on the careers aspect of things by trying to help people who were getting in to the business from non-elite backgrounds. My understanding (from bo him and from others he helped) is that he did a lot of stuff behind the scenes and in private communications that genuinely helped people here, and when he wasn’t being obnoxious or helpful, many of his posts were at least amusing.
It was hoped that we could get him to control his racist and homophobic and mysogynistic outbursts so as to keep the valuable parts of his presence with us, but it was ultimately not possible to do that.
Not a single so called BSD here will share his ER model with new kids like me.I am willing to forgive all CVM’s racist remarks for the guidance that he has provided new kids like us.
Someone doesn’t have to be an awesome contributor to AF to stay. We have no need for a “+contributor metric” for example. A member who maybe is a non-helpful contributor to CFA boards/career etc, but adds to AF traffic and throws in a comment/opinion. That’s totally ok
But we do need to have boundaries and rules to the downside. someone who constantly spews racist, obscene, vulgar, defamation of others, etc. that’s not ok. Giving the occasional helping and adding to the upside should not give someone allowance which they can use to spread hate and trash to AF. take it to the extreme: If I help someone land a job, does that let me start a racial hate thread and be safe?? of course not. CvM was playing this game, and ultimately it was decided we can’t allow this to keep going
i side with bchad and mods as per usual. AF used to be much cleaner in terms of characters and a little more focused on investments back in the day. his reasoning is reasonable. that said, in an ideal world green AF users should be banished to Water Cooler Jr. for a test period before being allowed to discuss anything with time tested AF veterans.
maybe just ban watercooler privileges? that way CvM can help in career section and these indians who are simply “trying to ingratiate” themselves can do so on the level 1 forums without leaving others to deal with their noise
Now that you have banned him?Is there a replacement? Who will share financial models with kids like us?Who will decide Upside or downside contribution of an AF member? CvM has helped many people like us privately without bragging about it on AF.NOt once did he brag that he helps young AF members privately.Why would CVM share his expertise with an Indian like me if he thought us to be monkeys??? Ban on CVM was for some reasons that we will never know.
I enjoyed many of CvM’s posts and will miss him (at least until he creates a new account), but the rules apply to everyone. It seems the mods kept giving him rope, and he chose to hang himself with it.
Dude added a lot of value to this community. He goes off sometimes but he keeps his place interesting and relevant. I hope the mods will reconsider this ban after time is served.