Originally posted by silentreader
The only solution can be more effective moderation in order to siphon out what another Elitetrader participant somewhat sardonically (but, nevertheless, justifiably) labeled as 'snake-oil'.
Although we have several volunteer moderators, nobody expects a moderator to read every word of every single post, which is why the kill function exists. If you see a post that you think is inappropriate, all you have to do is click on the word kill at the bottom right hand corner of the post. We implemented this feature to give members a direct and simple method of reporting undesirable posts/threads in an effort to maintain discussion quality. I can't think of a better method of moderation than distributing it among the user base. 99 percent of the time we take action immediately when we receive a request to delete/edit an annoying post.
I've been doing this since 97 so I know a little bit about this game. From experience, I can tell you with certainty that conversation goes in cycles just like the market. There are periods where every thread seems to be interesting, and periods where nothing at all seems appealing. That's just the nature of the beast and the way an open community works, especially a community like this where everbody is at different levels of experience, knowledge, and skill.
If candletrader or anybody else thinks they can moderate the forum better, all they have to do is step up to the plate and volunteer to be a moderator of one of the forums. The invitation is always open.
But with that said, I'll be going through the forums with a fine tooth comb over the next 24 hours to assess the situation and come up with an appropriate solution. That may entail deleting certain threads, creating a new forum, or perhaps something else. But no matter what, the goal as always will be to maintain discussion quality while appealing to as many serious traders as possible.