Trading forum conundrum

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illiquid

In a zero-sum game, others' losses are your potential gains.

On the topic of giving advice to people on a public forum, if there is a method of trading that you believe does not work, why would you ever discourage others from continuing to use that method? If no one believed in charting, trends, backtesting etc, I think my life as a trader would be 10x harder than it already is. So how does it pay for one to try to convince people otherwise? Peer recognition? Moral obligation? Just curious.
 
I guess I meant to say traditional uses/attitudes in regards to charts, trends etc. We all want to ride trends, but not all of us are trendfollowers in the usual sense.

Edit: but I ask this question regardless of the actual viability of any trading method. My point is, if you feel it doesn't work, why tell others to stop; if you feel it does work, why get others to follow?
 
Quote from illiquid:

In a zero-sum game, others' losses are your potential gains.

On the topic of giving advice to people on a public forum, if there is a method of trading that you believe does not work, why would you ever discourage others from continuing to use that method? If no one believed in charting, trends, backtesting etc, I think my life as a trader would be 10x harder than it already is. So how does it pay for one to try to convince people otherwise? Peer recognition? Moral obligation? Just curious.
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Good point. I occasionally ask myself that question. To a certain extent, I suppose I do it out of "moral obligation" when I see fit. I would only go so far as to say what I think is silly or ineffectual, but I would not go quite so far as to disclose what, specifically, I do. (Not that anyone here would really care, anyway.) Mostly, however, I just get a dubious sort of satisfaction from putting swaggering windbags (often with agendas) in their place. But it is beginning to take its toll. It is getting tiring because there is an endless stream of BSers (think Hydra). Peer recognition? Nah. I do not intend to ever identify myself, so that notion has little currency. ("Oh no! What will they think of my pseudonym?!")

But I'm glad you brought up this point. I'm spending too much time here. A little is a good thing. A lot is decidedly not.
 
Quote from illiquid:

I guess I meant to say traditional uses/attitudes in regards to charts, trends etc. We all want to ride trends, but not all of us are trendfollowers in the usual sense.

Edit: but I ask this question regardless of the actual viability of any trading method. My point is, if you feel it doesn't work, why tell others to stop; if you feel it does work, why get others to follow?
More...

Personally I believe most day traders make little difference in the big picture. Institutions,funds etc placing their orders for
ie. a 18month to 3yr period, with the market makers creating ? a false liquidity for the day with the big picture in sight. false? upgrades days beofore reports, soft initial information from entities prior to reporting to create rallies etc.
stocks gapping premarket ie dollar with less than a thousand shares in play. the list goes on
we are or in my case, I am so small and if I can pass on an experience that may help so one, it really does not hurt me as I don't see that order opposite me and if the stock has decent liquidity my entry or exit will in most cases be a few cents different
compassion for the little guy in the big game.
I remember years ago being drilled about supports/resistances etc. but we have all seen all stocks for what ever reason ignore both, trends..its all bull but a way to give structure to this immoral,unethical game..where brokers,market markers, corporation strive to take you money and no prisoners.
zero sum you are correct

w
 
Quote from Thunderdog:

But I'm glad you brought up this point. I'm spending too much time here. A little is a good thing. A lot is decidedly not.
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Perhaps how accomplished traders, particularly with automated operations, to kill time would be a really interesting topic to bring up on ET. :cool:
 
Quote from illiquid:

In a zero-sum game, others' losses are your potential gains.

If you believe that trading is a zero sum game then you don't understand the primary function that the markets exist to fulfill. To follow up on that you likely would not see trading in the moral light that would allow you to succeed.

Helping the world allocate capital is very noble indeed.
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Quote from Thunderdog:

To a certain extent, I suppose I do it out of "moral obligation" when I see fit. I would only go so far as to say what I think is silly or ineffectual, but I would not go quite so far as to disclose what, specifically, I do. (Not that anyone here would really care, anyway.)
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Until now, this was pretty much my attitude about things here. However, having recently gone completely discretionary with respect to my trading, I've now grown a feeling that a) the scope of what falls under the (relatively) "ineffectual" is much wider than I previously thought; b) I could tell everyone exactly how I trade and it wouldn't make a difference (in either improving another's results or degrading my own); and c) no one would trust what I'd tell them anyways, and perhaps rightly so.

So I guess what prompted me to ask this question is that I suspect I've outlived my usefulness here; it just seems more and more that all I have now is the urge to criticize others (constructively and well-intentionally) while at the same time being unable to posit something else practical to replace what I criticize.

The way I see trading now is the same way I feel about something like painting; more and more I see these forums as the equivalent of aspiring artists asking "Where should I paint my red circle?" and getting responses akin to "The circle should be green -- put it over there". Understandable questions matched with well-intentioned responses, but neither really helping one become a better artist. Then again, I really don't know what the alternative could be.
 
Quote from illiquid:

In a zero-sum game, others' losses are your potential gains.

On the topic of giving advice to people on a public forum, if there is a method of trading that you believe does not work, why would you ever discourage others from continuing to use that method? If no one believed in charting, trends, backtesting etc, I think my life as a trader would be 10x harder than it already is. So how does it pay for one to try to convince people otherwise? Peer recognition? Moral obligation? Just curious.
More...


This has the makings of thread of the year!
 
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