Thanks, Mike. Without Alex there’d have been no Marketforum. And I’m happy for Kate.

 Congrats on being Moderator for 7 years! Without your efforts and ability to be a high quality moderator (and now owner, also) and hold things together here, this board might not still be existing at least with this much activity. So, I assume all active participants here are very appreciative of the time and effort you consistently put in here to keep it active!

That is a real heart warmer

John

Thanks.

This place is much different than when Alex ran it for profit, which was his entire motive.

It's been awhile but our long timers should remember the days when we had numerous ads bombarding us to kingdom come. Every one of those ads would make a few more cents for Alex/MarketForum. 

We also used to have some huge political arguments going on the trading forum, which turned off our trading community. We all remember Vanderplas, who hated mcfarm and vice versa getting into it frequently. Alex told me that Vandy was a prick but he was good for business so he suspended him over and over for violating rules with his personal attacks but then let him come back because Alex thought this generated traffic.

Those battles are why we separated into 2 different forums. 1 to focus on trading and a few other items that I cherish as top priority(like severe/adverse weather) or climate. The other for the political stuff(NTR). 

Initially, I was enticed by the profit motive. The biggest complaint that I was getting initially was about the number of ads interfering with people's ability to read posts and/or them being irritating.

However, I changed my objectives when appreciating the value to use MarketForum as a place to speak out, using objective, fact checked discernment for authentic causes from both sides of the political and scientific aisles in a world loaded with complete bs that people got at echo chambers designed to tell people what they wanted to read/hear in order to generate traffic. Or at other places that allowed personal attacks which thrived on traffic generated from the battles between the 2 sides. 

There was a major trade off in pursuing that as the #1 objective. I had to fact check BOTH sides with authentic data/evidence to correct bad assumptions, propaganda and lies. 

Whether it was the the 2.5 year corrupt Mueller investigation meant to discredit the Trump presidency(we lost many Ds) or the fake COVID vaccination threat and fake 2020 election steal/INSURRECTION (we lost many Rs) or the fake climate crisis(lost more Ds).  Then Donald Trumps 2nd term (lost more Rs) People do NOT like it when you fact check them and replace what they thought they knew with authentic data(the truth). Most people go to places that feature birds of a feather that share their belief system to have what they think they know reinforced and feel good. NOT to try understand what the other side might have right. 

I would have it no other way at a place which represents what I think we need to make the world a better place at a time when its needed most.

 Vandy, for instance got several chances to clean up his act but each time, couldn't resist making personal attacks.  He was one of the very few that I had to actually ban forever. He still tries to post here as recently as earlier this year. 

So now we have a place without much posting traffic from anybody but me and a few others. But it features loads of solid, sometimes profound information and insights into markets and the world that represent the indisputable truth and designed to ENLIGHTEN posters and NOT use them to make profits with ads.

It's turned out as a useful tool to conduct business with my chess program at 5 schools and tournaments. To pass on critical weather information to the 1,000+ followers I have from Evansville. 

To speak out against A, B as in Bibi, C and D as in Donald and countless other bad things happening in our world that often features 1 political side trying to make it better and the other side making it worse. 

To pass on positive messages. 

To pass on comprehensive weather as a meteorologist.

To pass on trading information/insights as a trader for 3 decades.

And to learn, learn, learn, learn myself while passing on what I learn AFTER I fact check myself first.

On occasions of being wrong and posters pointing it out, rejoicing over it because that's often the best opportunity for us to learn and correct the wrong version. 

Fact checking oneself is a great way to learn and being open minded enough to CHANGE a view is another. Changing a position or view is a key element to cutting your losses in trading and cutting your losses in cerebral life that represents truth. 

We are all wrong about things at times, no matter how smart we think that we are. The choice at those times is to continue to process information that reinforces what we think we know because that's what human cognitive bias tells us to do..........and get dumber.  Or to be humble, admit that we are wrong and IMMEDIATELY start getting smarter. 

Always use the Scientific Method that assumes the other side might be right because sometimes............THEY ARE right and if you assume they are wrong all the time, you will miss those opportunities to get smarter!

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