Proposal to ban all anonymous and Uncertified posters, would andy agree ?
Hi Andy,
I don't post here much because like most people I tend to be busy with real life, I used to be a lurker but found myself coming less and less partly due to my work not being related to most things capital markets but also due to the quality of the posts here.
I think you have a great product here with alot of potential that I am sure people would be willing to pay for but it seems to me that it is becoming more of a reddit, blind,(insert general forum here) type platform much to my dismay, which is (I would think) not be a a good selling point.
I think I have seen this with some of the better and experienced posters coming here less and less as an indication of the above point.
I really think that If we are trying to help people in the industry (even if not) we should at worst be a lounge-type environment where experienced posters (experienced not as in making posts but verified/verifiable experience on wall street) bounce ideas off one another - professional enough to keep the riff raff out but not so much that it feels like a second job.
I think most of the older posters know where I am going with this but, Is it possible to clean house on the forum ?
I'm sure there are folks with concrete ideas ready but wanted to put it out there.
Edit: I would also preface that i have nothing against "noobs", it is quite simply that many people are here to learn (be it about VC, PE, BB finance etc) , and we would like the ability to do so without going through 100's threads of "how do i get a girlfriend" or "how do i make my resume more prestigious" type posts.
Horrible take. Yeah all the stupid posts about what the most prestigious groups are and basic resume tips are annoying (and the recent posts of obvious troll accounts that post intentionally inflammatory stuff needs to be moderated better), but this forum would be stale if only certified users could post. Like with everything on the internet there can be some good info on the website if you know how to shift through all the trash. Also some of the funniest comments come from interns and prospects
I beg to differ, it is actually a "great take". How much time for digging through the trash (your own words) does a non college student have, how about those that are serious about their time.
Does google force their users to dig through the trash to find decent search results ? NO, most searches do not go past first page. Google search is that good, or it would not have trillion dollar market cap.
Does apple force you to dig through the trash to find a product that does what it says ? NO, they just deliver or else they would not have a trillion dollar market cap.
How about AWS ?
How much digging through the trash are you willing to do in your daily life ? what happens when the trash to value ratio continues to skew out of proportion ?
How much digging through the trash are you willing to do in your personal relationships before you try to avoid it altogether ?
It seems to me like this attitude of not valuing time is part of the issue.
#1: Your call-to-action in the post is banning low-quality users, yet Google and AWS provide support to very unsophisticated people. I could make the stupidest Wordpress site in 30 minutes and get it listed on Google, or buy AWS’ services. They will serve me. They will not ban me for merely being unsophisticated. Their angle is prioritization, not content moderation, which are two discrete objectives.
#2: Boolean search algorithms in a very abstract sense lead people to the right content without having to “dig through the trash,” but there are several ways in which Google departs from that. For example, I can buy SEO keywords from Google to get better placement, something which has no precedent on WSO (unless you think of some elaborate scheme to buy SB and prop up your own content, which would be a ban-worthy rulebreaking offense). This is people actually using money to subvert what the Boolean search algorithms would otherwise say. Google’s business model to some extent is the commercial trashification of the Boolean search algorithm that sells keywords to the highest bidder. You don’t necessarily find the truth first or the most relevant item first; instead you find information from the sources who are most commercially invested in you looking at the content. Mind your wants because there’s someone who wants your mind.
#3: I don’t understand your angle with Apple. Are we talking about their news service that used to be Texture? Are we talking about their products in general? If the latter, how does buying a high-quality phone have anything to do with the rules of regulating a forum?
Counter-take: the website is therapeutic for kids struggling with direction and who lack identity, or who are just lonely in the finance world (most gen-z). Awkward undergrads who aren’t getting social traction and kids who are freaking out about their ability to land an internship need a place to go to find some sort of direction or to get off on an ego trip where they get to act like they have finally gotten the job of their dreams, so now they will have no problems and get any job in the future (lol). Does this website potentially enhance anxious feelings? Probably. But it also can legitimately lead to jobs and informative direction if people use it smartly. Also, most importantly, the website is a business and they sell guides and resources, so they are intentionally trying to attract the young demographic.
Look, anyone in the industry knows most the threads on here are quite bad/ inaccurate. Terms like EB or any ranking thread is absolute nonsense to someone who realizes how complex the industry is and how so many players can collectively win. Also, careers being so individualized makes rankings even more nonsense to anyone who has worked more than 2 years in their life.
I think misinformation is a serious problem on this website—but it’s also a problem on Facebook, cnn, and foxnews. I think the challenge is somehow getting prospects, interns, and new analysts to actually identify the real information from the poor information and I think the verification feature is aimed to do just that. If you care about showing you have ethos and know what you are talking about, just get verified. Or if you don’t care (like me and many others), just assert in a comment you are an experienced professional and if people don’t believe you and can’t differentiate truth from fiction, it’s their loss. Alternatively, the most important point I would argue is if you actually want to confirm information, PM users and talk to them revealing your personal identities to each other. Now you have actually networked!
I agree the redditization of the website is a problem, but really think the only major issue is when the threads turn sexual to a degree that is inappropriate and non-informative. That said, I actually think the off topic forum has a place and even think some political threads aren’t the worst thing in the world. People like talking to people similar to them and hearing political takes from the finance world can provide different color than the rest of the world/ internet. I think this website fills a void many antisocial college kids, interns, and finance professionals have sadly, but literally when you log in it says or used to say, “you belong here” so think the website almost plays into the whole thing and minus maybe doing a better job moderating and promoting and bumping old threads and comments that are stellar, don’t know what else they can do. The feature might exist already, but is there a thread option or ability to lock where only verified individuals can post?
you make some good points, especially on the target audience for a couple of the products and therapy for some kids.
Its such a shame because I don't see any senior or mid career people wanting to sign up to be somebody's internet daddy, especially if they get a glimpse of the quality of discourse in some of the forums (and this is barring OFF-Topic).
thanks for your response
For what it’s worth—I don’t disagree with most your points and am quite frustrated at times with the forum. Heck, I would bet money a majority of my monkey shit has been due to individuals saying advice I provide is inaccurate, despite me often providing advice from the perspective of someone who has actually done banking. Nothing quite like getting monkey shit for telling someone “if you do sell-side M&A you likely will spend very little time in an LBO.” Or “yeah, x group or x firm doesn’t work like that having been in that firm/ group” But, I think that’s just part of dealing with kids. I like to think the smart ones can identify the BS from truth. Also, I know from PM’s there are people that I have helped land roles/ figure out the industry.
You don't know who is mid-career here and who isn't. Not uncommon for higher up employees to be using fake lower tags because there are only so many "VP in IB-ECM"s out there (especially at reputable firms) which makes potential finding out of identity much easier. Not uncommon for people to say "I'm a VP/Associate3" anonymously but have an Analyst/Intern tag.
It'd be nice to have a private, certified-only section of the forum.
So do I, but I guess the character of the forum has changed for the worse and we just have to accept it and move on. Given most of the responses it does seem like people are OK with being invaded by the internet circle-jerk looking-for-a-daddy types likes I mentioned.
The moment you take away anonymous posting is the day WSO doesn't hear accurate information about firms. I can't talk shit about my firm and all the cons of it without anonymous posting.
Yassss…stop the spread of disinformation! Muzzle them! Take away their accounts!
But that’s what off-topic is for. Don’t come up with ideas man.
Don't we already have the thing you are talking about, OP? It's called "Blind" or "TeamBlind". Think there are other sites just like Blind too.
This forum benefits from what we will refer to as "shithousery". It's a middle ground between full hardo and full meme.
This is almost funny. The OP is 221991 and wants to ban anonymous posters.
Not sure why this place is so secretive. Everyone has a linkedin account with a name and a photo. In the real world, I want more exposure, not less. If no one knows me, I can't make any money.
This is a terrible idea. They want most users possible to generate revenue from packages/guides they sell (prospect demographic). Banning the noncertified users is entirely contrary to the model. This is not an exclusive, confirmed user only type brand.
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