# Time to Close Hot Button Discussions



## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

yes, one of the most prolific hot button monkeys is suggesting that hot button discussions be closed and that the site restrict itself to financial topics only

i recognize that politics is very much part of finance but that does not in any way mean that it (politics) needs to be discussed as we do now

because lets face it, we don't really discuss anything, we just yell different versions of the same positions, mostly backed up by not even cursory references to you know ... the facts

i have been around long enough to remember how vital and interesting this forum was and how much i learned by coming here from all kinds of people ... including pie, who though i fight with and insult constantly, knows her finance 

this forum can be a great place for newbies ... and experienced investors too

i like reddit for finance but this place is better, or used to be better

i think we do more good for the world by foregoing the yelling about trumpy and trudeau and concentrating on investing

*i have to believe that newbies are being driven away from this forum by all of our bombast* ... 

again, of which, i am among the kings (and queens) of bombastery

and i am sorry to see it dwindle to a shadow of what it used to be

i am curious to see what others think


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Fatcat - does that make you a bombastard? :cocksure:
Yes, Humble has immense patience to put up with you (don't we all though?) :love_heart: 

I'm agnostic on this. Not sure if it drives new members away or not. They do still come along in fits & spurts with good questions and contributions.
In theory you can ignore hot button topics, and of course you don't see them until after you join - so you've decided to join for reasons outside of hb. 

Any *NEW MEMBERS* want to offer their (after tax) two cents here??

Added: My solution (most of the time  ) is to ignore the trolls and barking animals. I think(?) they will go and pursue greener pastures if they are ignored here.


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

I think only the Trump thread has become rather useless with everyone talking over each other and each so embedded in their opinion there is no hope for any type of consideration of what the other is saying. . However, I'm still not sure I would close it. If they are getting their "jollies" from it why not just let them go for it?

I think the rise of popularity in indexing and passive portfolios has lowered the amount of financial issues to discuss. At least this is somewhat the case for me other than perhaps the occasional conversation on the merits of a dividend stock.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

It's quite possible the Hot Button Discussions are getting out of hand - I don't surf it much - probably because many of the "discussions" do seem to get out of hand. 

However, The Title and Subtitle of this Forum are 
*Forum: General Discussion
General non-financial chat here*

And Hot Button Discussions are a further sub-category of this Forum.

We are (supposedly) all adults here. What part of _*General non-financial chat*_ don't people understand? How can threads like "Trump News & Views" and "Climate Change" not lead to polarized opinions and worse? If people are turned off by the tenor of discussions, don't read that particular thread. Resist the temptation to raise the outrage to a higher level.

PS for Newbies. If you find someone particularly annoying or offensive, you can go to "Settings" in the Title bar, and add them to your ignore list, so you won't see their posts.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

^ My thoughts as well. Don't read them then!


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

Well I did my 2nd equity buy of the year...more Fortis....yawn...no particular reason...I'm just conditioned to do it. Yawn...much more fun to read people claiming Michelle Obama has male organs.


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## richno (Aug 15, 2016)

I am a pretty new member, and have found Canadian Money Forums to be incredibly engaging and informing. 

A lot of good quality information, and differing opinions regarding finances are shared freely and with respect. 

Like someone said above, Reddit’s good - but this place is better. 

The great information on these forums and excellent information will keep new people like me coming. 

Discussions about hot button issues, which I haven’t come across here yet myself, plague every online discussion forum, but I possess the choice to read them, or not, and to simply scroll down if I don’t want to.


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## new dog (Jun 21, 2016)

Great post richno you have the right attitude and hopefully most people think the way you do.


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## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

fair enough, maybe i'm wrong and the place seems so moribund because the market is so damn boring (basically mostly sideways or up) but i really think that perhaps newbies could be scared off by all the back and forth

oh and yeah, michelle obama totally has a penis, i learned that from infowars ...

i'll take this as free rein to turn everything up a notch

trumpy totally has a vagina ... fact ... total fact ... putin apparently had actual sex with him during that 2 hour "meeting" ...

total fact ... it's on the internet


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## new dog (Jun 21, 2016)

It is stuff like the stuff you just mentioned fatcat that I don't look at or care about. Same thing if someone says Hillary is sick or Trump is sick I don't care as long as they can still do their job. 

Same with all that entertainment stuff where they say this person may have went out with that person or whatever, I don't care.

You could also probably find just about anything on the net as you mentioned and you have to wait and see if there is some truth to it before you can believe any of it.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

richno said:


> I am a pretty new member, and have found Canadian Money Forums to be incredibly engaging and informing.
> 
> A lot of good quality information, and differing opinions regarding finances are shared freely and with respect.
> 
> ...




richno you wouldn't be a proxy from Vertical Scope would you? or - even more shocking - from the venerable toronto Star itself?

i mean the timing is right

*Need help on the Golan Heights,* goes the moderator. *They're having a Mutiny here. That audacious air force captain is signalling all our best posters over to reddit.*

*Urgently sending my most persuasive scribes. Over* goes Netanyahu in reply.


.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

It is definitely appropriate to be skeptical.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I keep hoping that the market will get more exciting so that we'll have some things to talk about.

I suggest avoiding the Hot Button area. Just don't visit it ... don't engage with the arguments. The regulars are always going to argue their same old positions, so there's no point engaging with them. Take comfort knowing that few members read Hot Button, and it's totally invisible to people who just pass by the site.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> richno you wouldn't be a proxy from Vertical Scope would you? or - even more shocking - from the venerable toronto Star itself?
> 
> i mean the timing is right
> 
> ...


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

I used to be more interested in the financial topics when there were a couple of young upstarts with "outside-the-box ideas" on investing. Their style may not have suited me but I find unconventional approaches interesting. For example, there was one young fellow trading very short-term positions for seemingly small profits of perhaps in the nature of $20 - $200 and keeping a spreadsheet of his progress. Another who seemed to have the approach to only buy a small number of no-debt companies during downturns and otherwise basically "sit on his hands" until the next downturn. Then, there was a lady making small but accumulative returns selling warrants. I know the second fellow was banned for advertising and has now joined another forum. Not sure what happened to the others.


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## new dog (Jun 21, 2016)

james4beach said:


> I keep hoping that the market will get more exciting so that we'll have some things to talk about.
> 
> I suggest avoiding the Hot Button area. Just don't visit it ... don't engage with the arguments. The regulars are always going to argue their same old positions, so there's no point engaging with them. Take comfort knowing that few members read Hot Button, and it's totally invisible to people who just pass by the site.


You may not wish for the markets to get very exciting james. There is a ton of debt and risk out there and we are in a late bull market cycle as well. Interest rates are already very low and if things start to go south they may not be able to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.


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## stardancer (Apr 26, 2009)

Even though I am in the winding down stage of investing, I am still interested in financial topics, with an eye on how to make what I have last for another 20-30 years. The 'excitement' of financial forums goes up and down as do the markets, so although this seems to be a dry time for topics, I am sure it will become more 'exciting' quite soon.

As for the hot button topics, I don't read them much. I get enough conflict at home as my husband and I do NOT see eye to eye on many issues.


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

stardancer said:


> As for the hot button topics, I don't read them much. I get enough conflict at home as my husband and I do NOT see eye to eye on many issues.


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## off.by.10 (Mar 16, 2014)

AltaRed said:


> ^ My thoughts as well. Don't read them then!


Exactly. It's better to have the section than to have the topics spill over into other sections and threads. It's fairly well hidden and nobody is forced to read it.

And as OhGreatGuru pointed out, you can also mute accounts which you think make pointless posts elsewhere. It all works pretty well for me.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

james4beach said:


> I keep hoping that the market will get more exciting so that we'll have some things to talk about.


Well, it depends. Is this supposed to be a 'money' forum? Or a financial forum? Or a stock forum? Remember that individual holdings (products) are the last step in the process of personal finance/financial planning. Investment strategies and trading strategies are supposed to stand the test of time regardless of markets.


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## stantistic (Sep 19, 2015)

*I support continuation*


I support continuation because while a topic may appear uninteresting at the time of its writing, it may quite forward seeing. For example -
https://www.canadianmoneyforum.com/showthread.php/121641-Facebook-(FB)?highlight=Facebook 
.


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## richno (Aug 15, 2016)

humble_pie said:


> richno you wouldn't be a proxy from Vertical Scope would you? or - even more shocking - from the venerable toronto Star itself?
> 
> i mean the timing is right
> 
> ...


No. And, no.


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