I may need to keep a low profile after this, but what are peopleās thoughts on having a dedicated part of the community only for Freetrade Plus members? This community is a great space, but recently it seems as though there have been huge volumes of posts that are either:
a) Asking very basic investing questions
b) Using the community instead of support
c) Complaining about things not working or features that have not yet been released.
Before I say anything else, I want to say that ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE 100% VALID and absolutely what the forum should be about, but it would also be great to have a place where people who are more advanced or serious about investing (or at least serious enough to pay) could post. Having access to this part of the community could also be advertised as part of the benefit of paying the Ā£10/month for Plus.
I have seen many new investors join the community asking questions that could be seen as basic by some users only to stay and become valued members of the community.
There are simple improvements that iād love to see here in the community which could alleviate some of what you highlight but right now donāt appear to be planning to hiring someone, to build the community and to implement them.
āI begin to speak only when Iām certain what Iāll say isnāt better left unsaid.ā ā Cato
I guess what Iām saying is that I donāt mind taking some of the rough if the smooth is a growing the community of people varied backgrounds & different perspectives. This place is at its absolute best when people are engaging, sharing knowledge and finding news from across the world all helping everyone to become better more informed investor.
c) Itās a British pastime to moan and complain
With a day job around product development/software and prioritising features in a backlog based on the perceived value and resource (staff) available, Iām probably more patient than most with this knowing how things work, but neither is a multitude of features the reason I joined Freetrade.
I donāt really understand why isolating discussion off or paywalling it would help the wider community, youād also miss some of the experienced/knowledgeable posters around here who donāt pay for Plus.
Discussion out in the open will generally bring something to light that you might have missed (be more chance with more eyes on it), bring some form of consensus etc
Also Iām sure newer investors/members would benefit from that as itās about sharing information.
I actually like the concept and your meaning for it but think it is a flawed idea as you will get many who have Plus that would engage in the same 3 things you mentioned. This would then be worse as it would be considered āpaid forā and experiencing these things.
Also, there are some really knowledgeable people on here who are really good to listen to and hear their views that do not have Plus. I find I now follow threads I like that avoid most of the issues you mentioned and find that eliminates most aspects I do not like (the moaning not helping part).
I do however, not as much as a year ago, love the forum and itās new members learning the ropes. It is such a nice forum compared to many others I have visited but it can be polarising at times.
I appreciate the opinions and agree with much of the sentiment. I also agree that the forum is of huge benefit and am thoroughly glad that people perceive it to be helping new investors. I certainly hope that is the case.
My suggestion (merely that) was not to disassociate from the general forum (or set up a parallel or rival one), but instead provide an addition to plus users. If itās not desired then I certainly wouldnāt want Freetrade to put time into implementing it (regardless of my own opinion).
I wouldnāt want it to detract from the value add the Community offers. Creating a club in a club shouldnāt be the fix, if these are genuine issues people feel then Freetrade will need to better manage/structure the forum. I feel youād lose posts and discussions from the general pages
I donāt like the idea of gated communityās and what would stop a member of that gated community coming on here and asking for questions they would then pose in the gated community?
I think the community would be a poorer place as I would assume most plus members are more experienced investors. Would we want that knowledge taken away?
As a new investor I gain a lot from the forum hopefully it continues and grows in its current form!
I agree, I learn a lot from the more experienced investors and enjoy reading their snippets of wisdom! I think it would de detrimental to us newbies if we were separated from them.
Thanks Emmie I do try and teach everyone but thereās only so much a worm can do, I mean do you know how long it takes to type using my head jeeeeezzz
Point a is one of the useful features of the forum for both those who ask the questions and those who read the answers. What can seem like a basic question to one person is often far from basic or obvious to another , āadvancedā investor or not. I am an experienced investor who has been investing fairly large sums over many years. But I still come across things that I thought I understood well until I see an explanation given as answer to what might seem a basic investing question by someone else. Asking and answering ābasicā questions is often generally useful.
donāt appear to be planning to hiring someone, to build the community and to implement them.
