Thursday, 10 March 2016

Editorial Control On Victraders.com

Apparently there was some ill-informed criticism of Victraders.com during a trader meeting this week and perhaps it would be a good time to identify the rules that govern posting on the trader’s website.

The criticism suggested that input from traders was edited before posting. Every public website has rules about posting that may involve some editing of input. Rules protect operators of websites and their readers from unsavoury action and the complete list of rules can be exhaustive but there are some common themes. It should be said up front that there is very little need for moderation on Victraders.com. Most input is of a civil and constructive nature and over 5 years of operation there would only be a handful of posts that have not been published. Some no-no’s for our website are -

Defamation – obviously defaming another person is unacceptable and, yes, there have been instances at Victraders.com.
Discrimination and Harassment – it is inappropriate to vilify any other person, including based on their race, ethnicity, religion or sexual preference. 
Bad Language – obviously unacceptable.
Trolling – the term used to describe attempts to inflame issues usually through personal attacks that incite an emotional response.
Shouting – writing in capital letters is described as shouting and, just as shouting is unacceptable in physical meetings, it is also unacceptable online.
False Identity – Victraders.com does not require signatures to posts. You may post anonymously and that does leave us open to false posts but we choose to make the process of feedback as open and easy as possible.
False or Misleading Statements – many websites ban input that has the potential to be false or misleading and this is a very grey area. Obviously we need to allow expressions of opinion but every contributor is expected to have performed due diligence on the information contained in their posts.
Personalising Issues - this is covered in a couple of the circumstances above but bears repeating. Attacking the person rather than the issue is unnacceptable. Any view has merit and deserves to stand alone from the person expressing the view. 

All these circumstances are rigorously controlled on forums and websites across the globe. Victraders.com is in fact a little softer than most. As an example we allow posts from Vince, David, and Michael who are in reality the same person.  Obviously this person understands that an anonymous post has less impact than a signed post so they choose to use fictitious names. On most websites and forums that would be unacceptable behaviour. Maybe it should be here as well.


It is suspected that this week’s criticism comes from one of the many conspiracy theories that unfortunately abound at QVM. Hopefully this explanation will allay any fears you may have about contributing to Victraders.com. This website has a very useful role to perform in informing traders and giving them an opportunity to express their views. If you have any comments to make we would love to hear from you. And your post will be published unedited, as long as you don’t defame, troll, shout etc.


10/03/2016 15:36:59 Comments from Traders "Put your name to it so  we know who is writing This article" A&J Renwood E Shed
Thanks for your input Alby & Jillian. The article was written by Greg Smith, Editor of Victraders. - Ed 

15/03/2016 20:48:01 Victraders "I for one am proud to sign anything that I post. I welcome any comment or discussion that may come out of a post. Victraders is one of the few vehicles we have to communicate on a broader scale. We are all busy in our own trading and it is difficult to catch up with a few let alone many. In case you may be unaware the ADK on my signature is American Doughnut Kitchen." Karl.    ADK
Thanks Karl. Your input is much appreciated - Ed