Here’s a wild thread about the decision of Our Lords and Masters at the Bogleheads Forum and their decision to ban Investor Junkie for life:
Banned for Life from Bogleheads Forum
Just keep repeating to yourself: “Buy-and-Hold is science! Buy-and-Hold is science! Buy-and-Hold is science!”
Juicy Excerpt #1: Opposing viewpoints are shunned – Perhaps this is the most damning issue. This isn’t the first time someone has been banned. In Rob Bennett’s case he was banned for no known listed forum policy. Except his viewpoint was different from other Bogleheads and a “threat”.
Juicy Excerpt #2: The Bogleheads Forum does seem worse than most.
Juicy Excerpt #3: Boards tend to foster small and often narrow-minded communities that don’t look kindly on outsiders, from my observations. Cliques dead? Nah.
Juicy Excerpt #4: Forums have huge potential. This is especially true of the Bogleheads Forum because most of the principles they discuss are solid, research-based stuff. Also, they get a number of big names to post there. People need a place where they can talk things over and learn. But the whole thing is ruined when one group silences opposing viewpoints.
Juicy Excerpt #5: There are lots of super people at Bogleheads. I made lots of good friends there and I learned a lot from a good number of kind and smart and generous people. I’ll give you one example. I met Wade Pfau as a result of my posting there.
Juicy Excerpt #6: I like the BH forum but yea I have found their are some stubborn a-holes over there. They kind of remind me of the old people at my work who are unwilling to embrace change and new ideas/ new ways of doing things. I hope I never become someone like that.
Juicy Excerpt #7: Call it ‘groupthink” over there if you like, but you might ask yourself why it is that tightly moderated forums like BH are popular and why those ‘upstart’ forums who claim they are gonna do it differently fade to obscurity.
Juicy Except #8: Their reasons for suspension is subjective, not objective. Not only shown in my case, but also Rob’s.
Juicy Excerpt #9: As to Mr. Bennett, however, that is a horse of a different color. I suggest you take a look at his long internet history, including having been banned at not one board, or two, but banned at more boards than you have fingers and toes together. It seems to me that much negative interaction is not a misunderstanding; that is a person deliberately trying to be an irritant, rather trying to get a legitimate message across.
Juicy Excerpt #10: I don’t know about that but I certainly am grateful for your kindness in saying so, Sam. I saw you at one of the sessions of the Financial Bloggers Conference in Denver but was not able to get close enough to say “hi!”. Next year I will make sure that we get a chance to talk things over in person a bit!
Juicy Except #11: He is not entirely wrong in saying that I am an irritant. Lots of people have invested their retirement money pursuant to Buy-and-Hold principles and it hurts them to learn that this was a mistake. I don’t say it to hurt them. My view is that it hurts them a lot less to learn about their mistake before they lose most of their retirement money than it does to learn about if after they are busted.
Juicy Excerpt #12: This group strikes me as a bunch of smug, self-rightous church lady sewing circle types.
Juicy Excerpt #13: I can say from what I’ve seen people often claim you are let me put it in a nice way.. abrasive. While I have no issue with your viewpoint, I think many object to the methodology of how you do it.
Juicy Excerpt #14: I think the answer is for people to accept that there are two models and not be so defensive. We all need to acknowledge that the other guy is a friend and someone why is trying his best to help. I accept that there are lots of good and smart people who really believe in Buy-and-Hold. They have a right to believe what they believe. But if I were to say that I believe in Buy-and-Hold, it would be dishonest. There never should have been even a tiny bit of pressure applied to me to persuade me to post dishonestly. My right (and the right of all Valuation-Informed Indexers) to post honestly should be respected.
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