You know what I love about these forums?

[Bloop Bloop]

These forums are probably the most positive I've seen online.

People can talk about things - easy topics and controversial topics - and most of the discussions are pleasant. Or if not pleasant, at least constructive. Or if not constructive, at least rational.

There's not much whinging. There's not a lot of boasting or humble bragging. There's not much ego. There's also not much jealousy.

It's just a pleasant climate to talk in. Thank you to MMM and to the posters on these forums for creating a great discussion space.

It's one of the few online communities I can think of that aren't completely dominated by group-think*, or a political bias one way or the other.

*I know we all care about the value of money, but there's enough variants of leanfire/fatfire and everything in between to keep it interesting.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

These forums are probably the most positive I've seen online.

People can talk about things - easy topics and controversial topics - and most of the discussions are pleasant. Or if not pleasant, at least constructive. Or if not constructive, at least rational.

There's not much whinging. There's not a lot of boasting or humble bragging. There's not much ego. There's also not much jealousy.

It's just a pleasant climate to talk in. Thank you to MMM and to the posters on these forums for creating a great discussion space.

It's one of the few online communities I can think of that aren't completely dominated by group-think*, or a political bias one way or the other.

*I know we all care about the value of money, but there's enough variants of leanfire/fatfire and everything in between to keep it interesting.

This is true. Also, posters can disagree fundamentally on some topics but go ahead and discuss others.

[nereo]

Yup.  A few years back a former member launched a tirade about how “nasty” this forum could be, to which a collective response was “have you even visited other corners of the internet?!?”
By and large i you are respectful and thoughtful in your posts here, the other posters are respectful in return. If you want to throw mud in the “off topic” segment, well some is going to come back at you.

Have to give some credit to the mods (@arebelspy, @FrugalToque) , who thread the needle between allowing a diversity of opinions in often heated arguments while enforcing the forum rules.  We aren’t bogleheads where anything even remotely political or controversial gets banned, nor are we reddit where posters routinely get threatened for expressing an opinion (or Dave Ramsey, where I got run out for not blindly following the leader).

[Loren Ver]

Agreed.  DH and I read very different parts of the internet. I like it here where smart people talk about all kinds of smart topics smartly.  Differences of opinion can be aired but hands shook at the end.  He likes to dig in the cesspools of human waste and detritus.  We have fun chats about what we find, makes for a nice compare and contrast. 

I'll stick to my smart people having intelligent conversation :D.  Even if I don't agree, at least it is well reasoned.

Loren

[erutio]

I agree.
I specifically come to this forum to look for differing opinions and the rational debate that comes with them here. 

[SunnyDays]

Since I retired, I don't really have the intellectual stimulation I need in my daily life, but I find it here.  The fact that it's a financial site is secondary; I'm mostly here for the conversations.

[Bloop Bloop]

Have to give some credit to the mods (@arebelspy, @FrugalToque) , who thread the needle between allowing a diversity of opinions in often heated arguments while enforcing the forum rules.  We aren’t bogleheads where anything even remotely political or controversial gets banned, nor are we reddit where posters routinely get threatened for expressing an opinion (or Dave Ramsey, where I got run out for not blindly following the leader).

Reddit in particular is bad because the design of subreddits makes echo chambers very common. It's rare to find any special interest reddit that isn't beholden to a consensus view.

[Loren Ver]

I have struggled in the past with reddits up/down vote system where the votes mean I agree/disagree not that something is a well reasoned argument.  It makes it too echoy and many times snarky.  I like it here where on many occasions I have been confronted by a well reasoned argument that caused me to take a look at my own view or bias to see why I held it.  A good argument indeed.  Or to look at an argument of someone that agrees with me and think, uh what?!?

:)

[nereo]

I have struggled in the past with reddits up/down vote system where the votes mean I agree/disagree not that something is a well reasoned argument.  It makes it too echoy and many times snarky.  I like it here where on many occasions I have been confronted by a well reasoned argument that caused me to take a look at my own view or bias to see why I held it.  A good argument indeed.  Or to look at an argument of someone that agrees with me and think, uh what?!?

:)

I do find it fascinating how often I am on the same "side" as another poster but I disagree with the reasoning s/he uses to support their argument.

[js82]

Largely agree.  In society at large, it's fairly rare to find people who can challenge each others' views without things devolving into irrational crap-spewing.  Here, while there are moments where people lose their cool and venture into that territory, it tends to be the exception rather than the rule.  And the vast majority of the time people attempt to back up their position with logic and/or evidence.

I'll also add that several posters on these forums have written some really smart, thought-provoking posts that caused me to stop, think, and ponder whether or not my own views on a certain subject are correct.  Definitely happens with a greater frequency here than most other internet forums.

I have struggled in the past with reddits up/down vote system where the votes mean I agree/disagree not that something is a well reasoned argument.  It makes it too echoy and many times snarky.  I like it here where on many occasions I have been confronted by a well reasoned argument that caused me to take a look at my own view or bias to see why I held it.  A good argument indeed.  Or to look at an argument of someone that agrees with me and think, uh what?!?

Reddit would probably be a better place without its karma system.

[Steeze]

If I was going to make a major life decision I would run it by you all first - just to get another set of eyes on it before I pull the trigger :)

[The Fake Cheap]

I've seen at least a few humblebrags around these parts.

I also had my most negative forum experience on this forum as well.


All that being said, IMO this is the best forum on the whole of the internet.

[LWYRUP]

Obviously preaching to the choir here but:

Yeah, reddit feels very anonymous, so you can have a good exchange but you'll probably never talk with that poster again except on a small subreddit.  Voting system also makes conversations disjointed, and subreddits create echo chambers

Bogleheads is nice but is strictly dollars and cents and there's only so many times you can talk about whether small cap value is worth it before your eyes glaze over.  I like the implicitly broader scope of this forum (basically, financial freedom AND self actualization).  Bogleheads is also filled with a ton of rich people that have a heart attack about the idea on retiring on less than $4 million or a 2.5 SWR.

Jacob's ERE forums are way too hardcore for me, so I wouldn't fit in. 

I wouldn't mind if we just broadly changed this forum to add in more non-financial or tangentially financial things (a cooking subforum, a meditation / exercise subforum) but it's pretty great as is. 

[ericrugiero]

Yes this forum is a good place to discuss most topics. Almost everyone does good job of expressing their opinions without personal attacks.  It is nice to have such a diverse group of people from across the world.

Everyone also seems to be willing to help others and share their knowledge.

[meghan88]

Yup.  A few years back a former member launched a tirade about how “nasty” this forum could be, to which a collective response was “have you even visited other corners of the internet?!?”
By and large i you are respectful and thoughtful in your posts here, the other posters are respectful in return. If you want to throw mud in the “off topic” segment, well some is going to come back at you.

Have to give some credit to the mods (@arebelspy, @FrugalToque) , who thread the needle between allowing a diversity of opinions in often heated arguments while enforcing the forum rules.  We aren’t bogleheads where anything even remotely political or controversial gets banned, nor are we reddit where posters routinely get threatened for expressing an opinion (or Dave Ramsey, where I got run out for not blindly following the leader).

I am late to the party here, but yes, total props go to the awesome mods.

Generally, I find most forum participants have a high level of emotional and basic intelligence, though I'm guilty of confirmation bias because I agree with much of what the more prolific posters have posted.  One common thread would be an aversion to keeping up with the Joneses / conspicuous consumption.