Happy Saturday, everyone.
This is not “the” post I’ve been working on, but a foundational element of it. I’d like your help with something, as we move toward an important new Slope. Not just new with respect to its underlying technology, but new with respect to its atmosphere.
I’ve put together a statement of purpose. I’d like you to read it and tell me:
- Any misspellings, syntactical errors, or other screw-ups;
- If I’ve missed anything important
I look forward to your feedback. Here it is:
For nearly the first sixteen years of Slope’s existence, I never bothered putting together any kind of manifesto, statement of purpose, or similar page. I never considered it important, and I figured it would get about as much attention as a Terms of Use or Privacy Policy.
Over the course of time, however, I have realized that it is important to articulate some core values that I believe are important to the mutual prosperity of everyone here. Here, then, is a triad of triads which establish the principles and philosophy underlying the site:
How Slope Serves You
- Creating a space for conversation and friendship – In Slope’s earliest days, it was just a blog. The very first thing we added on top of the blog was a customized comments system, and that has been the basis of the community ever since, generating millions of comments and countless relationships through the years.
- Providing trading tools which are easy to use and feature-rich – Almost everyone here actively trades some kind of financial market. Slope endeavors to create tools, most of them focused on charts and computed analytics, that will be of aid to your in your quest for consistently profitable trading.
- Integrating the community with the tools to create symbiotic value– Symbiotic value? What kind of new-age gobbledygook is that? No, I’m serious. What Slope does better than anyone is make the community part of the product. The intersections between the tools and the people that use them create value that otherwise would be undiscovered.
How You Serve Slope
- By being a constructive and contributing part of a self-sustaining community– I’ve been in the online world since 1981. I have never seen a place like Slope. It is unique in many respects, and the reason is almost entirely due to the people here. Each one of you count. This is our own tiny nation-state, with its own collective purpose, and it’s vital that we fellow citizens are good to one another.
- By offering up your requests and ideas– Freud famously asked, “what do women want?” Well, a slight twist on that for me is, “what do Slopers want?” Often they don’t know! But if you ever have a request or an idea for a product or feature you want to see, please don’t hesitate to tell me. You want to be sure to reach me, so just use the “@” feature in comments or the contact form. I always want to hear from you.
- By giving Tim purpose– Let’s not kid ourselves. I fear boredom far more than death. I’m happiest when I have multiple projects going. I work for you. More specifically, I work for the subscribers here. So it’s a win/win situation – – you get great products, and I get a good reason to wake up.
How We Serve Each Other
- Recognizing we have knowledge and information that others do not, and sharing it – This is a tremendously intelligent group of people. There is historical proof of this in the Knowledge Base, as well as SocialTrade. You almost certainly have something new and enriching to bring to the table. It could be as simple as a pithy comment or an interesting chart you want to post. Please be generous.
- Recognizing we want to learn and grow, thus remaining curious– At the same time, be open-minded. It’s very easy to get into a rut with respect to what you trade, how you trade it, or your “take” on any given situation. Others here can pour their figurative pitcher of knowledge, but there need to be vessels to receive it.
- Recognizing that the differences among ourselves worthy of discussion are those that ultimately build, and not divide, the community – There is no shortage of discord, animosity, and conflict in the human race. As such, those are likewise in abundance in any forum of communication, whether over a communal campfire ten thousand years ago or today on an Internet site. We have differences. Some are worth sharing. Some are not. And very, very few are worth actually fighting about. The experience is far more edifying, both individually and collectively, if we are decent and civil with each of our fellow humans in this place.
