Bogleheads forum permanent ban

[RogueDadMD]

I pulled off a neat trick -- I was permanently banned from the Bogleheads forum after my first post.  Not the trick I was going for though.

I've read their forums quite a bit, and posted a couple times awhile ago before I started blogging.  I decided to make a new account associated w/this name, and as I've done here, try to start a discussion related to blog posts that I thought were germane to that specific forum.

I gave a link re: my marriage/money post and my recent one on career trajectories and said I welcome discussion (that was basically the entire post).

The comment was held for moderation, then I received an email w/a notice of a permanent ban from that username because I was "soliciting" and talking about "relationships" and for putting my blog URL in my signature.

I suppose I need to re-read their ToS more closely, but that sure seems like a load of b.s.  I understand they don't want spam, but my writing isn't *that* bad (I hope).  A simply warning would've sufficed.

Hopefully WCI gives me a warning before he bans me from here.

[Zaphod]

I get where theyre coming from, though I dont go over there because it seems kinda boring...so I dont know for sure. However, its shameless self promotion and nothing else, I dont think you'd deny that right? You could try to rationalize it but your base motive was your blog promotion. Maybe they dont take to kindly to that kind of thing. If so, no big deal. I mean I could not care less and think you should do whatever you can, but I can see their point of view.

Do you have a twitter account? That seems to be one of the better self promoting vehicles out there.

[DMFA]

Imo that's a slap on the wrist, not a perma. Then again, back in my mod days, the admins did occasionally chastise me for being too lenient. Meh.

[RogueDadMD]

Zaphod wrote:

However, its shameless self promotion and nothing else, I dont think you’d deny that right? You could try to rationalize it but your base motive was your blog promotion.

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There was certainly a self promotion aspect, however "shameless" isn't really a good adjective.  It was a short post asking people to read two specific posts and give their thoughts on the posts, either on the blog or on the boglehead forum.

I am trying to engage different people and just generate more general discussion and learn, so it's not entirely about just having people on the blog.  I don't even have advertisements on the blog.  When I post on this forum with links, I'm just trying to generate discussion on a topic, even if people don't look at anything else on the blog.

I do have a Twitter account (Twitter.com/RogueDadMD -- feel free to follow) -- however a lot of people don't use it.

[VagabondMD]

Mazel Tov!

 

[MaxPower]

I've stopped going over there for a while now. It is so incredibly hostile to physicians on that forum and the moderators don't do jack about it. The only people more reviled on Bogleheads than physicians are whole life salesmen.

[RogueDadMD]

MaxPower wrote:

I’ve stopped going over there for a while now. It is so incredibly hostile to physicians on that forum and the moderators don’t do jack about it.

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I took a break for awhile from that forum over the past several months (basically coinciding with us having a third kid and not having time for a lot of things), but I didn't get that impression in the past.  I usually just read and almost never posted anything, so maybe that's why.

I know people on different forums have ripped WCI in the past, but I can't recall if that was just Reddit anger or Bogleheads...

[MedMO]

MaxPower wrote:

I’ve stopped going over there for a while now. It is so incredibly hostile to physicians on that forum and the moderators don’t do jack about it. The only people more reviled on Bogleheads than physicians are whole life salesmen.

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I read it a little bit and know they don't tolerate promotion at all, but why are they hostile to physicians?  I just assumed a lot of physicians are on their boards.

One thing that is really annoying on blogs is people who post comments under the name of their blog but it's only to get the name out there;  their comments are really boilerplate and clearly just filler.

[RogueDadMD]

MedMO wrote:

One thing that is really annoying on blogs is people who post comments under the name of their blog but it’s only to get the name out there;  their comments are really boilerplate and clearly just filler.

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I think anyone who HAS a blog posts under that blog name -- I think that's almost expected unless you are going out of your way to separate things.

The forums are a place to stimulate different types of discussion, so I agree that boilerplate/filler is inappropriate.  However if someone has already taken the time to write an extensive or thoughtful piece on their own blog and wants a discussion around it, it is just silly to ban a link to that post and expect them to regurgitate it in some other form on the forum itself.

That's a waste of space and time and is really just a way to keep people from leaving the forum to read things elsewhere.

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

Bummer. You might be able to be reinstated if you apologize and promise not to link to yourself again.

In any forum, although some will be more strict than others, it's best to establish yourself first with dozens of intelligent responses to forum questions and participate in conversations. If you're going to drop a link, do it in response to a question if the post directly addresses the topic at hand. It's best to link out to other blogs first and link to them more than your own.

My advice may sound hypocritical as I do link to my own posts much more on this forum than on any other, but even here I very rarely start a thread with a link to my own post. I do link to my posts in response to questions, mostly in the interest of saving time and not retyping a bunch of words I've already written, but also to help spread the message regarding financial independence.

Best,

PoF

 

p.s. Play nice in the sandbox long enough, and the Bogleheads will start sharing your posts for you.

[ENT Doc]

Rogue Dad, M.D. wrote:

MedMO wrote:

One thing that is really annoying on blogs is people who post comments under the name of their blog but it’s only to get the name out there;  their comments are really boilerplate and clearly just filler. 

Click to expand…

I think anyone who HAS a blog posts under that blog name — I think that’s almost expected unless you are going out of your way to separate things.

The forums are a place to stimulate different types of discussion, so I agree that boilerplate/filler is inappropriate.  However if someone has already taken the time to write an extensive or thoughtful piece on their own blog and wants a discussion around it, it is just silly to ban a link to that post and expect them to regurgitate it in some other form on the forum itself.

That’s a waste of space and time and is really just a way to keep people from leaving the forum to read things elsewhere.

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It's not silly.  By regurgitating your thoughts on another forum (this one included) without referring to your own blog you clearly separate your intent for the readers.  If your interest is truly seeking information, just pose an abbreviated scenario and question.  Then there can be no question as to your motive.  Because there was a question of motive on Bogleheads, you were banned.

[MedMO]

Rogue Dad, M.D. wrote:

MedMO wrote:

One thing that is really annoying on blogs is people who post comments under the name of their blog but it’s only to get the name out there;  their comments are really boilerplate and clearly just filler. 

Click to expand…

I think anyone who HAS a blog posts under that blog name — I think that’s almost expected unless you are going out of your way to separate things.

The forums are a place to stimulate different types of discussion, so I agree that boilerplate/filler is inappropriate.  However if someone has already taken the time to write an extensive or thoughtful piece on their own blog and wants a discussion around it, it is just silly to ban a link to that post and expect them to regurgitate it in some other form on the forum itself.

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I don't mean replies under your own article necessarily, I'm talking about inane useless replies that bloggers post so that their blog title shows up on BH, MMM or other forums.  Every reader knows its just for promotion.

[RogueDadMD]

ENT Doc wrote:

It’s not silly.  By regurgitating your thoughts on another forum (this one included) without referring to your own blog you clearly separate your intent for the readers.  If your interest is truly seeking information, just pose an abbreviated scenario and question.  Then there can be no question as to your motive.  Because there was a question of motive on Bogleheads, you were banned.

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It is silly, because if someone spends a long time writing a carefully thought out piece about something and wants to discuss it, it is ridiculous to just expect that person to post an abbreviated scenario/question that doesn't reference the deeper, more well thought out writing that accurately conveys their views.

The INTENT is to have someone read/understand my thoughts and give a response.

It is a waste of my time to write a 2000 word essay that is nuanced and completely explains my thinking, then ask people to have a discussion on it based on a 50-word blurb and not even mention that I wrote a detailed version somewhere else.  It is a waste of the other person's time to ask them to engage in a discussion where I have a position thought through and then ask them to respond to a truncated version of it that can't possibly explain what I think.

Clearly there was a question of motive on the Bogleheads site.

However re: your original question on the other thread where you just asked me if I really wanted people's thoughts on the value conferences -- I did not actually explore or ask that question in my blog post.  I talked about the conferences in a completely different manner in the blog post, and it stimulated a thought that I wanted to ask.  I see no reason why I shouldn't share a link to the post that stimulated the new thought, even if it the content is only partially related.  If you open that link and decide it's a waste of time, then you close it and don't read any more and you've wasted all of 5-10 seconds of your time.

However as I jump from thought to thought all the time to raise new questions, for me it's natural to connect them this way.

[RogueDadMD]

PhysicianOnFIRE wrote:

Bummer. You might be able to be reinstated if you apologize and promise not to link to yourself again. In any forum, although some will be more strict than others, it’s best to establish yourself first with dozens of intelligent responses to forum questions and participate in conversations. If you’re going to drop a link, do it in response to a question if the post directly addresses the topic at hand. It’s best to link out to other blogs first and link to them more than your own. My advice may sound hypocritical as I do link to my own posts much more on this forum than on any other, but even here I very rarely start a thread with a link to my own post. I do link to my posts in response to questions, mostly in the interest of saving time and not retyping a bunch of words I’ve already written, but also to help spread the message regarding financial independence. Best, PoF   p.s. Play nice in the sandbox long enough, and the Bogleheads will start sharing your posts for you.

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Yes, that's excellent advice.  I've been reading WCI and commenting on his posts and forum since it's inception and well before I started blogging (6 weeks ago), so he likely doesn't question my motivation.  Also he's generally supportive of other bloggers/physician writers in a way that others often are not.

However the ship probably already sailed with the BH forum, as I did the opposite of apologize when I received their email.  

[MaxPower]

It's hostile to physicians by the amount of vitriol they allow that is directed towards medical billing practices over which doctors have no control, for example.

I got a temporary ban over there for calling someone clueless who had said that if enough doctors complained about the cost of medications given to inpatients that administration would lower the prices...

The impression over there by a majority of the non-physician posters is that doctors are all unethical, money grubbing con artists who have it easy and are only looking to extract every last cent from their patients.

Just wait for a post to come up where someone asks about a medical billing question and see how long it takes for it to devolve into a physician bashing exercise.