KCitons

I think this is the right thread for this comment. If we can argue opening the country up, even though lives will be lost, then we can apply the same concept when determining any gun bans. If the economics out way the deaths, then it should be simple. Guns, ammo, hunting accessories, licenses, etc is a roughly a $50-100 billion industry.

I had a response typed out 40 days ago, but when I went to post, it was delayed due to suspension. Yep, 40 days for posting the comparison between life and economy. Like Moses, I've returned from the desert (or my garden) after wandering for 40 days and 40 nights. My response was that you haven't been reading my comments. I'm retired. I can live comfortably the rest of my life on a 4% return. Which means that my goal is to preserve what I have, not hit home runs. I posted early on that I moved to cash at the end of January. The goal was/is to DCA back in very slowly. I don't care if the market goes up or down. I care about the bottom line. Other posters have said the same thing in the last 40 days. Even @Todem was thinking we could retest March lows. I didn't see anyone questioning his motives. It took very little risk to achieve 4% YTD. TL:DR. Not everyone has the same investment strategy or need.

I'm happy with the balance I've struck. There were probably more conversations that you didn't even get to see.

I hope all of you keep this in mind when there is a mass shooting. Saving a few lives at the cost of gun sales, hunting licenses, and other economic factors is not worth it. A life is a life. BTW. Still sitting at 85% cash/bonds. My gut says we find a new bottom in the next year. Without a vaccine, we will just see number fluctuate. China is starting to see a pockets of outbreaks. Seeing that one region of 600k was put under lock down today. How anyone expects a place like NY to keep this under control without a vaccine is delusional. There is no alternative to subways and the vertical lifestyle there. And they are just 1 example.

You posted this in the PSF and the FFA, why not the Shark Pool? FYI, title of the Bears thread today - ***Chicago Bears Thread*** GM is an idiot. Stupid is as stupid does If someone created a thread in the PSF - ***Current Administration Thread***. Trump is an idiot. Stupid is as stupid does. The thread would be altered, locked or removed. And the poster possibly banned. Have a Good Friday.

I am chilled out. Not angry at all. You have an issue with what I'm posting. Not the other way around. This actually made me chuckle. Have things really changed here with all that is going on in the world? The PSF is still the same. As to trashing mods? I'm just pointing out things that I saw coming years ago. It's all truths. Sometimes that hurts. As to the rest. People shouldn't ask questions they don't want answers to. I haven't posted much in the last few months. As soon as I do, people immediately post "I thought you left, why are you posting?" What are their priorities? Maybe they are looking for a fight. This is another one of those hypocritical things I like to point out. Best of luck to you too.

1 - Does everyone that posts here feel welcome? Do posters and moderators make everyone feel welcome? 2 - It's not my job to help you understand. 3 - If you have an issue, perhaps you should find another board. As I mentioned, I'm here to follow up on previous conversations. Think of it as saying "I told you so". It has nothing to do with feeling welcome. Again, 17k posts in 10 years. If people can take jabs at me in my absence, then I can stop in once in a while to point out inaccuracies.

Three months ago, I would have said that 300 rounds per gun was an acceptable amount. Today, I think that number is much, much higher. perhaps 1000 rounds per gun. That also would depend on the gun. A single shot or revolver would go through less rounds. Where a semi automatic would go through more. The same way Vietnam soldiers fired more rounds than WWI soldiers. We don't know what the next 6 months hold. Remember the conversations a few years ago about the impossible task of standing up against our mighty military? That same military could get decimated by an invisible virus. Could that weakness leave us susceptible to attacks from other countries? Maybe. If that happened, how much ammo would you want? The other scenario is the deterioration of police forces across the country. We are starting to see it in NY. We could see pockets of civil unrest as things progressively get worse. If there is no police to protect you, and a percent of the population is without basic necessities because their $1200 stimulus check didn't go far enough, how much ammo would you want?

Not at all. I've just adjusted my posting style as asked. Does everyone who posts on FBG's do so in a helpful manner? I doubt it. I'll leave you with another of my wonderful analogies. FBG's and I have had a divorce. Previously we lived in the same house. I now live in a different house, so I no longer do maintenance on the house that FBG's lives in. That was a result of the divorce. Some of you and other posters are shared friends. We still see each other on occasion, but some of you have chosen to take FBG's side. So, why would I help you with your home projects? You can't have it both ways.

I guess we are seeing why some people stockpile ammo. With some stores being deemed non essential, gun owners are finding it difficult to buy any ammo. Much less stockpile it. The 2nd Amendment is going to get a boost once we get past this pandemic.

I posted lot's of helpful things on this "fine" message board over the last 10 years. In return, I was told "I should find another board to post on". Were you disheartened by that comment? I guess not. So, I've taken that advice and now post helpful things on other fine message boards. You can't have it both ways. Sorry that's hard for you to understand.

Link? I said I found a new board to post. I have 17k posts here in 10 years. I've had less than 10 in the last few months. In case you don't understand the math, that means I'm not posting here as much as I have in the past. Is the board better for it? Maybe. I'm not here to share things to help others. An example would be my thoughts on the coronavirus in mid January. If I was contributing to the board, I would have posted that I moved my money out of the market months ago. I drop in from time to time to point out the hypocrisy of the moderation and the idiocies of opinions on things like gun ownership and hoarding ammo. We are living the reasons why we are the country that we are. Sorry to disappoint you. I'm still alive and kicking.

Sorry you see it this way. I believe you are wrong. You don't have to be psychic to figure it out. You have this weird expectation of people here. It's either too much or too little. The impossible Goldilocks where nothing is "just right".

The problem with the bolded is that Joe wants people to help moderate. Except when they moderate too much. Then he wants them to shut up. He wants an impossible balance and takes it out on posters when it doesn't work. You're not paying attention. My post wasn't about aliases. It as about poor moderation and expectations by Joe.

Isn't ignoring known aliases being coy? Your moderators know who the aliases are. It's not an difficult to see someone show up with a 1 or 2 post count and immediately reference a long standing personal joke.

I moved 25% of the wife's TSP back into C fund. I didn't want to move it this soon, but seeing the market move this week, I felt like I shouldn't wait. My personal opinion is that we haven't/didn't hit bottom. But, the market was showing something different. This is money that can't be touched for another 5 years. Anything with a shorter outlook is still sitting in cash or gold funds. I'm sure some are thinking I should have left the money in, or that I should have pushed it all in a week or two ago, we had enough savings on January 1st to retire (I'm retired and 51, wife is 54). My goal was to protect that first, make additional money second. Nobody knows what the next 6 months or year will hold. Worst case scenario, we can't find a cure for this in a year or two. If Trump or Pence or Pelosi (or any number of "important" people) get this and die, then panic could push things further. We also don't know what the reinfection rate is with this virus. China, Singapore and other areas are going to be the test bed to find out. If the market drops further and doesn't recover for years, we are still able to do what we were planning to do with what we have. If the market dropped and we lost 30,40, 50%, we would have to delay retirement and I may have to return to work. I'm probably the most conservative investor posting here. Everyone stay safe and wash your hands.

Hi BST, I'm well, although a little bored. I've only been out twice in the past 3 weeks. (once to the bank, and once to my MIL's empty rental house). Hope you are doing well also. I'll pop in from time to time to browse the threads, but I've found other places to share my opinions without all the faux utopia censorship. Everyone stay safe. Stay in touch with those important to you. I'd also suggest that you document and save memories from this time. This is a significant moment in history that you will remember for the rest of your life and share with future generations.

Unbridled Freedom. I've been saying it for some time now. We are seeing it again with a new killer. It's what keeps us from protecting ourselves, from ourselves. We are seeing it again with the Covid 19 pandemic. People believe they have the right to be free. To move around freely. To assemble freely. And to own guns. Taking away a defined freedom from Americans is not an easy process. And not one that is accepted or complied with by the entire population uniformly. I see people going to stores, restaurants, beaches, etc. They lack regard to the well being of others, similar to those that choose to own a gun. People are free to choose what's best for themselves over what's best for others. I wonder how many posters here (that chastise gun owners) are not social distancing or self isolating.

I don't post much here any longer. But, thought I'd drop a line here. I was watching the virus expand in China during the month of January. Going into this year, my strategy was to shift out of equities over the first half of 2020 and wait out the election. Keep in mind, I am one of those people that did retire recently (last April). However, due to a sudden health problem with my Dad, our plans of traveling in an RV have been put on a short hold. Because of this the wife is still working (she doesn't want to wait around to travel, or doesn't want to sit around the house looking at me all day) She also has a FERS disability check coming in every month. So, we are not currently using any of our retirement savings. On January 27th I moved 95% of our money to cash/bonds. I put a little into gold etf and have been buying physical silver as well. I'm still waiting another 3-4 weeks to get back in. Had I stayed in the market, I would be down somewhere around 35%. (luckily, I did some tax harvesting at the end of 2019). I don't think we are at the bottom. We haven't felt the full economic impact of people not being able to leave their houses for weeks at a time. This is just the first wave. The tide is still rising. My plan is to dollar cost average my way back in periodically. I'm not looking to catch it all. A 15% bump would make me happy for the year. If that happens I will look to take some profits again before the election and wait it out. Good luck to everyone. Be safe.

Still circling the drain. Looks like things have moved beyond sharing opinions and having discussions, and more towards ownership and moderation telling people what those opinions should be. If you can't type those opinions on your own, they will help you by altering your posts to align with the right (their) opinion. @Maurile Tremblay - Before you told me to find another board, you told me that nobody was altering people's posts. You were wrong. I had my suspicions at the time, but had no proof. It didn't take long for the proof to present itself. The suspicion just needed to be brought to light and others would find the examples. @Joe Bryant - Myself and other posters have repeatedly told you that your moderators are as much of a problem as the posters. You continue to turn a blind eye to the bigger problems for the sake of friendship. I hope those friends can keep your business afloat. @Bozeman Bruiser - I will continue to check in from time to time, but I've decided I it's not worth posting when those posts can be hidden or altered. It's not worth my time or effort. Unfortunately, Joe doesn't see anyone in the PSF as a potential customer and treats us as such. I was wrong to say that Joe was looking for a utopian message board. What he's really looking for is a dystopian message board where everyone is miserable except for him. Now, back to my gardening.

I see things are still getting better in here. It wouldn't matter if everyone but two people left, or were perma banned. Those two people will still find reason to disagree on politics. I've spent the last few weeks on other message boards. I've come to the realization that posters are not the problem, the problem is ownership and moderation. Joe admits that the Shark Pool, the FFA and the PSF are all treated differently. Then he states that 90% of the reporting is coming from the PSF. No ####. If you enforced the rules consistently in the Shark Pool, you'd see similar problems across the entire board. I did the research. People make the same comments in the SP that they do in the PSF. The only difference is that it's about a coach, a team or a player and not about something that really effects our every day lives like taxes, health care, or war. Sorry Joe, since stepping away, I've gained some clarity on the issue. It's you. You have this idea of a message board Utopia that exists no where else but here. That's admirable at best, delusional at worst. You're asking everyone to change to accommodate you. Instead of you accommodating them. It's a terrible message to send, especially if some of those people are your customers. I would like to thank Maurile. If he hadn't censored my comments here by hiding posts, I never would have achieved this enlightenment. Him telling me to get over it, or find another board, was excellent advice. I've done exactly that. I'm not interested in posting on a board where a random moderator gets sole decision on determining my value. This is just another example of how Joe chooses his friends over business, and then wonders why his business struggles. You can't have it both ways. Moderation has been a problem the entire time I've been on this board. And I suspect it will continue to be so. Good luck. I suspect the PSF will disappear in the near future. The problems will just move to the FFA and Joe will be stuck with the decision of giving up, or shutting the FFA down as well. You can't change people. Especially random people on the internet. So, don't waste your time.

Glad to know I was the problem here. Things seemed to have improved.

I've banned myself from this board. It's become the Trump administration. As long as you say nice things about those in charge then you're gold. Say something negative and you're out. They tell others not to get pissed about words on a message board, but they themselves, get pissed about words on a message board. They can't even recognize when someone is giving them advice. Customers and potential customers are seeing the way they treat people here. Staff is more important than customers. I pointed out moderation was an issue 5 years ago. I see similar things happening now. Instead of recognizing it as a potential issue, they hide posts and lock threads to avoid the truth. That's a pretty good example of contempt towards the people posting here. Joe stated he was worried because the one thing their company has is trust of the customer. If you can't be trusted to run a message board what else should I trust you with? The PSF is no worse than the Shark Pool or the FFA. The PSF was born from the FFA. The same comments are made across all three forums. They are just held to a different standard here. You can joke and call someone a name in the Shark Pool, the same comment in the PSF will get you banned. I think the problem lies with assuming the worst of people here. They aren't given any leeway. I was told this is a politics forum. To talk politics or go to a different forum. I'm going to a different forum. (I wonder if they will tell you the same thing?)

Do you give a moderator the right to alter your posts via TOS? Not hide, but alter what you are saying?

It was hidden for awhile.