Private Forum for discussions

24 replies
Hey guys,

Wouldn't it be a good idea to have a forum section for War Room members, where people can discuss IM stuff?

I'm not a really big fan of the main area, because there are too many newbies sitting out here, who often add a useless opinion on very important topics.

I'm not hating on anyone, but this would be great for people who come here for serious advice.

Just an example:

Ask if "nofollow links are useful?" You will see people saying that "They are" and "They aren't" without actually showing any proof.


King regards,
Andrii

P.S
If we already have such a forum section - excuse me for my stupidity.
#discussions #forum #private
  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    The main forum is, "Where We Talk About Making Money"
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    Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
    Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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    • Profile picture of the author trytolearnmore
      Originally Posted by tpw View Post

      The main forum is, "Where We Talk About Making Money"
      Yes, i know. But what i'm asking is: wouldn't it be better to have a section in the WR, where people can get their questions answered by marketers, who ACTUALLY MAKE MONEY and have some success?
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      • Profile picture of the author WillR
        Originally Posted by trytolearnmore View Post

        Yes, i know. But what i'm asking is: wouldn't it be better to have a section in the WR, where people can get their questions answered by marketers, who ACTUALLY MAKE MONEY and have some success?
        The difference between a War Room member and a newbie in the main discussion forum is... $37.

        So how are you going to make sure it is only full of marketers who are actually making money?

        There would be no big difference.
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        • Profile picture of the author fitz10
          Originally Posted by WillR View Post

          The difference between a War Room member and a newbie in the main discussion forum is... $37.
          Newbies are in the War Room all the time. The War Room, as wonderful as it is, isn't really conducive to the types of questions the OP was talking about anyway.

          You should just post your question in whichever forum makes sense (Probably the SEO one for your sample question) and ignore the newbies. Focus on people with 100+ posts with lots of "thanks" by their name.
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          • Profile picture of the author Mark Coverdale
            Thats why this is called a "forum".

            It is by definition a place for the public to voice their opinions and give advice, whether it is good or bad.

            There is probably other "groups" online made up of only people who are making money online.
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            • Profile picture of the author trytolearnmore
              Originally Posted by Mark Coverdale View Post

              Thats why this is called a "forum".

              It is by definition a place for the public to voice their opinions and give advice, whether it is good or bad.

              There is probably other "groups" online made up of only people who are making money online.
              My problems aren't with good or bad suggestions. It's OK to be wrong about something.

              But i believe that an advice has to be based on facts, evidence, research and knowledge - not an opinion.

              Now that i think of it, this problem is really unsolvable. All is left to do is to ask the folks, who do not know the answer to a question, to not comment.
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              • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
                Banned
                Originally Posted by trytolearnmore View Post

                All is left to do is to ask the folks, who do not know the answer to a question, to not comment.
                Perhaps so, but doing this won't actually help much: call me a skepchick but I suspect that (a) many imagine they know when they don't really and are simply recycling misinformation, and (b) the people who give the most misguided advice overlap to quite a large degree with the people who read neither the OP nor the intervening posts attentively before adding their own.
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              • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
                Originally Posted by trytolearnmore View Post

                It's OK to be wrong about something.
                Well, I am never wrong, as we all know that

                Originally Posted by trytolearnmore View Post

                But i believe that an advice has to be based on facts, evidence, research and knowledge - not an opinion.
                Now, you are asking too much my friend... this is my opinion!
                Since the first days I went online I always wished an IQ test to be administered before somebody gets internet access but it never happened.

                Originally Posted by trytolearnmore View Post

                Now that i think of it, this problem is really unsolvable. All is left to do is to ask the folks, who do not know the answer to a question, to not comment.
                Yes, it is unsolvable. You can create a "private" area but idiots and newbies (which are NOT the same) will invade that, too. And then you have to create another, even more private subforum... and then an even more restricted one - until you end up alone with yourself. <-- (which is always a tempting perspective since I found out how good a companion I am for myself :p)

                Finally, you can "ask" ignorant people not to post/comment but exactly their status of being ignorant and not having insight about it - would make this exercise as futile as any other attempt to exclude idiocy.

                Have fun!
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                • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
                  Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath View Post

                  Finally, you can "ask" ignorant people not to post/comment but exactly their status of being ignorant and not having insight about it - would make this exercise as futile as any other attempt to exclude idiocy.

                  Have fun!
                  ^^ Exactly...

                  It isn't the stuff you don't know that usually gets you in trouble. It's the stuf you think you know, that's just plain wrong, that bites you where you sit.
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                • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
                  Originally Posted by trytolearnmore View Post

                  Yes, i know. But what i'm asking is: wouldn't it be better to have a section in the WR, where people can get their questions answered by marketers, who ACTUALLY MAKE MONEY and have some success?
                  There is no qualification that you need to be making money to be a War Room member.

                  Infact, people join most of the time because they want to make some money in the first place.

                  Originally Posted by trytolearnmore View Post


                  I mean, how do you expect people to get "serious" questions answered, when anyone with an opinion (not knowledge or facts) can come in and add "something" to the discussion?

                  That is my issue. If we can somehow fix that, a private section will not be necessary.
                  Who is going to decide what posts are qualified as "best answers" and technically correct?

                  What you are suggesting would require moderation of each post - which is just crazy. I'd be waiting possibly a week or two for a reply to a question. :p

                  By then, I would have forgot all about it or found the answer elsewhere by searching the search engines.

                  I enjoy the banter and entertainment in between the serious answers.

                  If I wanted just cold hard facts and no personalities, I would buy some technical manuals and be on my way.
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                  "May I have ten thousand marbles, please?"

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                  • Profile picture of the author Sandor Verebi
                    Hi Andrii,

                    You know, I'm a member of the War Room for a while. When I go there and have a question related to one product, I use to ask that in that thread, where the product is findable. Sooner or later, the thread starter or another member respond to my question - to the best of their knowledge.

                    Again, those questions were product specific.

                    If I have some genaral question I use to put that into the appropriate section of the WF, e.g. copywriting question was put into the copywriting section, SEO question into the SEO section and go on.

                    As for correctness of the answers, I accept that even beginners can give you good advice, just as an advanced can give you an inaccurate one. As you know, err is human. I can live with it, because I also do not know everything.

                    I can advise to all the questioner that you need to learn to distinguish between the answers. It's not that hard, if you exercise. We learn something on this place every day. And, it is advisable to use our common sense.

                    In sum, I don't see the point of your suggestion.

                    Peace,

                    Sandor
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          • Profile picture of the author AlexisMoore
            Th amount of posts a person has does not signify how much they know, as I am a partner in a successful business. I have just not bothered to join the forum until recently.

            By the way, I am glad I did- it's addicting. Plus, I am enjoying learning about everyone's methods. There's something to learn from everyone. Even "newbies" have some bright ideas that I may have never thought of.
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            • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
              Originally Posted by trytolearnmore View Post

              I mean, how do you expect people to get "serious" questions answered, when anyone with an opinion (not knowledge or facts) can come in and add "something" to the discussion?
              As others have said, that's the nature of a forum. People will offer their opinions for a whole variety of reasons; some to genuinely be helpful; some to make themselves appear as an expert; some simply to promote themselves or their product; still others just to see themselves in writing

              And there'll be answers that might be correct for the person replying, but not necessarily right for the questioner.

              If you pay attention, you'll gradually build a picture of the kind of responses (and responders) that carry more credibility.

              Honing that instinct is a life skill (and not just a forum issue) that's useful for us all to master.


              Frank
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  • Profile picture of the author Kecia
    Newbies join the war room every day, therefore they would still be answering in that section as well.
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    KeciaHambrick.com - Blogger. Content Creator. Social Media Enthusiast.
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  • Profile picture of the author trytolearnmore
    Well, this will filter out some people. Just recently there was a thread from... I believe his name was Fernando. In this thread he wrote that Google Webmaster tools showed that his websites had some artificial links, when it was not true.

    People, without even reading the original post, started to put out some ridiculous tips and suggestions.

    I mean, how do you expect people to get "serious" questions answered, when anyone with an opinion (not knowledge or facts) can come in and add "something" to the discussion?

    That is my issue. If we can somehow fix that, a private section will not be necessary.
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    • Profile picture of the author WillR
      Originally Posted by trytolearnmore View Post

      I mean, how do you expect people to get "serious" questions answered, when anyone with an opinion (not knowledge or facts) can come in and add "something" to the discussion?
      Seems to have worked ok for the last 10+ years. I do it the same way I filter out crap that comes up in Google search results. I just use common sense and after spending a short amount of time on the forum you will very quickly learn who you should and shouldn't be listening to.

      The whole point of a forum like this is the mixing of newbies and advanced people. If people are not asking and answering questions then we no longer have a true public forum.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by trytolearnmore View Post

      I mean, how do you expect people to get "serious" questions answered, when anyone with an opinion (not knowledge or facts) can come in and add "something" to the discussion?
      That occasional difficulty is a corollary to "free speech" (in a sense).

      The question of what exactly "knowledge" and "facts" are, in this context - to my own frustration at times - can be pretty subjective, and there's nothing to be gained by imagining that there'll necessarily be any greater objectivity available for it by imposing more-or-less arbitrary/judgemental restrictions on who can take part in such discussions.

      The single most important thing to learn, for a newbie in a forum like this, is whom to listen to and whom to trust. And it still would be, if your suggestion were adopted. (I'm not "getting on my high horse", in any sense, in saying this: it was my biggest problem when I arrived here, too, and it was only really when I realised that in a field like "internet marketing", in which overall success-rates are so low, at any given moment the widespread consensus of opinions on the various topics of the day are always quite likely to be mistaken ones. It was an extremely valuable realisation.)
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  • Profile picture of the author Tiffan Meloney
    I might look like a noobie but have tons of experience with SEO and making money. So...how can you determine the quality of information someone has to say by their post count, or status.

    Just leave it the way it is. What aint broken aint need no fixin. and the WF aint broken.
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Just to add there are probably a lot of people out there making good money online who know less about a lot of things than those who are not making any money at all. Making money does not necessarily make you an expert.

    Infact a lot of the guys making the REAL money online are those that understand very little but are smart enough to outsource everything to those people who do.
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  • Profile picture of the author AlexisMoore
    I agree with Jill- I like reading both types of answers. Plus, nobody is going to want to have to start going around stating how much money they make before they give an answer.

    I don't know if I agree that answers should always be based on facts. Don't you think some of our biggest success stories began with a hunch? A lot of the best in our field rely on instinct to guide them. Sometimes people have ideas that sound absolutely nuts, and then they surprise everyone when they make it work. I don't like to shut out something just because there are no facts to support it YET...

    Now, if facts have proven something to be wrong already that is a different story. But there is a difference between incorrect facts and a difference of opinion.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by AlexisMoore View Post

      I agree with Jill- I like reading both types of answers. Plus, nobody is going to want to have to start going around stating how much money they make before they give an answer.
      Alexis, any time someone starts an answer with how much money they make, I turn the sensitivity on my BS meter to "11"...
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      • Profile picture of the author AlexisMoore
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        Alexis, any time someone starts an answer with how much money they make, I turn the sensitivity on my BS meter to "11"...
        Do people really do that here?
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  • Profile picture of the author LarryC
    << Wouldn't it be a good idea to have a forum section for War Room members, where people can discuss IM stuff? >>

    Maybe I'm missing something here, but isn't the War Room itself such a section?
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    Content Writing, Ghostwriting, eBooks, editing, research.
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  • Profile picture of the author trytolearnmore
    Well, i'm the type of person who listens to advice of people who "walk the walk." Can newbies give good advice? On some issues - yes. But when it comes to making money - hell no.


    When i have a medical problem. Should i listen to people who just recently read a medical book, or should i just go to a doctor?

    When i have a judicial problem, should i turn to a guy/girl who watched Law & Order, or go to a lawyer?

    That is my point. For me knowing that a person makes money is essential, because there are so many know-it-all's, who give you information based on... well... nothing. I'm not really that kind of person who wants to see a mix of smart and dumb answers - i had enough of that in school.

    I truly believe that this topic should be discussed.

    King regards,
    Andrii
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