Bots are replying to other bots, now. 
Is there really no way of stopping the forum from filling with this rubbish? 
The “member retention problems” so often discussed make more and more sense. It depends what you mean by “member,” perhaps. 
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there is, but it requires the will to remove spammers, scammers and scores of bots posting artificially generated garbage-text to produce “fresh content” for SEO
that will is absent, here
hence the “member retention problems” you mentioned yesterday
without the spammers, scammers and scores of bots posting artificially generated garbage-text, there are barely 30 actively participating members left, very sadly, but that’s the inevitable result of welcoming spammers, scammers and scores of bots posting artificially generated garbage-text, isn’t it? 
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Nope. This one’s definitely and obviously a bot.
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I’m optimistically hoping that’s incorrect. It would be a shame if that is the case, even though sometimes it seems that way.
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I’m sure it’s right, I’m sorry to say.
Late on Saturday afternoon, 9th December, after a total only 5 or 6 posts had been made all day, suddenly in the space of one hour there were 20 bot-posts made by 20 different “profiles,” one per profile, in 20 different threads.
All 20 “members” had joined around the same time (not exactly) and had around the same number of posts each (not exactly).
I had never heard of or seen any of these “members” before.
ALL their “content” was obviously artificially generated valueless trash. No exception at all.
It’s still fresh content for search engines to index, though.
And the previous Saturday, 2nd December, EXACTLY THE SAME THING, at the same time of day.
Just when fewest real people are online here to notice.
Interesting “coincidence”?
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I’m in denial and want to believe otherwise. There are other forex forums but this one is generally a pleasant one compared to some of the others that are full of trolls.
It’s a pity that Babypips provides and sets the standard for a Forex 101 course and doesn’t have more real participation in their forums.
I’m going to chalk it up to newbies not being comfortable engaging due to a lack of knowledge and shy from likely being chastised or ridiculed on other forums for asking questions or making statements.
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i know
i actually took the time to report all 20 to the moderators, one at a time, as bot garbage, and i got back 19 separate copies of the automated reply saying “Thanks for letting us know. We’re looking into it”
one report must have slipped through the net?
i really didn’t think anyone else would have noticed those posts and their remarkable timing, given the time of day on a Saturday
did you also report them/any of them, Hawkeye?!
that’s true, and it’s why i’m still here and actively encouraging other traders to join
it’s a real uphill struggle, though, i admit
most people i ask take a look around and just say “no - it’s a total spam-house full of bots and garbage”
which i can’t argue with
that’s also true - they did a really great job getting the course rewritten and clearing up almost all the former problems with it 
lol!!! 
always all at exactly the same time on a Saturday afternoon just when nobody else is here? 
you know better than that
anyway, the staff here won’t be sorry if i take a long time-out or just disappear
they are unerringly polite and friendly to me, but i’m obviously a huge nuisance to them as i always want them to remove the spam, bots and trolls and they’re very, very, very resistant to doing so!
it’s difficult to understand whether the forum and its income benefit or lose, overall, by losing the participation of all those former members like Eddie B, Manxx, Lexys, PipMeHappy, Jezzode, Carlos Ray and all the others who nearly all left around the same time, years ago, and now by losing the participation of people like Sovo S (recently gone) and myself (hanging on by a thread, suitable word in the context!) when we all leave for largely - if not exactly - the same reasons
the members lost are always the longstanding active participants who could - and in some cases want to and try to - help to build the place up, and in several cases have even said so specifically and openly
nobody listens, and that’s really frustrating
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I hate to say it but from an SEO point of view, having new and keyword laden content is rewarded, even if it’s bot generated and of no real value.
How much would the forum shrink if all the low value and redundant posts were removed?
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Unfortunately, forums and social media sites are full of bots for different reasons.
Look at X, there seem to be millions of these bots for the sole purpose of padding peoples stats (followers). Here, bots are generated to make the site look busy by generating generic responses to draw in more users.
You members who are capable of actually reading this, keep posting and I’ll keep reading, while skipping over the garbage.
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in the long run, it has exactly the opposite effect and kills the place
it would build up, not die the death; many humans would join/re-join; they say so openly!
in the shortest term, yes, it would shrink, obviously, but after that it would flourish!
the evidence is clear
it’s factual: in the trading world, the failing, shrinking forums use paid traffic and bots and are all badly moderated
the successful, thriving, growing ones with countless sponsors (each paying 5-figure annual amounts - and nothing at all wrong with that as long as they’re openly labelled “sponsor”, as at Nexusfi?) are super-strictly moderated; they ruthlessly and immediately remove all spam and promotional posting and obviously don’t use bots/"”posting services"
there were people here a decade ago complaining that the forum used posting services, and then - exactly as now - the forum denied it!!! 
the feedback section here is full of threads from 5, even 10 years ago, pointing this out
those members have all gone, and said why!
nobody listened then and nobody listens now
but what can you do? it’s their forum and it’s their choice
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We can saturate with quality posts and content and squeeze our the garbage.
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it shouldn’t be our responsibility to do that, especially when the forum lacks the integrity even to acknowledge - even when specifically asked - that they’re producing it!!
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It’s no easy task to run a forum, you either have too few people posting or too much SPAM. It’s hard to find the sweet spot and stay in it. Once the forum becomes organically popular, it attracts SPAM, which turns away the people that contribute to organic growth.
We have to be the resistance and not be driven out by low quality content. If we provide value to this forum, it can have organic growth again. Couple that with some quality moderation and this could be a thriving community.
Based on the number of views that some of my posts have, I assume that there are many real people here, since a bot wouldn’t be interested in reading, unless there are bots to run up my view count.
Most of the members of any forum are there to read as opposed to engaging in the discussion unfortunately. I see it in a FB group that I moderate with 65,000 members but only about 20 that post consistently or ever.
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I don’t actually know how to, to be honest.
That’s profoundly disconcerting. But not amazing. The authorities here won’t even do anything about the few shamelessly crooked liars and scammers here like the guy who posts for “SolidECN”, which is just appalling.
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i’m not being driven out by low quality content: i’m being driven out by being persistently lied to, actually
i discovered that you’re right (not even very much research needed)
this site pays traffic farms in Bangladesh, Nigeria and/or wherever to generate a weekly quota of new posts and threads: always the same type of trite, repeated, no-value questions/comments, the same slightly off English, the same low post-count members who never interact with others
even this, and paid traffic, can generate some short-term ad revenue, but its long term consequences eventually destroy forums completely; it’s the absolute ultimate in myopic marketing, ill-will generation and entirely self-inflicted disaster
some forums try these services, note the outcome and quickly abandon the experiment; others, perhaps in desperation, persist indefinitely until nothing viable remains, and then they typically blame the industry and its culture and/or external developments for their inevitable closure
it’s a great pity, but the writing’s been on the wall here for years, and the forum’s now not-so-gradually and very noticeably deteriorating, even as some of its competitors thrive and expand
this is my last post here (if it survives “moderation”, lol)
good luck to all, and goodbye
p.s. - download anything you might want to keep, while you still can: it really won’t be here for ever
FP
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@flamingoproxy and @Pipsteroid - Why not take a break indeed. It’s sad that the most useful feature here apart from the “New” tab is the “Ignore” facility.
But even after all this time I still occasionally get a reference or term that I haven’t come across before. Occasionally a good idea even. But more often than good ideas are challenges to explain or justify things which I long ago decided were my Gospel: and so it’s good sometimes to have your set ways of thinking challenged.
Good luck. I hope you’ll be coming back.
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It certainly is a shame to see you go, your knowledge through experience has been invaluable. Like Tom said, maybe step back and take a break. Let’s not let the bots win.
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I have found that in order to minimise any emotions in my trading I follow the oft stated premise that you should ONLY trade with money that you can afford to lose.
Early in my trading journey, I discovered that Forex trading was not for me: too volatile and hard to trade successfully.
I have a small account of £1,000 which I trade in the CFD market in the DAX40. I have traded since July, initially with great success until mid September when on trading day 51, my lack of stop losses came back to bite me as the market started it’s long climb to the highest level and I was forced to cut losses. On the 51st day, I was showing a 34% profit but the reset brought that back to 17%. Big lesson: Use stop losses or else!
Picked myself up and restarted. I trade on a 1 minute chart, use Bollinger bands, MA and EMA indicators. I usually enter trades on the second candle and exit on second candle after a turn. I am still trying to work out the balance between SL and TP to give regular profit.
By day 89 I was showing a 45% profit when a very large market movement reinforced the fact that Stop losses are essential! The omission cost me £300.
I will keep trading. I treat this as a game. I have just had 4 losing weeks but last Thursday and Friday I climbed out of a hole and back into the black.
In my mind, it is me versus "The Computer! I don’t aim to be one of the 79%!!