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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): The Most Common
Questions Asked About StockArena
•About StockArena •Why
Join? •Registration •General •Personalization •Ranking
& Rec Abuse •Member
Credentials
ABOUT STOCKARENA QUESTIONS
What is
StockArena.com?
StockArena.com is a
website providing a service for investors to find and share valuable investment
information. It is a world-class stock message board built with innovative
features and numerous incentives to foster the creation of the world’s most
trusted, knowledgeable and rewarding online investment community.
What does
StockArena think of the individual investor?
StockArena is built on the foundation that the individual investor is
capable of sharing valuable investment information that is comparable or better
than what the professional stock analysts can provide. StockArena offers
features for our members to essentially act like an analyst. For each stock, a
member can post comments, create and update research reports, initiate and
update price targets and issue trade advice (content
types). By utilizing these features and our unique ranking
system, StockArena is able to identify the top individual investors for your
stocks.
Does StockArena
really have “absolutely no ads”?
Yes. StockArena was designed for and around investors, not around
valuable space for advertisers. The site has absolutely no ads and no
distraction from the service we deliver to investors.
Does StockArena
really give away cash rewards?
Absolutely! We believe that our success is completely driven by our members'
constant willingness to post high quality content; therefore, we are 100%
commited for the long-term to providing the ultimate incentive: cash rewards.
Click here for more information.
What is
StockArena's cash giveaway goal?
By end of 2005, we hope to give away over $100,000 during each biannual period.
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WHY JOIN STOCKARENA QUESTIONS
I’ve
never belonged to an online investment community; why should I now?
Because if you are not planning for your financial future you should be; if you
are but are entrusting your funds with someone else you should get involved in
the decisions that are made. By joining the StockArena community, whether you
are new or experienced with investments, you can enhance your investment
knowledge and make diligent decisions about your financial position.
I do not have
enough investment experience to post messages on StockArena; why should I join
a community I can not contribute to?
You need not feel as a non-contributing member of StockArena if
initially you are not confident enough to post messages. Maybe initially you
won’t post many messages, but you can contribute to the community by allocating
your recommendations, agreeing or disagreeing with messages, and assigning
Trust Grades. If you are not confident enough with your current level of
investment experience to post messages, you definitely want to join the
StockArena community. Only in StockArena will you not only gain investment
knowledge, but also benefit from the community’s assessment of each member by
viewing their credentials. As a “newbie” in StockArena you need not rely on
just your perception of a member and their posts, you can look at the
compilation of the community’s assessment.
I’m already
active in another online investment community; why should I switch to
StockArena?
As an active investor you know that the bottom line with any
investment is the ROI (return on investment). Evaluate the ROI of your current
online investment community. If you are spending hours reading through messages
just to find the posts you want to read or to navigate the Internet to keep
up-to-date on your stock portfolio, you should consider your return on your
time invested. If you join StockArena you will find that our innovative
features like the Message Filters and Research Toolbar will save you time and
return only the investment information you want to read. Consider how valuable
your time is. The time you save subscribing to StockArena is a solid return on
your investment and you have the opportunity to be Site Ranked and receive cash
rewards.
My online
investment community is free, why should I pay to join StockArena?
If you are currently active in a free stock message board, then you
obviously want to participate and gain knowledge from fellow investors. Yet,
odds are you are frustrated wasting time reading through messages from so many
aliases and fed up with the pump and dump. The free stock message boards are
not designed for investors, but for advertisers. When you join StockArena
you’re not just paying for a stock message board, but for a service of getting
credible information fast. Unless you have unlimited time to weed through a
free community, the time you save subscribing to StockArena will undoubtedly
pay you back many times over the subscription fee.
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REGISTRATION QUESTIONS
Can I view the
site without subscribing?
Yes. See for yourself by registering as a Silver member. Silver members will be
able to read most messages and edit personal settings -- posting content and
access to advanced features will be disabled. After experiencing StockArena.com
as a Silver member, we are confident you will want to become a
full-fledged Gold or Platinum member.
What does it cost
to subscribe?
Subscription to Platinum
membership is only $29.95 per year and renewed automatically. Currently,
we're offering a significant discount to become a Platinum member. Details are
on the Subscribe page.
Do I have to
provide my payment information again when my subscription time has expired?
No. StockArena will automatically charge your credit card when your
subscription is due. This ensures that your membership does not lapse and that
you have continual access to the community.
How does Stock
Arena keep my credit card information secure?
No credit card information is saved on StockArena. All
credit card transactions on StockArena are processed and saved on the
world's most secure and popular online credit card processor PayPal, which
maintains over 40 million online credit card accounts and is owned by
eBay.
How
should I pick my screen name?
Select a screen name that you want to represent yourself throughout the
StockArena community. Unlike other online communities StockArena screen names
may contain spaces, therefore members are highly encouraged to use
names that resemble real names such as Jane Doe or Jim Olson and not names such
as jane00134 or msft_bull. The screen name that you entered during your
registration is permanent and cannot be changed.
Should I use my
legal name for my screen name?
StockArena recommends that all members be conscientious when selecting a screen
name. If you choose to use your legal name, be aware of the exposure of your
name on a web site that is accessible globally.
What is an
avatar?
StockArena allows members to not only select a screen name to
represent themselves within the community, but also an avatar as a visual
representation. There are over 500 avatars to choose from when
registering. This allows members a wide variety to choose from, but may result
in several members choosing the same avatar. To encourage use of the wide
variety of avatars, each avatar may be selected by only 20 members.
How do I cancel
my subscription?
If you wish to cancel your subscription, please send an email to
support@stockarena.com using the email that you are currently using for
your StockArena account. In the email, include your screen name and to help
improve our site, please kindly provide a brief a description on why you have
decided to cancel your subscription.
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GENERAL QUESTIONS
What is an
“arena”?
If you have participated in other online communities you may be
familiar with the term “board” or “forum”. There are two types of arenas:
stock-related and off-topic discussions. A stock-related arena can be
accessed by the actual stock symbol like "MSFT" or "INTC" and off-topic
arenas can be accessed with 4-letter symbols that starts with a tilde
character (~) like "~POL" or "~ENT" for Politics and Entertainment
discussions.
Can I create a
new arena?
No. An arena can only be created by the StockArena administrative
staff to ensure that only one arena exists for each stock or off-topic
discussion and to make it clear for "newbies" on where to post a particular
message. Also, one arena for each stock is required in order to accurately
determine the top posters for each stock. Over 2,000 arenas have
been pre-created based on trade activity of a stock and on popular off-topic
discussions such as Politics, Entertaintment and Sports; however, members may
request new stock related arenas to be added if they feel the stock is actively
traded and followed by many investors.
What
is the difference between agreeing with a message and recommending it?
StockArena is designed to foster the utmost communication amongst its members.
Other communities only allow members to recommend a message. StockArena enables
members to communicate whether they agree or disagree, as well as recommend a
message. For example, when reading a message in StockArena a member may agree
with it, but may not consider that it is worthy of a recommendation so, they
could simply agree with the message therefore communicating their view on the
message without recognizing it with a recommendation. Also, there is a limit to
how many recommendations you can give, but you can agree or disagree to as many
messages as you want.
Why should
members recommend a message?
Recommending a message signifies that a member wants to reward that poster for
contributing quality content that they consider has valuable investment
information. Members should recommend messages that they have found useful and
therefore want to suggest that other members of the community read to also
benefit from the information in the message. Recommending a message is a way to
thank or recognize that poster for the information in the message.
What is the limit
of member recommendations to give away?
At the beginning of each month, each member starts with a recommendation
balance of 150, which everages to 5 recommendations a day to give away.
Why is there a
limit of the number of recommendations a member can give in a period?
StockArena is designed to build a sound community that promotes quality content
and posters that are trusted. To ensure that the community is built on those
foundations, each member has a limit of the recommendations that they can
award. Limiting the number of recommendations encourages members to thoroughly
consider the quality of the messages they read and to only reward those that
are notably valuable. This sets a standard of quality for messages that are
highly recommended.
What happens when
I don't have anymore recommendations to give away?
You will have to wait until the first day of the next month when each member's
recommendation balance resets to 150.
What’s the
difference between member recommended (MR) and community recommended (CR)?
StockArena has designed a point system to reward posters and to alert members
to quality content as designated by the community. Member Recommendations are
equivalent to 1 point. Therefore when you see the MR number next to a message
you know how many members have recommended that message. Community Recommended
means that a post has received a set number of member recommendations and is
now awarded a point value equivalent to the value set in the guidelines. This
is also a way to distinguish messages that have met this community quality
threshold. Community Recommended messages are promoted throughout the site and
can be filtered out specifically on the message list.
What is a Member
Report?
StockArena encourages members to post a Member Report to document their
knowledge, sentiment, and experience with a stock in detail. A StockArena
Member Report is typically lengthy, historical, and thoroughly supports a
member’s sentiment and predictions on a stock. Member Reports enable members to
easily reference the community designated expert opinions repeatedly, rather
than searching for their posts in the message list.
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PERSONALIZATION QUESTIONS
How do I block a
member from sending a private message to me?
If you do not want a member to be able to send a private message to you within
the StockArena community, you may add that member to your “ignored” list. When
you ignore a member within the community, that member’s posts will not be
displayed throughout the site, nor will that member be able to send private
messages to your.
To ensure ultimate flexibility and personalization when viewing messages within
StockArena, the message filter allows members to select “ignored”. This filter
enables a quick view at the messages posted by your ignored members without
removing them from your ignored list. This powerful filter allows you to
monitor all messages quickly, yet not change your preferences or enable those
members to send you a private message.
I set a member as
a favorite/ignore and now I want to change that, how do I remove them from my
favorites/ignored?
To change any of your preferences simply go to your Personal tab and you can
remove or add to your favorite/ignore list. At any time you can add to or
remove any member to your favorite/ignored list.
How many Arenas
can I store as favorites?
Up to 150 Arenas can be stored into a member’s StockArena favorites. Favorites
are organized by groups. A member first names a group, then enters up to
15 arena symbols in each group. Up to 10 groups may be
utilized; therefore enabling StockArena members to store up to 150 arenas
in their favorites.
I can’t see the
whole message, how do I adjust the viewing width?
StockArena enables each member to personalize the viewing width of
messages by setting their preferences. Simply enter the width of your choice in
your personal tab, and then the StockArena site is adjusted to your personal
setting.
What if I do not
want to have an avatar?
StockArena encourages all members to select a visual representation that will
accompany your screen name throughout the site. If you choose not to select an
avatar the default anonymous avatar will be seen next to your screen name.
Can I provide my
own picture as my avatar?
StockArena will continually make enhancements and allowing members to submit
their own photo as their avatar is one enhancement we are considering to enable
in the future. Until that time members must select from the avatars provided.
I see someone
else has the same avatar as mine, why?
StockArena has over 500 avatars to choose from, however each avatar
may be chosen by up to 20 members.
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RANKING & RECOMMENDATION ABUSE QUESTIONS
How does
StockArena prevent manipulation of rankings?
StockArena can not eliminate abuse entirely but as of today, the
following features should significantly deter this behavior: 1) Each StockArena
account costs money; 2) All members have limited recommendations to give during
each period; 3) When a message receives a recommendation, the poster will
receive only 1 point. Total points drive site and arena rankings; 4) When a
message has received a set of recommendations called community recommendation
(CR), then the poster will receive 100 points, which is
worth significantly more than just a few recommendations; 5) After a
message has been community recommended, it may also be appealed by the
community and alert the StockArena admin staff to investigate; 6) In the
Member Profile, you can quickly view a list of names who have been giving them
recommendations to recognize any pattern of abuse
How
does StockArena prevent the abuse of multiple handles to recommend one's own
posts?
StockArena has the following features to deter this form of
manipulation: 1) Each StockArena account costs money; 2) Only one
recommendation can be assigned to a message per computer (IP address); 3) The
names of those who recommend a message can be viewed by everyone; 4) Members
can appeal a community recommended message if they suspect abuse.
Why are appeals
allowed?
StockArena has an appeal procedure that members may exercise to challenge or
dispute any community recommended post they find has wrongly received
member recommendations. Given that recommendations correspond to points
within StockArena and can enable members to become ranked and subsequently
receive cash rewards, a course of action for community members to expose
fraudulent posts is essential to foster the integrity of the community.
Why the large
point deduction when an appeal is upheld?
The integrity of the StockArena community is of the utmost importance,
therefore any post that is found by a preponderance of evidence to have
violated any rules or regulations, is penalized severely by use of the point
system to deter manipulation of the community.
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MEMBER CREDENTIAL QUESTIONS
What activity is
tracked by StockArena?
StockArena captures all the activity of its members into comprehensive member
credentials. These credentials are generated by their activity and the member
recommendations they receive from the community. A member’s profile shows which
arenas they’re active in, their rank, how many member and community
recommendations they have received in those arenas, and their sentiment and
sentiment changes. The member profile is a historical compilation of their
activity throughout StockArena.
How is StockArena
Ranking established?
StockArena established a point system that is generated by member
recommendations. Each member recommendation is worth 1 point and a
community recommended message is worth 100 points. This point system is
then activated by the community awarding their member recommendations to posts
they recognize as providing valuable investment information. StockArena
captures and compiles all points awarded and received and then ranks the
members from highest to lowest. The members that receive the highest points
from the community are then promoted as StockArena Ranked.
What is a
StockArena Trust Grade?
StockArena members may assign a grade to communicate their opinion of another
member’s willingness to post trusted information. StockArena captures all
assigned trust grades and displays the averaged trust grade beside a member’s
screen name throughout the site. StockArena Trust Grades convey which members
consistently post messages that the community views as credible.
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