I expect many Diehards are SNL fans.  Do you remember John Lovitz’s impression of playwright Harvey Fierstein? Lovitz pretended that Fierstein was hosting a talk show from his bedroom, making advances towards male guests, and being rebuffed.  He would look in the camera and yell, “I just want to be loved!  Is that so wrong!?”

Well, that’s kind of how M*’s rating system makes me feel.  My posts are now being regularly voted down by the hardcore Bogleheads.  They are probably hatching some fiendish plan to downgrade all my posts, which will later be discussed in detail at Diehards VII at an Econo Lodge somewhere.  It hurts my feelings.  I am going to cry.  I may need psychotherapy.

The rating system in only a day old, and already my posts are being downgraded.  Look at this thread.  It’s a post about Selected Value, which is a favorite fund of mine.  I made a casual comment about the fund which took about a minute to write.  Honestly, I was just trying to write anything so that we can get over 20 posts a day, just to help M* Darrin at bonus time when Mansueto calls him in and asks him, “What the hell did I spend all that money on the forum upgrade for?”  So I wrote a James Joyce stream-of-consciousness ramble on Select Value.

It’s not my best post, but right now, my post has a rating on negative 3, and everybody else has a positive rating.  OK.  It ain't a weekly lampoon post, but is it really that friggin’ bad?  Sudhi has posts with a positive 1 for crying out loud.  A negative 3?  I don’t think so.  Maybe it’s a 0 or a negative 1.  For crying out loud, statsguy wrote almost the same thing as me, and he has a positive 3.  I think it’s the work of “A & A" ... and at least two other Bogleheads since I voted for myself.

I just want to make it in to the column on the left of the “highest rated users.”  I’ll print it for my kids and grandkids to show them that I was very popular at one point.  In the meantime, I’ll have to figure out who the hell “SmartSometimes” is, and what makes him so darn popular.  

How are you going to save the Newbies?  They'll never listen to a negative 3. Coy

Save the newbies?  They are going to have to save themselves.  In the meantime, I want to get on that damn top 10 list.  Please vote for me.  I'll be your best friend, and I'll even give you and your date a ride to the prom, if you need one.
 

Petrocelli 

Petro - I would vote you up but every time I look at the vote block it's like looking into a light bulb or the sun as I see spots when I look away. Causes me to hit the wrong keys on the keyboard too. So I could very well vote you down unintentionally. I myself am afraid to post as I too may end up with a negative rating. That might scar me permanently. Good luck in your quest however.. 

Edit: After having given this more thought, I decided to confront my fear so I voted myself a -1. Not sure how I feel yet... 

Edit#2: Petro - I decided I don't like negative ratings and your vote confirmed my initial fear. Since you voted against me below, I decided to respond here so you can't vote against me again. Note I haven't yet voted for or against your blog or post and I'm still contemplating my decision. The fact that you admitted voting against me below is weighing heavily but I will delay my decision to ensure it is rational. :-)

How are their posts going to get read?  I posted a help post (about getting a run-time error on another computer) on the morningstar.con forum the first day.  It immediately went to the bottom of, I guess, page one.  The next day I could not find it, and I still have not seen it.  So, If no one immediatley replies to a post, or immediately rates it with a +1, it probably won't even get read?

Coy

Coy:

I think M* is going to change the system to default to the last 24 hour setting.  I saw a post from M* Darrin somewhere saying this.

In the meantime, I voted for your posts here, but it looks like someone voted against you because you are still in the red, as am I. 

The rating system is kind of dopey, but I think its fun to see how many of my innocuous posts get negative ratings.  What it shows is this:  people are voting for/against posters, not posts.  That's why the system is dopey.

Petrocelli 

Cudaman:

If you vote yourself a negative 1, I'll help out by voting against you.  You are down to negative 3.  Someone else must not like you either.

This may be the forum of the damned. 

Petrocelli 

Petro:

I am just waiting for the poll on the other forum...when will Petrocelli's rating hit -100?

I have been doing my best to give you +1 ratings, but just had to give you a -1 on your original post on this thread. The irony was just too tempting.

Newbie delurking to say, thanks for this blog and I appreciate your posts. It's a forum concerning Vanguard funds, no? Like others new to investing, I visit places like this for information and education. A neverending series of hysterical posts about the evils of investing in active funds doth not good information make. Some of these people come across as mindless demagouges and its a shame they feel compelled to shout down dissenting views. Your blog is a breath of fresh air.

Starburst 

clues:

1) "newbie delurking" sounds very trek-like... as in "captain!  klingon vessel, at 3 o'clock, decloaking!"  "fire laser torpedo" or whatever weapons they use on star trek

2) username 'starburst'... again, very trek like

3) 'newbie'... very IT-like, like too much time spent on the tubes of the intranets to have that l33t speak, just like every trekkie

i'm outing you as a trekkie (star trek aficionado)!

(oh, and i'm also outing you as petro's doppleganger, as long as i'm probing the closet here... tried too hard to be the anti-petro, and thus must be the petro-petro.  hey, what's that tap-tap-tap on my foot?!?  oops... sorry, wrong closet)

Here is how I feel about their votes and M*'s Rating System:

I have not voted for or against anyone, am not using it, and don't care about my own "rating".

I have something that M* can rate, but they will need the third to last letter of the alphabet, and not any number system.

I have not mooned anyone in decades, but I have a strong urge to drop my pants, and give this monitor a screen-full of my fat a$$.  Rate that!!!

How's that for a visual?^)

Coy

Chuck,

Nope, sorry, wrong on all counts. Newbie - common internet term. I go there, but am not into IT. Starburst is for a Gibson guitar that, unfortunately, isn't made anymore. If I was a trekkie, I'd de-cloak

Don't know Mr. Petrocelli or anyone else here. My employer just gave us the option of a 403(b) plan with Vanguard and I visited several places to seek out information to guide my decision making. Read posts on the Diehards Forum going back a couple of years. After reading the comments on a couple of blog entries here, I felt compelled to indicate that at least one newbie wouldn't be dissuaded from reading posts by people who aren't on the "most admired" list.

There are many interesting and informative discussions on the Diehards' board. It's the shouting down that I don't like and find counterproductive.

Starburst 

Coy:

I have to give that a positive 1. Hell, I'd give it a postive 2 just for spelling "ass" with dollar signs.

Petrocelli 

Chuck:

I think either you are the reincarnation of James Joyce or your caps key is broken.

Petrocelli

P.S. to everyone but chuck: See here for an explanation of this post. 

I was in the top 10 at 3:55 p.m. PST.  However, I'm now out again.  Drat!  Back to the drawing board...

Petrocelli 

starburst:  dang... 0 for 2... my mistake(s)... carry on!

petro:  i hope you did a screen shot of that top 10... but here's what i'm seeing:  print it out and frame it!  you're #1!  you're #1!  yes, it's real... it's on the internets! 

Chuck D,

Awesome journey you've been on. You could do readings, kind of like Bloomsday at Irish pubs. (I have to confess, I never managed to finish Ulysseys. I get it in measured doses, at the pub, every June 16.) It's also somewhat reminiscent of the label on Dr. Bronner's soap, except he uses capital letters. Good soap, though. I voted for that blog entry.

Starburst 

star:  talk about an obscure reference!  had to look up that granola soap... ya, like those folks use soap!  i guess i shouldn't hurl invectives at half my blog audience (i'm the other half,  for a total grand 3rd-grade-popularity-contest-student-council-position score of... wait for it.... "2".  thanks for the note and eyeballs)

petro:  damn, i spend 3 minutes of my hard earned free time photoshopping petro to #1, and then you shoot up to #2 on your 'own' anyway?  actually, not photoshop... i did that screen shot in excel, naturally.  doesn't everyone do everything in excel? 

i want my 3 minutes back... and now i'm jealous... didn't know there were so many petro-heads.  or celli-heads (pronounced jelly-heads). 

"mega-dittos, petro... 1st time blogger, long time listener... i just love you.  are you gonna run fer office?  or the church? or ARE you the church?"

The shouting down of dissenting views is what the rating system is all about and the cause for it.  Just as they abandoned a place that would not allow the removal of all who disagreed and would not allow them to censor posts.  In the attempt to hold on to eyeballs, M* is kissing A**.  Read the letter thanking M* for giving them the info first.

There's a lot of positives in indexing but true believers of any stripe frighten me.

Roberta 

Petro,

Kudos to you and your blog.  I'm sure it will cause some of the more self-important Blowhards to pontificate endlessly about their superiority.

Remember, the Blowhards believe that there are many paths to Dublin, but woe if you don't take the path that they approve of.

JPB

JPB:

In all honesty, the point of the blog is to alow me to be self-important, and to pontificate endlessly about my superiority.

I guess I beat 'em to the punch, but it's all in good fun.

Petrocelli