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I find the traffic usually runs in the opposite direction. Namely, people pay me for advice that they DON'T follow.

Also, I plan on having a post count requirement to view the new forum.  It will be invisible to the public, and even new members won't see it until they have created a few posts.   The Off Topic forum will therefore not be crawlable by search engines or spam bots or anything/anyone else that isn't a contributing member of the community.

Ive noticed that the discussion ABOUT the political forum is a lot more civil than the discussion ON the political forum. Guess that confirms the wisdom of KC, Judy, and Eric's decision. :)

perhaps it was located on lois lerners computer

Heres a link that talks about this: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2014/08/13/think-before-you-post-the-dangers-of-seeking-tax-advice-on-the-internet/ And a short Blurb from the article: Same thing. Folks posting how they cheat on the web.... Gonna get bit one day from that. Rich

I've been away on vacation for a while, in a place with no cell phone service or internet connection.  Just a lake, kayaks, hammocks, and books. It's been a nice break.   KC and Judy and I had discussed closing down the politics forum some time ago.  Now it's gone (I'll delete the forum itself soon) but I'd like to replace it with something else eventually.   I thought it'd be more beneficial for this community to have a place to discuss more no-tax topics.  Right now, I think General Chat has a comfortable balance of Tax and Non-Tax related posts... but that balance is what keeps me from posting much, since I don't have anything tax related to contribute.  My feeling is that I would share more NT stuff if there were a dedicated forum for it and I think other people might too.   I'd like to shoot for an Off Topic forum that focuses on more personal/friendly threads.  Talk about your kids/grandkids.  Post photos.  Post articles / videos about subjects that you find interesting.  A recent example I really enjoyed was Catherine's post about Fibonacci numbers / the golden ratio.   There are plenty of places to argue about politics.  We have a good community here and I would personally prefer to grow this community in a more positive way.  I'm really hoping that our members have more varied interests than just politics, and I'm hoping that people will share those interests here so that everyone can get to know each other beyond their political views.   I don't have a timeline for these changes.  There is a very big forum upgrade on the way--I've been doing beta testing on and off for the past few months, reporting bugs, and testing fixes.  The changes will be significant, and so I'd like to lump that upgrade with the forum changes and do it all at once.  There is no timeline for the release of the new version, but it's looking pretty polished at this point and I can't imagine that it'd be more than a few months away.   Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

If we had a sarcasm font, I'd want to suppress it. Part of the fun with sarcasm is the challlenge of figuring it out. (Well, that plus having a little private laugh when someone misses it.)

Today is Monkeyman's birthday! Kerry, for those who have forgotten, was a Sales rep and Customer Service Manager for ATX back in the days of Caribou Maine , and often helped us out. He's 37 today!

Eric, that sounds nice. Truthfully, some of the political posts were getting so mean-spirited, IMO, that I was about ready to quit visiting this site altogether. (It was kind of like a train wreck - I could not NOT look, LOL.) I too enjoyed the post about Fibonacci numbers - I love any post where I learn something completely new. And I like the pictures of people's kids, dogs, cats etc. The idea of keeping it "private" is very appropriate! And I am glad that you took a vacation where you got away from it all. Maybe you can start the new forum off with a peaceful picture of your idyllic vacation spot!

I'm just going to jump in here to share some internet wisdom. Adding /S to the end of a line or a post indicates sarcasm.

Especially with this being an election year, the conversation was destined to become ever more polarizing. (and I say that as one of the likely polarizing culprits) Besides, many of us still have lots of tax work yet to do and now there's one less distraction out there.

Yes, what KC said. KC, Eric and I had been discussing its ending off and on since last fall, and in April we all agreed again that it was best for the group as a whole to put it to rest. So that the forum wasn't disrupted by any changes during the busy season, Eric thought it best to end it during the slower months of summer, around the time that he does some overhaul work to the forum.

Thanks, I'm glad you saw it that way, that was how I saw it when we started it. But several people saw it as very divisive, and more importantly, it had tapered off a lot, but did seem to bring out the worst in a few members. We just decided that with few participating, and yet a couple of members still getting 'warnings' there due to the nastiness of their posts, closing it was for the best. I liked the idea of discussing ideas with the members here, as I respect most here for their knowledge and intelligence. But I don't want the anger that political debate stirs in some to poison the tone of the whole board. I was surprised how vicious a few got there. So better to end it, I think. It was actually my suggestion, in fact, but Eric and Judy both agreed.

I love all you people like a nerd loves math class.

I've been away on vacation for a while, in a place with no cell phone service or internet connection.  Just a lake, kayaks, hammocks, and books. It's been a nice break. KC and Judy and I had discussed closing down the politics forum some time ago.  Now it's gone (I'll delete the forum itself soon) but I'd like to replace it with something else eventually. I thought it'd be more beneficial for this community to have a place to discuss more no-tax topics.  Right now, I think General Chat has a comfortable balance of Tax and Non-Tax related posts... but that balance is what keeps me from posting much, since I don't have anything tax related to contribute.  My feeling is that I would share more NT stuff if there were a dedicated forum for it and I think other people might too. I'd like to shoot for an Off Topic forum that focuses on more personal/friendly threads.  Talk about your kids/grandkids.  Post photos.  Post articles / videos about subjects that you find interesting.  A recent example I really enjoyed was Catherine's post about Fibonacci numbers / the golden ratio.  There are plenty of places to argue about politics.  We have a good community here and I would personally prefer to grow this community in a more positive way.  I'm really hoping that our members have more varied interests than just politics, and I'm hoping that people will share those interests here so that everyone can get to know each other beyond their political views. I don't have a timeline for these changes.  There is a very big forum upgrade on the way--I've been doing beta testing on and off for the past few months, reporting bugs, and testing fixes.  The changes will be significant, and so I'd like to lump that upgrade with the forum changes and do it all at once.  There is no timeline for the release of the new version, but it's looking pretty polished at this point and I can't imagine that it'd be more than a few months away. Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

I hope I don't wear out my / key. /s

CAN I make that my signature?? /s

I very rarely ask yes or no questions to clients, especially new clients.

Even the answers to simple questions can be deceptive. The new client will say yes or say, "Yeah I did that," when they really didn't understand your question.

NOT YOU, MARILYN! I was referring to Jack's comment. Yes, it's public, and yes, non-professionals do browse here, but if they try to actually RELY ON a statement they see here, that has no cite, no reference to look up, etc, they ARE 'silly'. Jack's just trying to be more protective of them than I think they deserve. He's just nicer than me, I guess. I love him anyway. You too. So don't take it wrong, please.

Thanks for the reminder, KC. I have withdrawn authorizations in the past, but it is time to check again!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvNbUnB0438

I have been here almost since day 1, and I do not yet know most of the names that are not used as their ID. Mine is obvious. Likewise, this website is public and comments like I complained about could be construed as actual options or instructions. Nothing is secret in the internet...

Maybe some good could come out of this. The stakes are so high that Robert Redford can fight it to the max. If he wins, then possibly something in the decision might set a precedent which could be used in other cases with smaller amounts at risk. Nothing better than to see a greedy state overreach and get its hands slapped permanently. Years ago something along those lines happened to North Carolina. The legislature tried to welch on a promise it made to retirees. When somebody took the state to court, our genius of an attorney general at the time decided to fight it. He wasted tremendous amounts of the taxpayers' money on a fools errand, and the resulting "Bailey decision" cost the state tons of money for many years afterward.

Even with the different font, people who are not frequent posters might miss that subtlety and take a post as a serious one. Maybe Eric can include a sarcastic smiley in the overhaul.

It was tongue in cheek, and spot on. I got a new client yesterday that told me the lady giving her record keeping advice (not an accountant) told her not to record the cash. I told her what I thought about that. It aggravates the living daylights out of me, and it is cheating. My guess is it happens all the time. And people get away with it. I think a great number of them also receive entitlements. Wow, now I just want to go home and eat donuts.

I've been there, done that, and totally agree with you. There is something especially satisfying about putting wood on the fire that you cut, split, and stacked yourself. Just feels a little warmer than 'bought' wood, doesn't it?