Forex Forum with Caution!

A forex forum can be a very valuable asset to the trader who knows how to make good use of the facility. Forums can seem like great places for discussing systems and getting advice. But can you trust what you are told? Are you really going to get information that is helpful, or are you just wasting your time?

The word forum comes from the big open square in the middle of Roman cities where citizens would gather to hear the news and discuss important current issues. Formerly known as bulletin boards or message boards, online forex forums are sites where traders can go to discuss issues related to forex trading. A few are restricted to paid members, but most of them are free and can be accessed by anybody who chooses to register a free account.

In an active and popular forum, there are usually several discussions underway. If you post a question or comment you can expect to receive a fast reply. The only problem with this is that you usually do not know whether the replies can be trusted.

Forum members may appear to be experts but they could be anybody at all. It is easy to hang around long enough to pick up the language, then start handing out advice to others. Some might be complete beginners. Is their advice really valuable to you?

Of course in some cases there may be indications that a person is well qualified to help you. For example, you can often see how long the person has been a member and how many posts they have made. Someone who has been an active member for a long time may be a better advisor that someone who just joined. Or so it seems. But what if that long standing member just likes hanging out in forums?

Even the best traders who are actively making money from forex can sometimes give conflicting advice. Traders have different attitudes, systems, strategies and priorities. Oftentimes they may take more of a risk than a beginner would be comfortable with. This means that it may not be possible for a beginner to follow what they suggest.

A forex forum is a useful place for certain types of discussion. For example, it can be great to get feedback from other traders who have used a particular product or service such as a broker or an automated trading system. You still have to keep in mind that different people have different abilities and expectations, of course. Just because somebody could not figure out how to use something, does not mean that anybody else would have a problem with it. Try to get a range of opinions and look for responses from people who are in a similar situation to your own, when checking out reviews on a forex forum.