https://DividendGrowthForum.com/ Sun, 03 May 2026 09:06:16 +0000 MyBB https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=2273 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:25:46 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=2273
Special thanks to DW for keeping the hope alive here in my absence!

Best to all, 
Kerim]]>
Special thanks to DW for keeping the hope alive here in my absence!

Best to all, 
Kerim]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=2262 Thu, 17 Apr 2025 13:09:45 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=2262
As you may have gathered through some recent posts, some site features are broken at the moment. I think as a result of my messing around in the database to restore Crimsonghost's account and posts.

So far, I've only discovered that the "reply" and "quote" buttons for posts are broken -- please let me know if you come across any other issues.

I may tinker some more and see if I can resolve it myself -- I have a vague guess about what happened. But I suspect this may be beyond my skill set and I don't want to risk breaking more. So I am going to find someone with actual knowledge to help but this might take a little while. In the meantime, regular posting seems to be working fine.

Also, while I'm having someone with skills look at the site, let me know if there are other improvements worth considering.

Thanks.]]>
As you may have gathered through some recent posts, some site features are broken at the moment. I think as a result of my messing around in the database to restore Crimsonghost's account and posts.

So far, I've only discovered that the "reply" and "quote" buttons for posts are broken -- please let me know if you come across any other issues.

I may tinker some more and see if I can resolve it myself -- I have a vague guess about what happened. But I suspect this may be beyond my skill set and I don't want to risk breaking more. So I am going to find someone with actual knowledge to help but this might take a little while. In the meantime, regular posting seems to be working fine.

Also, while I'm having someone with skills look at the site, let me know if there are other improvements worth considering.

Thanks.]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=2261 Sun, 13 Apr 2025 04:12:45 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=2261
I think I know who the registered user was  but, is there any way to tell who the other 436 guests were? Are they actually people or are they bots and search engines scraping the forum for info?]]>
I think I know who the registered user was  but, is there any way to tell who the other 436 guests were? Are they actually people or are they bots and search engines scraping the forum for info?]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=2257 Sat, 01 Mar 2025 02:19:44 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=2257
There was a problem with the site's hosting that took us offline for a few days. I'm hopeful we're back up and running. Any reply to this message greatly appreciated to reassure me we're back up properly (and not just for me).

Thanks!]]>
There was a problem with the site's hosting that took us offline for a few days. I'm hopeful we're back up and running. Any reply to this message greatly appreciated to reassure me we're back up properly (and not just for me).

Thanks!]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=2145 Sat, 08 Jan 2022 19:47:33 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=2145
This is all super basic and should not create any problems or interruptions with the site, but I'm not the most web admin savvy person you'll ever meet. So, from an abundance of caution, I thought it would be a good idea to have some sort of communication plan in case something does go awry.

This is completely voluntary, of course! But for anyone who wants, please PM me an email address that I can use to update folks if the site has any problems. I'll keep the email list in the dark and encrypted recesses of my computer, will not share it with anyone for any purpose, and I will not use it for anything other than communication about the site if something were ever to happen.

(Or if you have better ideas for this contingency, I'm all ears!)

Thanks!]]>
This is all super basic and should not create any problems or interruptions with the site, but I'm not the most web admin savvy person you'll ever meet. So, from an abundance of caution, I thought it would be a good idea to have some sort of communication plan in case something does go awry.

This is completely voluntary, of course! But for anyone who wants, please PM me an email address that I can use to update folks if the site has any problems. I'll keep the email list in the dark and encrypted recesses of my computer, will not share it with anyone for any purpose, and I will not use it for anything other than communication about the site if something were ever to happen.

(Or if you have better ideas for this contingency, I'm all ears!)

Thanks!]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=2091 Thu, 16 Dec 2021 16:26:48 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=2091 Is there a way to have a thread open with newest posts on top (as default first displayed)? 
Kevin]]> Is there a way to have a thread open with newest posts on top (as default first displayed)? 
Kevin]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1996 Sun, 01 Aug 2021 17:49:13 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1996  
I’d guesstimate that we get 25 to 35 fake/spam/no interest in DG whatsoever registrations for every one “real” account. Early on in the site’s history, that resulted in a TON of spam posts and threads – from limo services in NYC to travel agencies in Australia and everything in between. There are some tools to take that stuff down with relative ease, but it was still pretty annoying and time consuming.
 
I added the captcha and security question to the registration process at some point. It helped a little, but not much. What I tried next, for a long while, was to email every new registration, asking them to tell me a bit about their interest in DG investing. I was just looking for a few words of reassurance that they were real people with an interest in the site. That worked pretty well to weed out the spammers, but it was really time-intensive for me, and slow and cumbersome for actually interested people.
 
Eventually, with the ratio of spam account to real ones still very high, I switched to the current mechanism (which you can see described if you log out of the site and then hit the “register” button). Basically, I asked that after registering through the site, they also send me a separate email, to one of my personal email accounts, expressing their interest. (Again, there were no magic words I needed to see – if they were willing to take the step at all, I took it as a good sign they were real potential users.) This took the pressure off of me, time-wise, and it worked well in a few cases. But I got very few of those emails, even during the period that I was AWOL and you all were trying to get new people registered. I wonder if most people just skip the registration screen with those instructions, or if there is some other infirmity with that approach.
 
So that’s where it stood before making Divmenow an Admin a few days ago. He mentioned tracking IP addresses to try to get at real versus spam users. I’d like to hear more about how that works.
 
I’m open to anything that makes the process quicker and easier. Maybe it doesn’t need to be locked down so hard (that is, registration could be automatic) if we have a number of Mods willing to police and eradicate spam. I tend to think it is still a wiser approach to pre-screen somehow before allowing folks to post, but I am happy to defer if folks disagree with that. And whatever we try can always be undone.
 
Finally, it is worth mentioning the forum software itself. I chose “MyBB” based on some research I did when starting the site. I think it was well-reviewed, and open source, and seemed to have a fair amount of support, etc. But that was back in 2012 or 2013 (I think!). There may be other forum software available with better functionality, speed, and spam management tools. I wouldn’t be interested in starting all over, but it may be possible to port all of the old / existing posts and threads to new software. I think this would be a longer-term project, and that we should do what we can on the existing platform for now. But just to put everything on the table, I thought I’d mention this too. So if any of you participate in forums that have good user interface and features, please let me know.
 
Looking forward to your thoughts.
 
Thanks!]]>  
I’d guesstimate that we get 25 to 35 fake/spam/no interest in DG whatsoever registrations for every one “real” account. Early on in the site’s history, that resulted in a TON of spam posts and threads – from limo services in NYC to travel agencies in Australia and everything in between. There are some tools to take that stuff down with relative ease, but it was still pretty annoying and time consuming.
 
I added the captcha and security question to the registration process at some point. It helped a little, but not much. What I tried next, for a long while, was to email every new registration, asking them to tell me a bit about their interest in DG investing. I was just looking for a few words of reassurance that they were real people with an interest in the site. That worked pretty well to weed out the spammers, but it was really time-intensive for me, and slow and cumbersome for actually interested people.
 
Eventually, with the ratio of spam account to real ones still very high, I switched to the current mechanism (which you can see described if you log out of the site and then hit the “register” button). Basically, I asked that after registering through the site, they also send me a separate email, to one of my personal email accounts, expressing their interest. (Again, there were no magic words I needed to see – if they were willing to take the step at all, I took it as a good sign they were real potential users.) This took the pressure off of me, time-wise, and it worked well in a few cases. But I got very few of those emails, even during the period that I was AWOL and you all were trying to get new people registered. I wonder if most people just skip the registration screen with those instructions, or if there is some other infirmity with that approach.
 
So that’s where it stood before making Divmenow an Admin a few days ago. He mentioned tracking IP addresses to try to get at real versus spam users. I’d like to hear more about how that works.
 
I’m open to anything that makes the process quicker and easier. Maybe it doesn’t need to be locked down so hard (that is, registration could be automatic) if we have a number of Mods willing to police and eradicate spam. I tend to think it is still a wiser approach to pre-screen somehow before allowing folks to post, but I am happy to defer if folks disagree with that. And whatever we try can always be undone.
 
Finally, it is worth mentioning the forum software itself. I chose “MyBB” based on some research I did when starting the site. I think it was well-reviewed, and open source, and seemed to have a fair amount of support, etc. But that was back in 2012 or 2013 (I think!). There may be other forum software available with better functionality, speed, and spam management tools. I wouldn’t be interested in starting all over, but it may be possible to port all of the old / existing posts and threads to new software. I think this would be a longer-term project, and that we should do what we can on the existing platform for now. But just to put everything on the table, I thought I’d mention this too. So if any of you participate in forums that have good user interface and features, please let me know.
 
Looking forward to your thoughts.
 
Thanks!]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1992 Tue, 27 Jul 2021 19:56:28 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1992
Any nominations? Volunteers? Other ideas?

If you'd prefer not to nominate or volunteer publicly, feel free to message me directly.

Thanks!
Kerim]]>
Any nominations? Volunteers? Other ideas?

If you'd prefer not to nominate or volunteer publicly, feel free to message me directly.

Thanks!
Kerim]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1990 Sat, 17 Jul 2021 14:47:00 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1990
Two topics that come to mind.

1. When 
I think we should agree on a timeline. It's possible, though unlikely, that Kerim will see the messages sooner or later.  But I don't think running away today is the solution. How does everyone feel like about waiting until the end of the month, and then if we still haven't heard from Kerim we jump over to another platform?


2. Where
Options please. What do we want? 

-Eric already has a forum we could probably use. - https://dgiforthediy.com/community/
-Divmenow has also stated that he would be willing to buy & setup a new forum for us.
-I've got the backup discord server running - https://discord.gg/f74yKtWg37

I'm ok with any of the above solutions. And I get that people might prefer the forum format, that is what we have been using all these years and it has worked well. 

Personally I see discord as a good opportunity for a smaller community like this, it's so much more versatile than a forum. I get that it has the "quick messaging feel" but it does work for "slower" chat just as well. Bonuses from discord are zero fees, and basically zero setup time unless we want to configure some bots into there. The big downside is that it doesn't show up on google, so basically new members will be by word of mouth.

So lets hear you opinion on the subject.]]>
Two topics that come to mind.

1. When 
I think we should agree on a timeline. It's possible, though unlikely, that Kerim will see the messages sooner or later.  But I don't think running away today is the solution. How does everyone feel like about waiting until the end of the month, and then if we still haven't heard from Kerim we jump over to another platform?


2. Where
Options please. What do we want? 

-Eric already has a forum we could probably use. - https://dgiforthediy.com/community/
-Divmenow has also stated that he would be willing to buy & setup a new forum for us.
-I've got the backup discord server running - https://discord.gg/f74yKtWg37

I'm ok with any of the above solutions. And I get that people might prefer the forum format, that is what we have been using all these years and it has worked well. 

Personally I see discord as a good opportunity for a smaller community like this, it's so much more versatile than a forum. I get that it has the "quick messaging feel" but it does work for "slower" chat just as well. Bonuses from discord are zero fees, and basically zero setup time unless we want to configure some bots into there. The big downside is that it doesn't show up on google, so basically new members will be by word of mouth.

So lets hear you opinion on the subject.]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1989 Thu, 15 Jul 2021 17:20:00 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1989
This is the backup link to a discord server where we can meet if something happens to the website. The intention is NOT to move any of the discussion there, this is only a backup to be used in case we can't access this forum.

https://discord.gg/f74yKtWg37

Instructions
1. copy the link - https://discord.gg/f74yKtWg37
2. save it somewhere on your computer where you can find it
3. if one day you can't access this forum, just paste the link into your browser and follow the instruction to join the channel. The link is valid FOREVER.]]>
This is the backup link to a discord server where we can meet if something happens to the website. The intention is NOT to move any of the discussion there, this is only a backup to be used in case we can't access this forum.

https://discord.gg/f74yKtWg37

Instructions
1. copy the link - https://discord.gg/f74yKtWg37
2. save it somewhere on your computer where you can find it
3. if one day you can't access this forum, just paste the link into your browser and follow the instruction to join the channel. The link is valid FOREVER.]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1882 Sun, 17 Nov 2019 16:06:52 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1882
So Kerim, any chance of signing up to receive Brave rewards? I'm not sure if it's worth the trouble but it could bring in some extra dollars every month to help with the costs.



A little about Brave and their ad system.
Brave. https://brave.com/
Ohh Brave, the browser that is here to fix the internet. I won't bore you with the details as I'm not too familiar with the technology either but basically this is an internet browser focused on privacy. Integrated ad blocking, tracker prevention, plenty of privacy settings (including connecting through a TOR network with a single click) among other features. Their slogan pretty much says it: You are not a product. 

I have been using it for a couple of years now and in the beginning it really was a work in progres but in my opinion during these past few versions it has really matured to a point where it's playing in a whole other league than your regular chrome / firefox. Can't speak for the Apple browser thingy as I have barely used it. 

And now, as of this weekend, they brought their ad system called Brave Rewards into fully functional status. This is where it really gets good.
Since it automatically blocks ads and tracking attempts etc, websites are not making money from you browsing anymore. This is old news, ad blockers have been here for years. What Brave does is it allows you to opt-in to receive some small ads. You choose if you want to see them, you choose how many. Every ad that you view (they open in a small notification window to the bottom of the screen) grants you a currency called Basic Attention Token, or BAT. And then you choose how you wish to spend it. I've been using it for about 2 days now and collected about $0.3 worth of BATs just by browsing. 
At this rate, it looks like I would have about $5 per month to support my favourite websites with, just from having their ad system on.]]>
So Kerim, any chance of signing up to receive Brave rewards? I'm not sure if it's worth the trouble but it could bring in some extra dollars every month to help with the costs.



A little about Brave and their ad system.
Brave. https://brave.com/
Ohh Brave, the browser that is here to fix the internet. I won't bore you with the details as I'm not too familiar with the technology either but basically this is an internet browser focused on privacy. Integrated ad blocking, tracker prevention, plenty of privacy settings (including connecting through a TOR network with a single click) among other features. Their slogan pretty much says it: You are not a product. 

I have been using it for a couple of years now and in the beginning it really was a work in progres but in my opinion during these past few versions it has really matured to a point where it's playing in a whole other league than your regular chrome / firefox. Can't speak for the Apple browser thingy as I have barely used it. 

And now, as of this weekend, they brought their ad system called Brave Rewards into fully functional status. This is where it really gets good.
Since it automatically blocks ads and tracking attempts etc, websites are not making money from you browsing anymore. This is old news, ad blockers have been here for years. What Brave does is it allows you to opt-in to receive some small ads. You choose if you want to see them, you choose how many. Every ad that you view (they open in a small notification window to the bottom of the screen) grants you a currency called Basic Attention Token, or BAT. And then you choose how you wish to spend it. I've been using it for about 2 days now and collected about $0.3 worth of BATs just by browsing. 
At this rate, it looks like I would have about $5 per month to support my favourite websites with, just from having their ad system on.]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1809 Sun, 02 Dec 2018 19:04:58 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1809
Thanks!

Kerim]]>
Thanks!

Kerim]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1709 Tue, 12 Dec 2017 15:56:18 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1709
I see he hasn't been on since April. I've gotten a PM from someone who wants to join the board, but needs administrator approval to finalize.

I remember Kerim posting about some personal events that he needed to clear up. I hope he is alright.]]>
I see he hasn't been on since April. I've gotten a PM from someone who wants to join the board, but needs administrator approval to finalize.

I remember Kerim posting about some personal events that he needed to clear up. I hope he is alright.]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1585 Wed, 21 Sep 2016 09:59:42 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1585 I've posted a few things lately but got no feedback/conversation.

Is there still life here?]]> I've posted a few things lately but got no feedback/conversation.

Is there still life here?]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1436 Thu, 31 Dec 2015 19:23:08 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1436
When you register for the site, you have to answer a security question that is meant to weed out the "bots." The default one provided by the software is "What is 2+2?" Spammers have figured out how to write their code to figure out most of the rudimentary ones like that, so I've been using for a long time "What are the initials of this website?" It has worked pretty well, I think, but it does not stop the (far fewer) non-bot spammers who are registering manually.

So I was thinking of going to some variant of this (probably using easier numbers): "What is the current yield of a stock that costs $25 per share and pays an annual dividend of $1 per share?"

Do you think that's too mean? Or too hard for someone that is genuinely interested in our conversations but that may not have a good understanding of the fundamentals? Or would you expect that anyone genuinely wanting to participate on the site should be able to answer something like that? The goal is to let anyone with a genuine interest register without too much trouble, but make it hard for both human and bot spammers.]]>
When you register for the site, you have to answer a security question that is meant to weed out the "bots." The default one provided by the software is "What is 2+2?" Spammers have figured out how to write their code to figure out most of the rudimentary ones like that, so I've been using for a long time "What are the initials of this website?" It has worked pretty well, I think, but it does not stop the (far fewer) non-bot spammers who are registering manually.

So I was thinking of going to some variant of this (probably using easier numbers): "What is the current yield of a stock that costs $25 per share and pays an annual dividend of $1 per share?"

Do you think that's too mean? Or too hard for someone that is genuinely interested in our conversations but that may not have a good understanding of the fundamentals? Or would you expect that anyone genuinely wanting to participate on the site should be able to answer something like that? The goal is to let anyone with a genuine interest register without too much trouble, but make it hard for both human and bot spammers.]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1428 Wed, 16 Dec 2015 18:35:41 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1428
I've never used it myself, and I'm going to turn it off for a bit and run some tests to see if it does indeed help with load speeds. If it does, I'll leave it off -- unless you all let me know that it is a feature that you like and use.

Anybody love "forum jump"?

Thanks!]]>
I've never used it myself, and I'm going to turn it off for a bit and run some tests to see if it does indeed help with load speeds. If it does, I'll leave it off -- unless you all let me know that it is a feature that you like and use.

Anybody love "forum jump"?

Thanks!]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1404 Sat, 28 Nov 2015 14:52:50 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1404
I've been pretty lax about updating the forum software over the past couple of years. They've released several new versions, and tout the improvements (of course). I'm going to give updating a try. Fingers are crossed that it goes smoothly. I'm going to do this tomorrow morning (Sunday). I'm not sure if this process will disrupt the site's functioning for any amount of time, but if anything seems unusual, that's why.

Just in case anything truly catastrophic happens, rest assured that I'll work to get the site back up as soon as I can.

If the site does go down, feel free to email me for updates at kerimjunk "at" comcast dot net.

Wish me luck!]]>
I've been pretty lax about updating the forum software over the past couple of years. They've released several new versions, and tout the improvements (of course). I'm going to give updating a try. Fingers are crossed that it goes smoothly. I'm going to do this tomorrow morning (Sunday). I'm not sure if this process will disrupt the site's functioning for any amount of time, but if anything seems unusual, that's why.

Just in case anything truly catastrophic happens, rest assured that I'll work to get the site back up as soon as I can.

If the site does go down, feel free to email me for updates at kerimjunk "at" comcast dot net.

Wish me luck!]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1379 Thu, 29 Oct 2015 05:36:37 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1379
"Man, I'd love to "Like" that post."]]>
"Man, I'd love to "Like" that post."]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1348 Fri, 02 Oct 2015 03:58:43 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1348
Just thought you'd like to know in case anything needs fixin'.]]>
Just thought you'd like to know in case anything needs fixin'.]]> https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1309 Sun, 23 Aug 2015 11:43:58 +0000 https://DividendGrowthForum.com/showthread.php?tid=1309