Why Does Valuentum Only Respond to Member Questions?
The answer is obvious: We always put our members first. “Our research and track record speak for itself. Random and inappropriate comments from anonymous people (robots?) on other websites should not influence your opinion of us…at all. If it has, then the ‘haters’ and ‘Internet trolls’ are winning.”
Let’s explain how we always put members first in a recent email exchange. The following has been edited for clarity and to remove names mentioned in the correspondence.
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Valuentum:
FWIW, as a paid subscriber and big fan, your response on other websites on the KMI articles 1) frankly sucks, and 2) has shaken my opinion of Valuentum. For better or worse, your lack of author response to reasonable reader comments and alternative views on other websites makes you look less prepared to defend your ideas/conviction and drastically less professional.
I strongly urge you to engage in author discussions on other websites or at least read the comments and respond to the useful comments with follow-up articles. The kind of attention you’re getting on other websites is the burning-at-the-stake feeling. Not positive attention without author engagement and defense.
It is odd but the lack of clarity and engagement on other websites has shaken my previously-strong belief in Valuentum. I urge you to see how others interact with their readers of free articles on other websites. It is that sense of community and honest debate that draws me to pay subscriptions and seek new ideas.
Just one guy’s opinion who is self-managing a substantial portfolio. I’m not sure how many paid- or non-subscribers have the same or different view. I don’t write this lightly; I’ve considered doing so several times but decided it was your gig.
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Anonymous:
We only make ourselves available to members.
Our definition of reasonable does not include insults, belittling or abusive personal attacks, including from those that say our response to random comments on other websites that we do not follow “sucks.” The comments on sites other than ours are often completely inappropriate. We’ve addressed a couple questions on other websites in the past and may not do so again.
Our research and track record speaks for itself. Random and inappropriate comments from anonymous people (robots?) on other websites should not influence your opinion of us…at all. If it has, then the “haters” and “Internet trolls” are winning. We continue to evaluate our relationship with all syndication providers and are under no obligation to continue providing our content through any channel.
We hope that you understand that our value rests in our individual conversation with you not in a conversation on a message board on another website. We think most informed members “get it.” We’re always available to those that would like to engage in a civil, informative conversation.
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Valuentum:
To be clear: I did not say your article sucks. I said your response sucks. I stand by that opinion. Also to be clear, without your prior articles I would not have found your service nor subscribed.
Finally I thought your article was informative. My concern was lack of response and the valid points raised there. No trolls involved. Don’t take it personally. Ideas win if well supported.
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Anonymous:
We’ve been in this business a long time, and some points that appear valid to some actually make little reasonable sense, and we have no obligation to respond to such comments on other websites. We put our members first at all times, and for that, we would have hoped that you’d come to the opposite conclusion than you did.
Thanks again for reaching out. If you have any questions about our research, please don’t hesitate to ask.
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Valuentum:
It is indeed a skill to have experience in a given field and positively share that with others less experienced and wise all while not sounding pompous nor unappreciative of both freeloaders and those that pay subscriptions. If there is any question about my actual opinion, please don’t hesitate to ask.
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Anonymous:
Though opinions may differ, we think it is reasonable that since we rely on intellectual property to maintain our business that we don’t distribute our one-on-one thoughts free of charge.
A request of this nature is equivalent to asking the painter to paint one’s house for free, or the butcher to hand out prime steaks for no charge, or to fill up a tank of gas at the owner’s expense.
But in this case, it is much more than that.
After the painter paints, the butcher provides, and the gas station accommodates, these institutions are then subject to myriad unpleasantries by the very people they have served and provided for.
Our business model is not easy to figure out, but we hope you can understand we’re not what one might describe as Wall Street (in fact, we’re far from it), and the token price that we charge for a membership and the personal responses we give means that we sincerely care.
Our best wishes to you and your family,
The Valuentum Team
info@valuentum.com