planb - no effect?
the idea that your words have "no effect" on TATF is a fairly poor assumption to begin with, and certainly not borne out by what happens here on the board.
Unfortunately, that assumption is about the same quality and has the same character as the assumption that saying "bonjour" in the hallway is a waste of your time. Even considered pragmatically instead of socially, that greeting in the hallway when all you were doing is walking (ok, perhaps you were also thinking. Let's not ignore the value of your thoughts about the carpet pattern or da Bears, or thinking "please don't say hi to me and waste my time") can build lasting work relationships that smooth your interactions and help you get work done more efficiently and effectively for years to come. Ignoring that as a factor in work interactions because you don't perhaps feel the effect of that greeting strongly yourself is not very wise. You aren't saving yourself time, you are building resistance for yourself as Jan described before about his coworker. Good move. I hope you are aware that good engineering requires thinking about soft human factors too, such as "will this chair be comfortable" or "will this design create wind noise that people dislike" or "how shall I build this curve in the road so that people can see the scenic overlook without having to turn their head in an odd way and creating a traffic hazard".
Meanwhile, on the board, have you noticed a pattern in the postings of people who have just joined? Here it is:
1. I was mildly concerned about TATF so I started looking around
2. I happened upon this board
3. Now I have been reading the posts and I suddenly have developed a great fear that my investment was unwise.
4. (and sometimes) I was considering buying more trees but I would be a fool to do it now; I had better see how things turn out.
You've seen the posts. This is a common reaction to what YOU are saying, among others here. This forum is having a real, tangible effect on TATF. "Word of mouth" has a verifiable, quantifiable effect on the purchasing decisions of people who hear it. That's why there is a "term" for it, it's part of the "equation" of marketing.
Don't sell yourself short. People do care what you say. In the hall and on the forum. If your eyes are open to that now, consider the effects. If TATF is being affected negatively by your words, how do you think that will affect you? It might be wise to account for that factor.
If you feel your investment is gone and you want to make a statement about it, sell your trees. If you are holding out hope for the investment, give it a chance. Jan mentioned a stock that dropped in value from 200+ euros a share to under 20. What happened to the "real" intrinsic value of the corporation to cause that? Did 90% of their buildings fall over? Did 90% of the money in their cash registers disintegrate?
Your words don't directly change the intrinsic value of our trees and the lumber they produce - but as somebody has pointed out, trees were just sold on this forum for a fraction of their purchase price. When you bought your trees, did you buy them based on their intrinsic value at that time? That would be ridiculous. You bought the idea that they would be worth more than you paid at some point in the future. That was their value. Talking the trees down now that you have purchased them does nothing to improve your chance of getting your money back or increasing it. All it does is decrease the perceived value, or what you could get for them now. Unfortunately it also does that to me and I don't like it much.
