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OK, first and foremost I want to say that I am a MyFico user and supporter. At times I am frustrated with the model; but overall am happy with the information that others on these forums give out to any one that needs help. Now, I don't know if I am violationg any rules or regulation's but quoting from another website. If I do; please forgive me and move to appropiate site. I was on another site for a specific reason and read something called the "MyFico rabbit hole". I was like WTH? So I researched a little and found a very unprofessional and I would have to say offensive remark and I quote, "You want to stay away from other sites (**coughmyficocough**) that, on first glance appear to be a good source of information, but in reality, is full of misinformation, favouritism, and generally bad advice to apply for anything and everything. Wrong move".
Then I began to wonder, are we just everyone site? This statement just stuck with me. I really would like for anyone to help me with this. I guess I want an explanation on the MyFico rabbit hole and thoughts on the quoted text. If was suppose to credit the source then please tell me. I have no idea. Thanks in advance and I appreciate all your comments. No flame wars please, just some honest information about my questions.
Well, I've read many other posts by that person you quote, and I think he generally knows what he's talking about. He has excellent credit and "scorned" isn't the word that comes to mind.
This website does have a lot of bad advice and misinformation. There is a lot of good advice and accurate information, too, but this site has so many threads (and they are often disorganized) that the bad parts just linger like an infection. FT, for example, limits new threads so information is condensed and organized. Lots of savvy people look over the same posts and make corrections as necessary, resulting in much higher accuracy.
I think you have to take any information you get (from this site or elsewhere) and apply your own critical thought to it rather than just buying whatever people are saying. That said, I do think MyFICO is good because generally people do not have an agenda of pushing any products on you (well, maybe your FICO scores). There are other sites where they clearly have an ulterior motive of getting you to sign up or apply for something.
Here are some basic ways to filter any data you receive (from here or elsewhere):
1. Get the facts & arguments; ignore the opinions. Draw your own conclusions based on the facts. One of the very best things about this site is that people are actually willing to share facts about their credit experiences. Of course, you have know idea if each individual is being honest with their facts, so you need to apply your own thinking - which leads to the next point.
2. Does the person posting/sharing information have anything to gain? At some sites, clearly they gain from clicks, referrals and apps that they generate. They have an incentive to tell you whatever it takes to get you to click or apply. Here, when someone shares their approval experience or something like that, I don't think they have much incentive to lie (unless they are a pathalogical liar or something); but judge for yourself.
3. Determine the overall atmosphere of the environment. Here, I would say people are open about sharing experiences and giving advice. A lot of people share a common experience (rebuilding after credit troubles among them), and they are supportive. Again, judge each person's stories for yourself, but there's no real incentive to mislead people around here, but sometimes there may be a mob mentality or someone who wants to be big guy on the block.
So, as with any site or piece of news, apply some critical thinking to determine what you can believe.
@wasCB14 wrote:Well, I've read many other posts by that person you quote, and I think he generally knows what he's talking about. He has excellent credit and "scorned" isn't the word that comes to mind.
This website does have a lot of bad advice and misinformation. There is a lot of good advice and accurate information, too, but this site has so many threads (and they are often disorganized) that the bad parts just linger like an infection. FT, for example, limits new threads so information is condensed and organized. Lots of savvy people look over the same posts and make corrections as necessary, resulting in much higher accuracy.
Which means absolutely nothing when it comes to measurement of quality as a human being or quality of advice given. That said thie user you reference I generally respect FWIW.
I've posted this previously over the years so will simply re-iterate it:
There are a number of credit oriented forums on the Internet; they each have their strengths and they each have things they could improve. The information is mostly the same, the people and the cultures are different though some do post on multiple sites. Not every site is optimal for all people, that'd be flatly impossible... so find a home and go with it.
In general MF is a good site, with a good community; yeah there are some downsides and over time we've tried to ameliorate that (by moving Approvals and even Applications out from the main Credit Cards board regarding the issue referenced) and I would object to the commentary that the majority of the users are suggesting people apply for everything under the sun as rank hyperbole.
Sure some bad information gets posted, but quite often it gets corrected. I'm not one to throw out something that's 95% good trying to get it to 99 or 100% if it means a radical change to the community. In other places in life that might be appropriate but not here.
Awesome answers...but no one has answered my question...what is the MyFico rabbit hole? O.o
@kdm31091 wrote:
I think this site often leads to a bit of a mob effect where one persons approvals become a reason for a lot of others to apply for card after card. Ultimately, personal responsibility is of course what matters. But one has to be careful not to be overly tempted by others successes. Credit building wise, you only need so many cards (not many!). Choosing to have more should be just that, a choice, but never an addiction or impulse.
kdm, that happens on every credit related site out there. It's the nature of people, so it is certainly not isolated to this forum. Happens on everyone I've ever read, including Reddit.
@Anonymous wrote:Awesome answers...but no one has answered my question...what is the MyFico rabbit hole? O.o
Chasing all that glitters (credit cards and more credit cards) and finding that it's not gold. It's been a common refrain / issue over the years here, people get caught up in the euphoria of approvals and keep hitting the apply button when it's not beneficial from a credit or financial perspective. Or get sucked into one of the numerous FOTM sprees over the years (Nasa FCU, Duck/Beaver cards, etc), against any "rational" need... some find it addictive or the mob mentality mentioned above.