Long Room: FAQs

What the hell have I just joined?

FT Alphaville’s Long Room is an exclusive community reserved for our core readership of finance professionals. Here you can graze investment research, read ideas published by fellow specialists, publish your own material or comment on the work of others.

This part of Alphaville takes its inspiration from the ‘real’ Long Room — part of the late-lamented Throgmorton Bars & Restaurant on Throgmorton Street, just behind the Bank of England. For almost a century this was a favoured haunt of market gossips, financial pundits, insiders and very few outsiders, smack in the middle of the City of London.

Lined with gold mosaic, marble and beveled mirrors, the restaurant is deep below Drapers’ Hall, once home to Henry VIII’s scheming minister Thomas Cromwell. Some history and a few photos are preserved here.

So how does it work?

You have two options. Well, three actually.

1. You can simply upload a document that maybe of interest to other Long Room members. Perhaps upload a piece of sell-side research on a particular asset class or company. Or maybe a broader piece of strategic advice. We welcome anything applicable to an audience focused on finance/economics. Do make sure you add some tags, such as the source institution so other members can find what you have posted. We accept most document formats, such as PDFs, spreadsheets or Word files. See how to use the “Upload a document” page here.
   But make sure you have the copyright-holder’s permission. And check our T&Cs.

2. You can write your own post. Be an Alphavillain! The Long Room offers you a quasi-private platform to share your own views and ideas with an expert audience. Help on how to write a post is available here, but it’s actually really simple. Write a good headline; write some content that will grab readers’ attention; add some tags so other members can search for it; add charts or even pictures; and upload an accompanying documents, such as a pdf, spreadsheet or Word file.

3. You can also simply comment on other people’s posts. Some of our Long Room conversations go on and on and on, so use the “Reply” function to trigger an email notifying you when a fresh comment is made.

Why is the Long Room a members-only site?

The Long Room is reserved for professionals with a clear understanding of how financial markets and products work, and the risks involved. Our members-only policy and hand-crafted vetting process allows us to ensure that these criteria are met. In short, we aim to keep this a troll-free zone.

Why does nothing in the Long Room appear in Google searches?

We’re sort of off-grid here. The Long Room is not indexed by Google or any other search engine. That keeps the content private to members, which, in an age of tight compliance and fierce regulation, suits everyone involved here.
Help us keep it that way by never sharing anything you read here with the wider wild web.

Is my real identity in any way public?

No! And it never will be. Going through the application process you were prompted to supply a public pseudonym and a biography of yourself. These are the only details that are visible to other Long Room members. To change your public profile, go here.

Can I contact other Long Room Members?

Unfortunately we don’t have a direct messaging function, so you’ll have to stick to the comment threads to communicate with other members. If you absolutely need to contact another member in person, ping us an email and we’ll see if they want to talk directly to you: alphaville@ft.com

How do I write a post?

Find below the simple steps to create your own content and share it with the wider Long Room community. Be aware that you can only write on a desktop; the feature is not available on Mobile devices or Tablets.

1. Click on “Write a post” button to access the Write a post page

2. Fill out the key fieldsexample:
   

   Title : Keep this simple and short, but make sure it explains what the post is about.

   Document source: If you are uploading a document to accompany your post, this is crucial. Tell us who the document is from, such as the bank, broker or research house. If you are not uploading a document, leave it blank.

   Topic tags: Tell us — in maybe one, two or three words — what the topic of the post is about. This is essential for other members to find your post with the search function. Enter your tags in order of relevance. Eg Brexit, Sterling, Bank of England.

   Discussion summary: This is the main content of your post, which can be as long as you want. You’ll use a simple editorial interface that allows you to format the text.Here are some key tips on using the little toolbar: – Insert ‘in-line’ links to direct your readers to other sources of information. Highlight a short, relevant phrase, click the ‘link’ button and paste the relevant URL. – When you are quoting someone else, use quotation marks so the relevant text appears as a ‘block quote.’ It’s always good to offer proper attribution if you are citing the work of others. It’s also good manners to provide a relevant link.
   

3. Save Draft or Publish:– When you’ve finished writing, scroll down and you’ll find the option to “Save as draft” or “Publish” buttons.
   If you’ve checked your wonderful prose and are ready to publish, just hit “Publish.”If you want to do further work on the post later, just hit “Save as draft.” Only you will be able to see it and you can pick it up later by visiting the “Dashboard” page.Simple really. If you get in a real mess, email: alphaville@ft.com

How to upload a document?

Find below the steps to simply upload a document for other Long Room members to read. Be aware that you can only do this on a desktop; the feature is not available on Mobile devices or Tablets.

1. Click on “Upload a document” button to access the upload a document page

2. Fill in the mandatory fieldsAs an example:
   

   Title : Keep this short, but relevant. Just say what the document is about.

   Document source: Tell us who produced the document, such as the bank, broker or research house.

   Choose file: This will prompt you to select the relevant file from your computer. The formats we accept are Word, Excel and PDF. Once you have attached one document, it will be possible to add more files if required – but you’ll need to carefully apply topic tags, otherwise other members won’t find your docs.

   Topic tags: These are really important. For each document you upload you need a tag that categorises it — Vodafone, Italian banks, gold, whatever. You can apply several tags if your doc is about multiple topics. And you can apply multiple tags if you have multiple docs. All this helps with the discoverability of your post by others.

   Discussion summary: If you are simply uploading a document, this is not a mandatory field. You can add a few lines of text explaining the document or you can just leave it blank. If you want to expand this into a full blown post, read these tips. “Write a post”

3. Save Draft or Publish:When you’ve finished uploading your document(s), scroll down and you’ll find the options “Save as draft” or “Publish.” Clicking “publish” will instantly make the contents public or you can “Save as draft” to keep it private. You can find it later on the “Dashboard” page. That’s it. Happy uploading! If you get in a mess, email: alphaville@ft.com

What document formats can I upload?

Documents can be pdf, word or Excel. We don’t accept any other document type.

Is there a size limit?

We accept documents up to 100Mb.

How do I tweak a post I have saved or published ?

You can go on the Dashboard page and from there access any of the posts you have created to Edit them or Delete them.

To Edit a post simply click on the Edit button next to the post.

This will bring you back to the page where you have created your post in the first place from where you can make the necessary changes before hitting the Publish button again.

How do I change my pseudonym?

You can change your pseudonym from the commenting settings

1. Go onto any article and click on commenting settings in the commenting area
   

2. Update the pseudonym field and click on save
   

You still haven’t answered my question…

What, after all that? Email the editorial team at alphaville@ft.com and we’ll do our best to sort you out.