Actuarial Outpost

Forum page of the Actuarial Outpost

The Actuarial Outpost is an actuarial-oriented web-based community. It has three basic subsections: jobs listings, actuarial news, and by far the most important, the discussion forums.

History

Pre-Outpost background

Actuaries in North America usually belong to two major organizations: the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS).

Society of Actuaries

The Society of Actuaries sponsored an AOL chat list before either society moved to the web. This list generated a lot of traffic and was popular in its day. As corporate web presences became the norm, the SOA created its own web forum and moved its "chat" to that forum. At first the SOA had a fairly open and anonymous unmoderated forum. The SOA eventually ran into trouble with a large volume of "unprofessional" material, including, at its nadir, racist death threats. In response, it clamped down on its forum and required that people register and post under a real, verifiable name. Further, only people with a connection to the SOA, such as membership in the organization, could register. This was resented by most, as it removed any semblance of anonymity, and even for many "professional" questions, users prefered to be anonymous. Also, it was very strictly moderated. Being that the actuarial community in North America is small, the lack of identity protection caused much self-censorship, and the SOA forum stagnated. Among many actuaries it is still known as the "desert". Users, led by Traci Christian, moved to a newly created Rebel Forum.

Casualty Actuarial Society

The CAS originally followed a similar pattern as did the SOA. The CAS web-board originally allowed for anonymous registration. For a while, it had no moderation at all. Eventually, it moved to a "moderate if someone complains" mode of operation. This board became extremely popular among actuaries, especially the forum known as the "Water Cooler," which was dedicated to non-actuarial topics.

Due to its lower level of moderation, the CAS board attracted its share of trolls. At one point, complaints were made to the CAS moderators about these trolls. The trolls responded by intensifying their level of troll-like activities. Both on and off the board, the professionalism of the content became a matter of contention, to the point where threats of actual discipline by the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) were intimated. This resulted in a severe crackdown by the CAS moderators in which numerous warnings were handed out and many users were banned. In one notable incident, every person who had contributed to a lengthy haiku thread was sent a warning e-mail because foul language had been used in the last couple of entries. All users were required to register using a verifiable identity, and users were limited to three user names. Although the user names could still be anonymous to other users, the lack of anonmynity, along with ill feelings from the crackdown, led to a substantial flight from the CAS watercooler to the newly formed Rebel Forum.

The formation of the Outpost

In protest, two members of the actuarial community, Traci Christian and Glenn Cooke, formed their own web-board called The Rebel Outpost. The "Rebel Forum", as it was soon called, believed in a policy of anonymous registration and very low levels of moderation. There was a mass exodus from the official CAS board to this forum, as can be seen from the influx of posts soon after the site's formation.

The site survived on contributions from various members, referred to as Site Supporters. Eventually, however, the cost of maintaining a site that received such significant traffic became too expensive. On March 1, 2003, Traci and Glenn entered into a sponsorship relationship with Claude Penland representing D.W. Simpson and Company, one of the largest actuarial recruiting firms in the world. In return for sponsoring the site, D.W. Simpson became the exclusive actuarial recruiting company able to post advertisements on the site. Individual jobs, however, were still open for posting by others. It was around this time that the name of the site was changed from the "Rebel Forum" to the "Actuarial Outpost."

Transfer of Administration

Nevertheless, the strains of administration became more and more pronounced, until in 2005 Traci and Glenn passed the administration of the site to Tom Troceen, a D.W. Simpson employee. The change in administration has proceeded very smoothly and the site continues to grow.

Structure

The forums are broken into five major sections:Actuarial Discussion Forum: This section contains individual forums relating to various areas of actuarial practice such as property & casualty, life & health, pensions, risk management, etc. It also contains forums for software support, job postings, and the ability to communicate with various candidates during the elections held by the various societies. There is also a forum specifically devoted to helping newer actuaries along their career path with advice on interviews, resumes, and similar items.;Exams: This section has forums specific to the various actuarial exams, wherein candidates can compare study methods, ask questions, and receive guidance from each other or more experienced actuaries. The forums also have links to old actuarial exams, various free tests questions, and a network of hundreds of actuaries who have been through the actuarial exam process. Further, these sections are frequented by many of the authors of the various study manuals in use, and most are very gracious in answering students' questions.Cyberchat: This section is for non-actuarial discussions, including politics, various surveys, sports, and a special forum, known as "The Reef" where nearly anything goesâ€"a place where actuaries may "let down their hair" as it were.;Around the world: This section contains country-specific forums catering to actuaries of other nations, languages, cultures, and laws.Website Ideas - Comments: This section is where one may suggest, or complain, to the board administraton.

References

*{{cite web