Well, I gave it a good try on defining hyping. Now let's try bashing.
Bashing is a lot more difficult to define than hyping because so many more people, especially those with investments in the penny stocks, think that any opinion that is expressed that runs contrary to their own viewpoints, is bashing. Of course, that concept is fallacious.
Bashing, in my opinion, is the art of expressing negative opinions about a company's stock or the company's prospects without providing any VERIFIABLE, INDEPENDENT and RELIABLE source(s) to confirm the basher's viewpoint. Wildly speculative statements, designed solely to plant fear in the minds of the shareholders, would be an example of bashing. People who come into SI and quickly post negative statements regarding a single stock would be a likely candidate for the title of basher. And it's also likely that these same people have an agenda or purpose other than just getting attention.
What is NOT bashing is much easier to define. It is not bashing when two different and opposing viewpoints or interpretations of the same document are presented on a thread, though very often we will see the cautionary viewpoint responded to as bashing, and the exhuberant viewpoint referred to as hyping. In my opinion, it is wonderful to have open debate over the merits of any given document, filing or company press release. The opposing viewpoints really make one consider both sides of the debate, and therefore reach an informed decision.
Most of the arguments we see on the threads are in the non-reporting BB stocks, where any news is scant and often non-conclusive. It is no coincidence that most of the manipulation, frauds and stock scams will be found in these same companies. I don't have any actual numbers that I can quote from, but it is my belief that at least half of these non-reporting BB stocks are outright fraudulent, and the rest highly speculative and risky, to say the least. MMs can and do manipulate these stocks easily (especially in the B/A spreads), but usually it is the scam stocks that get the specialized, rip-off schemers involved.
On the threads of these companies, we very often see one side calling the other side bashers because "You admitted you have no financial interest in this stock, yet you continue to post here." or (one of my favorites) "You must be a shorter of this stock and working for the evil MMs." What this says to me is that if I, as a potential investor, find something that runs contrary to the tone of the thread, I should keep it to myself and not warn others on the thread of my findings. After all, if I'm only a potential investor, I have no financial interest in the stock. And if I make the post, then by all means, I must be working for a Canadian MM that has shorted this stock. Again, you'll find these arguments all over the non-reporting pennies, but almost never on a well established reporting company.
In my opinion, most of the people who do the flaming types of posts that call other posters "bashers", are nothing more than small-time investors who have completely forgotten the guidelines for diversity, and have gotten themselves in way over their heads in one or more pennies, and now they hype and hype to get the stock price up so they can unload (dump) at no financial loss to themselves.
In my opinion, most of the name callers refer to themselves as "long on the stock", a phrase that is subject to interpretation. To me "long on the stock" means 5 to 10 years or longer, unless the company fundamentals change significantly. To the name callers, in my opinion, "long on the stock" usually means until they get a chance to unload this sucker on someone else (aka The Bigger Fool Syndrome).
Well, that's my definition of bashing. Other opinions may be expressed only if they agree with mine. If not, you're bashing. <vbg>
KJC |
