WHAT!!! NO MORE FLAME WARS? The SI vs A@P Debacle.
Or The Wild Wild West of the Internet meet Marry Poppins
Or The Child Safe Poison Pen Letters of SI
Or And now for something completely different
The Setting: Silicon Investor is a www site that makes money by providing open text base message boards for the investment community as well as any other topic user may be inclined to start at thread. What has made SI unique in this is that people have used their real names as posters, thus actually having a dialogue of adults without anonymous hype, as found and fostered on Yahoo.
The Characters: SI BOB, the feared sheriff of the virtual world, his job is……well we are not sure actually……what he does is, listen to whiners and complainers, and the wounded, and dispenses justice by means of Duck Tape across the mouth of the poster. At times the complaints are real, like spammers or other vermin, but others have been put into the dome of silence due to words such as goatboy, or under the threat of using a can of WHOOP-ASCII. At Some point laughing as the sheer juvenile nature of his job and wonder how he became the vice-principle instead of the PE coach, he rushes up behind the SI member and gags them with his Vulcan Mute Hold. The Mimed terror of the victim is horrific to watch, as they try to escape the virtual box. SI BOB has be seen only several time but this artist drawing is said to capture the look and feel of SI BOB. unicus.com
Note SI BOB is not to be confused with poster bob, who is essence of what fills a balloon with a basket on it
JILL (pronounced very softly and as slow as possible) a women of mystery and fame, she is the woman who stands with SI BOB. She is said to have the loveliest hair and eye the could melt any man, but for most she remains a mystery. Speculation is that it is her guidance and powers of womanly charm that force SI BOB, to break up what would be otherwise considered boys doing boy thing. She is the thought to be the force that makes SI BOB put away his plans to pull up a chair and watch the above the belt flame-fest with Beer and peanuts in hand, and instead rush in before either combatant can even show full plumage
Jeff Dryer: The fearless leader of SI BOB and JILL. Jeff only want nobody truly hurt, Like when the big kids were watching the little kids fight in the neighborhood, just enough supervision and enjoyment mixed together. If there is a argument, Jeff is more than happy to let it go and sell tickets to the event. But here
Matt Tyson: Works behind the current, do not look at the man behind the currant, everything is working properly as you can see.
Mary@Pacific the essence of sugar and spice and everything nice. The woman behind the man. She joined SI and posted a few thing, and was terminated for apparently for sleeping with her husband. While the phrase “go sleep with you husband” has gotten others suspended from SI in the past, Mary does not find that dire at all and, and is confused why this would be the basis of her getting suspended. She was just working on getting some female bonding going on SI with a rallying cry of “you go girl” being tossed around when SI management apparently sent he message that reading the same
Anthony@Pacific the essence of snips of snails and puppy dogs tails. Tony is a shorter of extreme magnitude, who has our gratitude. Tony is an investor who makes his way by finding pumped and criminal stock and de-pumping them or de-criminalizing them. He investigates the stocks and once he finds the bad ones, informs a group of fellow interested citizens who endeavor to hopefully bring about a more correct market valuation by means of modify supply demand ratios by a process of shorting a particular security. The is a fully altruististic endeavor by all involved with profits being retained for further self-less actions of “the marauding band of corrective marketforces”tm. (Note: See reference “Robin and Merry Men” for further references to motivation.) Anthony makes many private and public Reponses to SI member each day. Tony can be counted on to provide a direct evaluation of both the stock and the mind of the investor who are long the security. One a stock attains the market valuation that is un-pumped, Tony is known to return to the thread and expand on exactly how it was he was correct and the others were wrong. This often can create even more messages. The general script follows this model.
Tony SEE!
Long You were lucky
Tony No I was not it was because of X
Long That not true and get out of here anyway you are not an even in this stock anymore right?
Tony No really I was right, see look at this, you really ought to read this stuff
Long Just get out, you are a jerk anyway
Tony Take it back you Jerk, you are a Jerk for calling me a Jerk
Long Jerk and you are X!
Tony Take Back X you Y
Long Sends message to SI BOB see he called me a Y, Bob Laughs
Tony Hey Y take back X
Long Go away, I am above this
Long Sends second message to SI BOB, SI BOB laughs, show for fun to Jill, Jill does not laugh, bats eyelashes 12-16 times extra.
SIBOB Suspends Tony
Tony Tries to post, but can not
Long Hey look Tony can not post.
2 day later SI Bob sends a letter, the person you referred to as “vacuum head” because he didn't even have air to fill the space, has complained and you are suspended for X days
Rinse and Repeat
The story so far (note: gaps of actually knowledge are filled in with computer generated likely scenarios, the above script has played out, on a stock SNMM, Tony was suspended for two weeks with extensive appeals the suspension was removed by Jeff Dryer, shortly thereafter SIBOB and JILL came back to Jeff and said, “What!!!!!!! Are we not even empower to suspend people now, what can I sheep is this! SIBob and Jill reverse Jeff's reversal of there original suspension. For good measure and to prove just how empowered they are to Jeff they request and get a full suspension of the account.
Jill is said to have said, “what we have here is a failure to communicate, I don't want to do this, any more than you want me to do this”
Posts are sent around back and forth by supports and detractors. Posters like Soros wait in the wings until there is no threat of reply and expound on the lack of virtues of the muted Elgindy. Other brave acts of introverted posters occur as well. Others continue appeal to SI Bob and siliconinvestor management. And then……….its Thursday…….lets watch…………
Commentary: What is going on when to guys who invest in stocks can not get into a heated discussion that boils down to “Oh yah…..YAH…..says WHO…..says ME…..who are you…….I'm XYX you ABC…..You ain't nothing other than a 123” That is the essence of Male dialogue, what if we don't want to be in touch with our feminin sides. Please, we have been doing this line of conversation since grade school. Before anything happens some like me steps in and says, get over yourselves, or in some big guy calls off the fight if any blood is seen or multiple other ways to diffuse the spat. (Note origin of word “spat” comes from one guy spitting on the other as a greeting) In most cases a formal declaration of the other complete stupidity is stated for all to hear, and the two camps non-verbally agree to arm wrestle in a new environment with fresh odds.
The Internet has long been famous for FLAME wars, and so what, its active dialogue, its fun, and at the end nobody is hurt, egos that can not stand the heat are not flamed, nor engage in it. We are in a situation on SI were we have become politically correct, and believe the content of one message is frameable. This stuff is just fluff back and forth, often like a used Television guide.
But today we are ruled by feelings. I feel 1 + 1=3 , you can not disagree with my feelings So SI feel they can not ignore member feeling. Come on, the reason they allow fighting in hockey is so the player don't get hurt with cheapshot on the field, SI used to believe in the concept with the penalty box, fine that is okay, but disbarring players and throwing out a players wife sitting in the crowd is going too far.
SI: We are adults, give the power of peer scorn and shunning a chance to work, let others step into heated battle to break them up, or just let them punch each other verbal until they are tired and give up.
SI has gone to a G rating when we should not be PG even more like PG-13.
So SI just give Tony another week suspension, let him back, and lets get back to the things we do best, bickering about stocks.
SI you still have the ability to be cutting edge, but remember, cutting edge comes with minor amounts of bleeding, will you please stop fainting at the sight!
Wolff
the narrator
note: "the marauding band of corrective marketforces” is a trademark |
