Re: 3/25/00 - THE TWO MS. SHELLS
THE TWO MS. SHELLS
Guy Dixon
Saturday, March 25, 2000
Janice Shell admits she's addicted to the stock chat rooms.
An American art historian who has lived and worked in Italy for the past two decades, her name is a frequent sight on message boards, as she habitually takes on the role of debunker.
Ms. Shell is particularly drawn to the intrigue and sleuthing taking place behind the boards. "That's the most interesting part of it all," she said, describing direct contacts with other stock watchers as often the best source of information.
But the behind-the-scenes activity of avid investors can turn frightening.
A group of investors of a U.S. nutrition products company, believing Ms. Shell isn't who she says she is on the message boards, located a different Janice Shell who works for an employment service in California. Although the investors believe this is the same person, they are two separate people and utter strangers, said the Ms. Shell in Italy.
Yet, the Ms. Shell in California and her employer were contacted by the investors. "They posted this poor woman's data all over the [on-line] thread, claiming that someone had called her secretary and confirmed that she was indeed an art historian and had once lived in Milan," the Ms. Shell in Italy said.
This was untrue, according to the Ms. Shell in Italy. Nevertheless, the Ms. Shell in California has been reportedly included in a defamation suit against so-called bashers on the message board and the investors are suing them for $250-million (U.S.).
The Ms. Shell in Italy dismisses the suit as completely without merit. One of the investors even wrote a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accusing the Ms. Shell in Italy of having ties to organized crime.
The Ms. Shell in Italy has not shirked from the public eye and has been profiled a number of times by the business press. Yet, that hasn't stopped the chat room rumours about her identity from flying. Some have even accused her of working for U.S. regulators.
"One of the good things about it [on-line chat rooms] is that people can help each other, can find information together, can give each other ideas. One of the bad things about it is when it's a bunch of idiots who have all the wrong ideas," she said.
Copyright ¸ 2000 Globe Information Services
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