On the Winter in the great White North thread I posted a review of companies mentioned in a certain tout sheet for Canadian resource companies, which have enjoyed a resurgence in the past year. I also posted some info on Canadian stocks websites and contact information on the same thread with reference on ihub, the relatively new stock-tout posting site.
As some of you know, I used to do a commercial information service for stocks which had about a 4 year life during the 90's mining and stock boom. I don't think it is worth reviving that, but for interest's sake it might be a good idea to start an email "tout" service that is driven by interested people's rumours. I tried to do that when I ran the newsletter, but was disappointed in the number of out and out touts, versus the useful rumours and discussion. And the way I ran it then was oodles of hard work to edit and cut and past. It is hard to weed out people, without being unecessarily rude. But you have to set standards. On the other hand it is all caveat emptor. I really feel it should run by itself without too much interference.
One sort of thing that might work is to run software that can harvest addresses of people that join and just mail out all emails into the site. This is classic "major-domo" or other email/mailing-list-software. It is free on Linux and I could handle it, as my connection is on 24 hours.
The list would be moderated by myself and limit blatant advertising. Its theme would be mining, resources, Canadian stocks, or other investment ideas of interest. Topics would not be limited but would probably not support direct sales of merchandise or personal items.
If people are interested, they could mail me their email address and we could kick off the list "by hand" by including their ideas, tips, info on fave stocks or simply things they have read or heard, and I could when I felt like it, kick in comments and the same.
The issue arises about time and money to support the list. The automatic kind has to run on someone's computer that is net connect with a mail server on the computer. This means it costs money in that a connection must be made to a mapped dot-com which handles the IP address of the mail server. The server that runs the automatic mailinglist has to have an address. If it ran off a second level pop server, all the messages would haveto be dowloaded and processed by hand. This would not allow the volume to be auto handled and would suck up too much editorial time of cutting and pasting messages out to the list. So eventually to keep the list running, some kind of nominal fee would have to be charged or assessed on a quarterly basis. Mapping services generally charge about 65.00 a year, and there is also the issue of time, and staying net connected. It needs a high speed line and that is 600 per year. We could start it for free, but to keep it running, it has to exist on someone's server and that is a cost. the kind of quartery fees I am talking about are nominal. With 150 on the email list, we are talking perhaps 2 dollars a quarter to make it work. Last email list I had was 1000 investors.
So let's see how many are interested. Canadian stocks are enjoying health and it seems to me that with 4,000 now on the TSX and the stories I hear out there, some look like they might Bre-x. No kidding. I am very keen on the geological probabilities of some. I am not necessarily going to hit you on the head with this info. I am not sure there is anytning in it for me. On the other hand, many of you can read between the lines, and more power to you if you have the insight.
Unlike our last incarnation, I will not be selling touts or investment information. I am not in business anymore to give tips, or make other's rich. Still I don't mind sharing opinion, or getting the same. It is the way all investors live in this market.
Don't get hopes up that this list would have an even quality. People are all over the map on what they post, and obviously some work for IR departments. My attitude is so what? Mine the list for the occasional gem and do not be shy about putting the odd pearl in the hog mud. It shines twice as well there. We cannot be uppercrust in this business. We cannot be choosy in this biz. Let barking dogs bark.
One rule is, no personal attacks. They will be deleted. And repetive attacks as judge by complaint and reading, will result in deletion from list for periods of time for cooling down. Otherwise other than "do not use it to sell goods", there are no real rules.
My email for the interested, is mailto:echarters@sympatico.ca The mailto part is just to make it a link, the address is everything after the colon.
BTW, the email addresses of the people on the list ARE NOT known to the other people on the list. This is a strict rule. Contacting them MUST be thru the list only! They will NEVER be published by myself. Or anyone else If we can help it. The email addresses will NOT be in the header. Publishment of your URL or email addresses or links or companies addresses or links is up to you.
I do not mind mild non-repetitive posting by companies, or investment related service, of their websites, services, announcements or other information. This will have to limited by interaction with them on the subject. Obviously some of the info is "informational and of interest", while too much of it is ob/intrusive and not wanted. Some readers will like some of it, some will hate some of it. I will try to keep the advert oriented in the mining and investment trade down to a dull once-a-month roar, or related to release type news of interest to all investors.
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