I think what's being lost in this discussion is an important distinction. There are many legitimate high-risk investments which are run by honest people and which have a low likelihood of payoff--but where the payoff is great if it occurs. Hopefully everyone who invests in such things can afford the loss. And I don't think that "bashers" begrudge investors their huge profits when they occur. These are not zero-sum games: everyone profits when the investment works out. No legitimate investor in such things minds a skeptic who points out the investment's risk (I speak from experience since I run such a company).
However, there are other investments which are nothing more than Ponzi schemes masquerading as venture-capital type high-risk investments. These schemes, or their incarnation as penny stocks, are often abetted by Internet posters. Yes, everyone who invests in such things OUGHT to know the risk, but we know from experience that many people who do may not be as sharp as you and Rrufff. In these zero-sum games the money that the sharp people make comes out of the pockets of the not-so-sharp. Even that is probably okay, as long as those who alert others to these "opportunities" are scrupulous in their public pronouncements to publicize the risk and not ban nor harass dissenters. Where things get dicey is when posters know or suspect that something is a glorified Ponzi scheme yet describe it as if it were a legitimate investment and then try to quash dissent. When this happens, one tends to see a lot of righteous indignation from "bashers".
I realize that in the real world it is not always easy to positively identify something as being in the legitimate venture-capital group or in the Ponzi group. However, I think that most people who have looked into a company, if they are honest with themselves, have a pretty good idea of the likelihood of it being in the Ponzi group. Sure, some company may have a 40% likelihood of being legit, but that doesn't make it IBM. I grant that "bashers" may be a little quick to assume that EVERYONE who posts positively about such a stock is fully aware of the unsavory aspects of the company, or is being paid, or is just pumping to dump later. However, when the story of these Ponzi "companies" eventually comes out, it's amazing how wide the ring of Internet helpers frequently turns out to be.
As for everyone being responsible for their own investments--of course, that's true. But that does not give others a license to steal. We all bear a responsibility to our fellow man. There are, in fact, people here and on IHUB who play these penny stocks with honesty and cynicism. I would suggest that these people are worthy of emulation. |
