I agree with much of what you have written. However, it assumes that posters know facts or somehow have information not available to the public. The common sense approach, and what is typical, is that someone buys stock, shorting being within the purview of a minority. That person goes to a message board and posts something positive. He's invested both economically and in his psyche. People become "attached" to their DD and their investment. I'm not defending this, just stating that it is common sense. So, message boards tend to have a larger percentage of positive posts than negative ones.
Posting a positive message does not make someone a P&D scammer as others often claim. Yes, if someone says, "I am buying this stock. I'll never sell it," and sells the next day, he is lying and misleading. It's unlikely to arise to the point of any securities law violation. Almost all readers, and certainly triers of fact, would recognize a message board post as mere "puffery." Those who often cry the loudest for internet freedom of opinion are the first to attack others who post contrary opinions. Leaders of the bash crew, who decry banning, ban others.
These bashers often go from board to board, giving generic bash, that is, negative comments that could be posted about just about any speculative stock. Does this make them "good samaritans?" Does this somehow put them on a higher horse? After all, it is just their opinion. I'll put aside the issue of whether or not "paid bashers" exist, and the role of hedge funds in using message boards. Even assuming, arguendo, that bashers post around the clock, merely out of the goodness of their heart, they are still rendering opinions. Those opinions are sometimes quality, but more often, they are no better than the opinions of the board in general.
The bash crew is quick to point out, when it suits their fancy, that message boards don't affect stock prices. Yet, they are just as quick to post that longs, who post positively, in fact, affect the stock price, affect the actions (demand) of buyers or restrict (supply) the actions of sellers. This clearly is hypocrisy in action.
The bash crew obviously has or had issues with the moderator of this board. They seemed to be afraid of pointing these isuses out directly to that moderator. For some reason, they think that attacking someone when he is gone is a brave move now. Further, they think that trying to brand others as some type of disciple, merely because of a posting on a board, started by someone, makes those posters in league for some imagined manipulation or crime. These same hypocrites are so quick to whine and be upset when they are painted with a brush that recognizes their allegiances with now convicted former gurus and NASD fined and suspended brokers.
So, let's recognize that those who come in on a perceived high horse often have a black knight in the closet.
Irrespective of the above, I have been a critic, both privately and publicly of the bulls board concept here on SI. I've opposed the "Ban" policy, where a moderator can ban someone merely because he disagrees with posts. I have in the past suggested that there be one board per stock symbol. The guidelines would be that posts are not to be about posters. The posts would be about stocks, positive facts, opinions and theories, and negative, all welcome, and all subject to commentary by others. Spam would not be permitted. Posts of "to the moon tomorrow" or "takeover this week" would not be allowed unless supported by substantive information. Similarly, posts of "POS" "crooks" "P&D" "lies" and the like would not be allowed without substantive information, not just "cause I say it is." Posts would not be repeated or they would be considered spam. "Cut and paste" would be limited not repeated. Boilerplate "cut and paste" would be very limited.
Despite the views and accusations of many, I have no problem with negative posts. If factual, I learn from them. If opinion, I typically do quite well in refuting if I disagree with such posts. I get the bash crew upset but they attack me and not the posts so I figure I'm doing what I set out to do.
Anyway, that's my draft proposal for how message boards should be run, subject to refinement. I doubt these suggestions will go anywhere as I have proposed similar in the past. Unless something like this happens, these boards will degenerate into what the Bash Crew has attempted to do here over the past week. Bashers come here attack posters, have very little to say of substance about a stock. They are met with posts that are equally off topic. Nothing positive is gained one way or another. If you look at the last several hundred posts, there is almost nothing here about the stock, nothing that is new, nothing that would really help one in deciding what to do with respect to this stock.
It looks merely like the chaos and infighting that obviously occurs when Saddam is gone. There is no winner, not the message board owners, not the posters, not investors. |
