The other is to IMMEDIATELY brand, and if I'm relatively positive of the posters intentions, bludgeon the rat bastard for all to see, and sometimes, get the nice and collegial people on the thread a little miffed at me. "Dirty job but... "
Rich,
I have been following this thread since its recent activity began, and must now say that it deeply disturbs me that you've tried to set up barriers to discussion on this thread.
The Silicon Investor Terms of Use <http://www.techstocks.com/terms.html> are clear. They do not prohibit a member from expressing contrary opinions, even if they're arbitrary, capricious, baseless, irrational, stupid, or even malicious. Just about the only thing you can't do on Silicon Investor, besides posting more than 20 messages in 6 hours, is harass or abuse other members. It seems to me that by referring to people using the indisputably offensive term "rat bastards" or putting them on the spot by asking them all sorts of questions like whether they own PNLK stock, you and not they are violating the Terms of Use.
Harassment and abuse are unfortunately prevalent on Silicon Investor, but they're dealt with appropriately through Jill. Your actions, however, are more insipid. From reviewing your posts, I see that you've tried to run people off this board (and you've apparently succeeded in a few cases, which is horrifying), or question their qualifications to express their thoughts. That's more damaging to the quality of Silicon Investor than simple insults or foul language. If I call someone a moron, or if I use colorful language in expressing how I feel about a trade I made, at least that's an opinion, although I should have chosen to express it differently. You, on the other hand, are trying to deny other members the right to express their opinions.
(By the way, I've already read and understand your distinctions among different kinds of opinions ("interested" and "disinterested," and those based on facts and those not based on facts). The distinctions are irrelevant because an opinion, no matter how or why it was formed, is nevertheless an opinion, and Silicon Investor permits its members to express all their opinions, subject to the Terms of Use.)
I'm sure that some people on this thread appreciate what you're doing, and agree with your position. But there are also people who would approve of the actions of a person who assassinated an evil political leader, or of a vigilante who took the law into his or her own hands. In both cases it may advance the common good in the short term, but it's a dangerous precedent.
To take your words and use them against you, it's not a question of whether actions are either "nice and collegial" or "dirty." It's a question of right and wrong, and it's my opinion that your methods are wrong. |
