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To: Night Writer who wrote (78452)	2/17/2000 12:02:00 PM
From: John Koligman	Respond to of 97611

OT Silicon Investor/Silicon Enquirer gets a writeup in today's WSJ... Regards, John Mock Site Targets Silicon Investor Silicon Investor has some competition from a new Web site -- but investors are tuning in for laughs, not stock advice. The new rival -- dubbed "Silicon Enquirer - Where did all the Smart Investors Go?" -- parodies Silicon Investor (www.siliconinvestor.com), a popular investment and community site. The site (home.att.net/~dynamogold/silicon/enquirer.html) uses the same layout and color scheme as Silicon Investor, and has been a topic of discussion on various boards since it was created last week by a Silicon Investor member who uses the alias "Kevin Watson." Kevin Watson, when contacted by e-mail, declined to reveal his identity or be interviewed for this story. "I think I said all I have to say in the page itself. Interpretation is in the eye of the beholder!" the online poster said in an e-mail. The Silicon Enquirer site includes phony headlines for news stories, such as "Today's Topic: Huge Corporation Buys Another Huge Corporation - What's Going On?" The site also has 10 phony message boards with links that take users to message boards on Silicon Investor. For example, one board titled "I was a teenage stock pimp for the SEC" links to the "Short Term Picks From the 'Whiz' Kid" board on Silicon Investor. Silicon Enquirer's "Ask that Cuban Refugee Boy About the Market" board links to "About that Cuban boy, Elian" a non-financial discussion on the original site. One mock board, "A@P Castration Vote," refers to Anthony Elgindy, an outspoken poster who was temporarily barred from Silicon Investor last summer. "It's very ingenious, there's some funny stuff on it," Mr. Elgindy says of the site. "I'm not crazy about the castration stuff, it's obvious [the site] was done in jest." Responses from board participants have been positive. "It's an amazing piece of work" wrote one fan. Others feared that Silicon Investor would revoke Kevin Watson's membership. "Hope the powers that be see the humor also. If not, Kevin it's been great," wrote another. Brian Burdick, managing director of Silicon Investor, which is part of the Go2Net Network, says the site doesn't plan to take action against Kevin Watson. "I think it's funny, I'm not offended by it," says Mr. Burdick. "The person who told me about it said 'you know you've made it when they're doing parodies'." Though he is still a member, Kevin Watson hasn't participated on Silicon Investor message boards since posting a link to "Silicon Enquirer" on Feb. 6. Silicon Investor redesigned its site last summer to include more research and community chat features. Mr. Burdick says some seasoned message board posters complained about the new format. Some board participants believe this change prompted Kevin Watson's creation. One person wrote that he "used to trade [private messages] with him all the time" and believes that Kevin Watson created the mock site because he is "turned off with the new SI." But Kevin Watson doesn't appear to be very angry. On the bottom of the Silicon Enquirer home page, a disclaimer reads: "Silicon Enquirer is a parody, for entertainment purposes only. Please don't take yourselves too seriously." Write to Carrie Lee at: carrie.lee@wsj.com