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To: Les H who wrote (9419)	12/12/2003 10:57:22 AM
From: Les H	Respond to of 29600

Most Stock Bulletin Boards Are Still Just Noise 12/11/03 12:49 PM ET Every once in a while when I'm curious about a stock and interested in knowing the story, I will take a look at some of the stock boards on sites like Yahoo!. I am always quickly reminded why I stopped reading such boards a long time ago. I started as a trader in large part because of stock bulletin boards. They made me aware of the possibilities that existed and provided insight into the thinking of market participants. Since the early days, sites like TheStreet.com have emerged to fill much of the role that boards once played. There are still a few good boards out there, but most are just a waste of time. The worst boards tend to be those that are dedicated to one particular stock. They all seem to have the same psychological dynamics. There is a core group of "true believers" who allude to knowing something that no one else quite understands about this particular company. Occasionally there is a knowledgable poster who offers something worthwhile, but for the most part the participants have lost all objectivity. They are emotionally invested as well as financially, and looking for kindred spirits. Whenever their stock is down, they proclaim a "buying opportunity" and ignore any suggestion that it may be a possible sign of trouble. Every board also seems to have at least a few posters who claim to be short. They will spend hours vigorously deriding anyone and anything positive about the stock. It is quite amazing how even a board dedicated to some thin, obscure stock will attract a verbose critic or two who claims he is short huge amounts of this stock, which is poised to go to zero. I always suspect that it has more to do with beating up on people than with the stock itself. The vast majority of posts on these boards are simply unsupported proclamations by one side that this is a great stock, and by the other side that this it is a piece of garbage. Then there are posts from the poor lost souls who are wondering what the heck happened when the stock falls apart. The worst thing about these boards isn't the lack of good information but the psychological impact they have on many individual investors. It is painfully obvious at times that individuals are swayed by some of the ridiculous things that are posted. You will see someone talk about how this stock will double or triple in a short time, and there are folks eager to believe. When a stock is acting poorly, holders flock to these boards, looking for reassurance. Of course the true believers provide it. Many of these folks are very emotionally attached to a particular stock, and they simply want to find reasons to justify their devotion rather than objective information. In pop psychology, this phenomenon is called co-dependent behavior. It helps enable the addicted stockholder to hold on to a stock that is not good for him or her. The other thing about these boards that is particularly sad is how many people use them to act out their psychological issues. The ability to hide behind the computer enables all sorts of behavior that these folks wouldn't dare engage in face to face (same thing with some of my e-mail). It would be very entertaining to see how some of the most obnoxious act when you meet them in person. I imagine they would come across much differently if they were unable to run and hide like they do online. If you are going to read these boards, be aware that they are more about psychological issues than about stocks. Don't allow yourself to be sucked into the pathology. Take a step back and consider the dynamics that are at work, and be skeptical of everyone and everything. finance.messages.yahoo.com