DrFeelgood: that is strange, but from what is being posted I guess not that unusual. With Schwab I can always set my limits for whatever on a GTC, so I am not sure why it works differently but it seems to at many discount brokers.
Airdale pointed out that if you have Margin Accounts you need to have the request not to short in writting. When I spoke to Schwab he said that anyone with a Margin Account needs to contact their broker and see what restrictions are on the accounts and then ask for the appropriate procedure, if possible.
I have cash accounts and they are set up not to have any shorting.