Humor? How bout this for some humor from the AMEX website about quality: "The AMEX Exchange's specialist-based auction market structure and experienced professionals create a quality trading environment that promotes... Liquidity—allows investors to buy and sell quickly, easily and with minimal price impact, a key to building investor confidence Narrower spreads—the interaction of buyers and sellers results in smaller price differentials between trades Decreased volatility—specialists consistently maintain a fair and orderly market to minimize volatility Protection from short selling—the Exchange's uptick rule prohibits investors from selling short a company's stock when it is declining"