The willingful violation of the TOU is enough ground for either temporary or permanent suspension of a member account. Most of us here fall into that category. But there is a remnant of members who are here for another reason: the message board "economics". Let me explain:
Members are divided between visible and invisible. The invisible ones never get in trouble, never get suspended, never get their posts removed, and never have any TOS against them. From the iHub "economics" point of view, they are the best customers, since there is hardly any administrative time and/or effort to deal with them. Who fall into this group?
1. Hypsters - iHub has no policy against hyping a stock. Hypsters can always claim they are long investors and have the motivation and right to promote the company and its stock. Their posts are always "on topic" since they always hype the company on its message board/s. iHub can never take any action or respond to a TOS violation. Detractors are ignored by iHub Admins. The only exception is made when a hypster is willingly violating any of the TOU and, usually, after a time, they learn how to word their attacks in a manner that it is considered simply a defensive stance.
2. stock promoters - used by the company to promote the stock (there is a debate regarding whether they are compensated or not for their work). Occasionally, the SEC catches them and takes action, but mostly, they perform their duties with impunity.
3. Dumb "investors" who have fallen into the lies and deceit of hypsters and stock promoters, and defend their "investment" by approving anything that tends to hype and promote the company and its stock.
The visible members are a pain in the neck to iHub Admins, especially since they have to deal with huge amounts of TOS', complaints through either public posts, but mainly through PM. They consume a great amount of administrative time and effort and burden the iHub "economics". Who are they:
1. Savvy investors - usually they see the real picture and express their opinions based on tangible and verifiable facts. Evidently, their expressions are a danger and a nuisance to the hypsters and stock promoters, who don't want certain "truths" to be exposed and/or revealed. They gang together and submit incessant TOS violations and private mails to the Admins, flooding them with their outrage against allowing "negative" aspects of the company’s operations being disclosed. Any inference of ignorance or ill willed effort to hype the stock (mostly a true fact) is considered a personal attack or insult, and Admins have no choice but to take action.
2. Investors who have seen their equity reduced to ridiculous levels and make a rational effort to analyze and evaluate the reasons the company and its stock are performing so poorly. They look for and find documented and verifiable reasons of management incompetence and expose it as they see it. Again, they are a danger to the hypsters and stock promoters and are consistently tossed and complained against.
3. Investors who have been invested in the company and have decided to exit, not before expressing their displeasure and discontent for the poor management of the company and reckless disregard towards the shareholders and their equity. Unfortunately, their anger and frustration is not always expressed in civil terms. Any attacks against the company and its management is taken by the hypsters and stock promoters as a "personal" attack and reported to the Admins as such.
4. Pure and simple bashers, who have nothing better to do than attacking everyone and everything (again, there is a debate regarding whether they are compensated or not for their effort)
In a nut shell, you are a pro company man/woman, hype and promote the stock and carefully use the language (labeling any adversary a basher is a favorite and it's not considered a personal attack by iHub Admins). Or, you are an independent thinker, try to be honest with yourself and other members, say what you think and feel about the company, the investment, the hypsters and stock promoters, but encounter the opposition of the "protected" hypsters and stock promoters and suffer the consequences of their gang-tossing and massive PMing, until they get away with them.
And iHub is simply applying the "economics", voluntarily siding with the hypsters and stock promoters.
AI
