RE: I believe non-institutional investors should get the same opportunities as larger holders and analysts ...
I don't have a problem with this, as it is a practicality issue.
My problem is when they want to get past the fluff into the important details they take it off-line. There is simply no raional reason (by which I mean in the interest of the investors) for this process in todays world.
If they don't want to provide the information on the call because it would just be unwieldy, then do it via the net (msg board, email list, whatever). They can still filter/moderate what they accept as question however they wish, but all responses are public.
Replace reg FD (Full Deception), with reg ED (Electronic Disclosure).