The Jailhouse

[Bird of Prey]

but if I bought Microsoft at the IPO, who "lost" all the money I made?

I'm trying to figure out if you simply missed the point or just don't want to respond to it.

That point being that NEARLY ALL of the time, the persons involved in the market are on one side or the other and have put their money where their mouth is.

And thanks for bringing up Ms. Shell. True enough your points concerning her "good points", for she is all of those things. Such was not always the case however, there was a learning curve involved, yet she has always maintained an abrasive tone (a hallmark of bashers it seems). Like wise I am not surprised that you cannot think of an example of a "quality positive" poster subjected to such hostility. The reason for that is simple economics. A "quality positive" poster will be helping a lot of people make money. The only persons that would stand to lose money based on a "quality positive" poster's message would be those that had gone short anytime before the report. Even then there is still a possibility for them to gain. For those that had already closed a position (long or short) the message would be a non event. Also such a "quality positive" poster will have a strong reputation for integrity, so strong that it may be unassailable.
The "quality negative" poster is at a distinct disadvantage in that his/her post automatically alienates all longs. By making the "quality negative" statement he/she is telling all longs that their research is invalid. Further, by issuing a sell recommendation it is reasonable to presume that short sellers will be drawn to the stock thus making the "quality negative" poster's commentary a self fulfilling prophecy. In essence (from the long's perspective) the "quality negative" poster will "steal" profit (if not the entire investment) from them. Compounding this problem is that many "quality negative" posters don't begin calling the sell until the stock has dropped significantly off its highs. Even Mr. Pink wasn't bashing Conseco during its heyday, when such information might have saved more than a few investors some hard earned cash.

Sidebar: I made quite a bit off Conseco playing the rallies that inevitably followed the downturns. Further, wasn't Wendt considered a "darling" while at GE?

Throw in the bashers penchant for being rude, obnoxious and combative to begin with, it's not surprising they don't get Christmas Cards from the Longs.

I will agree with you that a CEO posting on a message board is a reason to investigate further before investing...he's either doing his job too well or not at all!

Much like an argument between political or religious opposites, the debate between "bashers" and "touts" is unlikely to ever be resolved. It often will become hostile though and their needs to be a system in place to derail that hostility without squashing the underlying evidence for either side. No system will be perfect, but IH appears to be headed in the right direction...with some appropriate tweaking.


The Bird of Prey