I don't agree with the short volume or the MM manipulation. I think it is just traders and the market.
On short volume, I don't believe anyone is actually buying short. What I've learned from other boards is the Finra numbers being short is due to having a main MM. All the other MM's that fill orders is where the short volume comes from. Example...tdameritrade is the main MM, I buy shares using the MM for etrade, and all my shares are considered short until my MM settles with the main MM from tdameritrade. Don't know, just my understanding.
Same thing with MM manipulation. I only think that happens when you see a burst really high or low for a few seconds and go back right to where the pps was. All this will take is for enough investors to obtain enough of the float to where new investors have to pay more to get the shares they want. So, I do agree with you on holding the shares, and that's what will make this go up. Then half of us will sell at let's say .01 and the others hold. We will get new investors at that point that will wait til .05. And the cycle continues for years:) All that matters in the long run is that the company makes good decisions to keep the O/S as low as it can, and get profits as high as they can.