<light bulb illuminating>
I think I see the source of confusion now.
Gary, there's a common misconception about the definitions of terms like "Listed", "OTC", etc. This wouldn't be a bad thread on which to clarify. Here are the basic definitions as I understand them. Anyone feel free to correct any mistakes in my understanding.
OTC: "Over the Counter". Synonymous with Nasdaq.
Nasdaq: "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". Synonymous with OTC.
Listed: A stock that is carried on an exchange. NYSE and Amex are exchanges. Order flow is handled by Specialists. Nasdaq is not an exchange, it's a market. Order flow is handled by Market Makers. Nasdaq stocks are not "Listed".
OTCBB: "Over the Counter Bulletin Board".
I prefer to dabble in OTC (Nasdaq) stocks and options on them.
OTCBB I don't mess with as a matter of personal preference, but the main reason is that most issues (in stock threads) I'm going to deal with on any message board site end up involving OTCBB discussions and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to have a financial interest in any issue in which there's any likelihood I'll have to deal with posts on the stock and decide whether they're deleted or not.
The fact that people with financial interests in the stocks are able to exert control (and possibly inappropriate control) over the discussions of those stocks made me initially hesitant about the CoB concept, but I think it will work out fine if the person overseeing the chairpeople has no financial interest himself and if the people managing those discussions hold themselves to an extremely high standard.
If I and the chairpeople both had the same financial interest in a stock, that could give rise to allegations of far greater importance than the "He likes so-and-so and let's him post not-nice things about/to me" thing. Well, at least of far greater importance to me.
Whether people like each other or think the admin likes some more than others is an insignificant issue bordering on simply petty when compared to the issue of whether people (chairpeople, admins, and site owners) with financial interests as a motivator may be inappropriately deleting posts or controlling discussions. Far greater importance.
That's something I simply will not allow, and if I find that a rule change is to blame for it happening, the rules get changed back. For example, if "personal" threads end up being used as a subterfuge for getting only one side of any market-related story told, it will result in changes being made on those specific threads or to the rules as a whole.
If I weren't employed as an admin, I might deal with OTCBB stocks. Personally, I find that the information on them is comparatively sketchy (I'm way into fundamental analysis), but I played OTCBB issues before working as an admin and might in the future if I find myself not working as one.
Hope that clears it up.
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