Yesterday I had posted in Chit-Chat a posting about the rise of the penny stock NTN of more than 4600% in just one day, ie. yesterday. I posted it there because such penny stocks can't be posted in the normal Stocks category as its description imples. Now, I can't find the posting anymore... So, can the mod delete any posting without even informing the poster? I think I should think twice before spending my time in writing a posting here.
Yeah, they can delete without any notification but sometimes they do alert you to why your post was deleted (e.g. hyping, debating via personal attacks, profanity or whatever). It all depends on the content and the context of the thread. Out of curiosity, why post about penny stocks at a forum that clearly doesn't want such discussions when you can easily post about penny stocks at dozens of popular penny stock forums ?
Yes, it only specifies "No Penny Stocks" in the description of the Stocks Forum because that's where the overwhelming majority of people will post specific stock information. But it applies to the entire website, sorry if that wasn't clear to you. Wrbtrader says it best: "...why post about penny stocks at a forum that clearly doesn't want such discussions when you can easily post about penny stocks at dozens of popular penny stock forums ?"
Magna, you as a moderator, which other kind of postings do you usually delete silently without ever notifying the user or the forum? Wouldn't it be better to always notify the user?
I will often notify the originator of the thread unless it's an obvious flagrant violation of policy. That's a judgment call, and in your case it appeared you were obviously trying to skirt the rules by starting a penny stock thread in the Chit Chat forum. In all the years I've been here I've never seen another person attempt that, so my first thought upon seeing your thread was, "Who is he kidding?"
No, I explicitly followed the rules. When I saw that under the Stocks forum penny stocks aren't wanted, then I switched to the Chit-Chat forum. But as yourself stated that the rules are unclear, then you can't try to blame me for your own fault of not making clear that here penny stocks aren't wanted at all. I didn't know that penny stocks can't be discussed here generally in all and any forum. And: I usually have nothing todo with penny stocks. I just stumbled upon it when I saw a list of most advancing/declining stocks. I couldn't believe my eyes of such an advance of 4600% within a day. So, I thought this could maybe a record in the history of the markets worth to post a note about it. I think you are an unjust moderator with dictatorical powers. You belong into the 80ies BBS era.
marsman makes some good points. The best overall solution is to abandon the apparent current prohibition against mentioning penny stocks and implement a separate forum for it while posting an appropriate disclaimer. Problem solved.
I think the issue is the possibility of pump and dump schemes. I wouldn't personally advertise penny stocks. I can't remember the article but a trader was discussing his run in with the SEC. He ran a blog and traded a lot of micro caps. Whether it was pump and dump or naive he did get charged with a hefty fine from the SEC as he and another trader were trading them aswell as posting the blog. Their too easily manipulated with even a small retail account and enough participants.
BTW, the said ticker is IMO no penny stock anymore as its current price today is almost $10. Or what is the definition of penny stock? I thought those below $1. Right?