100% absolutely!! I have seen web pages blown up on the walls of their offices. I personally pulled down a Q&A page that I had for a couple of years because so much was taken "out of context" - And you will see quite a bit coming out soon about this (not being vague or trying to be cute, just cautious)...a firm in NY just had the Feds come in a shut some doors - not just from web pages, but a combination. Block Trading was shut down, in part, due to what they were saying in chat rooms - we have personal views of that. We (BT) are not paranoid, we try very hard to keep our postings "real" and even "friendly" (which is the way we prefer to do business anyway). Those of us who have been on the web for many, many years...simply realize that everything we say is public record. No big deal!!
It would seem that regulator action would come as a reaction to customer complaints, and the regulators already have a large workload just responding to other complaints. Unless a registered individual is blatantly breaking the major rules, ie: Publishing a solicitation to buy or sell securities without disclosures Making claims like "guaranteed" Obviously pumping stock picks, especially low volume issues Circulating rumors, especially with a stock-pumping agenda I just can't see a regulator coming out of the blue to try and take down a person participating in a message board. If there were a host of complaints already against someone, then the message board could be extra evidence, but it just seems farfetched. I don't pretend to know the right answer, but I am skeptical. Speaking of regulators, I once knew a broker that actually had an elderly female client file a formal complaint against him because he refused to follow her instructions: sell at the high of the day. He sold, it went higher, and she got mad. It was of course dismissed, but that is an example of all the rubbish that regulators have to sift through.
OK, point taken. But they were extremes, right? Pump and dump scum bag chat rooms? Have you seen any busts that you felt were illegitimate and unfair to the trader?
Let me try to clarify this a little bit more, so as to not alarm anyone. Regulators do what is called a "random sample" of communications between member firms, B/D's, Brokers, etc., and this includes message boards. It is not really intrusive, and is more of a "pre-emptive" attempt to keep things on the up and up. I personally think that much of their time might be better spent checking out the "spam" I get daily by these people touting some God Awful company to the world, but at the same time, it's good to know that we have some "checks and balance" going on. Most of you have nothing to worry about, it is only the licensed traders who are subject to scrutiny (as far as I know).
Well, licensed people who don't try to remain anonymous All the spam I get is always for OTCBB stock. Such a disappointment; if it were nasdaq I would be interested in watching to see if it ever has any effect on price.
I gave up "anonymity" a long time ago...and I agree about those stupid 'OTCBB" spams we all get. Just for fun, read the "disclaimers" they have...they are getting paid in stock by the company to post this nonsense....real helpful!!
Remember that kid in New Jersey though, that the SEC decided to make their ground-breaking case. (BTW, I found it truly bizarre that they picked a situation that was apparently very much "gray" to set the precedent for hitting individual retail investors for message board postings. Maybe they took the gamble that, if they were able to successfully make the case, in the future, the instances that are more clear cut would be slam-dunks.)
In the last two or three weeks I've watched top traders (traders that have continued to be among the best from the bubble to the current state of affairs) struggle. The top 30 list at my firm is the worst that I've seen in 6 mos. March has seen little volume, little movement/volatility, and I hope to hell that this isn't "normal," since I missed the boat on the easy market (the one where traders confused easy trades with being good traders). I've only been trading for 6 months, but this is the most serious time where I have had intense doubt about my future sink in! I know that there will never be another bubble like we saw in 1999, or at least not for 20 or 30 more years, but I hope that "normal" market conditions are better than this! :eek: