No all three: http://elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=81248&perpage=6&pagenumber=1 I can see the future lol
Specialists have a edge that requires no talent, other than hard work, to exploit. Just like floor traders. I hated floor traders (as a group, rather than as individuals) even when I worked on the floor. To me they were fleecing people, despite possessing no talent, and having nothing to offer in return for the exorbitant cost of their "services". Eventually it will disappear, like floor trading. Until then, either pay the price and stop moaning, or stop trading with specialists, thus avoiding the problem. There are numerous more efficient markets around, with neither floor traders nor specialists. You can always trade them if you want.
If everyone did that, the problem would never get solved. Thankfully, there <b>are</b> people in this world who care enough to fight for what's right, instead of taking the 'bend over and take it quietly' approach as you would suggest.
12 cents a share haircut on one order of NYX by forgetting to use a limit order today. Ah... the price of "liquidity."