a apology to shareholders from tony schoer, page-31

A Quick response to Macca

However, can't you see that by marketing the company on a share forum leaves both yourselves, the company and the shareholders exposed to scrutiny that is neither warranted or needed?

The marketing possibility of Hot Copper by ASX companies has gone untapped to date in a world hungry for instant information. In the internet age why should anonymous undesirables hold sway as they attempt to manipulate stocks for ulterior motives? Maybe the journos are running scared and need to denigrate the likes of 'showman' for fear of losing their readership.

To my mind the PLV threads are amongst the most informative, nonsense free posts on the forum. That is specifically because Tony is on hand to nip the rubbish in the bud by posting facts. Facts are the steel spikes that puncture the arguments of agenda driven posters. If more companies were to participate it would raise the qualiity of Hot Copper and give the more credentialed companies like PLV a marketing edge.

I have implied this to you previously, but surely to "sell" your company, or at least, provide on line communication to shareholders through Hot Copper, should be firstly annonymous and secondly, in-house via an on line email shareholder support service?

The fact that Tony is here as himself (not using an anonymous nic) and is representing PLV, gives credibility that no other company enjoys. It is usually always innuendo, smear, or unhealthy optimism on most threads, and even if accurate negative news is presented by posters, it is great to have a company representaive dealing with concerns in a professional manner. No company website can be as effective as Hot Copper can be in terms of making available timely and accurate information to the wider investing public.

Your shareholders applaud you for your open thinking for all to see - but does this help? Is Hot Copper a tool for all MDs to correspond to and answer shareholder enquiries?

I believe so, but unfortunately many do not have the qualities that the PLV MD has, and many are predominantly MD's who are mostly intent on mining shareholders pockets for themselves and their exclusive mates. There is nothing to stop them posting, but the first attempt at misleading the forum would have disasterous consequences for them and their companies. Tony genuinely tripped up, in a minor way, and judging by these threads, it is those who have pursued him while choosing to ignore serious breaches by countless others, that have been the ones who have been discredited.

In reality, journalists of all persuasions patrol these sites to fill space and IMO, to continue to converse to shareholders within the public domain, will only leave you open to more persecution.

Agree. But unfounded persecution or trivial persecution has a habit of making the persecutors looking like the agenda driven manipulators they mostly are. Tony's ethical, professional and genuine contributions provide great balance to unfair attention, especially as he his not posting anonymously and he stands behind what he says.

In fact, it could be put that for you to expose your own fragile exposure to the highly speculative arena is a fault in any management dynamic. There is no doubt that your presence on Hot Copper has provided "others" with ammunition.

Again, one has to question the motives of those collecting ammunition. The internet has put great pressure on journalists to lift their game and to provide some balance to 'the other side' of what they report. There is a general tendency for the gullible public to believe what is in print, and some journos may not like having alternative views expressed that show up one of the tools of their trade. ie Poetic license. The old saying comes to mind "Never let the facts get in the way of a good story"

And while some may be collecting 'ammunition', others may be seeing what is presented as valuable information.

For me, you have seemingly harassed your own self by propagating your own publicity.

Certainly he has been noticed. But that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Being both an honest and credible professional does not equate or "open the door" to the average human condition where self perpetuating untruths are the rule of any public domain. This is a jungle Showman.

I agree that it is a jungle, but I also have a view that it needn't be. Posters such as 'showman' could go a long way to change that culture and make it an even more worthwhile place to exchange investment information.

You have been adamant in stating the significance of the internet laws regarding defamation, but to me, this is bordering on the ludicrous.

Not at all Macca. If people have the potential to be made accountable for what they say, here or anywhere else, then the information mediums such as Hot Copper would provide a much more valuable service.

You leave yourself wide open to fair comment while attracting the moths that circumnavigate any flicker that remains within the fireball of the good Aussie writer's block.

I am not aware of any instances that the anti insect repellent that Tony uses hasn't done the job against the circling moths. Last time I checked the spray can he uses, it was labelled 'Truth Spray', and was a Home Brand product, courtesy of his mum and dad.

I personally think you should think about this for your own sake. I am now unsure whether you are alarmingly naiive or too persistent in marketing your company within the wrong arena.

I for one don't believe that Tony is in any way niaïve. In fact I think he is deadly serious about what he does and that he would have thought through the implications for how he conducts himself on here, long and hard before getting involved. I strongly believe that he is being innovative in marketing his company via Hot Copper to what is potentially a world audience.

Not surprisingly macca, you have expressed your views, without fear or favour and others may disagree with what you have had to say, just like I have. Thankfully, that is what the forum is all about, and then others can make up their own minds.

Good post though, as per usual.

Cheers
Nev