Perhaps a bit harsh? I was in 88e for nearly 4 years, average...

Perhaps a bit harsh?
I was in 88e for nearly 4 years, average 3.o cents, after finally cracking the way markets operate, I sold out 2 days before Peregrine drill news released. Doubled my money (not a lot, as only a modest sum invested). However that had been the strategy, best case scenario - plenty of oil and thousand times return.
Worst case - dusters and loss made. So after 4 years, I jumped out, could have made more if I had stayed another day, but I was not prepared to get the timing wrong.

The point is that Dave actually paved the way for 88e shareholders, to make money, by selling out or breaking even all the way up to 8.1 cents or whatever the peak wound up at, all that it required was to sell when the share price matched or bettered their original purchase price prior to drill results being released and subsequent share price drop.

From my perspective, Dave's job was to sell 88e to investors, to raise the cash for the leases, to pay for the seismic, including expert interpretation and to entice Farm in partners to pay for the actual drilling of exploration wells. Although he was the public face of 88e, I am sure that the drilling locations were decided by the technical team, headed up Dr. Stephen Staley and the drilling operations by Erik Opstad.

I am sure it was Dave's special skill which ensured that 88e attracted the many millions of dollars required to drill oil and gas exploration wells in remote and hostile environments.
Concurrent with each of 88e's exploration well narratives, the share price waxed and waned and investors who were in the company to make a profit certainly made predictable profits every year without fail.
Some investors sold enough shares to free carry their holdings to ensure they did not make a loss and still had exposure, in the hope of a gusher and others were so entranced by the prospects they held all and still do, (in Theory no losses or gains made yet).

88e's final narrative has yet to come to pass, but the thematic remains the same;
- The share price will fall and rise
- Investors who sell shares for more than they paid, will gain
- Investors who sell shares for the same as they paid will break even
- Investors who sell shares for less than they paid will make a loss
- Investors who hold shares will not gain or lose, but will be exposed to potential future gains or losses

What an investor does with an opportunity is their decision alone, Buy, Sell or Hold? up to you completely!