RE: Editorial Responsibility
Given the quality of posts, particularly on Thursday November 2nd, I think it is high time to address the very serious and ever increasing problem of editorial responsibility, a subject that I personally take very very seriously.
Editorial responsibility is a matter that every platform, as well as every poster, needs to be acutely aware of.
Facebook, Google, Twitter etc. etc. have each created their own monster’s that they are increasingly powerless to control, where their members can post anything they like without the fear of being reprimanded or brought to trial for the consequences of their actions. Every platform needs to know that with great power comes the even greater responsibility of verifying and filtering information, information that delivers content that keeps users informed. These platforms need to have an editorial staff prepared to be constantly and uniformly vigilant and where necessary to make fast and tough decisions to ensure that posters do not abuse their rights to express an opinion, but at the same time to take total responsibility for their posts.
On HotCopper, the bashing of companies has taken on epic proportions. This practice needs to be stamped out entirely. It is not only defamatory, it can also have an extremely negative effect on a company’s share price and therefore each and every shareholder’s personal financial situation. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before posters will be prosecuted and thus made liable for their actions. These bashers, the so called “negative faction”, now account for nearly 90% of the posts on each and every HotCopper forum. What makes matters even worse is that they post every day and often several times a day, whereas the minority, the so-called “positive faction”, post far less frequently. This is probably due to the fact that the latter feel totally overwhelmed by this huge wave of negativity and they have simply accepted the reality that they can only lose if they decide to post anything at all. A sad and totally unacceptable state of affairs, which I am sure HotCopper is not very proud of (at least I hope so).
Personally, I can’t see the reason to post on a daily basis when there is no new news i.e. nothing really to discuss. I would prefer to post when the company concerned announces something material that will, in a positive or a negative way, have an impact on their share price, or more importantly, on the overall long term prospects of the company concerned. A healthy discussion or debate about such matters should then ensue. However, any such debate needs to be very focussed on the facts and conducted in a professional way and not develop into a street brawl, which unfortunately is almost always the case on HotCopper. Of course, should a poster discover, through their own market intelligence, that they have found something of importance that is directly related to said company’s market, this is also certainly well worth posting for discussion. However, once again, the ensuing discussion or debate should not turn into a fist fight.
Editorial responsibility means being constantly aware of the consequences of each and very post. This applies not only to the platform, but to each and every poster, however brief their post may be.
Anybody thinking that a hugely popular and leading stock forum platform like HotCopper, has no bearing on a company’s share price, and quite possibly a company’s entire economic viability, should seriously think again. Posters who are existing shareholders, who over zealously criticise company and/or management, are in effect are shooting themselves in the foot. Only in the extreme cases of proven fraudulent activity, should a poster vent his or her spleen, otherwise they would be far better advised to refrain from such libellous posts, posts that could potentially do far more damage than they can possibly imagine, both to their own, but also to fellow HC members, as well as other investor’s portfolio’s.
With regard to bashing and/or extremely contra-productive posting and the possible related recent steady decline in the EDE SP, I will leave you to ponder whether perhaps the following two posts (trust me, there are many many more examples of this!) may have helped set the EDE SP tailspin in motion, particularly considering that during same time the fundamental picture of EdenCrete has been steadily improving and now that the first, in a long and continuing line of significant sales, are now at long last finally being received:
Date: 26/04/2017. Time: 12:20:03. Post #:
24268722. Price at time of posting: .278
Date: 04/08/17. Time: 08:18:19. Post #:
26283225. Price at time of posting: .205.
Please note that with the above two examples, I am not casting aspersions on any one person in this forum, rather, I am attempting to back up my belief (with substantiated facts) that posters and therefore HotCopper (as a platform) do indeed (perhaps unwittingly?) have a considerable effect on investor sentiment and therefore need to give editorial responsibility careful consideration.
I too am not a happy camper when it comes to the current level of the EDE SP, however, I do see the big picture and I remain 100% convinced EdenCrete is, more than ever, well on its way to major success within the next 6-12 months.
Wishing you all a very merry Christmas!
MB
P.S. This post is my own personal opinion and not a recommendation to buy or sell. Readers must do their own research before undertaking any investment decision. The information herein is based on factual information obtained personally by me, or given personally to me by totally reliable sources.
(20min delay)