I always respect & value your opinion. But I think each one of us we needs to be careful to not fall into the following trap:
Stage 1: Someone on HC challenges our investment thesis. We feel angry and uncomfortable. We block them
Stage 2. On social media we follow those advocating the same stock choices or commodity narrative as ourselves. We block or ignore those with contrary outlooks
Stage 3. We configure google to trawl the web for bullish stories about the stock and/or commodity we invest in.
Stage 4. Success! We now exist in an ‘information’-rich echo-chamber. Our investment thesis seems compelling and self-evident (after all, ‘everybody’ seems to think so)
Stage 5. The share price and/or commodity price steadily drops. We aren’t worried though. After all, every smart person we know is bullish. We egg each other on and average down
Stage 6. The share price falls to a multi year low. We’re temporarily bewildered. How could this happen? In a panic we search our social media follows and google feed for answers. Phew! We find some bullish articles to give us peace of mind.
Stage 7. Several of the forum longs break ranks. They criticise mgmt. They question the inevitability of our share price revival. We take it on ourselves to shout them down. We challenge their loyalty and commitment to the cause. They are silenced for the time being. People in the forum now look to us for leadership and assurance
Stage 8. We maintain a ‘buy/held’ sentiment but the intrusion of dissent in our echo chamber introduces a lingering doubt in our own mind. We spend more time on social media and google, searching for sustaining information morsels to feed the longs
Stage 9. The decline continues. After a series of poor mgmt decisions / operational outcomes the shareprice is a fraction of its high. At this point we know we should’ve sold. But a part of us feels this would be a dereliction of the trust others have placed in us. We change our sentiment from ‘buy’ to ‘none’. Our public declarations of support for mgmt become more circumspect
Stage 10. Disaster strikes! A TH and lowball dilution wash out existing longs. The forum is in turmoil. People are furious. They want answers. But what can we say? The public recrimination hurts almost as much as the financial loss. We slip out of the forum unseen and toss outlr HC user profile into the bin as we leave
RVR Price at posting:
15.5¢ Sentiment: Sell Disclosure: Not Held
