I just had a post removed. It happened to be the most recommended post in the last week, with 164 of you clicking the “recommend” button. I will not say who posted it, so if you know (or if it’s you), don’t say anything. This poster is not a villain, just simply wrong about this board in a lot of important ways, as I’m dismayed to see, at least 164 others must be too. It also wasn’t the worst post I’ve seen in the last 24 hours…by a long shot…which is even more dismaying.
The gist of the post was that JonWayne was our resident Upstart expert and should hold himself to “higher standards” when posting about Upstart. In my opinion nothing could be more wrong when it comes to this board. Jon’s many informative posts about Upstart over several months have been, at least in my opinion, the exact opposite of any kind of assertation of expertise. He has put a lot of information together, but it’s all been stuff anyone else can seek out for themselves, and I have never seen him claim special knowledge. As a personal note, I want to thank JonWayne for all his contributions so far. I hope there are many more to come. I am grateful he has shared his research. What he might appreciate more is any of you who choose to engage in discussion with him by writing a thoughtful rebuttal. But what, in my opinion, none of us should do, is expect more from him! To the 164 of you who felt differently, and thousands more who have found the board but aren’t sure exactly what it’s about:
No one here is paid anything. No one here is an advisor or professional of any kind. No one on this board is, or purports to be, an “expert” – not even Saul. Everyone here has the the right to be incorrect about anything they post. The only responsibility of anyone who posts here is to follow the board rules. That sure does mean not posting one liners or off the cuff opinions, but it does not even begin to mean we must be perfect, or none of us would ever be allowed to post.
Readers encouraged to scrutinize every post (including mine) and ignore some. You are of course free to try to follow someone (or someones) who post here for your information, conviction, or investing decisions. However, you do this to own peril. You alone are responsible for your own choices – including what to do with the information you find on this board. I certainly ignore much of it, though obviously I find enough value to spend a lot of time here, and to try to help keep it awesome.
I know most of us have lost a lot of money lately. That can of course be stressful – I acknowledge that. But many, many of us have been through this before. One thing that makes me feel better: I haven’t lost any shares. I’ve added to some things and trimmed some things, but in general I own as many (or more) shares of the companies I still think are the best as I did in October or November. I still want to own these shares.
I don’t know if that helps you. I want to help you (believe it or not). But it’s not my job. We each have to figure this out for ourselves. Take what you can from these invaluable discussions on the board. But know what to ignore.
Bear