An interesting question of reputations, plus a kneejerk reaction against anonymity... "It must be true; I read it on AOL..." Jon ---------- Jon Lasser (410)494-3072 - Obscenity is a crutch for jlasser@rwd.goucher.edu inarticulate motherfuckers. http://www.goucher.edu/~jlasser/ Finger for PGP key (1024/EC001E4D) - Fuck the CDA. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 17 Mar 96 23:42:34 From: FringeWare Daily <email@fringeware.com> Subject: FORTUNE666 - AOL postings blamed for Iomega stock troubles Sent from: sentry@utxvms.cc.utexas.edu () This may be of interest to lovers and haters of chaos, alike-
From Edupage:
IOMEGA STOCK VOLATILITY BLAMED ON AOL POSTINGS Iomega, maker of high-capacity removable disk drives, is the focus of controversy on America Online's Motley Fool bulletin board. Company officials have complained to the SEC that postings on Motley Fool and other BBSs have contained false information and may be contributing to the volatility of its stock. Online exposure has "raised the visibility of some stocks as well as the interest in those stocks," says an outside spokesman for Iomega. "At the same time, we're very concerned about how online services can be used to attempt to drive stock prices higher or lower through misinformation." Postings about Iomega escalated to flaming and physical threats last month, causing Motley Fool to pull some of the more offensive ones, but critics of online BBSs note Iomega's problems are a result of the practice of using "screen names" and the lack of verification of information that's posted. "You don't know if the person is a Ph.D. or in Sing Sing," says one critic. (Wall Street Journal 15 Mar 96 A5C)