However, with the combined market knowledge and background of the whole group that makes up this forum, we do have a huge advantage over the individual investor, if it is used in a proactive way.

This is almost a true statement, except for the fact that many of the most highly regarded posts are the ones that are positive on the company in discussion. We are almost guilty of being a fan squad, pumping ourselves up with conjecture everytime the shareprice moves up (News Coming!).

To truly benefit as a group, we need to do some actual research. There has been a lot more of this lately, as far as OSC and IIROC rules go, due to the takeovers of FWR and now SPQ. But we need to continue actively reading these forums, checking out the 'facts' that are posted here. Most importantly, rumours must be posted as rumours, and the sources should be identified - "I talked to an insider" or "My friend's neighbour heard from her cousin..."

I am not a market insider or financial planner/advisor, but I like to play the devil's advocate, since I like to look at things with an overall view. There are often other factors in the mix for stock movement, and many of them have nothing to do with the stock itself, but come from the underlying market. Some of my posts are merely meant to start discussions, and get people thinking outside of the box.

Endless pumping makes this board useless and even dangerous for the novice investors, if we are feeding them information that is unchecked, unsourced and untrue. So I encourage you, if you have a question, post it. And for those reading the question, don't automatically flame the questioner, but answer the question with facts, not anecdotes.