IANABroker

August 13, 2009 5:32 PM

Not really a call out of this AskMe on stocks.

I realize that omaralarifi's question isn't against guidelines as written, nor is it on face all that different from someone asking for any kind of advice. I also get that new-GM vs old-GM is a really unique situation that probably deserves attention. Still, there's something that doesn't quite sit right with me. I don't think the question should be deleted, but aren't there some dangers to setting a precedent for stock advice on the green? Is there any liability (either explicit legal liability or to the continued health of the community) to a stock pick gone wrong?

posted by l33tpolicywonk to Etiquette/Policy at 5:32 PM (57 comments total)

I kind of wondered the same thing.
posted by limeonaire at 5:33 PM on August 13, 2009

You misspelled "Al Roker."
posted by Eideteker at 5:41 PM on August 13, 2009 [2 favorites]

"I am not a financial advisor and this is not financial advice…"
posted by hattifattener at 6:05 PM on August 13, 2009

My dad is my stock broker.

I haven't disowned him yet.
posted by zennie at 6:09 PM on August 13, 2009

Compared to some of the health advice I've seen, a stock pick never killed anyone. At least, not directly.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 6:18 PM on August 13, 2009 [3 favorites]

People who believe that Stock Pickers can pick stocks better than a random MeFite deserve what they get.
posted by misterbrandt at 6:21 PM on August 13, 2009

I think that's a pretty unusual case that actually has a legitimate answer, though.
posted by empath at 6:29 PM on August 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

ChurnTMFA
posted by DU at 6:33 PM on August 13, 2009

Is this another one of those posts about great deals on concentrated orange juice?
posted by Sys Rq at 6:38 PM on August 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

if that post doesn't have a penis tag, I'm not gonna read it anyway...
posted by HuronBob at 6:57 PM on August 13, 2009

Is this another one of those posts about great deals on concentrated orange juice?

I need to know more about this one.
posted by Partario at 7:04 PM on August 13, 2009

Anyone else think that AskMe sounds a bit like buyer's remorse?

Poor guy's probably freaking the fuck out right now.
posted by Afroblanco at 7:05 PM on August 13, 2009

Not a great question but not a topic that I think we're likely to see too often. If AskMe becomes a place for people to ask frequent stock tip questions, we'll worry about it then.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:13 PM on August 13, 2009

Partario: Orange juice.
posted by Pronoiac at 7:25 PM on August 13, 2009

What about stock questions about penis?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:46 PM on August 13, 2009

Metafilter: Penis tag.
posted by loquacious at 7:48 PM on August 13, 2009

*bonk* Tag! You're it!
posted by loquacious at 7:49 PM on August 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Penis just goes up and down all the time, so it's hard to daytrade it.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:03 PM on August 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

I like how it went from "Can I buy this stock?" to "Oh shit! You mean I have to sell this stock NOW or get nothing?" in 45 minutes.
If you ask a question, you really ought to have patience enough to wait for an answer.
posted by Floydd at 8:25 PM on August 13, 2009 [6 favorites]

I think a company whose web site actively discourages people from buying stock in it is a bit of an unusual case, and there's no harm in pointing out that fact.
posted by grouse at 8:33 PM on August 13, 2009

jessamyn: Makes total sense. Just wanted to make sure I was needlessly paranoid. Feel free to close this at will.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 8:33 PM on August 13, 2009

*witty comment about penises and bear markets*
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 9:06 PM on August 13, 2009

I want to buy stocks.



Can I get the simple stand-up pillory with three holes, for the head and wrists, designed for stoning and public flogging, or is it more effective to go with the cheaper ankle-only models that allow for foot-beating? I need this information quickly, if this heretic doesn't repent NOW he gets nothing.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 9:19 PM on August 13, 2009 [5 favorites]

Penis just goes up and down all the time, so it's hard to daytrade it.

You should try short trading. Taking a long position is overrated.
posted by loquacious at 9:26 PM on August 13, 2009

I prefer high frequency trading. What the trades lack in duration they make up for in volume.
posted by Afroblanco at 10:07 PM on August 13, 2009

Really, the key thing is that it's best to have a diversified portfolio. You want it in a little bit of everything. And you don't keep putting in and taking it out. Once you're in, you leave it in.

i don't even know what i'm talking about.
posted by empath at 10:17 PM on August 13, 2009 [9 favorites]

On the subject of the stock market, Gordon Gekko said it best: you're walking around blind without a cane, pal. A fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place. I don't throw darts at a board. I bet on sure things. Read Sun-tzu, The Art of War. Every battle is won before it is ever fought.
posted by empyrean at 11:09 PM on August 13, 2009

Really, the key thing is that it's best to have a diversified penis. You want it in a little bit of everything. And you don't keep putting in and taking it out. Once you're in, you leave it in.
posted by Meatbomb at 2:38 AM on August 14, 2009

Buy high, sell higher. Always be wasted and the markets won't bother you.
posted by pracowity at 3:52 AM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

So, no penile hokey-pokey, then?
posted by dg at 4:18 AM on August 14, 2009

Here's hoping an exec from GM pops up to answer the question.
posted by slimepuppy at 4:38 AM on August 14, 2009

Best part of the post is the OP asking "when is the bankruptcy?"
posted by fixedgear at 4:43 AM on August 14, 2009

Penny stocks and Internet start-ups my friend. This new thing called the Internet is going to make us all rich one day.
posted by mrmojoflying at 5:48 AM on August 14, 2009

Best part of the post is the OP asking "when is the bankruptcy?"

Almost as good is when it is revealed that the OP already owns some of the stock in question. Apparently the AskMe advice wasn't worth waiting for, because the stock was such a scorching hot deal!
posted by exogenous at 6:18 AM on August 14, 2009

A couple days ago, the company that manages our pensions sent an investment advisor out to my public library branch to tell us about how, if we took a bath when the market collapsed, we might want to move our pensions into aggressive investments. Then he asked if we had any questions. We didn't. He asked if we had any questions at all, and pointed out that, at another branch, somebody asked him what the Dow was. And one of my employees said something like "What? They work at a library. Why didn't they just look it up?" The advisor guy laughed it off, but I could tell he was wounded inside.
posted by box at 6:38 AM on August 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

I need to know more about this one.

Orange Juice + Orange Juice.
posted by Sys Rq at 6:52 AM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Penis just goes up and down all the time, so it's hard to daytrade it.

With a little market manipulation, you can make it go up at will.
posted by atrazine at 7:06 AM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Unfortunately, it's still illegal to publicly trade penises.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:20 AM on August 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

l33tpolicywonk: Is there any liability (either explicit legal liability or to the continued health of the community) to a stock pick gone wrong?

I can imagine this is gonna be a real mess when it comes time to put together Metafilter's IPO.
posted by koeselitz at 7:21 AM on August 14, 2009

Our OPP, however, should be something that anybody can get down with.
posted by koeselitz at 7:30 AM on August 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

Cat Pie Hurts : *witty comment about penises and bear markets*

...and just like that, Metatalk became a furry site. Surprising everybody by ending both with a bang and a whimper.
posted by quin at 7:44 AM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Actually it's unsettling that most people in that thread don't seem to know what they're talking about... there's answers all over the map.
posted by crapmatic at 8:10 AM on August 14, 2009

Maybe it's because internet is like a second language, but I dunno how someone could pick a stock with "QQ" in it and not expect trouble.
posted by boo_radley at 8:31 AM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Every day AskMe tells people to go ahead and eat what they found in the back of the fridge, or to dump their spouse/long term partner, and you're worried about giving stock advice? This is a truly weird not-really-a-callout.
posted by rocket88 at 8:47 AM on August 14, 2009

I was very disturbed because at first I thought this was a thread about socks.

Now I'm replacing 'stocks' with 'socks' everywhere in this thread.

It makes for pleasant reading.
posted by litleozy at 9:10 AM on August 14, 2009

rocket88: My concern is at least partially legal. I know the parallels, but this is unique from a legal perspective.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 9:15 AM on August 14, 2009

I don't see anything unique about this, legally or from any other perspective. If you ask me whether you should buy SLM at 25, and I say to go ahead and do it, and you actually do it, then YOU are still the one who a) solicited advice from someone you don't know over the Internet, and b) decided to follow the advice.
posted by zennie at 9:33 AM on August 14, 2009

*immediately takes zennie's sock advice*
posted by Skot at 9:40 AM on August 14, 2009

Now I'm broke and my feet are cold. Son of a bitch.
posted by Skot at 9:41 AM on August 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

What are the legalities concerning average mefites doling out amateur investment advice? I thought the legal aspects applied only to professional traders and company insiders.
posted by rocket88 at 10:06 AM on August 14, 2009

What are the legalities concerning average mefites doling out amateur investment advice?

You get what you pay for at Ampersand Investment Advisors.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:24 AM on August 14, 2009

You get what you pay for at Ampersand Investment Advisors.
I'd like to invest in your "Laps Run By A Headless Chicken" fund. You know, to diversify my portfolio.
posted by Floydd at 12:01 PM on August 14, 2009

Metafilter: Penis tag.

In the MetaFilter boyzone ist jeder Tag Penis-Tag!
posted by oaf at 1:59 PM on August 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

(aber nicht in pantz ist jeder schwanz)
posted by koeselitz at 4:20 PM on August 14, 2009

What are the legalities concerning average mefites doling out amateur investment advice?

This amateur lawyer thinks it's awesome!
posted by ryanrs at 1:04 AM on August 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

Actually it's unsettling that most people in that thread don't seem to know what they're talking about... there's answers all over the map.

Your first visit to AskMe, is it?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 11:43 AM on August 15, 2009

Actually it's unsettling that most people in that thread don't seem to know what they're talking about... there's answers all over the map.

It's still open, if you care to set the record straight.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 6:26 PM on August 15, 2009