From: Anonymous <nobody@replay.com>
Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 00:39:47 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: CyberScam
Message-ID: <199810231545.RAA01452@replay.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



At 09:03 PM 10/22/98 -0700, Kevlar wrote:
>And you were just kidding.....

I wasn't kidding.  I was absolutely sincere when I told him to shove
a bowling ball up his ass.

>http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_smgraph_display/0,4436,2151220,00.html
>Or search zdnet's site for "scam" and choose "A Bull In Bull Market".

I read the article, and if that level of cluelessness is indicative of the
mentality of your typical online trader, then they deserve what they
get.  I found a couple of quotes especially amusing.  These are both
from John Reed Stark, another official-type thrown into the internet
without a fucking life preserver, it would seem.

    This lack of information gives rise to a situation "that ends up with
    victims not investing but gambling,"

Oh yeah, aside from these scammers, the stock market is otherwise
a really solid, robust investment scheme.  Playing the stock market
is a gamble, pure and simple, and anyone dumb enough to listen
to the likes of some random asshole touting his crappy stock deserves
what they get.  Darwinism as applied to capitalism.

    "Combine the Web's culture of trust, stir in the greatest bull market
    in history, add stocks that genuinely have had phenomenal growth,
    and you have victims who don't have any reason to disbelieve
    promises of guaranteed 20 percent returns."

The Web's culture of trust?  Oh good, another clueless idiot in charge
of managing internet services.  What culture of trust is it that I've
missed in my internet travels?  Is there some online place chock full
of trusted souls, some Cyber-commune, that I missed?

Oh well, like I said, any idiot that would buy into such an obviously
fraudulent solicitation deserves what they get.  Is it just working in a
new medium that makes people such blatant morons, or is it simply
indicative of the intelligence of your average American?  I'd have to
say that I'm inclined to believe the latter.