Public forums

[Fred]

I've discussed the use of public forums in the past, but I think its worth a re-visit. Recognizing that public forums are usually just a bunch of average investors and their discussions usually having little credibility, I still find them extremely useful. People talk all kinds of crap on these forums and you need to be aware of this and take it as a grain of salt and be able to sift through the junk to get a better picture of the general sentiment regarding a stock. They are also a great source of information that you may not already know about. People post news articles and conference dissusion information all the time that you would otherwise never see unless you were very actively engaged in trying to find it. People talk to members of the organizations, government officials and often have a bit more insight into the local 'goings on' and love to tell their stories. Again, don't believe everything you read, but use it as an information source, and always consult them before buying or selling any stock... just to make sure your not missing something. I like to check stockhouse and agoracom.