does look that way, doesn't it. those folks were particularly sensitive to being described as traders. the core vs trading holdings thing was self-delusion. if you are trading stock, you are a trader.
no sin in that, per se. other than the flimsy misrepresentation. certainly many folks pretended to themselves they were something other than what they were. for me, the arguments about strong hands and "the shorts" was probably mostly wavoids posturing and flipping shares.
but one was left wondering if some folks used their place atop the wavoid hierarchy to front run the stock price movements, which arguably resulted from the flow of whispered information through the rumour mill. take a position and then tease folks on and off the board with the release of potential news straight from the horse's mouth. or from other "reliable sources". if you control that, you create an opportunity. grab the quick money made from the fools who believed you.
plus, let's not forget the useful flow of dilutive discounted stock.
i guess you'd be kinda angry if that was how you were making a living. and suddenly, it stopped.
either that, or some of those folks really were blind to the loss and dilution issues. but surely no one is that dumb.
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