Ever since my very first sojourn into the realm of the Motley Fool, I have truly been amazed at the wealth of information to be had here. Before finding this forum, valuation to me was checking the past earnings for trends, and checking the news on the stock. My information was limited, and my knowledge virtually nonexistent when it came to evaluating a company. What a mess my portfolio was!

But then I found Fooldom. I began reading the various stock folders. I checked out the Fool's School, and was flabbergasted at my ignorance when it came to stock valuations. It was amazing! Fundamental analysis galore! News items, research reports, economic factors, and Earnings! Everything I could possibly need to properly evaluate a company.

And the stock boards! People from every walk of life sharing opinions, new information, visiting the companies themselves! And humor? You bet. Not many people can make me laugh quite like MFs Cheeze and E & D Turkey, not to mention the sense of humor the readers themselves have. What a find! It was then that I decided to get my own feet wet and take a shot at posting.

And that, fellow Fools, was the beginning of the end of utopia.

The first time I was flamed, I wrote it off to one person with atrocious manners. Being the naive soul that I am, I responded saying I didn't come to the folder to argue or fight, but to learn and share what I knew. When the nastiness continued, I even tried to persuade the offending party to stop with the insults and get on with the business of discussing the stock. The response? Well, let's just say he felt far more freedom via e-mail then he did on the public message board. I gave up, and moved on to the next folder. To this day, I've never been back to that folder.

At this time I decided it was just one board, and surely there were others that weren't quite so heated. Now, I freely admit that the stocks I watched back then were of a more volatile nature, and naturally, the boards were equally as volatile. Still, I had hopes that an apparently widespread desire to educate would prevail, and I needn't worry about flaming in other folders. I guess by now you have figured out that I've never been in the Iomega folder. But, I thought this was a reasonable assumption.

Wrong again! The next folder I went to apparently didn't like newcomers with opinions either. After being flamed yet again, I finally took the path of least resistance, and stopped going to the stock folders altogether.

Logical solution, don't you think?

Well, let's take a look at this more closely. As a reader, I felt I had the same rights as anyone else posting on the boards, the right to an opinion without worrying about being insulted or ridiculed for said opinion. I should have been able to feel comfortable posting my contributions. Ah well, we all know how often our inalienable rights fall by the wayside. This was just another one of those cases. But is it right? Should any reader feel too intimidated to post?

After becoming a Motley Fool, I had the pleasure of teaming up with a fellow MF to start a folder on a stock we both liked. This folder, to my surprise, turned out to be a pleasant place to go to be educated and amused. In my opinion, the ICGN folder is one of the best on the boards. The information flows freely, and no one is taking pot shots at anyone else.

So, what is my point? It can be done. A stock folder can be a source of information, education, amusement, and debate without becoming a trash receptacle. It led me to look around, and consequently I found more stock boards that were equally as pleasant.

I keep asking myself, why can't they all be like that? Is there some reason the perpetually rude posters feel a need to insult and badger and degrade? Is there anyway to stop it from happening? This is, after all, a democratic society, and freedom of speech is one of our more important rights. But individual freedom stops where it begins to trample the freedom of another. So, how do we stop these attacks?

This is where I make my pitch for the help of all who come to Fooldom. I think we'd all like to see the stock boards providing an enjoyable atmosphere in which we can learn, and enjoy ourselves while learning. To quote a very old adage, "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all." Now, this doesn't mean you can't provide all of us with the negatives of a stock. This is meant more for the personal aspects of the posts. You know, "do unto others." Boy, I'm just full of cliches today. :-)

The bottom line for me is good manners, courtesy, and a sense of right and wrong. Maintain these, and we'll have pleasant, informative boards to go to for information. Remember, these are YOUR folders. All of us need to make an effort to maintain a cordial atmosphere.

So, Fellow Fools, it's time we took back control of our stock boards. Let's not tolerate the lack of common courtesy and good manners. I'd say it's high time we brought a bit of dignity back to the boards. Anything less wouldn't be Foolish.

Judi