A great series of posts here, thanks all for the honest reflections and opinions. I tell people all the time if they want some solid opinions from some very sophisticated investors to come to this forum.

My feeling is that we retail investors are probably at least 3 layers removed from the actual market in anything. HFT, algos, dark pools, someday the truth will be revealed and we will be startled and pissed and how we were played.

Here's a very simple suggestion, reinstate the uptick rule, which was in place for 50+ years. Rule says a short seller must short a stock on an uptick. This prevents the massive piling on of short sales to move the markets. Almost all of these shenanigans would cease in an instant.