I really like the last part. Stupid greedy people suffering at their own hands!! OK ,so the pro's know that casual investors assume a reported short signifies an inside type who knows something bad that is not generally known. So, the reported short creates doubt, shrinking the market demand especially for spec. stocks. So, the incentive is often there to have a large short position that is published, scaring off small investors. If a list of all shorts was published by name and holding, I think people would get really upset, saying "most of these people are not really short" and in reality they would be right.