Monday July 17, 2000

The Knowledge

We HSX traders use a lot of jargon. A lot of jargon. If you’re new to HSX and you’re confused by all the bizarre and wacky terminology, here’s the glossary. If you’re an old hand, you should know all this stuff already, but it can’t hurt to brush up. Happy reading.

N.B. The first letter of all defined terms in capitalised. This may not the case when the term is referred to in common usage.

312.50: Predicted Adjust price for MISS2. Often brought out when an example of an arbitary number is requried. First used by Spawn.

Adjust: At approximately 1500 PST/PDT on the Sunday (occasionally the Monday for a long weekend) following a Wide Release, a halted Stock will Adjust. The value of the Stock is now the weekend BO of the film multiplied by the appropriate Adjust Multiplier. Any weekday BO will also be multiplied by the Adjust Multiplier if the movie is released over a holiday weekend. Otherwise, it will simply be added to the Adjust Multiplied weekend gross. All BO acquired before the Friday of the wide release is added but not multiplied. The only exception to this rule is Thanksgiving. See also EAP.

Adjust Multiplier: Typically 2.9. This can range from 2.3 for a five day opening weekend to 3.6 for a two day opening weekend.

Anti-Arb: Also known as Bra. The polar opposite to an Arb. A Stock already in release which is trading far above its likely Delist value.

Arb: Short for arbitrage. Denotes a Stock that is currently trading below its accumulated gross to date. Prized by traders because this is a guaranteed money spinner. The most infamous Arbs were Life and The Blair Witch Project, hence the occasional comment (scary for any Brit), ?BLAIR is LIFE? (for further information, click here).

Baa: Derogatory comment reflecting Sheep-like behavior.

BO: Box Office. The amount of money grossed by a film, either with reference to a particular time frame or to date (for BO information, click here).

Bond: A security linked to an actor/actress or director (for a list of Bonds, click here).

Bond Adjust: Occurs on the Tuesday following the Delist of the relevant movie. The TAG of the Bond of any persons appearing in, or directing, the movie (according to EDI) will be adjusted to include said movie. The Bond is Halted on Monday evening and unhalted after the Bond Adjust. The price remains frozen until after Reset. A Bond will not adjust until there are at least two films in its TAG. (for Bond Adjust information, click here).

Bra: See Anti-Arb.

Chuck: The difference between the price on the confirmation screen and the price you actually pay, also known as chuckage. Can be used as a noun, “I just bought NWBIE for $4 plus the Chuck”, or a verb, “I’ve just been Chucked”. When suffering from an obscene price movement, it is appropriate to say “Chuckie’s back” or “I just met with Chuck.” Recently, the Virtual Trader has been tweaked to allow trades to go through very quickly, thus eliminating most chuckage. (This term may have been named after Chuck Burton).

Call: A security whose value is based on the opening gross on a Wide Release. The Call will be worth one H$ for every $1m above the Strike Price it grosses over its opening weekend. If the gross is under the strike the call is worth $0.

Cinemascore: Organization that conducts exit polls for new releases. Useful for gauging WoM (to register, click here).

Coldcash: Banners on HSX that allow traders to win H$ by clicking through to the relevant sponsor.

Commission: The 1% charge on all transactions except during commission free periods.

Com Free: Commission Free. Trades which do not incur any commission. This happens on Saturdays and early on Sundays. Often used as an opportunity to Reshort.

Cover: To sell a Short (for further information, click here).

Crash: Technical definition: a market drop of 5% or more on a single day. Real definition: you?ll know it when you see it.

Day Trade: To spend a large amount of time playing HSX, making trading decisions primarily based upon temporary fluctuations in price rather than long term strategic value.

Death: When an actor/actress or director dies, the Bond associated with him or her will be halted and then be Delisted at current TAG.

Delist: A Stock is delisted when it is removed from the Exchange. Traders holding the Stock on delist will have the stock removed from their Ports and will be credited with the gross to date of the associated film. No commission is charged on Delists.

Delist Multiplier: The BO to Delist of a movie, divided by its opening BO. Typically compared with the Adjust Multiplier as a measure of Legs.

D. Mac: HSX employee. Responsible for the HSX Markets. Issues IPO’s, makes Adjusts and Delists.

Dropoff: The fall in BO for any particular movie between one period and another, measured as a percentage. The most usual Dropoff to measure is between weekend grosses.

EAP: Estimated Adjust Price. An estimate of the price a Stock will Adjust to immediately following release (for EAPs from the HSBR staff, click here).

Ebay: Large Ports are traded by auction on Ebay. This was the method HSX used to buy large Ports (Ports in excess of $200m). The exchange rate HSX used was $1=H$1,000,000. HSX no longer buys ports. (for Ebay, click here).

EDP: Estimated Delist Price. An estimate of the price a Stock will Delist at (for EDPs from me, click here).

ERC: Exhibitor Relations Council. Source of movie and BO information for HSX.

Fansite: A non-affiliated website providing advice, help and/or guidance on playing HSX (for links, click here).

First Rule of Hollywood: Is that sequels generally have bigger opening weekends than the originals, but have lower Delist Multipliers.

Fund: Much like a mutual fund, a collection of securities traded on behalf of the Fund holders. The value of the Fund is based on the value of the underlying assets (for a list of Funds, click here).

GFB: Greasy Fan Boy. Obsessed, geeky male, 15-35 with an unhealthy obsession on Star Wars (collects dolls, etc). May also have a collection of guns. Responsible for inflating the price of Stocks for certain genre movies.

GFG: Greasy Fan Girl. Female equivalent of GFB. Rarer.

Halt: When a Stock is halted, the price is frozen and it can no longer be traded. This happens to Wide Releases at 1800 PST/PDT on the their opening day and also in certain other circumstances.

Holiday Warrant: Type of Warrant whose value is linked to the BO of a movie over a Season, less the Strike Price (for a list of Holiday Warrants, click here).

HRB: Hollywood Reserve Bank. Once responsible for setting the interest rate and with buying up large Ports. As a consequence, the single most powerful HSX trader. HRB owned ports are inactive. (for an overview, click (for a list of the top 100 Ports, including HRB-owned Ports, click here).

HSX Ben: Former HSX employee, primarily involved in programming/coding.

HSXChick: Former HSX employee. Was often found answering questions on the Support Board on TT.

HSXTech: HSX employee. Responsible for the care and feeding of the Virtual Trader.

IPO: Initial Public Offering. The initial offering of a new security. The price of the security will typically be frozen through Reset on the day of issue. (for information on upcoming IPOs, click here).

Jimmy: As in, “I blame Jimmy”. It?s his fault. It just is.

Leaderboard: Board of the largest or fastest growing Port in HSX, ranked according to WTD, MTD, STD and LTD (for the Leaderboards, click here).

League: Group of players against which you can measure your performance. Leagues are created using the ?My League? option (to go to your League, click here).

Legs: Term denoting the longer term appeal of a movie vis-?is its opening weekend. A film with a high Delist Multiplier is said to have long Legs.

Limit Order: Allows a trader to buy/Cover a security when it drops to a certain price, or sell/Short a security when it rises to a certain price (for further information, click here).

Limited Fund: A Fund which is restricted to investing in only certain categories of securities.

Limited Release: Also known as Platform Release. A film released on less than 650 screens. A Limited Release does not Halt or Adjust. Instead, it Delists 12 weeks after it is released. A Limited Release may become a Wide Release if it subsequently expands to 650 screens or more (for further information, click here).

Long: To buy a security (cf. Short).

LTD: Lifetime to Date. Refers to growth in a Port since its inception. Also refers to the Leaderboard displaying the largest Ports in HSX (for the LTD Leaderboard, click here).

Mac: Also known as MacDaddy or Zipboy. Former head honcho at HSX and all round ?go-to? guy.

Macroeconomic: Of matters relating to the market as a whole (for further information, click here).

Managed Fund: A Fund run by an active trader.

Manipulation: The action of a single trader altering the price of a security, typically by trading it in multiple Ports (for further information, click here).

Market Adjustment: Politically correct term for a Crash. Also denote market drops which are not severe enough to be called Crashes.

Max: Max Broker. Near legendary co-founder of HSX, best known for causing huge swings in the market by making wildly irresponsible comments (see Mindless Shill).

Maxed Out: To purchase the maximum allowable allocation in a particular security.

Maxipulation: A Mindless Shill by Max that resulted in the price of a security moving as if it had been Manipulated.

Milestone: Certain benchmarks in trading. Milestones include a trader’s first H$1 million, H$10 million, H$25 million, H$50 million, H$100 million and H$100 million increments thereafter.

Miller Effect: Relates to movies with a strong built-in audience but limited mainstream appeal. The Miller Effect denotes the tendency for such films, when released on a non-holiday weekday, to Adjust lower than they would have done had they been released on the weekend. This is because the movie?s audience is front-loaded to the first day, which does not count towards the Adjust Multiplier.

Mindless Shill: A Shill without any substantiating facts or reasoning.

MTD: Month to Date. Refers to growth in a Port during the (HSX standardized) month. Also refers to the Leaderboard displaying the fastest growing Ports in HSX during that month (for the MTD Leaderboard, click here).

One Factor Analysis: An analysis or valuation of a stock that is fundamentally flawed because it relies on one factor to the exclusion of all others. AKA Single Point Analysis.

Opener: A movie due to open within the week (for details on Openers, click here).

Option: A security whose value is based on the opening gross on a Wide Release. Available as either Calls or Puts (for a list of Options, click here).

PDFTT: Please Don?t Feed The Trolls. Retort often seen on TT meaning, in essence, please don?t respond to any post by a Troll since the lack of response will drive said Trolls away.

Platform Release: See Limited Release.

Playing the Players: Making trading decision based on what one perceives to be traders? analysis and reaction to news and/or market swings (for further information, click here).

Port: Portfolio.

PPDM: Price Paid Doesn?t Matter. Concise version of the principle that a decision on what to do with a stock that’s already in your portfolio should NOT take into account the price you paid for it.”

PSA: Per Screen Average. The box office take of a film divided by the number of screens.

Put: A security whose value is based on the opening gross on a Wide Release. The Put will be worth one H$ for every $1m below the Strike Price it grosses during its opening weekend.

Radar Stock: A single security bought so that a trader can, within his or her Port, track the price of that security.

Ramping: Investing in a security and then Shilling it on TT in order to raise/lower the price of the security and thereby realise a gain on your investment. Strongly discouraged – this is a form of Manipulation.

Reset: The re-setting to zero of the daily change and percentage change numbers each day. See Roll.

Reset Trading: Form of Day Trading where Trading decisions are made on the basis of the change in the value of a stock following the Reset.

Release Date: The date on which a film is released. Important because the Release Date has a direct impact on ROI (for further information, click here).

Reshort: To Cover and then Short again a security that a trader already has shorted (for further information, click here).

ROI: Return on Investment (for further information, click here).

Roll: Resetting of numbers at the beginning of each day on HSX. This typically happens between 2100 and 2200 PST/PDT.

Risk Analysis: Analysis of two or more potential outcomes, each resulting in different prices, and the accompanying risks (for further information, click here).

RL: Real Life. Apparently it does exist. Honest.

Screens: Actually not screens at all, but rather ?Engagements?, that is sites at which the film will be playing. For instance, a large blockbuster may be playing in a multiplex on five screens, but this counts as one Engagement (for further information, click here).

Season: The HSX year is divided into three seasons, each of which starts on the 15th of January, May and September respectively.

Sheep: Traders who mindlessly follow the advice or trading actions of another trader.

Shill: A post on TT advocating a particular position on a particular stock (see also Mindless Shill). 2: A post on TT advertising a Fansite.

Short: The opposite of investing in a security (see Long). If a trader goes Short, he or she takes the benefit of the downside of that security. The Short will rise in value as the security falls in value. Equally, the Short will fall in value as the security rises (for further information, click here).

Sneak: Early screenings of a completed film conducted by a studio usually either one or two weekends before it Opens in order to garner good WoM. Audiences will be asked to fill in questionnaires grading the film. The target is 80% of responses as either ?very good? or ?excellent?.

Stock: A security linked to a film.

Strike Price: (1) Target opening BO for a Wide Release. Used with reference to Options. (2) Target BO for a Stock during a Season. Used with reference to Holiday Warrants (for the Strike Prices of the current Holiday Warrants, click (for the Strike Prices of the current Holiday Warrants, click here, for the Strike Prices of the current Opener Warrants, click here).

Studio Fund: A Fund that ostensibly trades in films released by a particular studio. In reality the predominant asset of any Studio Fund is cash. A notoriously bad investment (for a discussion on Studio Funds, click here).

STC/STV: Straight to Cable/Video. A film that is released to video or cable without a theatrical release. Such a Stock Delists at zero.

STD: Season to Date. Refers to growth in a Port during the Season. Also refers to the Leaderboard displaying the fastest growing Ports in HSX during that Season (for the STD Leaderboard, click here).

TAG: Trailing Average Gross. The TAG for actors and directors includes up to their last 5 films that were traded on HSX. The TAG does not include STC/STV films and may not include cameo appearances or any film for which they do not recieve screen credit. The TAG is calculated by dividing the Total Gross of all films in the TAG by a minimum of 3 up to a maximum of 5. 3 is used when there are 3 or fewer films in the TAG (4 for 4 films, 5 for 5 films.) Box office exceeding $250 million is not counted when calculating the TAG.

Target ROI: A daily target for the increase in a trader?s Port, calculated as a percentage of his or her Port (for further information, click here).

Test Screening: Early screening of a film in its completed state in order to assist the post-production process. Often the first indicator of the quality of the film.

TMI: Too Much Information.

Tracking: Studio system to measure interest and anticipation in Openers before their release. Typically measured as a percentage, as a rough rule of thumb, each percent represents a million dollars during the opening weekend.

Trade: To make a transaction on the exchange. The possible Trades are buy, sell, Short and Cover.

Troll: Annoying poster on TT.

TT: Ticker Talk. Community posting board for HSX.

Twins: Fictional characters invoked by HSX when it wishes to conduct any Macroeconomic tweaking of the game. Often blamed for Crashes or Market Corrections. (The twins were named Connie and Veronica. Connie was rumored to be a lesbian.)

Virtual Trader: Software used by HSX to regulate the price of securities on the market, imitating a real stock exchange. This software has been patented under Patent #5950176 (for further information, click here).

VNT!: Very Nice Trading! Used to congratulate a player who achieves a trading Milestone.

Warrant: A security to which special rules apply. There have in the past been Warrants whose value relates to the performance of a film over a season or the performance of a director etc at an awards ceremony (for a list of Warrants, click here).

Wide Release: A film that is released on 650 or more screen. Note that the HSX definition of Wide Release does not coincide with the RL definition. Only Wide Releases are Halted and Adjust.

WoM: Word of Mouth. Response of audience-going public, as given to their friends and colleague. The stronger the WoM, the stronger the Legs. Cinemascore is a good measure of WoM.

WTD: Week to Date. Refers to growth in a Port during the (HSX standardized) week. Also refers to the Leaderboard displaying the fastest growing Ports in HSX during that week (for the WTD Leaderboard, click here).

YTD: Week to Date. Refers to growth in a Port during the (HSX standardized) year. Also refers to the Leaderboard displaying the fastest growing Ports in HSX during that year (for the YTD Leaderboard, click here).

-Huy
Updated 24 February 2002