I groan most of the time when I receive e-mail from The Motley Fool these days. I remember the Fool’s genesis, as an area inside of America Online in the days before the Web got any traction, and I marveled at what it did: It told people that most of Wall Street’s alleged geniuses couldn’t even beat the markets, that investing could be simpler than most people imagined, and that individuals should feel empowered to get their money away from their high-priced stockbrokers and handle their investments on their own. It offered that advice in simple, direct language, and at the beginning of an era when people were being left on their own to tend to their retirements and financial well-being, it was simply invaluable to me.

Part and parcel of that message was a regular, deserved and mocking look at how “market gurus” worked, down to a merciless dissection of the breathless hyperbole that gurus often used to sell wares or services.

But that was yesterday. Today, the Fool can be as bad as the people it once mocked when it comes to selling itself. For example, this e-mail just showed up, with this headline in large type: “Glimpse The Motley Fool’s SECRETS to supercharging your portfolio…and making steady gains in up, down, and even flat markets — ABSOLUTELY FREE!”

There are many OTHER words in ALL CAPS through the subsequent e-mail, making SURE YOU PAY ATTENTION to what allegedly is IMPORTANT. The word SECRETS gets used quite a bit — you know, the very thing the young FOOL questioned and mocked.

The latest email, which is pitching an options handbook (getting involved in options is a fantastic way to lose a retirement nest egg in a hurry, BTW), offers these quotes:

“Incredible…” “My average investment return per month is 11%, which will bring my annual to 132%. Wow! That is incredible! Am I missing something or can this be true?”
— A. Ward in Brighton, MI

“84% gain in 3 weeks…” “I closed my NVDA covered call option at a 84% gain in 3 weeks!!! I would never ever thought about using options in my years of investing if it wasn’t for Jeff. Thanks!”
— S.S., Melrose Park, IL

Hype is now king at the Fool. From SEO-friendly headlines on its site that overpromise and underdeliver, to breathless e-mails like this one, the Fool seems intent on becoming what it once mocked. and perhaps, in the end, that is really what a little financial success can do to an organization.