Are ATS's Owners Cave Men?

This thread is intended to address something I have been wondering about for a while now. Let me preface by saying that recently I have been hearing more and more about threats to the internet as we know it.

Just today on Yahoo Canada I learned that Skype has been informed that it's Chinese partner has modified part of it's computer code to enable it to monitor the messages of Skype users in China. (Some group at the University of Toronto discovered this piece of info.)

There are also other sorts of threats. Alex jones has ranted about unfair treatment by the views counters at YouTube and said his websites have been banned in (parts of?) the UK. There is also the net neutrality issue and the notion that the web should be split up into a high speed superhighway for corporate users and a low speed, heavily policed, mule track for us ordinary folks.

All of this is very worrisome for people interested in the blossoming political, cultural, scientific, artistic internet scene.

To bring it all home here to ATS, I would like to know if the owners, operators of this site are prepared to fight or will they cave to encroachment by the government on privacy, censorship, etc?

I might add that Microsoft is believed to have caved in at least a couple of different ways to Big Brother. Google has caved to Big Brother's Chinese cousin. According to Alex Jones, YouTube has caved.

Maybe I've answered my own question.

[edit on 2-10-2008 by ipsedixit]

Originally posted by ipsedixit
Just today on Yahoo Canada I learned that Skype has been informed that it's Chinese partner has modified part of it's computer code to enable it to monitor the messages of Skype users in China.

I read that this morning as well;

NEW YORK — — Skype, eBay Inc.'s [EBAY-Q]Web communications unit, admitted Thursday that TOM-Skype, its China venture with TOM Online Inc., had been monitoring and storing some of its users' text messages without Skype's knowledge.

Skype apologized after a report revealed that the Web service monitors text chats with politically sensitive keywords and stores them along with millions of personal user records on computers that could be easily accessed by anybody — including the Chinese government.

Jennifer Caukin, a spokeswoman for Skype, minority owner of TOM-Skype, admitted to the privacy breach in the servers and said it had now been fixed.



www.reportonbusiness.com...

Not a happy day for Skype, certainly, but, as the above states, the hole has been plugged.

(If one believes everything that's written)

Well from what I have found over my time on ATS. The owners here have been extreamly nice to me, and have answered all of my questions.
However there is a way to go about getting an answer.
And its never a good idea to point a finger or like try to provoke an underline negtive tone.

I understand.. WE all have our stances.. We all have our fights.

But you must pick and chose your battles wisely.

If the owners where to stand on an issue.. Then you would have all of ATS painted with a broad brush stroke. And fall into the illusion of they are Right winged based.. Or left wing based!!!
Right wing gate keepers, left wing gatekeepers.. Or they are Watching our every move.. Or to think they are working for the illuminati! It would be easy for them to say 1 thing, and have it be taken way out of context..
Ive seen it happen all the time here!

Many mods are assulted with finger pointing and made to look like the bad guys for saying something as a member.

You have to remember these guys are people too, with feelings and a mind of their own.
However with this platform it could be turned against them with great ease.

So they allow us to speak pretty freely on here. And they give us a great gift.. And when used right you can read between the lines!

They do stand for many things.. However you will have to read between the lines, and see that for yourself.

Otherwise many things could come down upon them for saying 1 wrong thing..
Its a tricky biz.. And Im sure I have no biz even comming in here and saying what I just said..

However.. I dont feel it would be a good idea for any of the owners to make a post and say.. THIS is how ATS feels about this issue!

ATS is a very deep and mulit leveled ordeal!
And in the wrong hands.. It could be used for evil..

I personally think they do a great job by keeping the platform in such a manner.
But to each their own!!

I hope you find the answers you seek. But I would try a different angle.
You might come off as if you are trying to "bait".

[edit on 2-10-2008 by zysin5]

Are you saying the owners work for GEICO?

Yikes!

I agree with my friend above, why would you title your thread this way?




[edit on 10/2/2008 by schrodingers dog]

As a matter of fact, I recently came into possession of a photo of a board meeting amongst Los Tres Amigos. Don't ask how.


If government censorship gets to the point that ATS is forced to "cave" on privacy or censorship issues, I really think ATS will be the last thought on our minds if ya know what I mean.

As a long time member of ATS, I can say the owners have a very strict policy that has the memberships best interests as the priority. I would not still be here if they violated that key factor in the administration of this site.

The Amigo's and staff take it very seriously, and this is just not a place for "cave men", as you put it.

reply to post by anachryon


I knew their avatar photos were a smoke screen!!

Look at the site they own/operate. Look at all the....stuff......that is on this site. With the things they allow to be discussed, the topics they encourage discussion on, that they promote, they don't strike me as the type to "cave" in to anything.

reply to post by anachryon


You know...this picture brings to light the possibility of their avatars being false advertising! I was under the impression that the 3 lovely men who ran this site were handsome!!!
...

Everything I have seen so far from Skeptic, Springer, and Simon has been excellent. They provide a site for us crazies/wildthinkers/skeptics/rejects (they take all of us!) to hang out, and from the way that they've defended us from the disgruntled ex members, and all that other crap that has happend in the past - I don't think they are the type to Cave.

If anything, I don't think any of them would have trouble dropping a nice big F bomb in the direction of anyone wanting to compromise ATS.

- Carrot

I have a great deal of respect for the people who run this site. The title was an attention grabber only, not a taunt.

Anyone who runs a big successful enterprise is not the kind of person thought of as a softy or easily influenced by pressure. However with success comes vulnerability because large scale success depends on interaction with other powerful players in the arena. If you are small, nobody cares what you do or say, but ATS is getting bigger and some very controversial things are said on this site.

I guess what I would hope for from ownership is open disclosure. I am certain they will come under pressure eventually if they are not already under pressure.

Recently Sceptic Overlord had a thread about a near collision with the libel courts. He spoke of a ramping up recently in the level of attacks on the site's integrity and the integrity of the people running it. He decided to take the high road and avoid a winnable legal confrontation. I wonder if this sort of trouble is just malcontents and cranks at work or is it more coordinated.

I just hope that if pressure comes, particularly from government that the owners will let us know about it. Put us on alert. Deny ignorance.


P.S. to Anachryon: Love the photo. Every time I look at it I get a laugh.

[edit on 2-10-2008 by ipsedixit]

I like this site because is a big social experiment literally.

Still fun to read learn to design hoaxes etc.

And i think that the owners are brilliant people

[edit on 3-10-2008 by imthetruthz]