This forum brought to you by...

Forum Sponsors, what is this all about?

I noticed on the home page that one of the advertisers promoted itself as the sponsor of the following forums:

Area 51
Paranormal Studies
General Conspiracies


I know ATS is a for profit venture but, isn't this rubbing the commercialism into our faces?

How long before ATS starts feeling the heat to conform to the whims of its sponsors for editorial decisions?

The next new ATS graphic:

This thread/ post pulled because it was considered offensive by our sponsors.

I originally posted this in the Updates thread but, after waiting 2 hours for a response, I decided to bring it to a wider audience.

reply to post by FortAnthem


I'm going to go with the sponsors are randomly generated and the website as a whole is basically sponsored and paid for mostly by Google Addsense. Which for the most part randomly generates ad content depending on keywords found within the site itself.

Besides, we have SO.

reply to post by whatukno


I hope you're right and there is a benevolent explanation for all of this.

I just hope this doesn't mean that one day, we will be forced to watch a commercial from the forum sponsor every time we click on a thread.

reply to post by FortAnthem

I just hope this doesn't mean that one day, we will be forced to watch a commercial from the forum sponsor every time we click on a thread.

That I can agree with. But, honestly, I would still come here anyway even if they did that. I personally want ATS to succeed and if they have to use ad generated revenue in order to give us the ability to talk about the subjects that we talk about on here, then it's all good.

Besides, I believe that SkepticOverlord has some control over what ads are put here, and if you find an ad that is truly horrific or otherwise disruptive, you can always give a detailed description of it in the following forum.

Worst Ads Ever! (SkepticOverlord's Ad Hitlist)

We got rid of that horrid smiley one that screamed "HELLO" and the "You won an Ipod nano!" one thanks to that thread.

Originally posted by FortAnthem
Forum Sponsors, what is this all about?

It's not uncommon on active user-generated venues that has specific topical areas, such as our forums.

I know ATS is a for profit venture but, isn't this rubbing the commercialism into our faces?

Why? You experienced no interruption as a result.

How long before ATS starts feeling the heat to conform to the whims of its sponsors for editorial decisions?
The next new ATS graphic: This thread/ post pulled because it was considered offensive by our sponsors.

We've always said that would never happen. In fact, we've missed out on some lucrative potential ad deals *BECAUSE* we wouldn't alter or remove content.

reply to post by whatukno


I want ATS to succeed as well. I just hope they aren't selling their souls in order to buy financial security.

When someone sponsors something, they usually expect some type of control over what they are funding. When the government funds something, the government control cannot be far behind. I don't see why we should expect anything different from advertisers and corporations.

I think it would be best if advertisers just sponsored the whole site. By having advertisers funding some forums and not others, it becomes possible for advertisers to blacklist forums which they do not like and funnel money away from those forums, possibly forcing the management to close down those forums which the corporations refuse to sponsor.

Control is control, whether it comes from the government or a corporation and it is often abused. I hope ATS isn't opening itself up to untoward control by allowing companies to claim sponsorship of certain forums like this.

reply to post by FortAnthem

Control is control, whether it comes from the government or a corporation and it is often abused. I hope ATS isn't opening itself up to untoward control by allowing companies to claim sponsorship of certain forums like this.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

We've always said that would never happen. In fact, we've missed out on some lucrative potential ad deals *BECAUSE* we wouldn't alter or remove content.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
We've always said that would never happen. In fact, we've missed out on some lucrative potential ad deals *BECAUSE* we wouldn't alter or remove content.

I sure hope it stays that way, I would hate to see the sponsors influencing the editorial decisions of this place.

The thing I like about ATS is that the members can post pretty much whatever crazy ideas pop into their heads. It makes for some really interesting reading and discussions.

I would hate to see corporate sponsorships putting muzzles on the members.

I'm tired of the full page pop up's , even thou my pop up filter is on, whats up with that?


It is very annoying...

reply to post by FortAnthem


You know what? I would love it if we as members could benefit from advertising by doing a little product placement in our posts. God knows I'd walk a mile for a Camel, and I'm damn proud to be a part of the Pepsi Generation, so I say we Just Do It! Heck, you have a watts index of 45, that should make you like a bonafide celebrity in this site. Wouldn't it be cool if you could get paid by sponsors to create threads, and all you have to do is tell everyone how much you really like the laxative you're using, or the car you drive is the ultimate driving experience?

You could end each post with, and we'll be right back after this word from our sponsor....and then some political attack ad can blare in between posts, maybe followed by a slickly and cleverly made corporate branding serial advertisement. As your watts index increases, you can renegotiate your contract with the sponsors...or ATS, or whoever would handle such things. Frankly, while I have no doubt that S.O. is telling the truth when he say's they have lost out on lucrative advertising because of a refusal to modify forums, or particular posts, let's be honest here, if this site grows to the point that it is one of the leading sites on the internet, my guess is at least some of those advertisers will be coming back at a later date, more than happy to advertise in forums, or in threads they found objectionable, and will wind up paying even more than they would have if they just got over their pouty prudish ways to begin with.

We could be internet posters that kind of resemble stand up comics. We began just happy to to get some stage time for no pay at all, and if we're lucky and gain an audience, we move on and get our own series. You could be like Seinfeld and create an ongoing thread about nothing. How about Everybody Loves Fort Anthem? Mad About ATS? The Whatukno Show? Or, just Wukky! Just regular members who do their shtick, and advertisers flock to the threads, spending years on a waiting list, just to get a chance to advertise on that thread. The members who are LEO's could do their serial COP threads, and those medical members could do their Doctors who spend most of their time getting laid with other doctors and nurses threads, then there's the reality threads, the soap opera threads, the endless videos...I want my...I want my...I want my ATS.

That would be cool.

reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux


Oh God, I wish I could star that post.


Thanks for the good laugh, I needed that.

reply to post by FortAnthem


We'll have to collaborate on a thread at a later date, you and Wukky and I, and a few others, just being celebrities. Maybe a conspiracy game show, like Conspiracy Squares, or Domestic Terrorist Jeopardy. Maybe our own reality thread called The Virtual World, and we're all stuck with each other for the internet world to watch on as we navigate the politics of living with each other in the same thread everyday...or, maybe one of us, or all of us could be news anchors, or even better, blathering partisan talking heads for fake news threads. The Fair and Balanced Thread! Why should the Conspiracy Chicks get all the red carpet treatment and paparazzi?

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to respond to this thread and put my fears at ease. I hope I didn't tick you off with my questions (Its hard to tell, your avatar always looks so mad ).

You just have to keep in mind, you run a society of paranoid conspiracy theorists who see boogie-men and sinister undertones in everything that goes on around us.

Somebody was bound to make a conspiracy out of something like this.


reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux



I'm not an ATS celebrity any more; the new WATS score standards dumped me WAY off of the top 50 list.

I guess I can kiss all those lucrative advertising deals goodbye.

reply to post by FortAnthem

I'm not an ATS celebrity any more; the new WATS score standards dumped me WAY off of the top 50 list.

Well brother, in my mind, and heart, and for whatever it is worth, you will always be an ATS Superstar! Also, keep in mind if there was some sort of version of Celebrity Squares for ATS, this would indicate that your star is waning. Celebrities are not Superstars, they are what we call those who fall short of stardom, but still command enough awareness from an audience. Paris Hilton is a celebrity, you, on the other hand are someone who contributes much more to the game.

reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux


I'm actually kinda glad to have been dumped off the top 50. I was barely hanging on and the pressure to constantly find something to post to keep from sliding off was getting to me.

Now that I'm not on that list, the pressure is gone and I feel like I can spend more time writing quality threads instead of just posting whatever I can find just to keep up.


Thank you SO, you have set me free!