My plea to ATS and the only prediction I will ever make.

Well put. The funniest thing is that these guys actually have no shame in coming back onto the site after the "we're-all-gonna be-dead-tomorrow" thread prediction comes to pass.

Originally posted by MrWendal
Maybe you misunderstood me. I am not talking about censorship. I have not said at any time that others should not discuss it. What I did suggest is not flagging it to the top of the boards, but instead use the "subscribe" feature. It allows you to keep track of a thread and get back to it easily. That is a far cry from censorship.

No excuse me sir. You are asking that i adjust my behaviour so as to not to cause you offense.

That is censorship. I use the subscribe feature anyway, what you said has no relevance to it at all.

As the example someone said about peeing in the pool, rubbish, they were in the toilet (predictions and prophecies), and you're saying: "peeing is so yuck", i don't want to be reminded that their are toilets in public swimming pools. Dude, in real life, i don't go to public swimming pools, EVER ok?

I flagged and contributed extensively to the thread. I flagged it eventually because the OP was very well behaved during a contentious thread, encouraged debate and good manners. Surely a flag is at my disposal for exactly that reason?

So my question is: how far away should predictions be placed, for your and others sensitivities? What should be changed to prevent the "crazies" saying anything else that may embarass you?

The prophecy threads annoy me just as much but I don't complain about it on here I just don't pay any attention to them.

Many people LOVE prophecies and yes some are just so silly and stupid but you do know you are on ATS and that there will be things of all subjects on here and many may be ones you don't like. If people want to read some doom and gloom prophecy that is their prerogative ..Also I don't think everyone in that Simpsons thread thought a nuke was gonna go off. I think they were more into deciphering the Simpsons at every chance they got.

Did it annoy me that those were the top threads? Yes it did, did it ruin my day? No, I moved on to other threads and complained quietly.

If you don't like something why read it? Why even look at that forum if you don't like it?



I don't get you people who dont like predictions or ufos or reptilians or what have you giving those who do enjoy reading about it crap. If you don't like it be smart enough to move on and ignore it. I dont like Political Madness and you will never see me in that forum unless by accident. It's like it doesn't exist to me so why can't you just ignore ones you don't like.


When I tell people to visit ATS I tell them that there are MANY topics discussed on here and not to think anything of some of the more out there topics, I tell them to read it and make their own opinion afterwards.


I do think the amount of flags and attention they get are a bit much but people love doom and gloom...


I do think that prediction thread titles shouldn't be misleading and say "proof" or its GONNA happen....that annoys me because they have nothing but assumptions based on a cartoon or whatever they are using....but again I just tend to ignore it.

Cheers to the OP, I agree entirely but think all the bored attention seeking teenagers should continue posting wacky predictions for my entertainment. I read one the other day with some kid deciphering ridicules algorithms about the calendar and aliens or some s**t and I got a good laugh out of my girlfriend when I showed it to her.

I guess if someone had of posted a thread with the "Lone Gunman" episode in say August 2001 he would have been called a nut also..
Or the Simpsons NY 9/11 holiday episode.
Both them shows are either HUGE coincedences or someone knew something.
So I cant blame people for looking now..

Originally posted by harryhaller

So my question is: how far away should predictions be placed, for your and others sensitivities? What should be changed to prevent the "crazies" saying anything else that may embarass you?

Well someone is certainly sensitive and it's not me. Maybe your sensitive cause you have (admittedly) made predictions yourself that did not come to pass based on some random person's blog. Hey.. at least in your thread you didn't promote it as "This will happen, stock up on food and water. The end is nigh", however that is usually what we get from most of these types of threads. I am also not embarrassed by what people say in their predictions, if anything they should be embarrassed for making some of these predictions. Think about it... really. You preach nuclear war is imminent based on a cartoon. If I were to sit here and tell you the end of the world will be today because the Coyote finally caught the Roadrunner today, you'd be a fool to believe it. Sure we can discuss how heavy the anvil was that fell on the roadrunner, but do we have to flag that kind of stupidity so every single person who visits ATS can see that nonsense first over something not based on a blog, cartoon, old dead person?

The way you defend these types of threads reminds me of the defenders of the Reptilian threads who were up in arms when their post were moved to Skunk Works.

Ok, here's my two cents.

Because of the nature of this place, you are always -- ALWAYS -- going to have the sublime mixed in with the ridiculous. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as the signal-to-noise ratio remains relatively balanced. (and for now at least, it is. it's been a rocky and discombobulating several months what with all the board changes, but I think the core ATS culture will continue to survive and thrive.)

This is not bad for several reasons.

1)Keeps you on your toes. Keeps your BS detector sharp. Learning to recognize (and even enjoy) BS for what it is makes you that much more adroit at sniffing out TRUTH -- the big meaty main course. The more one trawls the gutters of the intrawebs, the sharper your BS detector is going to get, and the more truth you are going to be able to tune into.

2) Entertainment factor. I like to sail on many levels. I like to soar in the clouds and wallow in the mud. The balance keeps you sane and stimulated. There are people will frown on this attitude, but I think a little bit of fluff is always welcome, like dessert after a hearty meal. There are theories I take seriously and other theories I indulge in. These latter are often quite clever if taken for what they are -- inhabitants of the netherworld between fact and fiction. Heck, looked at with the right eye, this shadowy zone is the portal to myth, archtypes, all kinds of great stuff that is neither literally true or reducable completely to a factual level.

Mr. Wendal I agree with you wholeheartedly. I believe I personally owe ATS an apology.

ATS,

I am sorry for my prediction and contribution to doom experienced this weekend. I guess I just really thought Obama would be attacked by a monkey assassin, or have a coconut land on his head rendering him even more useless. For this I apologise and I would like to state that I have learned my lesson, I will not be predicting anything in the near future, not even the weather! My apologies again.

Kind Regards

BRL

..........

In an undisclosed location, Masqua and the ATS fire crew racks up their Howitzer 155...



Meanwhile BRL sits in his house, none the wiser to the impending doom...



False prophets of ATS beware!

I gave you a star and a flag!
Unfortunately this is the most popular web site of all these outlandish topics to be created. A place for the nut farms to flourish.
I could add 99% of UFO's and paranormal to being just as ridiculous. Then the conspiracies that seem to make no sense but if they do not have a definite answer than it must be a conspiracy by the government. oh and even if they do have a 100% proof positive like 9/11 they still think it's a conspiracy only because of crappy camera's that can't fully take objects in motion. That's common sense! but try and tell it to people who will themselves to believe otherwise.
Many topics on this site are far fetched it just doesn't start or stop with predictions.

I don't think this site will be able to compete with mainstream news because its not that type of site.

The one thing we do know, is the human race has the distinctiveness to want to know.
We also know that most people trust someone who they have never met more than someone they actually know.

Add those two things together and you have the great chance that people will be interested in things they would actually never believe if it was said by their known Uncle Wendal

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Now actually I enjoy the Predictions & Prophecies forums. At no point did I say I disliked it. I actually like my fair share of doom and gloom. I like reading about the dreams people had. I actually believe some people can dream future events. However, it is one thing to say "this is my dream and this is what I got from it" and saying "I had a dream and the world WILL come to an end because my dream said so".

I can even make the same complaint in regards to the UFO forums. I like that forum. There is some really interesting things in there that are worthy of debate, but why is it that those threads don't get all the attention they deserve, but if I hang a hubcap from a string and take a picture of it and say that Aliens are invading and landed in my back yard it will get flagged to the moon?

I mean really.. 98 flags for pictures of cattle cars? and the examples I listed are just the tip of the iceberg.

Everyone is saying, ignore the predictiont threads, but its hard to, when the top threads consistently consist of them. Its a quality issue in my eyes. The very nature of predictions means that there cannot be any proof, there cannot be any reliable supporting data and that is against the very nature of ATS (and science itself). We are trying to deny ignorance, not embrace it. If ATS keeps tolerating these ridiculous threads, then it has totally lost sight of its goal. It is no longer a conspiracy website, it is just another general discussion forum on the internet filled with the usual junk and lunatics. Its a sad death for what could have been a great site.

reply to post by MrWendal


It is pretty simple. The only way to kill a conspiracy movement is with conspiracy. If you would hype the movement, make it public, the information becomes infotainment and is flooded with people that will try to earn a few bucks with the most beautifull theories. The true movement will be ridiculized, as it is just an hype and infotainment. It is a process unfolding right now. Not much to do about it.

reply to post by MrWendal


Ok, so innuendo, insult etc. what more could i expect.

So far as i can tell, your only objection is that those threads accumulate flags. That's your complaint. Yet your complaint thread generates flags too. Which i object to.

Now i could either engage you (as i have) and patiently accept your insults and prevarications, or i can go start a thread of my own, complaining about your thread complaining about other threads.

This is not some kind of popularity contest, or is it? 99% of ATS can be disregarded as rubbish by anyone, including people who post here. Despite that, we all participate, and most enjoy it. ATS (IMHO) is about the "less believable" ... this is not the national institute of sciences. Do you want it to be?

If you're not enjoying it, or feel the need to exercise control over others ... well the internet is a big place, you know?

I just found another example. This one warns us of this coming Tuesday. I won't even link the thread due to teh fact that I would hate to give it any more traffic.

Now I do not have a problem with what is posted. I do not have a problem with the discussion. I would have a problem with the thread if it had 400+ flags due to the evidence provided. Here it is... word for word and it is based of the 400+ flagged Cartoon thread.

9/11 happend on a tuesday, their have been shows and commercials which show this date...like the sprint it shows 119 and also the simpsons shows 116 which is just a 9 upsidedown... and this dat 11/9/10 adds up exactly to 911 and both are on a tuesday...its all their!

Now let's use our brains and break this down.

911 happened on a Tuesday yes it did.

There have been many shows that show "this" date. Well what date would that be? 9-11 or 11-9? and considering that the first TV was made in 1927 how unreasonable is it that you would have commercials or TV shows which show either one of those dates? After 87 years of television, I am sure you can find many examples of those dates.

Ok so the Sprint commercial shows a 119 and a cartoon shows a 116 which is 9 upside down? So here we connected two completely unrelated visuals and twisted it to suit or already half baked theory.

and now the finish....

"and this dat 11/9/10 adds up exactly to 911 and both are on a tuesday"

Ok... 11+9 is 20 + 10 is 30. So how did this add up to 911? Even if I jumbled up the numbers which seems to be a favorite of predictions you still come up with 91110. If I drop the 0 it is 9111. So does that make it 911 + 1 for the extra effort? How does 11/9/2010 add up to 911 anymore than 11/9/2009? Then again they are both on a Tuesday... just like all the other Tuesdays that have past since Sept 11, 2001. Maybe Tuesday is just an unlucky day.

its all their!

Yes...yes it is but clearly this poster's marbles are not.

reply to post by MrWendal


Exactly!! This is what I see all the time in the prediction threads. I think these people completely lack any sort of common sense or ability to think logically. I mean seriously: "World going to end because, 116 is 911 if you flip the numbers - the cartoon told me".

They should introduce a padded cell forum for threads like that.

reply to post by MrWendal

 

Now I do not have a problem with what is posted. I do have a problem with the discussion. I would have a problem with the thread if it had 400+ flags due to the evidence provided.

You have a problem. It is called a meddlesome nature. Leave other people alone. I agree with you about the copycat thread, SO WHAT? Leave them alone. Some bloke thought he saw a ufo, i'll find you 10 shrinks that would have him committed into an institution immediately. So WHAT? leave him alone.

You call me oversensitive, but really, you're being uranian.

People really need to be a little more discerning when it comes to all threads. I'll admit I've come close to flagging a thread, but I'll wait till there are at least a page of replies to help me see varying viewpoints before deciding if it's worthy of a flag. I wonder how many people read the OP and flag it before reading or thinking more about the subject.

reply to post by harryhaller


"You are being uranian"

Are you accusing him of living in Uranus?

I dont understand what you mean

Originally posted by harryhaller
reply to post by MrWendal

 

Ok, so innuendo, insult etc. what more could i expect.

So far as i can tell, your only objection is that those threads accumulate flags. That's your complaint. Yet your complaint thread generates flags too. Which i object to.

Now i could either engage you (as i have) and patiently accept your insults and prevarications, or i can go start a thread of my own, complaining about your thread complaining about other threads.

This is not some kind of popularity contest, or is it? 99% of ATS can be disregarded as rubbish by anyone, including people who post here. Despite that, we all participate, and most enjoy it. ATS (IMHO) is about the "less believable" ... this is not the national institute of sciences. Do you want it to be?

If you're not enjoying it, or feel the need to exercise control over others ... well the internet is a big place, you know?

What innuendo and what insults?? If you feel insulted by something I said, maybe you should look within yourself to find out why you feel that way. At no time have I insulted you.

My complaint is not so much the act of flagging as much as it is that these types of threads get posted up as the main story on the site when they are based on nothing at all. I mean really..a cartoon? pics of cattle cars? a guy selling a book? I have a feeling?

So what causes a thread to become the main story of a site? Flagging it!! Hence why I suggest people subscribe to them instead. I am sure I have probably flagged some of these types of threads myself. I am probably just as guilty as you in that regard. I have been here for many years. More than likely it would have been a Martial Law thread knowing my taste. I have flagged threads just so I can get to them easier and read them later without a clue as to the content. As users here we generate our own content. With the new design of the site, the top flagged and most replied to threads get front in center. That is not a bad thing, but don't we have a responsibility to make the very top story here something worth reading? Something based on facts, research, or any kind of real evidence. Ask yourself this. A new user comes to this site, what thread would you rather have him see to give him/her a sense of what this site is really all about? Would you choose our November 6th thread about a Cartoon or would you choose a thread more like This one?

Good post, well researched with some good links.. I totally agree with you.. Although I do have a little prediction of my own.. The people writing these doomsday prophesy posts are not gonna stop.. Were just gonna keep going around in circles..