New Really Above Top Secret (restricted access forum) Membership Policy and Prices

Originally posted by Are u for real???
So Are u for real???

Or better yet do you have a job/life??!!

Well, since your going to be rude about the way you ask..I'm not sure I should answer, but yes...I have a life.

But, rather than cruise the internet looking for people to insult, I would rather spend my time on the net as a hobby, enjoying ATS for what it is...a complete digital community.

Sure, I hike, camp, read, play way too much PS2, walk my dog, take care of my kids, and even mow my lawn and do yardwork on a regular basis. All-in-all a regular person. I probably have more time than most thanks to some self-taught talents that let me have a well-paying job in a cushy office, but hey...it's a living.

Now back to RATS. What else are you going to spent points on? Don't want it? Don't get it.

Whatever I said in my previous rant I take back, my apologies...

Esspecially since they posted my story on Ukraine! Thank you banshee!

Ok, ah ha, here we go,

Im going to get real medieval on thee now. See thy anarchist nature. Taste thy twisted bitterness.

Kodes switches off eastenders and turns up the bass

The underlying problem here is that people feel they have been cheated. There have been no real answers to any questions here just a totalitarian response of earn more, more so we can take.

Points are for rich people

"But points are not that important"

"What do you come here for, to seek the truth and deny ignorance, or for points"

I come here because I LOVE IT. ALL OF IT INCLUDING THE POINTS SYSTEM!

A secret society within the ATS website

[Drama alert]

Is thy ats becoming, a fascist forum of elites. If thee post in the low point forums or have a job and not much time, will thee only get information thee wants if thee is only intelligent enough to impress the powers that be [OR AN A** LICKER!] or thee will just be posting for a LITTLE longer thy thinks.

[/Drama alert]

Are u for real???
Where is your answers to this persons questions!!!!

Are you not going to up the points awarded in other forums so some people can have more of a chance at earning these points and achieving this target you have set?

You made these people a promise, you only pay 3500 points ever for access to RATS. they made you a promise, that they would not troll and abide by YOUR LAW/TERMS.

People want thier points back, then you should give them back. I DO NOT WANT MINE i want you to honour that promise you made as i have honoured yours.

[Drama alert]

People come here and give your site some most excellent info and opinions sh*t i would pay money to read this stuff, but your members give it for free, your site would be nothing without your members, remember.

I want better answers, or are you, TO ABOVE ME?

Sure its ok for me, i can achieve more if i wish, but there are those that cant and never will. What about those people, are they to exist in ignorance because the elite wont let them in? My advice to those people, just live a peaceful life, ignore those that ask more of you if you are happy the way you are, your life may be simpler for this, but there is plenty of wealth to be found in love and faith, and if its any consolation, those elite seldom have any of that.

[/Drama alert]

Note to Trolls: F OFF. You have no lives. You have no worth. You are the ashamedly sick side effect of Internet forums.

[If you are stead fast in your decision then fine, but at least have the decency to address the questions that have been asked Mr Overlord, Mr Gray. No offence dbates. if it really means a better run system then ok. Perhaps a simple apology would do]

John Nada

No. I downloaded it ages ago, where it came from is a mystery to me. I just see stuff i like and thief it. No what i mean scouser. Only joking

[edited to correct me thee's and thy's]

[edit on 9-12-2004 by kode]

[edit on 9-12-2004 by kode]

[edit on 9-12-2004 by kode]

Originally posted by kode
John Nada

No. I downloaded it ages ago, where it came from is a mystery to me. I just see stuff i like and thief it. No what i mean scouser.

Only joking

You watch too much Harry Enfield. hehe
Actually "d'ya know what I mean?" has become much more of a manc saying over the last 5-6 years, go bug one of them.

Well just so you know that image is from a Belgium film called Man Bites Dog about a documentary team following around a serial killer, if you actually care.

Jeez people... let's get real for a moment here... 1) Other "conspiracy" board ask members to pay actual cash for increased membership status --- we have none of that. 2) Many other "premium" communities with our level of features require membership fees (more actual cash) --- we have none of that. 3) With little more than simply getting involved (posting good stuff), you can get free email, free blogs, free upload space, and free access to a private area safe from search engine spiders. We have always been different. Our "membership dues" have always been as simple as just asking members to get involved and post quality material. So far, it's working. We're growing. Advertising (80% of it seen by guests) is paying the hosting fee (a site this size is expensive). And the "experiement" that is ATS seems to be a success. As with all things that grow beyond original design, expenses occur. In the case of RATS, the "expense" was a serious performance and maintenance problem related to the size of the access list. When your local cable TV provider expands, things change, and rates go up. We needed an alternative method of managing RATS users. Things change, rates change... but really, it's still all free. All this banter is just silly, pointless, and a waste of time. RATS is a service for members who make an effort to get involved in the community... nothing more, nothing less. I can possibly see how there is anything else salient I can add to this very odd thread.

Originally posted by Are u for real???
I mean come on folks, do you high points folks have a life or a job outside of posting on this board?

I come to htis board to read a couple articles a night for 15 or 20 minutes.
Not to sit and post articles that I see on MSN or CNN.

Or better yet do you have a job/life

Young grasshopper, there are lessons to be learned here. Not everyone who wants to get into RATS will get into RATS.
Many people who come here have real jobs and real lives. They also crave the information available here on ATS. Not to mention the sense of community and the quest for truth. I would say these people see the points as a nice benefit, but hardly the most important reason for being here.
I would say these people didn't get X number of points so they could get into RATS. They got the points for doing what they enjoy. Why else would I have over 30,000 points? (and still have time to cook, clean, garden, eat, have friends, shop, watch DVDs, make love, sleep, bathe, etc. etc. )

Some others are occasional viewers, like yourself. You desire what you don't have. You don't have the time or inclination to do what it takes to amass points. C'est la vie.

all good points S.O.

Thanks to you and all involved who provide this community for us...

The powers that be have made there decision and thats that. Im not ungreatful for what they do.

John Nada of course i care. Thank you for that info. It probably was a movie site it came from as im interested in film and visit alot of those sites.

I didnt think the saying "you know what i mean" was a Liverpool thing, i thought it was coined by Frank Bruno "you know what i mean Harry". And when i said "when i see a pic i like i thief it, you know what i mean" i actually meant, you no what i mean, i was having a laugh re Ann Robinsons recent comment on Weakest Link about all people from Liverpool being schooled in shop lifting. I dont believe that.

Btw I change my Avatar quite a lot so dont think, if i have changed it by the time you read this, that i did it on purpose.

kode

[edit on 11-12-2004 by kode]

[edit on 11-12-2004 by kode]

[edit on 11-12-2004 by kode]

What are we doing here? If ATS's true purpose is to deny ignorance how is it doing so by classifying information?

This RATS forum and the 'secrets' it contains are in fact classified information, the forum is obviously not open to all but to the privileged few who hold the power (i.e. knowledge) over the majority's head. This is the perfect example of the governments which we have so often criticized. If we are encouraging people to seek the truth than why are we also the ones who choose to withhold it from the majority?

I have not been a member for a long time and I remember how ecstatic I was to accidentally stumble upon this site, but to realize that I only hold half the prize while the best part is being kept away is tragic. I do not have thousands upon thousands of points, not because I am not committed to ATS but because I have been so busy with life lately. Other times I do not post because what I wish to say has already been discussed to death, but I too will soon push myself to make more points if points are what is important. As soon as I am finished with my college applications I will post like crazy and try to meet the standards which are set forth before us by a handful of individuals.

I just hope that ATS's moderators and other persons of high rank remember what this site was designed to do, "DENY IGNORANCE", not further create it.

I might get a bit more excited about RATS if
post counts mattered to me.


I don't mind sprited debates or reading opinions on both sides of an issue,
but I would suggest more truthful. proven and objective posts in the advanced RATS forums.

If RATS is "really above top secret" , then I would also hope those threads would be based on known facts rather than rumor.

Wow, eight pages? This thread is on its way to becoming the most responded to thread. This is starting to sound like a class war where those with RATS access are the privileged upper class and those without, well ... If it's really that big of a deal to get into RATS then contribute to the ATS community and earn your points. As I and others have outlined in previous pages it's not really that hard if it's something you want. But, as others have repeatedly pointed out, there's no secret threads in there, well, except for what NetChicken posted in another thread. It's about being able to post in a forum that is not searchable by search engines.

I have seen what people are equating to a "bait and switch" by the staff in making this decision. Well, the bait part is false but the switch part is true. A resource management decision had to be made due for technical reasons. There were so many members in RATS but not nearly as many contributors that something had to be done to foster involvement or lose the access since it was causing performance issues on the server.

I think many members get the points and purchase RATS access and then only post in the "Roll Call" forum and nothing else. Or they post a thread in RATS just to do so, when it really doesn't need to be in RATS. Members like those will never contribute to RATS so why should they cause performance problems for those of us that do?

And I almost forgot, membership to this community costs us how much? Whether it's in dollars or yen or pounds the answer is the same: $0. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

. Repeating for this for those that missed it the first time. Jeez people... let's get real for a moment here... 1) Other "conspiracy" board ask members to pay actual cash for increased membership status --- we have none of that. 2) Many other "premium" communities with our level of features require membership fees (more actual cash) --- we have none of that. 3) With little more than simply getting involved (posting good stuff), you can get free email, free blogs, free upload space, and free access to a private area safe from search engine spiders. We have always been different. Our "membership dues" have always been as simple as just asking members to get involved and post quality material. So far, it's working. We're growing. Advertising (80% of it seen by guests) is paying the hosting fee (a site this size is expensive). And the "experiement" that is ATS seems to be a success. As with all things that grow beyond original design, expenses occur. In the case of RATS, the "expense" was a serious performance and maintenance problem related to the size of the access list. When your local cable TV provider expands, things change, and rates go up. We needed an alternative method of managing RATS users. Things change, rates change... but really, it's still all free. All this banter is just silly, pointless, and a waste of time. RATS is a service for members who make an effort to get involved in the community... nothing more, nothing less. I can't possibly see how there is anything else salient I can add to this very odd thread. Now closing this thread. The issue is a non-issue. .