Do you have an ITCHY ATS Trigger Finger?... or Rewards and Recognition

I'm fairly new to ATS and so I don't know if this is standard operating procedure for these forums... but people seem to be in some kind of competition to post breaking news first, resulting in floods of the same thread.

Now, answer honestly here.

(1)How many people surf the news outlets or have alerts for trending news and then as soon as something comes along, jump straight over to ATS to try to be the first to post? Only to be one of the flood of breaking news thread.

Also, this took me a second at first to figure out being new. Everyone with S+F. I know now that is stars and flags. As a member of other forums, I never seen an such emphasis put on this type of award system as is done here at ATS. Which is all good, just curious.

(2)Is the rush to post breaking news influenced by the desire for the 'reward' of stars and flags?

I think it would be interesting to have some honest answers on these two questions.

People also rush to be the first to post in threads even when they have nothing important to add.

I hate that

a reply to: adomol

(1)How many people surf the news outlets or have alerts for trending news and then as soon as something comes along, jump straight over to ATS to try to be the first to post? Only to be one of the flood of breaking news thread.

A lot of our members are very politically and news active, at least in the reading portion of it.

This means that a lot of us have tickers across our screens for breaking news. A lot of our core membership are also here everyday and do the majority of their social networking/discussion here as well. That creates an aggregate of information on ATS.

Which is all good, just curious.

Stars and flags determine if a thread gets to the top page and into the ATS news feeds, so that's one reason why there's an emphasis on it. The other part is that we value our member's contributions, we reward well written or interesting threads.

This is also a member generated content site, so we want the membership to decide what is most important to them.

(2)Is the rush to post breaking news influenced by the desire for the 'reward' of stars and flags?

There will always be those who have a large D-Ego ( digital ego) who yes, want stars and flags purely so they can show them to people or whatever.

This isn't the core of our membership however and those members are usually easy to spot. We don't really frown on that so long as the Terms & Conditions are followed and you aren't trying to 'game' the system by posting fake stuff for example.

When I was just a member, I did like to be the first one to post breaking news or similar stories because I enjoyed the 'popularity' aspect. As I grew within this community and made friends etc, that faded pretty quickly and now I come here purely for the community aspect of ATS.

It's still where I get most of my news and have my discussions, but this is my virtual home first and fore most.

~Tenth

a reply to: IkNOwSTuff

your post is very ironic, but still true


tothetenthpower summed it up pretty well, so i can only say i agree with what he says.

It is a fast reacting community in here, so just get use to it and the mods or members will take care of the rest.

a reply to: adomol

Side note, I'm very jealous of your avatar lol

~Tenth

a reply to: tothetenthpower

No way - I was just about to post that it would be perfect for you but thought I would refresh first.

@ Adomol - That's an answer to your first question too, refresh and check before hitting reply.

And yes, that's an awesome avatar - LOL

a reply to: adomol

I don't generally surf the net in terms of news, but ATS is a great aggregate for those topics that interest me and by my best reckoning they are usually two days outfront. Then it gives me the ability to wade through some lengthy post to some great threads and gain some detailed knowledge. Thread creators and posters often times live in the news area affected, or share insights gained by their lifes experiences or their educations or both for that matter. What we get for free here, think tanks spend millions, we just have to search a little more through the opinions, personalities, and sometimes disinformation to gleen those important things we find to be important news. I personally thank those members who have increased my level of education and experience I just wish I had more time to learn.

As far as the S&F I am building the number to acquire that new Maserati I want, but don't tell anyone there are a lot more folks with more than myself and I don't want a run at the dealer.

If you find yourself rushing for some breaking news to bring it to ATS let me say thanks, the MSM does a twisted and sucky job at what people here do gracefully, despite the occasional attack and misdirection.

MG

Most of the people that stick around here couldn't care less about the stars. The system can be hacked and it glitched out for quite a few folks after the last board upgrade. So it doesn't mean an awful lot to an awful lot of people anymore.

If I happen to see something that I think the folks here would enjoy or want to know... I post it. I'm glad others do the same as I have learned a lot from my time here. I have learned about things that I would have never looked into before simply because I didn't think it would interest me, or I simply was not aware of it at all. We have so many people here with different views/backgrounds and that educates and benefits us all if we allow it to.

ATS is is a huge conglomerate of RSS feeds all in one place. Like many here, I disconnected my cable a few years back so that prevents me from seeing a lot of breaking news. By coming here, I can save myself the time it takes to search through 20 different news sites just trying to find out what I might have missed going on in the world around me.

We all get different things from ATS. In the end it is what we make it for ourselves.

a reply to: adomol

If you have more stars than someone else you're winning!

On a serious note though from what I notice you get lots of stars if you:
Make an exceptional post (rare)
Make a controversial post (common)
Be antagonistic to someone with unpopular opinion as harshly as you can whilst staying within the T&C (far too common).

I tend to ignore stars as a form of ranking on this site, hell sometimes I dish those babies out just to let someone know I read their post if I'm not replying.

Flags are the good stuff, they are usually bought with good contributions instead of smart quips.

In the after apocalyptic Earth scenario, money will be of no value and all we will have are ATS stars to trade with. So whine all you want, but when the zombies are at your door, don't come bitching to me about wanting to buy ammo on credit. Regardless of what was said in NLBS, Ebola zombies are real. And since H1N1 didn't kill us all, Ebola will. Collect and horde all the stars and flags you can now. Don't say you weren't warned.

Should have titled this thread 'The Fault in Our Stars.' Too soon?

As a long time gamer, I've found people are huge sticklers for perceived rewards and recognitions (myself included). Whether that be trophies, banana stickers, achievements, or stars. This phenomenon should have a name, if it doesn't already. Pride perhaps?

a reply to: adomol

I used to keep a very active interest in the latest Ancient Civs News. I'd surf every morning for the latest and then see if it was already posted here on ATS. I enjoy reading others perspectives, thoughts and theories. I don't always elaborate on the follow on discussion unless there is some controversy or a debatable position.

But lately it's more reading than replying and posting.

I enjoy many varied topics/forums not just the ones I've been active in.

I think sometimes there is too much concern about this?

If someone likes gathering stars and flags for raising things to people's attention, more power to them? I feel I rarely have much to add to a breaking news story and my professional interests are quite niche, but for people getting started in the community its a safe way to add value? It is a bit bad when someone puts a lot of effort in and the original thread is quite vague. That's the worst side effect of stars on breaking news I feel.

There is a bit of projecting sometimes on people's motivations. A lot of people first post in threads because they have something to add. Personally I find the longer a thread goes the more likely someone has already spoken for me for example. I tend to read the giant threads start to finish, but I've had the 'first poster' accusation before. I know some persons in this thread have been accused of the breaking news thing also. Why over think it though? People either say something interesting to you or not. Or they post interesting news ... or not?

BelowLowAnnouncement made an interesting (though unrelated point) ... stars do get given out a bit too much for tearing into an individual unpopular poster. Been on both ends of that interaction too.

I'll reply to this before reading the thread so that my answer isn't influenced by the other members that have replied.

My trigger finger is never itchy. I'm not someone that posts a lot of threads, but I do reply to the ones that interest me, or make a reply to members that post a salient point in a thread.

I have no news alerts, so the world could actually crumble and I might not know about it until it hit my block. Though, I do appreciate those that keep an eye on current events because I'm entertained with what goes on in the world. Without sites like ATS and the members that post, I'd probably miss a lot of the information I find valuable.

I put no emphasis on stars and flags when I post a reply because what a new member has to say is just as important or frivolous as what a long term member has to say. You are judged by the content you provide me TODAY, nothing else. If you posted up some bit of crap yesterday, that won't stop me from giving you a star or flag on something you post today that is good.

originally posted by: adomol


(2)Is the rush to post breaking news influenced by the desire for the 'reward' of stars and flags?

I'll consider useless internet scores a reward when I can cash them in for a cool coffee mug or t-shirt. Hang out here long enough and you'll see that they don't mean very much to most of the members, we just want what's in your brain.

Now you have to answer my questions:

1. Do the numbers under my avatar make you think any differently about me or my reply to your post?

2. Why do you think you feel that way?

I think it would be interesting to have an honest answer on these two questions.

a reply to: anxietydisorder

When the Zombie Apocalypse comes, I want you on my team. With a Karma score like that, we can buy anything!