Black sheep of ATS

I have a mental list of people I know are going to post something moronic as soon as I see their screen name. You are not on it so you can't be THAT bad.

a reply to: Ashirah

Hey sweetie, this isn't a dating sight its for you to put on it what you think. Like Metallicus says one knows roughly who will say what and the agree/disagree points they are likely to raise.

As an Aquarian, I have always marched to another drum and would absolutely hate to be thought of as part of a herd.

Many people respect different points of view because who knows the right answer all of the time. Keep the faith and go with what you want to put up. I suspect many don't 'friend' others not because they aren't friendly but because its a discussion site for (usually more interesting and varied topics).

What gets me is a certain amount of big headed older members with large post, star and flag counts that just slam you down as soon as you make a pertinent comment or try to discuss in a thread.

As a new member here I am also niggled by the fact that people mostly just ignore you when you contribute on a thread apart from the few more "open minded" members.

Something else that really bugs me is that even if you are an older member, certain moderation staff contributor or even site owner then all of the sudden tons and tons of stars and flags rain down... and you could have said exactly the same thing and are completely ignored.

Rant rant gnash gnash...

Warmest

Nibs

originally posted by: Ashirah
Just wanted to know how many others that post/visit here feel like something of a misfit? I've made a couple attempts at befriending people here but nothing ever really stuck.

From experience..

Most friendships here are transient by nature. Others, continue offsite.

And although I'm a member and long time spectator here for certain "fringey" reasons, I find I don't have much in common with the core group of regular posters here. I find myself starring unpopular posts quite often, not to be contrary, just because I feel the person has made at least a valid enough point to be acknowledged as such.

I S & F many posts/threads based on their contribution whether I agree with their stance or not. If it is well written and makes an interesting argument/discussion.

Not boo-hooing by any means, just wondering if it's just me and my terrible online demeanor or if there are other somewhat regular visitors/members that feel like little black sheep here..

It's all a matter of perspective imho.

Some of us have been swimming against the tide for years.

Op you've not been here a year yet. Your like the new kid at school. It takes a while to get your bearings and make new friends. Once you've been here a while you will come to know more posters and become more a part of the community. A lot of people have been here for a long time so people are familiar with them and their views. It's like wearing in a new pair of shoes, you'll soon feel more comfortable.i made a lot of my chums on ats when there was a chat room, but I'm also from the UK where we have a familiar clique of members who know each other's posting habits, we certainly don't all get on but we have something in common in UK issues that effect us. We also like to pester the yanks for fun.

Did you just call us sheeple, in a roundabout way?

I feel like maybe you did....

Just black sheeple.

Racist!

Totally kidding. I feel your pain

I tend to say my opinion on ATS truthfully and I give my opinion where many fear to tread. Sometimes reactionary types want to paint others in a certain light because of their own agendas /lack of insight but the opinions of those sorts are negligible IMO. My views have been called extreme right wing but they aren't really, some people are too presumptuous and they only read a few of the words and see red.

There are other posters that obviously are after stars and flags, some look like wannabe moderators, only saying things that are 'popular' opinion and never anything of real value, originality or potentially offensive. As in real life, we all know people like that are the sort that hides their emotions, like a bubbling pot under a smooth facade. Some do it for the 'friend' factor some for popularity.

As in real life ATS is a mixture of personalities and intelligence levels, the interactions as such vary and sometimes the site seems harmonious and others the opposite, often because of people simply misunderstanding or deliberately attacking. That said the gang culture has subsided recently but there is still an element of goading from a certain contingent. I ignore them, best thing for it.

a reply to: Ashirah

I think ATS is where all the black sheep end up. Of course, black sheep status merely means an inability to accept on face value, the nature of the constructions and conventions which govern ones daily life, whether those be societal expectations, or more legislative aspects of living, and of being a part of the species as a whole.

In actual fact, being a black sheep is sort of like trying to avoid being a sheep at all, which is pretty much how one reaches a place like ATS in the first place. An inability to be absorbed into a flock, an unwillingness to move with the herd, when the herd is oblivious to the presence of a pack of wolves in its midst, that defines the idea that leads many of us to this place.

HOWEVER:

Having arrived here, I have to say that I have met some fantastic minds on this website, whose acquaintance it has been an absolute pleasure to make. We do not always agree, we do not move as a single unit, like a flock or a herd, and sometimes we are at total odds with one another over the issues. However, there is significant mutual respect between us, and further, kinship. You see, for all that it is wise to avoid a herd, it is equally unwise to be apart from everything and everyone. When one encounters people who appear to have beautiful souls, and a sense of humour which is compatible with ones own, it is wise to form a connection. Most people who lack connection to others in their lives, are only lacking such because they have not yet encountered suitable candidates for that sort of consideration, rather than because they lack any interest or requirement for those connections.

Moreover, I consider every person who is a member of this website, to be worth my time in communicating with on the issues themselves, no matter what issues they might be. This is vital in my view, because before I came here, I had no one to discuss the affairs of the day with, what with most of my local friends being either unwilling, or incapable of taking part in discussion or debate of any meaningful depth what so ever. To a degree, the willingness and capacity of each member of this website, to be a part of a discussion of substance, rather than to witter on about who shagged who, and which pub has the best cheap, nasty, tedious lager at the moment, marks each of us out as being different from the wider flock of humanity, more prepared to open our eyes and see what is around us, rather than keep our eyes and minds on the floor, or even worse, firmly in the gutter.

We have, in short, awareness of our surroundings beyond that of most other folk I have encountered, and by so having, and in discussing the matters to which we apply ourselves daily, form a bond between us, a bond of rebellious spirit, an unwillingness to blindly stagger without being aware of the paths we have walked already, and those which lay still ahead of us, and the plight of those who have walked there before us. We question. We cogitate. We are sentient to a degree which some find too stark, and too detailed. This unites us in a way that we can no more deny, than easily give up.

originally posted by: and14263
a reply to: Ashirah

I'm definitely a misfit.

I spend my time making people angry and venting my own anger... Makes people stay away.

I'm the opposite in the real world. How strange.

Can I borrow your post and say: "That's exactly the same for me"?

I think I sound too negative but strangely enough I usually only feel enough energy posting something when I am angry about it. When I like it, I'll give it a star. Nobody here want's to be my friend because of that...I think...

Lol, no, I actually don't much care. I'd rather have a heartfelt star, than 100 shallow 'friends'.

a reply to: Ashirah

If you're a "black sheep" then embrace it and be proud of the fact that you aren't of the herd mentality.

Personally, I think we need MORE black sheep on line and in the world.

a reply to: Hecate666

It's yours! I just looked at some of your posts - they are ones I have agreed with and remembered... I rarely remember usernames but strangely I couldn't remember seeing your avatar. Perhaps you have just changed it?

Anyway... let's be angry together. Sorry, I mean passionate about subjects

originally posted by: Metallicus
I have a mental list of people I know are going to post something moronic as soon as I see their screen name. You are not on it so you can't be THAT bad.

Guilty as charged...

originally posted by: Metallicus
I have a mental list of people I know are going to post something moronic as soon as I see their screen name. You are not on it so you can't be THAT bad.

Oh yeah, because with your 116 karma points, your obviously the judge, jury and executioner on who's an appropriate member on ATS, right? Either that, or just a very efficient shock jock!

Let me guess, any one who's critical of police shooting black people, or the republican party, is a moron in your eyes....... correct?

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa

originally posted by: Metallicus
I have a mental list of people I know are going to post something moronic as soon as I see their screen name. You are not on it so you can't be THAT bad.

Oh yeah, because with your 116 karma points, your obviously the judge, jury and executioner on who's an appropriate member on ATS, right? Either that, or just a very efficient shock jock!

Let me guess, any one who's critical of police shooting black people, or the republican party, is a moron in your eyes....... correct?

No he's right, some posters can't seem to have an intelligent, open minded debate and they resort to attack, over "skeptize"...I see the name and I know this person will answer something like : "That doesn't exist because I SAY SO."

Or some threads in 911 where people just come in and say : "You're still talking about 911?"
"Well, this IS THE 911 SECTION?!"
Religion bashing in the religious section is also annoying, you get the idea.

People asking for proof in "the gray area" are also dim witted...it's not the gray area for nothing.

It seems to me that some come here to embrace their ignorance and closed mind and are recomforted by posters that say : "Nothing is wrong here, it's just doom porn, move along."

Some screen names I see, I already know what they will say or that their post won't enhance the conversation anyway.

a reply to: theMediator

I'll back you both up here.

I was that person who was uneducated and unwilling to learn and resorted to blindly arguing back.

The biggest thing for my education this year is learning about politics for myself and not listening to others. It's then when you realise that these people who may well be the black sheep are in fact pretty clever.

I'd say it's most likely "real life" experiences being transferred/projected onto interactions on this board. The only "core groups" I have seen tend to be very topic specific though, so if those are the only ones visited, I could see feeling a bit ostracized. Especially if your thought processes are a bit different than consensus reality.

Overall though, I know there are plenty on my "scroll-on-by list," and I am sure I am on plenty as well. But, I feel it less here than in-person interactions.

Star/flag counts are kind of a quantification of popularity here, and if we judge by that, very few active members are actually black sheep of the ATS family.

a reply to: Ashirah

That's the beauty of this site, you're not supposed to fit in. We're here to read and write, ask questions and give answers - not to make friends. There's plenty of other sites for that.

P.S. Baaaa!

Yep

a reply to: theMediator

I like my own interpretation of the site's motto; Deny everyone's ignorance but my own!

At the very least, it seems to be a more accurate reflection of most interactions here. I know that I am ignorant of nothing whatsoever, and as such, feel a responsibility to educate the poor souls who see things differently than myself.

a reply to: Misterlondon

I'm one of those dreadful millennials, it's what we do apparently