Banned sites

I posted a quote, the same quote that I since sourced from the Telegraph in this post, and it altered my entire post to 'LIES' and suggesting the comment was ''lies about ATS''. IT wasn't and I just resourced the same comment in the edit and the comment reappeared with stars as before.

Presumably because the source I used was banned? I hadn't really heard of it before, called SOTT.net.

Is it possible there could be a list of banned sites so it can be prevented?

Its possible...Its possible...

The information is out there, mostly in this forum.

Here is an example, which is a sticky thread in this forum: *** ALL MEMBERS *** "Turner Radio Network" as a source.

I believe there is also one out there for Before It's News. There should be a couple others too.

Edit to add:

Here is the thread about BIN: **ALL MEMBERS*** Before Its News as a source

a reply to: cmdrkeenkid

I know BIN is banned and so was RT sort of, until it became applauded when a member of it's team became as ATS ambassador or something like that.

Though a list somewhere on the site would be useful.

A lot has to do with that old Righthaven copyright enforcement outfit.

ATS had some problems as I recall.

Righthaven ended up in trouble themselves. Ironic.

Mods can explain.

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

"Signs of the times" created a vicious fictional narrative about the owners and members of ATS a few years ago. It was in response to simply requesting a link-back when they plagiarized our content.

So we no longer allow links to them.

The "list" is actually very short, and not something that should be worried about.

a reply to: xuenchen

That came about a couple years after the "Signs of the times" debacle.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Okay thanks, it was just a bit of a shock. I am normally choosy about my sources.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Didn't even connect the url mentioned in the original post to that until you spelled it out. That was a long, long time ago. Eons in internet time...

Honestly its still censorship. Kinda funny how the people on here like mods and members complain about these sites when these sites say the same thing about us. But then when theyre giving you money then you allow them in aka rt. Sites starting to turn into a stasi den. Allowing Russia media but not Texas media? Lmao at the justification of that. Just my opinion. Whose side are you on ats? Freedom of information or what the mods decide is worthwhile information? Another note why do some get banned and some get moved to hoax Rent they technically both? A ludacris online lie so why delete the post? Because it has credibility you don't want visible. Otherwise why not just move the post. Remember that members they can just declare it a lie so why delete it? So no one can form an educated opinion.

a reply to: 5thNovember

I've been here, and active, long enough to tell you with certainty that people aren't banned for no reason. It takes a lot of doing to have that happen to your account/IP.

As far as threads going away, many of the times the sources are from known, repeat, and blatant hoaxers. Linking to their site only helps propagate their shenanigans, and in the end encouraging them to continue with them.

a reply to: cmdrkeenkid

Sorry to go OT, but holy crap, man. Where ya been?!

originally posted by: 5thNovember
Honestly its still censorship. Kinda funny how the people on here like mods and members complain about these sites when these sites say the same thing about us. But then when theyre giving you money then you allow them in aka rt. Sites starting to turn into a stasi den. Allowing Russia media but not Texas media? Lmao at the justification of that. Just my opinion. Whose side are you on ats? Freedom of information or what the mods decide is worthwhile information? Another note why do some get banned and some get moved to hoax Rent they technically both? A ludacris online lie so why delete the post? Because it has credibility you don't want visible. Otherwise why not just move the post. Remember that members they can just declare it a lie so why delete it? So no one can form an educated opinion.

Dude, one of the site admins clearly said it was in response to their plagarism of this sites content.
It's pretty simple stuff. This sites owners played nice over the issue, but the other site didn't want to play nice.
So now that site is banned here.
Where's the censorship issue there?
It's not like they've banned a whole bunch of news websites from a specific country. Now that would be censorship. But I somehow don't think that's ever going to happen here.

I think we have run our course here..

Closing to stifle the drama

Thank you all

Semper

Where Problems Lie

a reply to: 5thNovember

For whatever it's worth, I largely share your concerns, because respecting the rights of members to make up their own minds on the issues is at the core of my "ATS creed".

It's not for us or anyone else to decide for you what to believe.

That said, ATS has never been a "free speech zone" or a free-for-all site where anything goes. Although the terms & conditions have been amended several times over the years, posts that are knowingly false, misleading, or inaccurate, hoaxes, irrelevant content, personal attacks, porn, gore and promotion of illegal activity have always been subject to removal.

What actually constitutes inappropriate content has likewise always been subject to debate, and speaking as a member who spent far too much time hanging out in the BQ&B forum (as BB&Q was called back in the day), I can attest that there has always been plenty of disagreement and drama surrounding those questions.

Naturally, when the staff removes expletive-laden posts full of personal attacks, it's never because of something like that, it's because we're "suppressing the truth".

The challenge I offer to such assumptions, however, is to simply read through the forums and see how often members agree or are "forced" to agree on any topic. The answer truly speaks for itself.

As for policies regarding specific sites, and blocked sites in particular, there's always a good reason. Some involve established patterns of deception or hoaxing, such as Sorcha Faal, various pro-Nazi or racist sites and the like, where we and other members have simply gotten tired of dealing with the garbage they spew and have decided not to host it here.

Others have involved lawsuits, settlements or other legal matters, and the action we take is pursuant to and required by their outcomes.

Ultimately, I appreciate that these explanations may not seem convincing or satisfying to you, and I'm sorry if that's the case, but I promise I won't hold it against you or anyone else if it is.

After all, if skepticism, disagreement or disbelief were unwelcome on ATS, we would have a lot to less to talk about around here.


tl;dr: Trust no one, suspect everyone, and question everything.




Edit: Oops! Sorry Semper. Looks like I inadvertently ninja'd you while typing up this absurdly long post.