Members, don't scuttle your own boat!

a reply to: DISRAELI

One must always remember though that Silicone Synapse had the benefit of the ATS bug and millions of stars if joined before whichever date.


...stars n karma, meh, I don't believe in karma and I couldn't give a toss about stars.
I'm only here for interesting and entertaining discussion with anonymous people.

originally posted by: grainofsand
One must always remember though that Silicone Synapse had the benefit of the ATS bug and millions of stars if joined before whichever date.

That may be the mathematical reason why further posts are pulling down the calculated average so quickly.

originally posted by: nonspecific
a reply to: grainofsand

Agreed.

I just find it sad that some people are wary of voicing there opinion because of what others may think.

As you say keep to T&c's and say what you think regardless of what the masses may say.

It's not necessarily about caring what
other people think.

(I don't care what other people think
unless I respect them and I respect
less than 10% of the people I know).

But if the attack squads with small
minds turn my post into a three
ring circus then I lose all interest
in my own thread.

I CAN be combative and intimidating
if necessary (useful skills on any
social media site) but life is short
and I don't enjoy watching memetic
poisoning (people watching); I'd
rather accomplish something.

Kev

a reply to: DISRAELI

True, that would make sense.
Back on topic though I doubt folk who got themselves banned from ATS were thinking about how many stars they got lol.
As far as I see it at least, emotion is what gets folk banned, and I like that to be honest, this ain't facebook, and long may it stay that way.

a reply to: KellyPrettyBear

I personally think in an online situation that you should respect 100% of those you choose to engage with. If you disagree do so repectfully and with good grace and attitude. Back it up with evidence and rational thought.

If you feel that you cannot do that(and this is not aimed at you personally) then step aside, let it go and move forward.

There are millions of people online at any one time, most will not think as you(or I) do.

That is what makes it entertaining and that is all something like ATS should ever be.

An interesting aside and a way to discover new things, never a platform for personal beliief systems or agenda's

I have personally found that ATS is no longer a place of logic, fact and truth. We have gone from the good ole days of logically discussing things to discover the truth and prove or disprove facts. Today...different story. You can state a fact and you will be debated aggressively. Facts don't seem to matter to many any more and truth was lost long ago in our society. Lies are accepted by many here...they are also shamelessly used as a weapon against those who dare to state a fact or tell the truth about the lies many of these people support. But that is the new way...isn't it?

"All politicians lie"...so I guess it is acceptable. "Angry people riot"...so it is forgivable. "Im a victim"...and then they call you racist. But it isn't just ATS, it is society in general. And it isn't surprising...look at our leaders. They are the epitome of worst of society. Liars, cheats, users, whores and wanna-be-dictators.

But I guess we (or at least some of us) deserve it. Our "leaders" reflect what we have become.

a reply to: nonspecific

I love to hear new and creative thought.

What I do not enjoy is extreme end of
spectrum shouting matches between
self appointed experts of extreme
materialism or extreme 'spirituality/
religion' for example.

The laws of physics are a bit more
nuanced than that (perhaps).

Or to put it a bit more simplistically
holding ones breath and screaming
that the other person is going to
hell or is a delusional 'believer'
metaphorically or literally is what
most controversial threads
devolve to.

That's too much noise for me
personally.

So let world war III of battling egos
play out first...

Kev

a reply to: Asktheanimals

Why does the system reward those who goad, and purposefully make everyone feel stupid, and those with REAL respect who speak what should be spoken all too often get the boot ????

FEAR, across the BOARDS.

originally posted by: beezzer
a reply to: Asktheanimals

I'm guiltier than most, I suppose. Surprised I'm still here.

As the world becomes more divided, I honestly anticipate more heated "debates" than fewer.

But I'll try to behave.

It will indeed get more heated, the fact is I miss the sad crying bunny avatar, that was when you were at your best most of the time.

It's no different for me, it was like this 5 years ago in the 9/11 forums, trolls were making senior posters drop like flies.
Then they themselves disappear, mission accomplished. Then the hammer came down, and it got better.

MODS have a tough job given the climate of animosity that exists more than ever before.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

I quite agree! People need to not worry about "having the last word", and just walk away sometimes. When it's clear we don't agree with another poster, and never will, what's the point of continuing? Trying to make the other person look bad? We aren't (at least mostly, I think) school kids here (no offense to any actual school kids here), running some sort of popularity contest, are we? What debate here is worth the stress, or the potential for a ban, in some cases? Better to let it go, and discuss something else later. If some of you are anything like me, you will find that you might agree with someone on one topic, with whom you completely disagree on others. I see that all the time. Part of the cool factor of ATS.

I enjoyed reading through this thread. I find that for the most part the members are okay, I do find myself walking away from a lot of 'debates' though. Good thing I do because I can get pretty irate sometimes. I've been contributing for a while here and the vast majority of staff are great in my opinion, a couple are a bit unprofessional but that is to be expected. That is to be expected on any site let alone one as sensitive as this.

I'm glad I haven't been banned as of yet because as much as this site and its newer member base can suck, it's definitely my favourite site on the internet. I don't visit or contribute as much as I used to, but I think I can chalk that down to a general lowering in the quality of environment round here.

Even so there would need to be a lot more done to get to the point of actually 'ruining' the site, as much as some people seem to want to. I don't know if anyone else has noticed the major influx of shills and trolls? It seems to be a subject not many want to talk about but you can see it anywhere on the internet where free open discussion takes place.

Overall I think the mods and other staff do a very commendable job all things considered. I certainly wouldn't want to do it, nor do I think I'd even be able to.

I've made a fair few friends on this site and I've met all sorts of interesting people. I've also learned a lot about people and psychology through a lot of trials and errors. The ability to post anonymously can do strange things to some people. It's surprising how much can actually be revealed about a person in spite of, or maybe even because of this veil of anonymity.

Kinda babbled a bit there I just got carried away. This is a great thread and I hope a lot of people who need it get to read it.

S&F

originally posted by: LadyGreenEyes
If some of you are anything like me, you will find that you might agree with someone on one topic, with whom you completely disagree on others. I see that all the time. Part of the cool factor of ATS.

I'm exactly the same, I've even been in heated debate disagreeing with a member, yet in the same evening backing them up in another thread.
None of us agree about everything, same in real life, but sometimes on ATS we only 'meet' others in specific topics so we have less opportunity to understand other aspects of their personality.

I'm mates with loads of people down the pub who I passionately disagree with say politically, but I know they're a good parent, good laugh, hard worker etc so that outweighs our differences.

Getting riled up by anonymous Internet user s**tposting -- comical.

Proceeding to engage in sh**tposting in response to anonymous Internet user s**tposting -- priceless!

a reply to: Asktheanimals
A wise man once said................Don't let them that trouble, or belittle you, run around in your head rent free.



This ones for Beezer.............always giving me a good chuckle.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

S&F to you. Your post inspired me to walk away from a potentially volatile situation.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

Very well said.

Others have mentioned this already but I think it worth mentioning again. There are people here who do get amped up and very engaged in the exchange. I include myself in that category, probably more often than I would like to admit. But I also see many people who throw around back-handed insults and goad people into a response (back in the old country we called them trolls). I think that behavior is as much or more to blame.

Each time one of these seemingly minor insults or jabs gets thrown the person on the receiving end sees them get away with it, picks it up, and throws it back - perhaps a little harder, believing that if it was ok for the other guy its ok for them too. it naturally escalates a little each time until finally someone says, hey, you went too far. The difficulty is knowing when its gone too far.

I think its important to realize that not everyone takes or gives comments the same way. Something that would mean very little to someone else might be a huge insult to me, or vice versa. If it was benign to me and very hurtful to you, you might respond with what you perceive as an equally hurtful remark. That might catch me completely off guard and seem like a first strike since I had no idea I offended you in the first place.

The other observation I would like to make is that written words differ from spoken words. When you speak you have the additional aspect of tone and timbre, gestures, facial expression, body language, etc. Written words are just words on a screen. You can write something shameful and read it with a monotone emotionless voice and it will sound silly. Or you can say something as simple as good morning and it will sound like a death threat if your tone and manner is right.

I recently remembered something that was very important to me at one time. I am sorry I ever forgot this, and I wont forget it again:

"Be nice to people - they may be fighting battles you know nothing about".