The Value of ATS Has Declined Over Time (at least for me)

originally posted by: LiberLegit
The political threads are the worst especially. Everyone here is either VERY liberal, a complete libertarian lunatic, or an enlightened star child who "figured it all out" and "sees both sides of the spectrum for what they are."

It isn't the content that has changed, it's the attitudes of the people here.

You proved your own point.

So are you going to change your attitude?

Absolutely correct, political correctness has ruined this site, as it does everything it comes in contact with.

a reply to: Metallicus

I have to disagree a little here. Sure the political threads are numerous and repetitive, but I think that's more of a reflection of the times we are living in. People aren't going to be as occupied with searching for new and interesting things when they are fearful. Those fears may or may not be justified but that is the very real climate we live in, and seems to be what's on most peoples mind most of the time.

You got that right. There used to be pseudo-science, extraterrestrial encounters, demons, and religious prophecy. That stuff was the norm on home page.

A couple days ago there was a thread about a guy being a "cocculd."

Yeah. ATS fell off.

I have been browsing around ATS for a few years. I haven't posted that often because as OP says, it's mostly the same tired old declarations backed up by the same tired old sources. Sources that are either just spitting out MSM propaganda verbatim, or have long since been exposed as havens for nonsense and debunked pseudo-science. Probably a majority of the posts here, both OPs and replies, are just someone saying "Hey look I found this thing!" and 500 people disparaging it.

That said, I still keep coming back because I still think of ATS as a place to get new information. Even if it doesn't pan out, it's fun to see what people are saying. And if nothing else, a lot of the stuff here inspires me to go do some research or talk to people IRL about something.

As for the disparaging comments, I am a little torn. On one hand, it's frustrating to see every single possibility shut down almost immediately by jaded old cynics. On the other hand, I really, really can't stand this new-wave nonsense that "beliefs" and "opinions" and "feelings" should be given the same weight in a discussion as actual facts. Those things are not facts, and if they have been disproved or debunked, someone should stomp the life out of them as quickly and as mercilessly as possible. People shouldn't be made to feel stupid or ignorant, but stupidity and ignorance should be eliminated. Otherwise nothing of any real merit or lasting importance can even be discussed.

I am a skeptic. But I am the worst kind of skeptic -- one who WANTS to believe. I WANT to find real evidence, or at least plausible explanations, of enormous, sinister, centuries-long conspiracies. Or 25,000 year old lost civilizations. I WANT a UFO sighting to be unexplainable by anything but actual aliens. But I personally cannot be satisfied with anything that can be reasonably explained by something mundane, because in the real world, Occam's Razor actually works.

So I'll just hang out on ATS and browse things. It's too bad most of the stuff on here is nonsense and political potificating, with a hilarious "The Spirit Revealed a Thing (that will never actually happen)" prophesy here and there, but it's still worth my time.

I have never taken ats, serious enough, to complain about ats..

Ats is a forum on the internet.. Their is no way, it will remain static...

Whoever has enough time to complain about ats, tells me they have to much time...

ATS has always been a bit of a downer I suppose or a let down, when it comes to peoples attitudes but what is ATS going to do about that? People in general in my opinion for the most part are a let down...

In order to handle ats, you first need to lower you standards, then after that do not take it all so serious...

People come and go here, choose wisely what you interact with with threads...

The ignore option is a lost feature sadly missed I am afraid...

At the end of the day, just keep in mind it is just ats...

A internet forum... No one highly important is every going to post here, that will enlighten you, they are all busy with their lives....

A person will not change, until they are ready to change.

That's not the beginning of the end
That's the return to yourself
The return to innocence.

Love
Devotion
Feeling
Emotion

Love
Devotion
Feeling
Emotion

Don't be afraid to be weak
Don't be too proud to be strong
Just look into your heart my friend
That will be the return to yourself
The return to innocence.

If you want, then start to laugh
If you must, then start to cry
Be yourself don't hide
Just believe in destiny.

Don't care what people say
Just follow your own way
Don't give up and use the chance
To return to innocence.

That's not the beginning of the end
That's the return to yourself
The return to innocence.

Don't care what people say
Follow just your own way
Follow just your own way
Don't give up, don't give up
To return, to return to innocence.

If you want then laugh
If you must then cry
Be yourself don't hide
Just believe in destiny.

- Enigma
- Return to Innocence

a reply to: mikegrouchy


Well enigma stole that chant from the Taiwanese tribe who made it.
They paid no royalties and those who recorded it received no credit.

TThat chant was sampled from the Taiwan aboriginal group Ami's "Jubilant Drinking Song" (Sapiliepah a Radiw in Amis) without the singers' permission of that moment. Kuo Ying-nan (born Difang Duana) (郭英男) and Kuo Hsiu-chu (郭秀珠), both Amis, were in a cultural exchange program in Paris in 1988 when their performance of the song was recorded by the Maison des Cultures du Monde and later distributed on CD

Edit to add

Apparently they did reieve credit eventually as the case was settled out of court.

In March 1998, Kuo Ying-nan and Kuo Hsiu-chu sued Cretu, Virgin Records, and a number of recording companies for unauthorised usage of their song without credit.[4][5] The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money and all further releases of the song were credited (including royalties) to the Kuos.[6] Cretu has stated that he had been led to believe that the recording was in the public domain, and that he did not intentionally violate the Kuos' copyright.[7]

originally posted by: stargatetravels
a reply to: mikegrouchy

Apparently they did reieve credit eventually as the case was settle put of court.

I wouldn't change a thing.


Mike Grouchy

a reply to: mikegrouchy


I have the album the track is on - vocal polyphonies of aboriginies of Taiwan.
At the time it was rare and hard to track down.

www.discogs.com...


Have lots of tribal chant stuff, from African pygmy tribes to south American to lomax spirituals and corn field hollers.
All manner of stuff - I think it connects us to our ancestors and no matter the language, we can all recognize the emotion and understand the feeling in this.
They speak to us.

a reply to: Metallicus

Quite true. Even though I joined only recently, I spent lots of time during the past 5 years browsing in here, and I always found something awesome. Now, not only the threads aren't that awesome, the replies are to be desired. People seem to forget that ATS was created for exposing new theories or ideas other than what is given to us by the media, and thus logical that such new theories should be if not explored, at least considered.
But now it seems the members have forgotten this, and all I see in all the threads is when someone say something that doesn't conform to the media, 75% of the members put down the OP for suggesting other ideas.

Yet that was what ATS was created for, and why one joins ATS.

I think ATS is as valuable as it ever was. I've been posting since 2007. Things have changed considerably in the world since then, so, naturally, political threads will have changed with the times. Politics and allied subjects were the main reason I came to ATS in the first place and political controversy is still with us, so ATS maintains its relevance for me.

All the other topics are gravy. They have broadened my appreciation of life considerably. To me this brings out the "family" side of ATS. In families various members of the family can broaden one's experience of life in unexpected ways and are a source of intellectual fresh air. All to the good.

I have two big disappointments on ATS.

The first was the creation of the "Hoax" bin. I don't think the management of a discussion board should be authoritatively determining what is or is not a hoax. I think that would and should come out in discussion.

My second disappointment is that members do not have access to the complete numerical index of all their posts. It would help immensely to be able to access old posts from threads started by others where valuable ideas and sources of information lie buried.

Aside from those two reservations, I am a happy ATS camper.

originally posted by: Bicent76


The ignore option is a lost feature sadly missed I am afraid...

I wish we had the Foe option back. I never used it myself but it could be a right laugh when someone else did.

I don't know if it would be more likely to be abused these days, but I think it would add to the general merriment.

You never know, perhaps it would persuade some to behave because there would be so much shame attached to it

I miss some of the old veteran posters that have stopped posting here, but sometimes life changes or stops.
Although a decline has taken place ever so slightly at ATS, the decline on other websites I used to post on has been much higher, I used to frequently post on 6 different forums, now I am down to just ATS. The decline of overall quality is everywhere on every forum on the net. People are so jaded and skeptical about everything now. Also political correctness is out of control, I once had post deleted because someone thought it was a threat, when it never was, I would never threaten anybody with harm, that's not my style or my right.
I think that is the greatest challenge for ATS moderators, who are the best on the net, but still with this wave of political correctness of not saying anything that offends anybody, how do you remain 100% immune to that trend.

Personally I've read ATS for much longer than I've been a member.

In my opinion, ATS needs to decide whether it's a discussion forum or a debate forum. I joined thinking it was the former, but as of late it appears to be edging towards the latter, in that many interesting discussions are regularly derailed into oblivion.

Absolutely fine with dissenting opinions, but if you're going to beat someone over the head with it in

every. second. post.

you've effectively ruined any potential within the thread for fluid discussion.

originally posted by: berenike

originally posted by: Bicent76


The ignore option is a lost feature sadly missed I am afraid...

I wish we had the Foe option back. I never used it myself but it could be a right laugh when someone else did.

I don't know if it would be more likely to be abused these days, but I think it would add to the general merriment.

You never know, perhaps it would persuade some to behave because there would be so much shame attached to it

Yep I agree... I never foe'd anyone as it's kinda petty and silly but I made many people's foes lists and wore it as a badge of honour But I also see why they removed it, people used to make threads whining that they'd been foe'd or talking about the foe option etc.

It was originally intended to use for someone that you disagreed with but respectfully and still got along with, sadly everyone abused it and it was just used for people that pissed you off and that you thought were stupid.

a reply to: blupblup

Happy days indeed That and the old smilies.

Did you see someone revived the 'members photos when they were kids' thread the other day? It was lovely to be reminded of some posters who haven't been around for a while. **

Someone (not me) should make a thread on what made ATS so great and we could share our happy memories.


**Oh - I nearly sent an alert on that thread, my hand must have slipped when I was scrolling up just now. I think I managed not to send it.

You want to post pictures taken from some space-faring thingy with a camera? Well, space and the objects in it don't really look like that. I think that's about it.

originally posted by: catherinewalker
You want to post pictures taken from some space-faring thingy with a camera? Well, space and the objects in it don't really look like that. I think that's about it.

In the context of my post from which you've quoted:

That was a complaint I got when I posted some pictures from Mars or space. It's the sort of response to a thread that put me off trying any more.

Sorry everybody - I replied to what I think is a bot and it's too late to edit.

The shame... although, didn't we used to get a better class of bot in the old days