Please ATS Members and Non-Members alike, STOP Blocking Ads- Or there may be NO ATS at ALL

Let me say this...

First and foremost. I like reading the ATS forums. However... I do not like it enough to give it money. It's a forum. Forums SHOULD be free.

Why?

Because it's made up of news and info that come from every other part of the internet. Why would you rent books or pay to enter a library? Why is it ok to block me from "stuff" from this site when the source of nearly everything in it is from another site or someone else's hard work? Simply because I want to block annoying ads.

So here in lies another problem.

Google and every other bloody site is out there STEALING information from me with every click. My browsing habits, what products I look at and where I've been on the internet. In REAL LIFE this would be considered stalking. Somehow, it's legal on the internet. Now, these sites steal my data, my personal information, stalking me and selling my tracks so they can make a buck. It's MY INFORMATION! Not theirs. So I should be the one getting paid.

Hey... I have no problem selling you my information. Hell, for a reasonable cut, I'll answer questions till I can't speak anymore. However, if you feel the need to take my info, sell it, and make billions of dollars a year and pay little to nothing in taxes because you're a big player... while I'm paying my arse out in taxes... I have a problem with big web companies taking my data then tossing an ad back at me, as if to rub salt in the womb, proving to me that they follow my every step, and then a forum demanding that I unblock those same ads, turning off features that will allow companies to kick sand in my face, so I can upload pictures?

So... My ad blockers stops you from getting money for content taken from another source (and you talk about copyright... especially when the ad companies steal data from me to tailor that ad for me) So you block such things that give me the ability to create better posts by adding substance to that post. Who's loss is it really? Who's really missing out here? I think this idea is kind of bass ackwards, if you ask me.

Less substance, less users to plague with ads. *Shrugs*

Sorry ATS. I don't like ads and I wont relent. They're a pain in the arse and they're totally against the common man and his rights to privacy, no matter how you spin it. I would think ATS be a better advocate for a persons rights. Who'da thunk it.

When you look at the irony of it all, it seems a bit hypocritical.

I surf alot of internet sites without any adblocker , this is the only one I am a member at. The ads are no worse then every other site on the internet, For me at least.

I would never pay for an ad free version (unless it came with a hoodie or something) because the ads just dont bother me.

a reply to: TrueAmerican

How do you know if someone has an ad blocker enabled? Are y'all talking about the little ads that pop up on the right hand side of the screen? All I ever see on there are trucks or GIFs of Oprah and Ellen Degenerate crying. I can live with that.

a reply to: ilikebooze

What about an autographed hardback copy of Killing Reagan?

originally posted by: Klassified


You think I service hundreds of clients across several counties because it's fun?

Oh man, I LMAO @ that... TY for that.

I need to save all my pre 1982 pennies for pertinent things like, tin-foil and self heats.

This site isn't that great anyways. It used to be the best 5 or 6 years ago. But now it's just political dribble and no mind blowing conspiracies. If you go back to the old days I'll consider paying or unblocking ads, or start a real campaign for change "Kill all the Rothschilds" would be a good start.

There is nothing here that I can't find on BBC News or CNN or any alternative news media, so what is the point of coming here? I have no idea....

Just saying. If you want me to pay or unblock ads then let's reopen the X-Files and go deep into the rabbit hole instead of peddling around it too afraid to dive in.

That is all.

ok..

I saw SO's threads about subscriptions and adblocker, etc etc.. i signed in for the first time in a couple years to respond to it after thinking. I notice the sub thread is closed, and then i saw this one…

Let me start by saying that i have been frequenting ATS for the better part of 10 years, every day, multiple times a day. This website has become a part of my life, and changed it (for better or worse) and my outlook of the world in that time.

Back in the day, ATS used to be a wellspring of knowledgeable members with quality content to contribute for the community to absorb and respond to, it was a place for ideas to be shared and picked apart by the community, who would no doubt identify any discrepancies present and eventually get to a reasonable "bottom of things".

That ATS, which i so lovingly called a part of my life, no longer exists.

Gone are the days of intelligent conversation and reasonable debates.

We have, over the recent years, been inundated with ads that cover the screen, ads that play music and video, banner ads full of tracking cookies and potentially malicious software - this is where i decided that coming here may not be worth my time anymore. When it took 2 minutes to load the homepage due to the number of ads playing, i didnt come here for about 6 months. I was glad to see it's been toned down since then; however, there is a larger issue.

Its the quality of the content and the quality of the membership.

These days, you can go into nearly any board (with the exception of some of the more specialized, professional ones, like aviation) click on any multi-page thread and see that it has been de-railed by page 2-3.

in the meantime, most of the content on those pages prior are filled with one line responses designed to make the writer feel important while not contributing anything of worth to the discussion AT ALL, while the remainder of them are nothing more than veiled defamations and character assaults. It is a rare sight these days to come across a thread worth reading the comments of, never mind a thread worth reading.

Gone are the days when a thread had proper formatting, an introduction, body, and conclusion. Lost to the ever changing web of code we see before us, at the hands of the "signed in members" you say are so critical to this sites survival.

I am one of the 80% of non-logged in members, and i have been here for longer than a lot of people.

What i am trying to say is… Why on earth would i log in and contribute to this site, if the majority of whats received is flaming, bordering on hate speech and xenophobia? The T&C's are clear on many issues, and while i am aware the mods are volunteers and there is a massive amount of content here, if i am expected to take this seriously and be a contributing member, never mind consider paying for an ad-free experience, then i expect a few things in return.

Namely, consistency and quality. Would i ever pay for this site as it is now? No.

And quite frankly, this site doesn't deserve a penny in subscriptions from anyone the way it is. Donations? all for it. Of course things cost money. Ads? Sure, of course, its the internet. And even tho it may not be hugely monetized, the operators are certainly entitled to make some profit from their committed endeavours where they are able.

But don't for a second think that you have any say over what i use on my browser, or how i do so.

If there is any issue with people using adblocker on this site, then it is due to the quality, content, number, and frequency of ads that we are inundated with regularly. I have not once seen an advertisement on this site for something that i was interested in, nor anything thats related to the content of the site. I have had slow load times, annoying sounds, and videos that eat bandwidth, not to mention that huge one that covered the whole screen for a while there.

Surely there must be a better way to go about advertising with relevant content that people wont despise seeing.

Online advertising is to the point where most people either "tune them out" or simply adblock them. Why should ATS be any different? Because we're a "community" ? Hardly. This is as much a community as a notice board on a bus-stop with a few regulars who never seem to catch their bus.

Many members have said "bring back the store!" which is a nice idea, but all in all, the profit of such a thing will hardly outweigh the investment necessary to make it viable.

What needs to be done, is to restore ATS to its former glory.

ZERO TOLERANCE for one line posts (including all those clever, clever people who write "2nd" afterwards).
ZERO TOLERANCE for hate speech and flaming, character assaults and defamation
ZERO TOLERANCE for the things outlined in the T&C's, like attacking people based on political or religious affiliations
ZERO TOLERANCE for spamming multiple ridiculous threads with frequency exceeding that of a reasonable limit
ZERO TOLERANCE for unsubstantiated claims with no source material

Dare I say, the list could go on.

Sadly, the majority of the comments, and indeed the threads of late, are exactly the content that an outsider would expect from "those conspiracy nutters", "religious whack-jobs" or "political zealots".

Therein lies the problem.

ATS wants to be taken seriously, but refuses to be serious itself.

I wish i could say i was a proud member of this community, but instead, i am relegated to lurking in the shadows, behind a rarely used account name and left to scour the headlines for something worthwhile, between 100 threads about Hillary's emails and 500 threads about what trump said at his last rally.

Get it together people.

THEN ask me about subscription fees.
THEN ask me to turn off my adblocker.
THEN we might actually have some worthwhile discussion.

Deny Ignorance, people. That's what we're supposed to be here for.

But alas, the ignorance is plentiful and the ignorant reign supreme here on ATS.

Thanks for reading.

EmBa

I don't mind the ads, but for goods sake can't you find a way to not have the ad take over the screen and blare?

a reply to: EmpathicBandit

Gone are the days of intelligent conversation and reasonable debates.

133 comments in "ten years" of ATS. What part have YOU played? Y'all should of said "i miss watching intelligent members have reasonable debates." Y'all should of said "I sure enjoyed the harvest when I did not help plant the seeds or grow the crops. now I'm hungry and you guys need to feed me"

Y'all shouda said "Thank you all for keeping me interested when i was doing nothing. Thank you!"

You put more time and effort in that post to complain than YOU have EVER put in to adding quality

I won't ever understansd WHY people cant find time to post and then they find the time to bitch about the site. Lazyass, helplessness.

originally posted by: whyamIhere
People don't post because they don't want to be on the LIST.

With the rest of us...

They are probably on the LIST for other reasons

a reply to: steamiron


Sorry, but your 60 replies in a year and a few months doesn't really hold much weight either.

Did you actually read his post? You summed up exactly what he was saying in your own short flame about his contributions. He's made very valid points and I stand by his post as my own concerns.

I'm certain there are MANY that would say the same. Those same points we, here at ATS, have complained about for so long, including people with thousands of posts. I mean, if I really wanted to get picky about stuff, I could go back and see how much those 60 posts of yours added to this site in any way, shape or form.

BTW, if this has not already been said; as a member of ATS you can always donate via PayPal. It's right there at the top of each page.

a reply to: StallionDuck

Whoa there 2013! Not aiming to ruffle your feathers

Truth is I've been in and out of ATS for years.. One or two accounts came to an end and I was an ass more than once.

Your buddy up there wants "ZERO TOLERANCE" for everything.

One line posts? Banned

Y'all ever made a one liner?? Retrograded ZERO TOLERANCE?

I understand the somewhat legitimate concerns about the quality of the site. It is election season and the hate is currently flowing from all sides. It is why I don't post much right now. But that is a completely separate issue. You either like ATS or you don't.

Not liking a site does not mean you get special treatment and a free pass to do whatever you want and break the rules. The terms and conditions which every member agreed to before signing up. Clearly state that no ad blockers can be used while viewing ATS. We all agreed to that when joining.

If you did not read the fine print. That is your fault. Not the sites. If you disagreed with the terms and conditions but still signed up. That is your fault. Not the sites.

So I fail to see why everyone is complaining. Having no ad blocker is something everyone should of been doing from the beginning.

As to the issue of a subscription. If you do not want to pay for ATS. Then do not pay for ATS. Nothing will change for you. The site will be the same as it is now, with ads. If you have the extra income and you do not want to see ads. Then get a subscription. Why does that make people mad?

ATS is not going behind a pay wall and forcing you to subscribe. It is completely optional. From what has been said so far. Nothing will change for those that do not want to subscribe. The site will stay the same. All the things you can read and do now. You will be able to do when and if the subscription service goes live.

ATS might even make enough money from subscriptions to bring more features to everyone.

A site this large can not be run out of pocket. The site needs ads, or donations, or subscriptions. If you like the site and want it to continue. You will have to live with ads, or donate, or buy a subscription. You do not have to do all three. You can do just one. Or you can do all three. It is completely up to you. No one is forcing you to do anything.

If you do not like the site and do not want to continue using it, then why does any of this bother you?

Every member agreed to the terms and conditions when they joined. Nothing is going to change for those members if an ad free subscription service goes live.

If you do not like the quality of ATS. That is a completely different issue.

originally posted by: steamiron
a reply to: StallionDuck

Whoa there 2013! Not aiming to ruffle your feathers

Truth is I've been in and out of ATS for years.. One or two accounts came to an end and I was an ass more than once.

Your buddy up there wants "ZERO TOLERANCE" for everything.

One line posts? Banned

Y'all ever made a one liner?? Retrograded ZERO TOLERANCE?

Who hasn't been reading these forums longer than their account exists?

As for the zero tolerance... I agree. You start letting the stupid little stuff slide, you're just telling people everything else is ok too. Why have rules if you don't expect people to follow them. Besides.. When did any one liner ever make much worth? If you're going to throw an opinion, at least back it up, right?

This whole damned forum has turned into arguing, trolling and flames. It's a wonder people visit this place anymore, except that maybe they like the verbal wars. Hell, even some of the big names here do it themselves at the drop of a hat. People have let the "meaningless" stars get to their heads and think they're all that and a bag of chips by the way they strut and form cliques here at times. Much of the time, If you have any opinion, you're WRONG and simply not allowed your own opinion about diddly without being called out. hint hint... Opinions about others should not be welcomed. Opinions about topics should be welcome. Here, it's become the other way around. Simply put.

a reply to: TrueAmerican

i saw this and remembered "oh yeah, websites cost to run" and turned off adblocker

Disabled my ad-blocker. Least i could do. Recently joined and will eventually donate also. Have always loved this site. Its in my cycle of websites i check each night after work. Its worth disabling for the Aircraft Projects forum alone i reckon!

Of course being a conspiracy site, i always wondered who was watching these sites. I also tend to browse the internet blocking as much as i can because why not? Its not like ive ever bought one thing from an ad? But thanks to people here who know better and help explain these things, im willing to concede because this is one of the best sites i know of, and if its a good thread i bet i wont even notice the ads.

As long as its not a conspiracy to install malware and track users, some kind of psy-op to influence our thinking, or anything else nefarious, i dont THINK i have a problem.

Long live ats!!

I've been around here for a long time... a long time...

Long enough to remember Simon Gray, John Lear and all of the madness that has surrounded this glorious bed of lunacy as it's developed and grown. No, this hasn't always been my username. People's situations change and they need to remove themselves from the past. I'm sure this applies to a lot of members. Some will have been banned, some will have not. However, there are inevitably those of us who have been around for a lot longer than it may seem and, if we were to reveal former usernames, some of the old timers may recognise them. The point that I'm making with this is to not assume, from a join date, that the period of time elapsed is the only period of time the member has spent on ATS.

I read a post earlier that said ATS needed to embrace twitter. ATS were very early promoters of Twitter, if I recall correctly...

Anyway, back onto topic...

I don't get much of a chance to log in these days. Demanding job, too many kids and a house to run kinda saps all of my energy but I've only found ads to be an issue when I access the site on my iPad. Then they often make it a real struggle to read a thread.

Other than that, I don't have an issue with them. I ignore them.

What I do have an issue with is the immaturity of some posts these days. There are flames left, right and centre. There is foul language. Ad hominem attacks seem commonplace and one liners are everywhere.

Perhaps, back in the chaos days we lost too many who would fight the good, honourable debate. It's nice to see familiar names - Schuyler, Phage, Zaphod, Isaac Koi, to name but a few.

Maybe a renewal of our core purpose and values would help. Denying ignorance. Deny ignorance was once a true war cry, shouted from the rooftops by members who dug deep into things. Now it's more of a murmur, lost amongst the childishness.

Perhaps it's the way the web has developed. Perhaps I'm just getting old. I don't know.

Ads - not a problem, apart from on iPad.

Members - grow up (some of you).

...I await the insults with baited breath.

Peace,

Cado

originally posted by: EmpathicBandit
ok..

I saw SO's threads about subscriptions and adblocker, etc etc.. i signed in for the first time in a couple years to respond to it after thinking. I notice the sub thread is closed, and then i saw this one…

Let me start by saying that i have been frequenting ATS for the better part of 10 years, every day, multiple times a day. This website has become a part of my life, and changed it (for better or worse) and my outlook of the world in that time.

Back in the day, ATS used to be a wellspring of knowledgeable members with quality content to contribute for the community to absorb and respond to, it was a place for ideas to be shared and picked apart by the community, who would no doubt identify any discrepancies present and eventually get to a reasonable "bottom of things".

That ATS, which i so lovingly called a part of my life, no longer exists.

Gone are the days of intelligent conversation and reasonable debates.

We have, over the recent years, been inundated with ads that cover the screen, ads that play music and video, banner ads full of tracking cookies and potentially malicious software - this is where i decided that coming here may not be worth my time anymore. When it took 2 minutes to load the homepage due to the number of ads playing, i didnt come here for about 6 months. I was glad to see it's been toned down since then; however, there is a larger issue.

Its the quality of the content and the quality of the membership.

These days, you can go into nearly any board (with the exception of some of the more specialized, professional ones, like aviation) click on any multi-page thread and see that it has been de-railed by page 2-3.

in the meantime, most of the content on those pages prior are filled with one line responses designed to make the writer feel important while not contributing anything of worth to the discussion AT ALL, while the remainder of them are nothing more than veiled defamations and character assaults. It is a rare sight these days to come across a thread worth reading the comments of, never mind a thread worth reading.

Gone are the days when a thread had proper formatting, an introduction, body, and conclusion. Lost to the ever changing web of code we see before us, at the hands of the "signed in members" you say are so critical to this sites survival.

I am one of the 80% of non-logged in members, and i have been here for longer than a lot of people.

What i am trying to say is… Why on earth would i log in and contribute to this site, if the majority of whats received is flaming, bordering on hate speech and xenophobia? The T&C's are clear on many issues, and while i am aware the mods are volunteers and there is a massive amount of content here, if i am expected to take this seriously and be a contributing member, never mind consider paying for an ad-free experience, then i expect a few things in return.

Namely, consistency and quality. Would i ever pay for this site as it is now? No.

And quite frankly, this site doesn't deserve a penny in subscriptions from anyone the way it is. Donations? all for it. Of course things cost money. Ads? Sure, of course, its the internet. And even tho it may not be hugely monetized, the operators are certainly entitled to make some profit from their committed endeavours where they are able.

But don't for a second think that you have any say over what i use on my browser, or how i do so.

If there is any issue with people using adblocker on this site, then it is due to the quality, content, number, and frequency of ads that we are inundated with regularly. I have not once seen an advertisement on this site for something that i was interested in, nor anything thats related to the content of the site. I have had slow load times, annoying sounds, and videos that eat bandwidth, not to mention that huge one that covered the whole screen for a while there.

Surely there must be a better way to go about advertising with relevant content that people wont despise seeing.

Online advertising is to the point where most people either "tune them out" or simply adblock them. Why should ATS be any different? Because we're a "community" ? Hardly. This is as much a community as a notice board on a bus-stop with a few regulars who never seem to catch their bus.

Many members have said "bring back the store!" which is a nice idea, but all in all, the profit of such a thing will hardly outweigh the investment necessary to make it viable.

What needs to be done, is to restore ATS to its former glory.

ZERO TOLERANCE for one line posts (including all those clever, clever people who write "2nd" afterwards).
ZERO TOLERANCE for hate speech and flaming, character assaults and defamation
ZERO TOLERANCE for the things outlined in the T&C's, like attacking people based on political or religious affiliations
ZERO TOLERANCE for spamming multiple ridiculous threads with frequency exceeding that of a reasonable limit
ZERO TOLERANCE for unsubstantiated claims with no source material

Dare I say, the list could go on.

Sadly, the majority of the comments, and indeed the threads of late, are exactly the content that an outsider would expect from "those conspiracy nutters", "religious whack-jobs" or "political zealots".

Therein lies the problem.

ATS wants to be taken seriously, but refuses to be serious itself.

I wish i could say i was a proud member of this community, but instead, i am relegated to lurking in the shadows, behind a rarely used account name and left to scour the headlines for something worthwhile, between 100 threads about Hillary's emails and 500 threads about what trump said at his last rally.

Get it together people.

THEN ask me about subscription fees.
THEN ask me to turn off my adblocker.
THEN we might actually have some worthwhile discussion.

Deny Ignorance, people. That's what we're supposed to be here for.

But alas, the ignorance is plentiful and the ignorant reign supreme here on ATS.

Thanks for reading.

EmBa

Great post and really sums up most of the points people have made.
I'd pay $10 a month without thinking if ATS was anything like the site it used to be.
Sadly owners and staff are in denial and will tell members constantly that nothing has changed and it's all in our minds and the site is as good and there is no hate speech blah blah.
It's pure BS.

This site is a poor impersonation of the ATS of yesteryear and it has zero to do with nostalgia and everything to do with hate speech and all of the things listen in this excellent post quoted above.
ATS wanted numbers through the door - that was literally that mattered and with that came relaxing of the T&C and allowing racists and bigots a platform to spew their hate.
Hate is popular, hate gets new people in the door - new people means more money for ATS and that is all that matters.

All people want to do here is chat and share info and read stuff.

ATS have tried and failed with almost every venture they've tried.

Members media section
Conspiracy chicks.
ATS press/local reporters.

There are many others but my mind is blank.
Nobody wants that stuff - everything that makes/made this site great has slowly disappeared and I have no idea what the future will bring.
The post above highlights many issues and I hope owners listen although I won't hold my breath

a reply to: Iamnotadoctor

Why are you being a knob jockey to everyone ?