The Research Forum Revival

Good Morning Fellow ATS members!

Today I am happy to announce that the research forum is open for business again! We've also revamped some of the rules in order to make it more user friendly for you, the members. Those changes are as follows:

New Moderators

Myself and eriktheawful have volunteered to oversee the forum. We'll be your point of contact with regards to submitting a research request for approval and monitoring your threads. We're also willing to help you along the way whenever possible if you have questions or need some input on a research subject.

Project Requests

For the initial project request you only need to write one or two paragraphs concerning what you wish to research and PM one of the mods. A synopsis or general idea of where you want to take the project. Based off those few paragraphs the Mods will either ask for more info or approve/deny the request.

When PMing your request make sure that you title the PM with:

Research Request: (insert main theme here)

For example:



An example of a Research Request PM:

I'm interested in starting a research project on Big Foot to see if we can prove/disprove he exists. I would like to find the earliest known sighting, map out all the sightings so far, see if there is any consistencies within those sightings, try to find some military or government accounts and weigh all the circumstantial evidence, as well as provide the statistical possibility of big foot existing.

Some areas I would like to explore are the pre flood accounts, anything documented in ancient texts, military/government documents, clusters of sightings and any correlations that may be relevant such as time of year (do they have migration patterns?), and any UFO sightings/animal mutilations that may have occurred at the same time.

My Research Team:
1. Name
2. Name
3. Name

So we are looking for a detailed description...but not a book. If you have a team already in place to help you we would like you to list them as well.

Formatting your PM like that will allow the mods to sort through, prioritize, and respond quicker to your requests. It also will help them to be able to track each research project more efficiently.


All research requests will be fielded through myself and Eric and we will have final say as to whether your project gets accepted or not. We may also be able to help you get your research team together and will give you access to our new off site research hub. Which brings us to the next update:

Research Done Offsite

When your project is accepted all research will be done off site (but still anonymously) until the point that you are ready to post your findings/thread. All research members will be given access to this site once the project is accepted and the team is set up. The Mods will have full access at any time to monitor your progression.

This means you are able to keep the thread a surprise until the point you are ready to post. Also it will allow you to have real time collaboration with your fellow researchers so you can track your progress, collect data, assign areas of research, and format the thread the way you choose before you post it.

All research threads have to be approved before they are posted

Because you are posting offsite, the final draft of the research project must be submitted for review before posting. If they are posted without the review they will be removed and access to the forum will be taken away.

New Thread Format

The flow of the thread is pretty important. Because of this we have a guideline that you can follow. This is only a guideline. When you are dealing with a lot of information it helps to have a general idea of how you want the thread to be written:

• Introduction
  
• Overview
  
• History
  
• New/current information
  
• Conclusions
  
• Final Thoughts

We would also like to see both viewpoints (for/against) represented when ever possible. But again, the format of the thread will be based on what subject you're covering and how you wish to present it. This is just a guide.

Rewards and Title

The reward system stays the same.

Project Level (1)
A minimum of 3 overall contributing posts from each team member. 1 applause each for completion. Team leader's receive 1 applause as a bonus.

Project Level (2)
A minimum of 5 contributing posts from each team member. 3 applause each for completion. Team leader's receive a 2 applause bonus on top.

Project Level (3)
A minimum of 10 contributing posts from each team member. All researchers must have posted at least once. 5 applause's each for completion. Team leader's receive a bonus of 2 applause.

Project Level (4)
A minimum of 25 contributing posts from each team member. All researchers must have posted at least once. 7 applause's each for completion. Team leader's receive 3 applause.

When your project is accepted, you will still be given scholar status. This will allow you to have access to the research forum as well as the offsite research hub.

If for some reason you are unable to complete the research project, there is a possibility of losing your scholar status.

Completion Timeframes

Once your project is accepted, you will have a maximum of 4 weeks to complete the research and an additional 1-2 weeks to post (6 weeks total). With a team of 3 or more and having assigned research areas, you should be able to complete a quality researched thread in that time frame. Obviously the more team members you have the easier and more detailed your research can be.


That's it really. To recap:

• New Mods
  
• Easier submission process
  
• Offsite research with real time collaboration
  
• Thread Format Guide
  
• Same Reward System
  
• 4-6 weeks completion date.

What We Need From You


We are looking for some people who would like to participate in a research project and gain scholar status. If you are interested and don't really care what the project is, please PM either myself or Eric to get your name on a list. If you have a certain area of interest you should include that too. For example:

I would like to participate in a research project for:

1. UFO's
2. Paranormal
3. Big Pharma
4. MK Ultra

And we need ideas for research projects. Anyone who has been kicking around making a thread but hasn't had the time and thinks that it would be a good research project, either PM a mod or place it in this thread.

These two things alone will help out with the re-launch and help us get back to making all those quality, well researched threads that everyone has said they've been missing.

Thanks in advance!!
Enjoy!!

a reply to: DrumsRfun

Really excited to see this forum up and running again!!

If anyone needs a member to fill an open slot on their team, just send me a PM! I'm interested in almost any subject matter.

Thanks!
blend

a reply to: DrumsRfun

An inconspicuous bump.

Think this would be fun....

Need a few more to start a research project..anyone??

I'll pay for the beer if that helps..

Another shameless bump for all those that are interested.

originally posted by: eriktheawful
Another shameless bump for all those that are interested.

I stopped posting here when you guys shut down my Nixon's Apollo thread. Now you are begging for a research revival. God damnit. Make up your minds!

Bumping this once more.

I have a project I need help with. The research part. It is philosophical in nature and there are many avenues that it could go down.

If anyone's interested please PM Drums or eric...

Thanks!
blend