Forum Domination by Politics

It has drifted away from It's original core aims and become more and more a regional political website. There's been threads like this before but as the traffic still seems to be there, there doesn't seem to be any desire to get it back onto It's original track. Long term this is probably a foolish decision, but that's just my opinion. It is down to the management to steer it in whatever direction they see fit.
On a personal level though I do find it very sad.

a reply to: DoubleDNH
If you don't like the tenor of the site, then I suggest that you stay out of the mudpit. Not only do I not engage in that forum, I don't even read items posted there anymore. What becomes apparent is that many topics that could be of interest are opened up there, and only there...discouraging civilised discourse. Kinda make you question the end game...

I think there are several reasons:

1. ATS is a conspiracy website.

2. There's a lot more information out there than there was 10 years ago, and certainly a S# ton more information than there was 20 years ago. The Internet, good or bad, has opened the doors to the world and much of the information in it. So, to this end, a credible "conspiracy theory" doesn't stay 'credible' very long. Things like UFO's and bigfoot are much more easily debunked now than they ever were. This is due in part to dramatic improvements in camera and video technology...and of course, the Internet.

3. The true "conspiracy" theories, things like the NWO, shadow governments and false flag operations were once way out there on the fringe of conspiracies, real tin-foil hat stuff. Now, people have seen these things become reality right before their very eyes. So what was once 'fringe' conspiracy has now become mainstream conspiracy...and even reality in some cases. Your TV really does listen to you, and your computer really does watch you...and no amount of tin-foil will change this. But one has to ask why? Why do all these things occur? And, the answer to this is, because people in positions of power can use this information to their advantage. So who are these people in positions of power? Well, politicians certainly rank high on this list. In other words, the REAL conspiracies of the modern day IS politics and power. Bigfoot and UFO's hold a very distant backseat to these subjects.

4. Because, after all, ATS is a "conspiracy" website.

Footnote - As for this constant yammering about a right-bent on ATS, that's just hogwash and sour grapes. Just 3 years ago you could have made the exact same argument about a left-bent on ATS. I openly admit being conservative, but I get posts deleted just like everyone else does. I see no bias in the moderation of this forum. (On a partisan note, I think the left whines more loudly about it, but that's the nature of their platform...to whine, but that's just my opinion.) I joined ATS in 2013 (6 years ago) and at that time it appeared like ATS leaned so far left I feared I would never even fit in and would eventually get the boot. However, upon closer inspection I found the one thing I really loved about ATS, and this was it promoted differing views and debate. It forced you to think about what you were posting, knowing full well there would be those who disagreed. Knowing you might have to debate to prove your point or view. It was the core spirit of ATS.

Lastly, the facts are; if you want to post something about Bigfoot, or UFO's or anything else, you are welcome (encouraged even) to do so. They may get shot down quickly with facts, but the really enduring "conspiracies" of the current times are in politics and current events around the globe.

Again, because after all, ATS is a conspiracy website.

Well, recently, I was looking into changing my user name because of privacy concerns and I was told the only way to do it was to create a new account and have them disable this one. Which sounded good enough. And then I was told that new accounts require social media instead of email address. Which is something I've never heard of for registering for a forum.

When you consider the nature of the forum, linking it to your social media seems like a bad idea. So maybe that's why things are stagnating. Who wants to join a conspiracy forum that's connected directly to Facebook? No thank you!

Very strange and unusual policy if you ask me. Maybe I misunderstood it?

I don't even have a Facebook account so I guess I am stuck with the user name I have.

originally posted by: DoubleDNH
How sad is it that 16 of the top 17 topics are in the political mud pit or other political forums? There must be more things to talk about than regurgitating political news stories from other websites.

Yes, but tons of forums that are not. We pick and chose and its easy to avoid the vitriol if you so chose and just sink your teeth into a good old conspiracy.....................

The aviation forum is also one of the best around if planes are your thing.