Transparency On The Future of ATS

I think SkepticOverlord is saying, "ATS is FOR SALE." Buy it or it's going the way of the DoDo bird.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

This is coming from someone who is pretty ignorant when it comes to the costs associated with hosting a website, so what I'm about to say could sound completely idiotic.

I'd be willing to bet at least 90% of the content on this site hasn't been accessed in over a year. So what if you just deleted large swaths of the site?

Sure it would suck to lose a large part of the site's history, but if it keeps server costs down and keeps the lights on, isn't that better than losing everything?

Although I'm not a fan of the partisan stuff, this forum is addictive in that way that I enjoy and like my forums to be and is endearing and welcoming in all the right ways (despite some flaws). I have never been able to quite resist coming here to see what's up ever since I joined. I would not like to see it go but I understand and think most forums are going away pretty soon for mostly the same reasons. Most people are not going to pay to post on a forum no matter how unique and how much they enjoy it. And most ads are annoying and seem to be designed to be so people just automatically block them everywhere because if you don't, it just gets unbearable to have to constantly deal with it.

originally posted by: SkepticOverlord

If a buyer is not found, and revenue cannot support hosting costs. Yes.

Would a transition from third party ads to second party ads make a difference.

With the amount of current members there must be more than enough people willing to pay a LOT more than the pitiful amounts that big third party companies offer.

Keep it in the family so to speak.

The Above Top Secret Web site is a wholly owned social content community of The Above Network, LLC.

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.

All content copyright 2020, The Above Network, LLC.

Is TAN LLC going bust ?

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

My thoughts exactly. I wouldn't pay for an ATS subscription in its current state. Why should I give them money just to be insulted by users on a daily basis?

For me to even consider a subscription they would have to return to the vigilant moderation of the past. No minimal posts. No baiting or insults of any kind. Etc.

Of course I'm sure there's a large group of people that wouldn't subscribe if such methods were put in place. They're paying customers. They should be able to say whatever they want.

originally posted by: projectvxn
a reply to: Aallanon

I'm merely illustrating the difference in product. I also don't think 100% subscription based is the way to go.

There should be paid and unpaid-with ads membership, There should be a tipping system to create a localized economy within ATS using cryptocurrency. There should be donation buttons and crypto addresses available for those who wish to contribute that way.

Start a swag shop (not cafe press but a good one), start hosting heavily sponsored threads and articles. Start a member verification system. None of this stuff is impossible. We just need to way to make it happen.

Projectvxn this is not directed at you. And I appreciate your willingness support of ATS 👍

ATS has done all of this in the past.

I donated back when we ( I say we like I and others own the site, I do not but this is a great place ) had security issues. The site got bombed with hacks around 2016. SkepticOverlord "Bill" didn't want to do it, but it was needed for upgrades.

Fond memories here, I joined ( but lurked prior ) when the site went through an upgrade August 2013. The site had YT videos, merc, member podcasts... never did get that damn coffee mug. Wake up before the sun and leave the morning t.v. news off... fired up the tablet and coffee, realizing I got more information right here before the paperboy's mother beat the alarm clock with a bat for the 3rd time.


Point...
I pay $10 per month so my nieces and nephews can watch Netflix
$10 for the same little bastarrrrr.... YT w/o ads
$4 per month ( jib jab my sanity )



Now, are the owners of the site worn out? Hope not. I know everyone has stated it's not cost effective to maintain. But I would pay subscription.

a reply to: DoctorBluechip

It's not any of your business to know the inner workings of a privately owned company.

Chill out.

a reply to: Bigburgh

Now, are the owners of the site worn out?

It seems that way.

I know what's been said about the subscription idea, but I would love to kick in to a gofundme or whatever. I wouldn't think twice about it.

originally posted by: hawkguy
I would commit to a membership. I believe many of the contributing members in Aircraft Projects would feel similarly. There's a quite interesting and eclectic mix of voices here and I feel that the quality contributors would be retained in a transition to a membership based model.

Toxicity would almost certainly decrease as well.

That's what I'm most wondering is where are all of those folks gonna go, since that's my favorite forum. Wherever they wind up, I'd like to follow.

originally posted by: TomLawless
a reply to: DoctorBluechip

It's not any of your business to know the inner workings of a privately owned company.

Chill out.

But it's ok to be informed regarding the revenue stream of a particular subsidiary ?

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Who s getting annoyed ?

What's to say something important has been written and ' someone's ' getting paid off to wipe it away ?
For transparency it's as clear as mud so far

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Hey.how much cash do you need to make ATS safe for the next year? Im gonna start a Go fund me,under business for ATS if i can.

ANd SKeptic,make a list of the sections people use alot. Keep those destroy the rest,and you save hosting cost.

a reply to: face23785

reserve posting privlidges for paying members,but still allow non paying current members to view it and lurk with ads.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

This will indeed be a terrible loss, not only for people to freely air there belief's and point's - as long as they stay civil and don't break the entirely reasonable rules - but also as a loss of a great archive of Data that may be irreversibly lost to the rest of the internet.

Let us hope the likes of Youtube and Twitter get there comeuppance soon because it is the likes of those that have done most damage to the net, this site for any fault's it may have had over the years it is actually in line with the TRUE spirit of the net, free sharing of information, idea's and belief's.

Sadly there are those that do not like freedom in this world.

I only ever once in a blue moon check my Email, most often there is nothing on TV and even without logging in I check out this site as perhaps the first and last thing I do on my PC, what is the point of having the net if it is just advertising non stop, most of us would not be too bothered if to save the site it had a small window that ran advert's and video's as we trust the owners of the site to do there best to prevent malware abusing these services.

Sad day if it comes to pass and a true loss not least to the historic debates and threads that are of international importance.

This is gonna happen, the last bastion of information will be sniffed out as we all enter the end game.

There will be no instructions guide you, no knowledge or forewarning to be had.

All dissenting or different opinions will have been snuffed out

a reply to: yuppa

It’s also about their time spent with the site, they don’t have it, It’s not just about the funds.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

...with nothing to lose, and clear consequences on the horizon, wouldn't it be worth a try to revisit this? It doesn't sound particularly intrusive, and I'm seeing a lot of support in this thread for ATS to experiment with different monetizing tactics.

If the alternative is closing the virtual doors...I don't think it really makes a difference if some members get aggravated over a minor change. And I think, judging from this thread, you might find that attitudes on the issue have potentially changed.

There are a lot of older people on ATS, though, so I think a step by step guide for setting Adblock exceptions would likely be needed. No offense to the boomers here...y'all just didn't grow up with computers.

Also, all the people talking about getting rid of older or inactive content...traffic is what costs money, hosting storage is dirt cheap, so those inactive threads are likely not what's driving up the cost. Data moved, not data stored, is the real money pit.

originally posted by: Ahabstar
a reply to: DBCowboy

People have no idea how deep that last post was. They don’t know what ATS was like in the old days that they lament.

Decorum was a BIG DEAL back then. More so than the T&C to a degree. Because Manners was a big time offense that caused quite a few to start over collecting bling. Losing an account back in the day was a very big deal when you had to rebuild your inbox capacity, earn an avatar, space to upload an image or even the later reduced ads displayed for having bronze, silver or gold contributor status.

I really should do a “memory lane” thread.

I owe ATS so much in regards to the decorum I learned to uphold, in my early days here I had huge anxiety issues and this site genuinely helped me to hold my own in a debate whilst not being a big meanie about it... A trait that's rare on the internet these days

Maybe if I never joined ATS in the past I wouldn't interact with the WWW in the manner that I do, the civility and decorum here are huge traits I learned and I know I owe that learning curve to ATS.

So thank you MODS, owners and everyone on ATS.