Ask a question

I been a member of ATS for a while and despite my user name Im not an expert at everything. However If you new to ATS feel free to ask me a question. I will do my best to answer your questions and If need I will direct them to someone who knows the answer.

Other members are welcome to answer questions. Mods if you feel this thread is a bit off track you can take any action that is needed.

Here some personal advice from Xpert11 note this isnt official advice but it has helped me.

1. Avoid one liners when I first joined I soon got sick of being fined for one lines.
   
2. Dont take the debates personly. During my time on ATS I havnt been attacked personly. Take a deep breath have a laugh and be thankful ATS offers such a wide view of opinons.
   
3. ATS caters for many interests take the time to vist ATS/PTS/BTS and dont be afriad to ask questions.
   
4. Be prepared for culture clashes ATS is a global community this dosnt mean you should make personly attacks on other members or put up with attacks on you personly.
   
5. Take a brief look around before posting a new topic. This will help the same topic being repeated. Sometimes I find an article that has new info but dosnt justife a new thread. In that case I will add the new article to an existing thread and try to add my point of view.
   

Enjoy your stay on ATS !


[edit on 14-12-2005 by xpert11]

[edit on 14-12-2005 by xpert11]

Look in the field by your name. How do you spell religion? lol.

Sorry, just had to be a smart guy here.

The only stupid question, is the one you didn't ask, but don't be surprised if you get teased about the silly ones.

I'll be sure & ask questions, if I get any, have no fear of that. I love to learn.

[edit on 14-12-2005 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

I was curious.
How does one become a "contributor?"

Ther.... three lines. 8^)

Originally posted by zappafan1
How does one become a "contributor?"

I'm guessing you mean in ATSNN (it's a title there).

Currently you click the "send news" button up top and submit a news story. The guidelines for doing that are here:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

The the stories get voted on by the members. If it gets voted "in" then you get a contributor "point."

Eventually when you have enough points you become an expert and can submit straight in without the voting process (I'm pretty sure).

It's been awhile for me and ATSNN is going through some possible changes, but at this point I think that covers it.

since xpert is offline, I'll answer your question

"Contributer" status is given to anyone who submits an accepted News article to ATSNN.

Look above, next to MCenter and you'll see the tab, "Send News"

However before you start submitting news, I suggest you get familiar with ATSNN, start here:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

you can also u2 anyone with "Expert" title for help when putting your article together.

Originally posted by zappafan1
I was curious.
How does one become a "contributor?"

Ther.... three lines. 8^)

Simple. Find an appropriate news article, click on "SendNews," and follow these simple instructions:

Intro:

At least three sentences summarizing the article. No direct quotes. No personal opinions. No bias.

Source:
About four paragraphs from the article, but since journalists rarely follow formal writing styles, just enough to get the point across.

Analysis:

A paragraph or two telling the board what you think about the subject. A series of questions is not an analysis. If you don't have any independent thoughts on the subject, it would probably be better to call the article to the attention of someone who might.

PS:

Unless you are really familiar with BB codes, ediiting a submission can be tricky. I think it's better to ask for help, otherwise.

tagteam the new guys, why don't we

good work zedd and grady

... that half-nelson really hurts! 8^)
Seriously, thanks for the info.

From the Great Northwoods of Wisconsin....

Here's another question for you pros!

What exactly are those small red titles under peoples custom titles?

I've seen three so far, Writer, Fighter, and Scholar. Wondering how one goes about in attaining one of these for themselves!

Thanks for your time!

Check this out from board info.

The Writer-Fighter-Scholar usertitles are for members who participate in 'special' fora;

The title 'Writer' is for those who participate in the Collaborative Fiction/ Short Stories forum.
Writers are selected by forum staff, but you can also send a u2u to 'John Bull 1'.

The title 'Fighter' is reservated for participants of the Debate Forum, and it's regular Debate Tournaments.
To join the Debate Forum, you must challenge a member, and then send a u2u to 'Kano' with a request for a 'Grudge Match', like this one.
Whenever a Debate Tournament is planned, members will be notified by a mass-u2u, or a notification a top of the forum home page.

Board info

[edit on 20-12-2005 by xpert11]

Originally posted by Conquistadork
What exactly are those small red titles under peoples custom titles?

I've seen three so far, Writer, Fighter, and Scholar. Wondering how one goes about in attaining one of these for themselves!

It's on this page in the Handbook:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

And can be found here:
ABOUT ATS: "Writer-Fighter-Scholar" user titles

Thanks alot guys, been wondering about those!

How do people earn negative points ? If you don't pay them back, do the mod's "drop by for a friendly visit"? What's this nasty rash on my (oops, wrong board)

Originally posted by fingapointa
How do people earn negative points ? If you don't pay them back, do the mod's "drop by for a friendly visit"? What's this nasty rash on my (oops, wrong board)

Actually, thats something else I wanted to know, I tried a search and that didnt work too well for me.

Why do I have -1500 BTS points? I just joined ATS this weekend, and to my knowledge I haven't violated any rules, and I've been having a great time posting and learning, Im kinda wondering why I got whacked with such a mean bill there

You are awarded points per post onATS/PTS/BTS. If you havnt posted on BTS before it is possible that the means used to calculate your ATS points has put you in the red.

I have posted on BTS a couple of times, I dont understand why I've been docked so many points

Originally posted by fingapointa
How do people earn negative points ? If you don't pay them back, do the mod's "drop by for a friendly visit"? What's this nasty rash on my (oops, wrong board)

Originally posted by xpert11
You are awarded points per post onATS/PTS/BTS. If you havnt (sic) posted on BTS before it is possible that the means used to calculate your ATS points has put you in the red.

Dude, I'm sorry, but that's not really an answer, it's more of an assumption that you're making. Believe me, I can do that pretty well for myself, thanks.

I have posted to bts, i've done bts podcasts etc. I don't think I've muddied my boots in pts, yet I have three points. Thanks for trying anyway.

Negative points can be caused from over spending at ATSstore(mCenter) When you use combined points to buy something it will sometimes put you in debt. If you are super nice in a U2U to an admin they can fix it for you.

Thanks again Umbrax, you sure are helpful. I've tried a U2U, still waiting on a response

Umbrax
Negative points can be caused from over spending at ATSstore(mCenter) When you use combined points to buy something it will sometimes put you in debt.

thanks Umbrax, that's why I don't have a credit card!

If you are super nice in a U2U to an admin they can fix it for you.

Wow! I was trying to earn them back by sending jokes to the gripe/idea button, Maybe I could scrub out the ats trash bins ?