So, Was ATS Really Better "Back In The Day"?

Inspired by this thread and oh so many like it, I decided to start a new thread so that we can explore the burning question:

Was ATS Really Better "Back In The Day"?

Let's Deny Ignorance and see for ourselves!

ATS Through The Ages

There are many different methods available for "gravedigging", but one of the easiest ways to get a feel for what ATS was like in the Good Old Days is to simply go to the forum you're interested in and click on the ">>" navigation symbol to go way back.

Back to a simpler, idyllic, magical time when members were members, conspiracy theorists wrestled with the dinosaurs for FOIA requests, ATS threads (it was called "Ye Olde Abouve Toppe Seackrette Conspyracye Shoppe" back then, and members wore onions on their belts) were chiseled by hand on stone tablets, and the stonefoiler's life (they didn't have tinfoil in those days) was dangerous and uncertain -- any conspiracy could be your last!

Fig. 1: King John orders the execution of all ATS members.

Gather round friends! Gaze ye with widening, awestruck eyes through those ancient, dust-mantled, hand-crafted threads of yore and marvel at the magnificence and splendor that was The Golden Age Of ATS!

Squire Majycke's Esoteric Grimoire Of The Arcane

For your browsing convenience, I have taken the liberty of including some starting points below.

Come! Return with me now to those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear...

Board Questions & Business circa 2002/2003

Aliens & UFOs circa 2002

Secret Societies circa 2002/2003

Area 51 and other Facilities circa 2002/2003

Weaponry circa 2003

Paranormal Studies circa 2002/2003

There it is: but a small sample of the Glory That Was ATS, on grand display for all the world to see.

And there is much, much more where that came from: tens of thousands of threads left to us by The Great Old Ones in the hope that their profound wisdom would not be lost to the ages, but be revealed to future generations so they might benefit therefrom.

Fig. 2: If a book is ancient, it must contain profound wisdom.

Just start at the back of any forum and work your way forward to read of the Epic Greatness to which modern ATSers cannot possibly hope to aspire! :shk:

Like The Sands Of The Hourglass

So, was The Way We Were really better than The Way Things Are?

I think that's a matter of opinion, which naturally means there will be disagreement.

Some will say yes, some will say no.

Those who think the old ATS was better can read the old posts, take inspiration from the ATS Legends and endeavor to adapt their posting style to match.

Those who think the old ATS wasn't quite what it's cracked up to be might well find confirmation in the eldritch threads themselves, and perhaps learn from them in a different sense.

As has always been the custom of ATS, ancient or modern, the question is left to you -- the member -- to decide.

LOL... Great post.

No, ATS was not any better "back in the day".

I joined in late 2004 and was a voracious member for four solid months, till I realized I was seeing the same things, day after day, which I summarized in this lovely little time capsule:

Black Triangles are being piloted by Reptilian Psychic Vampires from Atlantis!


which I think adequately describes exactly what ATS was like "back in the day". It's the same as it is now. The main difference is that I've come to accept that 99.9% of what gets posted is the same regurgitated baseless statements with zero supporting evidence other than heresay.

It's that one post in a thousand that keeps me coming back, time after time...

...well, that, boredom, and a few really cool members (you know who you are).

Originally posted by Majic

Fig. 1: King John orders the execution of all ATS members.

Good Lord, Majik...the Pope is in the background of your "photo", overseeing and giving the Papal Blessing to the execution of all ATS members!!!

Shouldn't this be moved to the Religious Conspiracies section?

I think Thelibra has it right and for a lot of reasons, but primarily because of the nature of "conspiracy thought" as I believe he/she alluded to.

An excellent book on this subject, by Gregory Camp, is:

"Selling Fear: Conspiracy Theories and End-Times Paranoia"

Even if folks don't agree with anything this guy has to say, it does force people to examine the way they think about some of the more popular conspiracy theories.

And only 285 pages, too...



[edit on 5/11/2006 by apocalypticon]

To take an honest dig at the question- yeah, for some forums, it WAS better back in the day.

Collaborative fiction, back in teh day, SEEMED better. But that's more a matter of neglect...

DE

Hey DeusEx:

As you can see from my registration date, I have been here not quite a year so my opinion of the "early days" is based only on the admittedly selective reading I have done of earlier topics (and, as we all know, ATS is a huge site, info wise).

I happily defer any real comparisons between earlier and present-day ATS quality to you older hands.

But, even in the time I have been here, I have noticed the same thing which Thelibra put into words so well.

And on some subjects (sorry, didn't mean to shout) such as the Illuminati, etc., I think it tends to be the same thing:

Rehash, Rehash, Rehash...Evidence? Evidence? Evidence?

Really depends how far 'back in the day' you wish to go.

I first joined ATS back in the EZBoard days...2000 or thereabouts. Back then the membership was much much MUCH smaller. As such most posters knew eachother quite well and often the 'rules' in regards to how we interacted were a bit more lax than they are today. For instance, there were occasions where the gloves came off and things got heated...sometimes even downright nasty...but that was okay, as in a way it allowed the members to get a deeper insight into what made eachother tick. IMO, there was - for some members - a stronger sense of community within the smaller membership numbers...however that is no different to any community. A small village/town tends to have closer connections than say a large city.

There also tended to be less 'chit-chat' on the early EZBoard forums, the areas/subject of discussions also tended to be more restricted/specific.

That said - Was ATS really better 'back in the day'?:

In some ways - for me personally - yes. BUT on the whole I think its a case of comparing apples and oranges. I also think its a case of the ol' rose-tinted glasses for some of us old-timers. I do not see how we could really compare the earlier incarnations of ATS with ATS in its current form.

If you allow me to go with a bit of a motoring analogue: Its like comparing an old Ford Escort with a modern Ford Escort Cosworth...while the old classic Escort will have its following, its fond memories and still be in demand by a select few...the more modern version brings with it years of development and advancement, more performance and 'creature comforts'...the modern version is technologically far more superior in so many ways...its more driveable, reliable and easier to also find/add 'bolt-on' bits to upgrade it as needed.

...so yes...while I miss the ol classic Escort I grew up with and learnt to drive in as a young-un...I'd be more than happy peering out the window and seeing a new Escort Cosworth in the driveway...

i love ATS now way better than "back in the day"...

i love the members and the threads more and more everyday

Glad to hear my thread was an inspiration Majic!

I think my opinion has been clearly stated in my thread that you have kindly linked - however I will reiterate the key points.

'Back in the day' (late 2002 - early 2003 for me) I found the people on the site to be much more respectful towards each other and more critical of the threads posted.

People wouldnt just blindly accept any ridiculous posts that were made, or encourage anybody who made them without critically analysing their claim or story.

As an example of how (in my mind) this has changed, there was recently a thread posted by a member, who claimed to be in contact with Alien overlords that resided in the center of the hollow earth that trapped our souls here with their superweapon the HARPP.

The response by some members to this post were utterly ridiculous. People started reverently asking the OP questions as if he was some enlightened prophet, others started encouraging him by asking how they too could get in contact with these 'great beings'.

The reason this upsets me, is because if an ordinary member of the public (not a member of the site) happened to come across that thread and read some of the garbage that was posted - I could only imagine that their opinion of this site would be severley lessened and that they would pass this site off as nothing but a bunch of loonies!

This is a serious injustice to the other members of this site who have often posted well thought out and well researched posts - posts which the above mentioned member might never bother to read, as he has been put off by the often ridiiculous claims made by some members.

Irrespective of all that - I miss the good old days, but am still enjoying myself and hope to contribute to ATS for many years to come.

Certain things were better in my opinion.

There was less of a political slant to most posts back in the day of late '02 and '03. Much less about the politics of stuff, more about core conspiracies.

Ofcourse, you can only dicuss such stuff so much before you gotta move on.

What struck me was all the threads with negative numbers of replies. In otherwords, banned members.

Twas a shame. We lost a big chunk of some seriously fascinating people.

I do prefer the ATS of old. It was alot more focused and critically paranoid. Plus, I remember the little bars we had under our avatars, one for ET resistance, one for NWO resistance, ect. And of course, the mood meters. They really were the good ol days.

But times have changed. People are gone, the site has gone in a different direction. Its nice to remember back, but those days can never return, so we move foward.

Hey alien,

What in the heck is an Escort "Cosworth"?

Afraid my Americo-centrism is showing

Originally posted by apocalypticon
Hey alien,

What in the heck is an Escort "Cosworth"?

Afraid my Americo-centrism is showing

Early original Ford Escort MK1 from the late '60s:



Modern Ford Escort MK5 RS-Cosworth...2lt 4 cylinder DOHC 16v turbocharged and four-wheel drive...from the mid to late 90s

Hey alien (as in "I say a friendly 'hey' to you"),

Thanks for the pics!

That second pic doesn't look at all like the Ford Escort ZX2 my daughter totaled; is it only for the European market?

C'mon you guys, stop laughing...I know less about cars than just about anything...

lurker since 2003, member since 2004. Has the site changed? Yep. Has the members changed? Yep. Are we better or worse? Neither, we've evolved to current conditions.

I know of many members who were active posters then who just don't post anymore, some have been banned and for justifiable reasons in my opinion because they violated the terms and conditions in one way or another, some just don't have the time or capacity to post anymore. Some let their online egos take over their true personalities and well some people just have lots of issues.

So was ATS really better "back in the day"?

I don't think so, I think it is "our" perspectives that have changed. To us long term members things that were once fresh, new and exciting to us because of our limited exposure to them are now not so fresh, new and exciting because we are over exposed to them. You can only discuss the end of the world in 2012, or the existence of aliens, or the 911 conspiracy so many times without beginning to think you and the discussion have started to sound like a broken record.

I think what has happen is that with our evolving membership, newer members are not really researching and looking for all the threads we already have and are jumping into "tired" discussions right away. When I finally became a member it was after spending countless hours just reading, reading everything that was written before I came along and when I started posting...I remember a few applauses back then, it was because I started threads on topics I hadn't seen being discussed on ATS. Now even I get tired of seeing the same old stuff rehashed over and over again, but I too have evolved have learned to have a little more patience and evolve with the membership as a whole. ATS to me has never been about one single person or a select group of members, it has and will always be about sharing, teaching and learning what I know and don't know. It will always be the place I come to to deny my own ignorance.

I do believe that the ATS of older days was quite different, at least thats my opinion, and I'd have to say that there is a part of me that does yearn to be back there. But I guess thats with anything, we always seem to long for that which is gone, however it really is not gone, just advanced and morphed into something newer and more modernized in keeping with the change of time. Maybe its just me, however I do think that some of the threads that come to us now would have been really challenged to survive in the older times of ATS. And I think that is one of the main things I myself have noticed, though it may just be me and the way I see it.
All in all though ATS is and Always will be ATS, as I see no difference in the way that the site is being governed and I see the goals of staff and owners as being the same. Heads up for ATS!

I was a viewer of the "Class of '97", you make no mention of that. ATS is older than most people think. But then again, I was also even more bored than everyone else I know.

The first time I got in ATS was in 2003 looking for UFOs information and a link to me here it was early in that year, I didn't join until later that same year because I didn't want to give out my personal information.

After I joined with another name I forgot my password and never came back.

Until 2004. . . I did the joining all over again. . .now I have been here since then.

I have seen all kind of changes and the board getting bigger and I am very happy with all that.