UFO Forum READ BEFORE Posting **02/18/2007 UPDATE***

While "slugging it out" over what is and is not a real UFO may be an admirable trait in some quarters it's not happening here. This site is not for the dog eat dog CRAP we see almost everywhere else in the UFO "field" ...

The civil and courteous discussion of ideas, sightings, reports, beliefs, opinions and stories is what this forum is for. It is NOT a bully pulpit for or against the potential reality of aliens from extraterrestrial origin.

Whenever we catch someone attempting to hoax this community we ban them straight away. By "hoaxing" I mean imparting information as fact when it is impossible to back it up in the hope of convincing people to act or support the information in some overt way.

That is NOT the same as presenting your life experience or opinions/beliefs on the subject as just that, your opinions, beliefs and experiences and I will not tolerate ANYONE getting rude or acting uncivil toward those who would share these things with our community.

If the Members don't want to read the information they won't and the thread will die, we do NOT need some sort of self appointed vigilante group policing threads on ATS, we have a great staff that handles that business for us.

So "slugging it out" on AboveTopSecret.com is simply uncalled for and won't be tolerated. If someone appears to be presenting a hoax as described above simply report the thread via the "Gripe/Idea Button" DO NOT attempt to attack the hoaxer with snide or rude remarks or you may find yourself "out in the cold" right next to him when staff gets to the thread.

NOBODY is going to get hurt by pixels on a screen (with the rare exception of certain epileptic conditions) so if the staff is busy and can't get to the horrendous and offending thread immediately WALK AWAY and ignore it. They will get to it guaranteed.

IF staff decides the thread is in compliance with the "sharing opinions, beliefs and or experiences" and you disagree with the decision simply lodge another gripe/idea for review of your argument.

So everyone is clear, an "experience" would be a conversation one had with "an insider" or a report one heard or a sighting one sighted. An "experience" would NOT be "dudes! I am having breakfast with Vulcans" unless the photos of the morning meal replete with pointed eared guests was attached and found to be unaltered.

Seriously though, common sense and a fair amount of good judgment comes into play since this topic is 99% SUBJECTIVE so our decision process will not satisfy everyone, we accept that.

Springer...
Partner,
AboveTopSecret.com

[edit on 18-2-2007 by SimonGray]

Ok springer, pretend I gave you a WATS, since I can't.

I think this is a very good point. I don't post a lot in this forum, but I do visit it quite often. I've seen several posts by people who report various alien encounters. I think that's perfectly fine to say "I saw a Grey last night in my backyard" or something like that, as long as the poster believes it's true.

What bugs me is when people post something totally baseless and silly like "It is a well-known fact that Draconians from Zeta Reticuli have antigravity technology that they power with a hybrid fuel source of zero point energy and cold fusion." It is very important in all forums, but especially in a controversial one such as this, to stick solely to the facts. Stick to what can be proven, stick to what you saw. And stick to real science.

One other thing I think I should mention. Sometimes I see people who post something like "I saw a UFO last night in XYZ location," and then people will start making fun of the post, or turn it into a giant joke, or say, "you dummy, that was the planet Venus!" or that kind of thing. Honest reports of sightings sometimes turn into giant jokes or insult mudpits, and I don't really like that, either. Sometimes it goes the other way, too. Sometimes responders will ask honest, constructive questions, that may be skeptical, like "maybe you could have seen a plane or a satellite, not a UFO?" or something in a respectful tone, and the poster will get all defensive and angry; that isn't nice, either.

Anyhow, thank you to all who are genuinely striving to make sense of a difficult topic, and please continue to post your sightings. And please, please, please remember the Terms & Conditions, especially the one about not posting anything you know to be false, as well as all the ones about being courteous and nice.

and another thing......

ATS, to their credit, gets alot of new users who are not hip to the "search features" because, obviously they are NEW MEMBERS. In some instances, a new user will put up a UFO picture or video that has already been discussed and volleyed about on ATS.

All of a sudden, the more seasoned members jump all over the thread and sarcastically remark that this is "old news"..."been discussed 100 times" etc.
While they may be true in their remarks, I could see how it may make a new member feel "unwelcome" when all they wanted to do was participate.
Perhaps, a more friendly and helpful tone would be applicable in those instances.....

If only they used the search feature it would greatly help them and us.
Don't get me wrong i too have posted stuff that's been covered mistakenly, but once you use the search you more than likely will find something.

Although sometimes its nice to take another look at something you or i have seen before.

Originally posted by Denied
If only they used the search feature it would greatly help them and us.

Yes, all I'm saying is let's be NICE in telling them about a pic/video/topic that has already been thoroughly discussed already instead of making a new member feel like an a**. They may never come back to the site after such an embarassment.........

100%

I think if we all took a more pro active way in pointing people in the right direction, that would be cool.
Ive had lots of help along the way from other members.

Great post and opinions.

I do have one gripe though. I recently posted a thread regarding the UK Hacker talking specifically about the potential of 'Outer-Planetary fleets'. Now while this has been discussed in a different forum. I posted it in the UFO forum as I wanted a different angle of analysis. I drew up my own conclusions at the bottom of the post relating specifically to ET and UFO notions.

Therefore while the search feature is a great tool to filter out previously discussed threads, I dont see why it isnt always beneficial to post an existing topic in a different forum to gain a different viewpoint on it, especially when the poster has geared it towards different conclusions.

Otherwise whats the point of seperating forums?

[edit on 22-6-2006 by kolo_heights]

So "slugging it out" (a I am not picking on you Spider)

Heck, it's just nice to be noticed.

Spiderj

Originally posted by Spiderj

So "slugging it out" (a I am not picking on you Spider)

Heck, it's just nice to be noticed.

Spiderj

Huh?
Edited that bit OUT...

Springer...

Originally posted by Springer
Huh?

Edited that bit OUT...

Springer...

Ha! But we still agree that for a total dork I am one hardcore rebel right?

Spiderj

I've never had much looking "searching"... here, google, *shrugs* anywhere.

you have to know what you are searching for first off (which I usually don't... it's that song that goes dum dee do da skidly do wa, it's that guy on that show with the thing, it's a picture of so and so holding a whatsit, etc.)

and even if you do think you have the right name, title, date, whatever, you may or may not, Or, the source may or may not...

also, a Lot of UFO pics and movies are called the same thing: UFO.JPG, UFO.WMV, UFO.MPG etc. *rolls eyes* now there's an Easy search *laughs*

Perhaps the powers that be could offer a big point payoff for someone (or some group) that has a Lot more time and energy than me to do something like Gazrok did with his "Compilation: Some of the best UFO Cases (or the Classics)" only with thumbnail pictures of the pictures and movies that have been discussed here with corrosponding links to the appropriate threads and sticky it to the top of the page....

a) that would help prevent people from posting That picture yet again, and

b) it would really help us with our research... I personally would LOVE a list of alla the pics and movies that have been discussed here.

just a thought.

rock on
twj


[edit on 23-6-2006 by torbjon]

Hello every one...i'm new to this, but I believe in every aspect of other beings. I'm no fool...heres a brief out look on my ways of thinking..well I'll try and make it short.

I know there is other beings out there. And for us to truely join the civilization of the universe...human kind has to pass thru the nuclear threshold, which we are in right now. The beings that are ahead of us in life and technology are waiting for us to get a clue as a whole. There are the few of us in this world that have been priviledged to know these's things.
The nulcear thresehold is either going to go one way or another....complete human destruction from are leaders (gov, and religion) or we, and I mean the people that understand whats going on in this world...we haved to spread the word in a bigger way...and if you already are, let me in on it.
Screw leaders, i'm a true believe in become GOD-MAN....everyone has this ability....and I have crossed into it briefly....one day, i'll be about to sustain it longer and longer, then one day i'll have crossed over into the feeling of love forever. Its a process of the brain, that very few have done before, but millions of us are learning how on a daily bases. I'm sure many don't understand that yet, but if you do, i'd love to have a convo, with you.

Well its late, got to get back to work....i'll type more later...hope I have sparked an interest...let me know, ZONIAN

Originally posted by Spiderj

Ha! But we still agree that for a total dork I am one hardcore rebel right?

Spiderj

SpiderJ = HardCore REBEL to da BONE Dawg!






Springer...

If ever a forum required decorum
if ever a forum there were

Then this is the forum in need of decorum
since forum decorum's preferred.

Blues.

Okay, we are receiving LOTS complaints about people failing to adhere to the TOPICAL FOCUS NOT PERSONALITY FOCUS requirement again.

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY:

STRICT TAC ENFORCEMENT is in place in the UFO/ALIEN FORUM

This means if you post a negative comment about another member or take the thread off topic (see examples below) rather than discussing the subject you will be immediately, without warning Post Banned for 3 days.

Examples would be:

(Skeptic) "I demand to see proof of your experience"

(Experiencer) ""You aren't worthy/smart enough to understand proof"

The two examples above indicate the typical exchange that has been derailing threads this past few days (weeks) and it ends now. If an experiencer replied he has no proof, STOP ASKING FOR IT and MOVE ON, NOBODY CARES THAT YOU THINK (S)HE'S A FRAUD, PEOPLE CAN MAKE UP THEIR OWN MINDS

This is NOT the "I am going to expose a FRAUD" Forum it's the ALIENS and UFO FORUM.

EVERY MEMBER has the privilege afforded them to SHARE THEIR STORY UNMOLESTED BY WORTHLESS DEMANDS FOR PROOF/EVIDENCE. AND CERTAINLY WITHOUT BEING DERIDED FOR NOT HAVING IT. If SOMEONE SAYS THEY HAVE NO PROOF THAT ENDS IT.

The skeptics are asking for a separate forum for crying out loud when all that needs to be done is NOT CLICK the threads you don't want to read.

The "General Rule of thumb" is outlined in the first post of this thread, we have no way of knowing whether a person is or is not in direct contact with aliens, there is NO REASON to worry about it one way or the other, the Membership is quite capable of deciding for themselves. The posts will stand or fall on their own, if something is ludicrous most people can see that, the rest don't need to be told by any of us, they wouldn't believe it anyway. IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO ASK/ADD TO THE TOPIC OF THESE POSTS/THREADS STAY OUT OF THEM!

Springer...

[edit on 1-13-2007 by Springer]

Thank you, Springer.

I was going through a rather rough time trying to read those forums because of the issues you've brought to light.

Free at last! Free at last!

Now that I've had my rant, (two posts above this one) I want to point out that ATS is still very much into the collaborative search/research concept as a COMMUNITY.

The point of my tirade above was to illustrate how frustrating it is to see otherwise brilliant people waste so much effort in the pursuit of something that will not bear fruit.

The idea of shutting someone down who is sharing a personal experience (whether it's real or not) is just not in the spirit of collaboration or community. All it does is divide and conquer. When our fellow members share their personal experiences with us it's no different than that chatty Uncle or Aunt that used to go on about their life stories at the dinner table, you don't demand proof from them, if you're interested you listen quietly and ask questions politely and if you're not interested you simply tune them out.

Social grace is of tantamount import in a venue like this. Understanding everyone has experiences (real or otherwise) and many like to share them in the hope of getting genuine feedback and NOT being interrogated is also important.

All other aspects of Ufology covered on ATS are absolutely open for verification and as solid an effort as we can muster at getting evidence.

My point was/is the personal stories of our Members are exactly that, personal stories.
That being said it needs to emphasized that the members sharing personal stories are not allowed to make snide comments like "You couldn't handle the truth" or "you're not special enough" as I mentioned in my rant above.

That isn't going to get you anywhere, if someone asks if any verification is available you simply answer yes or no. If you can't handle someone politely asking you if there is any verification/proof/evidence to back your story up then you really don't belong in a discussion board environment IMHO.

There is so much potential here at ATS to avoid the typical petty crap that "Ufology" is drowning in everywhere else I get a little "torqued" when I see it get traction in these fora.

Hopefully we can ALL realize we are ALL just people with our own unique perspectives, belief systems and values. In my 43 years I've learned that most people are decent and honest when they get treated decently and fairly.

Springer...

[edit on 1-13-2007 by Springer]

What about personal accounts that contradict themselves? At what point does the rule about knowingly spreading false information come into play?

Example

Originally posted by HankMcCoy
What about personal accounts that contradict themselves? At what point does the rule about knowingly spreading false information come into play?

Example

They GET BANNED like "Probedbygrays" just did that's what.

Hank, ALL you had to do was use the complaint button, use the "Contact ATS" button or U2U myself or any of the staff with that direct evidence if someone BSing the membership.

Going forward, how about you try using the established systems we have in place rather than trying to be the "one man fraud patrol"?

Springer...

Originally posted by Springer

Originally posted by HankMcCoy
What about personal accounts that contradict themselves? At what point does the rule about knowingly spreading false information come into play?

Example

They GET BANNED like "Probedbygrays" just did that's what.

Hank, ALL you had to do was use the complaint button, use the "Contact ATS" button or U2U myself or any of the staff with that direct evidence if someone BSing the membership.

Going forward, how about you try using the established systems we have in place rather than trying to be the "one man fraud patrol"?

Springer...

Seems like a fair suggestion. Point taken.