**POLICY STATEMENT FOR THE 9/11 FORUM: ALL MEMBERS PLEASE READ**

It has come to the attention of ATS admin and staff that the quality of discussion in the 9/11 forum has been steadily declining over the last few months, and that this has been in no small part due to the derailing of discussion by some members implying or directly stating that those who disagree with their point of view are stupid, "conspiracy nut jobs", or "government agents". Included in this category are posts such as "conspiracy theories are ridiculous bunkum", "only an idiot would believe that...", and the like - comments which have nothing to do with the discussion of the facts and associated theories, but rather are designed to stifle rational discussion through ridicule and intimidation.

In an effort to curb this worsening phenomenon, to improve the quality of discussion, and to encourage the spirit of cooperative research and respectful debate that ATS was founded on, staff have been notified that as of this post a zero-tolerance policy is to be effected in regards to all such comments in the 9/11 forum. Members derailing discussion through such comments will be post banned, THIS IS YOUR WARNING.

Borderline cases will result in first a U2U from staff, but a pursuit of the same protocol for repeat incidences.

The events surrounding 9/11 are complex and myriad, and only through rational, cooperative, adult discussion can we hope to discover the truth, whatever it may be, and whether it conforms with our own personal theories or not. Ridicule, labeling, and blanket aspersions contribute nothing towards this goal. If you disagree with another member, please feel free to explain why you disagree by outlining the facts as you or your sources see them, not by labeling - whether by direct statement or by implication - those who hold certain views as "nutcases", "sheeple", "disinfo agents", "idiots" and so forth. If you think that the investigation and discussion of conspiracy theories is purely a pastime of the unintelligent, the paranoid, and the mentally imbalanced, then perhaps ATS is not the place for you. If you think that the investigation and dismissal of a particular theory from one's personal belief set means that one is a government agent, an idiot, or a "sheeple", then the same applies.

ATS is THE place to come to for informative, adult discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theory. It is our hope through the enactment of this policy and through quality contributions and discussion from YOU, that we can continue to claim that accolade.

All policies are effected with the singular goal of making ATS a more enjoyable and productive environment for you, the members, and hence we welcome discussion of this policy in this thread.

Thank you.

[edit on 8-5-2006 by Springer]

We (The THREE AMIGOS) are in complete support of this and we WILL be enforcing this policy for the good of POLITE, GROWN UP discussion.

Springer...

[edit on 8-5-2006 by Springer]

I agree with this, I have been looking at the 9/11 area alot and have noticed a few members being rude and what not, which makes me basically not want to post anything.

Good call on this one guys.

As an added note, members who maintain a cool, mature head and try to keep discussion focused on the issue, even when confronted with these behaviours, will be applauded by staff.

Cheers.

I have noticed this problem in name calling and attacking the messenger. This site which I still am new too is quite large rather like stage coach with a 1000 mules pulling it. If I make mistakes I hope you do correct me in any form! Name calling and no discussion of the subject or highjacking a thread is common in all forums. Why makes a forum outstanding is direction with moderation. Well had my say!

Who are you calling a mule!

Originally posted by mondegreen
Why makes a forum outstanding is direction with moderation.

What makes ATS outstanding is collaborative and mutually respectful members, disinterestedly pursuing research of the facts and sharing their knowledge; thoughtful moderation is simply frosting on the cake. In a perfect world, moderators would only need to be mindless thread sorters, sans punitive capacities.

(Hee-haw hee-haw, Howard. )






[edit on 2006-8-15 by wecomeinpeace]

As we rapidly approach the five year anniversary of 9/11, it may lead to renewed interest in the subject, and some of that "interest" may be rife with invectives. ATS is here for civil discussion and the pursuit of "Deny Ignorance." Members must post within the Terms & Conditions Of Use, no exceptions. The rules set forth by the site owners are there with the intent to foster the pursuit of all conspiracies at the highest level, the 9/11 conspiracy probably being the greatest since the JFK assassination. Please respect the guidelines as outlined, and even more, respect your fellow ATS Members.

Now wait a minute here lets look at this further

Just to be fair let's look at another angle.


So what do you do, facing the fact than boards such as ours have paid bloggers?

What is to keep this all honest? How does one politely suggest the tone of what people are saying has an artificial look? Are you saying "no whistle blowing allowed?"

Surely most of the neo cons favoring the official story on 911 have no scientific evidence, and resort to ad homonym attacks on those who seek the truth of the matter. When people have an argument, it should make sense, not being just a priority to "swift boat," others. I agree with your civility issues on the board, yet I suggest that those who defend the current official position provoke such responses as "government shill," and "paid blogger." The fact is however such things are real.

Maybe the solution is simply to send U2U messages to the staff when you think a message is contrived and paid?

It shouldn't be labelled 9/11 conspiracies.. thats the whole reason people say that they're full of it.. It's evidence and opinion which will always lead to prooving that the perfect government that loves and cares about you treats you like garbage and tries to kill you.

Originally posted by CranialExtractor
It shouldn't be labelled 9/11 conspiracies.. thats the whole reason people say that they're full of it.. It's evidence and opinion which will always lead to prooving that the perfect government that loves and cares about you treats you like garbage and tries to kill you.

I agree.

Maybe '9/11 conspiracies' should be changed to '9/11 evidence' or '9/11 investigation', or even '9/11 - Investigation of the evidance'.

[edit on 21-8-2006 by In nothing we trust]

Not at all. It's only because the terms conspiracy and conspiracy theory have been successfuly turned into thought-stoppers. It has gotten to the stage where you hear those terms and your brain automatically responds with "crackpot", "nutcase", "fantasy", etc etc. Whether this is by design or a natural evolution is debatable, but if you start searching for other terms, then you've accepted defeat.

Folks need to look up their dictionary and remind themselves of the definition of "conspiracy", and also to remember that what we accept as the fact of gravity is in actualilty the theory of gravity. But, in regards to 9/11 most of the theories are not even theories; they are still merely hypotheses I guess.

The influence of language on thought, eh? Orwell may have been 'just a writer', but he still remains the most genius anthropologist the world has ever known.






[edit on 2006-8-21 by wecomeinpeace]

Hooray and GO MODS, I say. I've pretty much stopped posting because the level of debate is so poor. Invective does not equal debate. (Although I have to say I have my suspicions still about some posters... though I shall naturally keep them to myself)

thanks for posting this .

i just reply to stuff on the boards i find interesting with my own point of view and try not to offend anyone(wastes too much energy) everything is subjective,everyone has an opinion and some of them are down-right entertaining lol.

i would not try to post anything that requires much research cause inserting links and such is just beyond me lol.

it's one of the only boards i have kept watching cause there is always something new to read and that is the reason i like it.

keep it up,keep it clean and keep an open mind.

Excellent! That's exactly why I liked what I read here at first glance: Discussion of facts and theories sans ad hominem. I'm only interested in the truth. In order to get to that, one needs to wade through the bullsh*t --which is nearly impossible to do in a hostile atmosphere.

Originally posted by In nothing we trust
Maybe '9/11 conspiracies' should be changed to '9/11 evidence' or '9/11 investigation', or even '9/11 - Investigation of the evidance'.

911 Truth gets my vote! (Although 911 Investigation is pretty good also )
The word 'conspiracy' is now used as a psychological weapon by those who conspire

[edit on 27-9-2006 by Shar_Chi]

Originally posted by wecomeinpeace
Not at all. It's only because the terms conspiracy and conspiracy theory have been successfuly turned into thought-stoppers. It has gotten to the stage where you hear those terms and your brain automatically responds with "crackpot", "nutcase", "fantasy", etc etc. Whether this is by design or a natural evolution is debatable, but if you start searching for other terms, then you've accepted defeat.

Folks need to look up their dictionary and remind themselves of the definition of "conspiracy

Agreed - This one fits for me.

con·spir·a·cy
n. pl. con·spir·a·cies
1. An agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act.
2. A group of conspirators
3. Law An agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime or accomplish a legal purpose through illegal action.
4. A joining or acting together, as if by sinister design (a conspiracy of wind and tide that devastated coastal areas)

Basically (IMO) if 2 or more people agree on a course of action (that is a wee bit dodgy) - THAT is a conspiacy.


[edit on 31/3/2007 by Now_Then]

So now you conspire to silence those who would exercise their freedom of speech? How are any of you different from the tyrants you criticize? This is just more of the typical drivel I have come to expect from this lame forum. Well I for one have had enough. You morons can take me off your list and play your little conspiracy games amongst yourselves. I will confine myself to discussion with those who have at least attained intellectual puberty and who don't emasculate themselves on the altar of tolerance.

Originally posted by alienamngus
So now you conspire to silence those who would exercise their freedom of speech? How are any of you different from the tyrants you criticize? This is just more of the typical drivel I have come to expect from this lame forum. Well I for one have had enough. You morons can take me off your list and play your little conspiracy games amongst yourselves. I will confine myself to discussion with those who have at least attained intellectual puberty and who don't emasculate themselves on the altar of tolerance.

Wow. You actually took the time to search for this old thread to let us know you aren't happy with ATS. You and your what? 5 posts? Well 4 before this one. Why? I'm curious.

Must be a Killtown follower.More power to you ,Hope all goes well with your no plane theory.