1-liners in the Aliens&UFO forum are getting out of hand.

1-liners are becoming the norm in the Aliens and UFO forum. If you have nothing constructive to add to the debate, whether for or against the premise of the Original Post, then don't post

Here's the rule on 1-liners...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

originally posted by Simon Gray

ABOUT ATS: Warnings for one-line or short responses

We've seen a recent rash of new one-line responses to posts that add nothing to the flow of discussion.

One Line or less Responses or "me too" atta-boy comments contribute nothing to the discussion. These include rows of smilies, "you're wrong", or other similar short responses.

Each mod has the ability to apply nominal points warnings (20 points) for both of these minor board infractions. Please help us maintain the best discussion board possible by considering your responses in both content and length.

Unfortunately, those of you who have fallen into these habits, may get a few warnings in your U2U In Box. These warnings are not full Staff Warnings, but provide you with a link to your one-line post.

Please help keep ATS quality at its highest.

[edit on 5/3/07 by masqua]

I agree the one liners are a bit much, maybe uping the fine from 20 points to 150 might stem the one liners?

Originally posted by Sauron
I agree the one liners are a bit much, maybe uping the fine from 20 points to 150 might stem the one liners?

Hey, you just did make a one liner yourself!
I didn't...

Originally posted by TrappedSoul
Hey, you just did make a one liner yourself!

I doubt I would be tempted to give out a 1-liner warn for just the above, because it is on topic.

The thing which really grates are the ones which say something like this;

1-liners??? Who cares?!?!?!?!



Now THAT is going to get a negative response and I'm seeing all kinds of posts just like this lately. Somebody brings a topic up for discussion and the next thing he sees are a dozen posts telling him what a bloody fool he seems for bringing it up.

That's just wrong, no matter how crazy the idea sounds. Everyone has the right to post what is on their mind here. If it has poor thinking behind it, answer with the reasons why it doesn't hold water, but do it with civility, and not with sarcastic derision.

No member deserves to be flamed for bringing material to ATS. If anything, the member needs to be shown the logical errors in a friendly manner. Not answering to a post which makes you roll your eyes in frustration is probably even better, unless you are willing to apply critical thinking in attacking that theory.

ATS should be a friendly place, not a place that scares away new members by nasty diatribes.

The most constructive criticism is the type which is given in friendship, while the most destructive is given through dismissive derision.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sauron...150 points lol that would cause a stir alright

You can say that again.


ok, I better write something else.......ummmm........

I agree, I think that people who come to ATS to make fun of people's beliefs are simply the worst form of anonymous heckler. This is where you can state the most odd theory you can think of , and deserve an honest critique.

On the other hand, there are quite a few people here who come in confused and unable to express themselves, and they are almost pure fodder for the abuse of the undermature class.

The moderators usually catch the hecklers quickly and warn them, but in the end, what we really need are for people to respond with

"I find that very hard to believe and here is why.." instead of "You are insane, and you need help."

This is simply discourse 101, but we have been skipping that class since 1900.

[edit on 2-11-2006 by Ectoterrestrial]

I think one liners bring a balance to the lengthy posts that contain a bunch of technical jargon and citations etc.
I'm sure some get tired of 4-9 lengthy paragraphs.

Relax

Originally posted by magnito_student
I think one liners bring a balance to the lengthy posts that contain a bunch of technical jargon and citations etc.
I'm sure some get tired of 4-9 lengthy paragraphs.

Relax

Personally speaking, I'm extremely glad that the administrators of this website are not in agreement with you on that, magnito_student, since I'd rather not see ATS become a place where 1-liners became the norm rather than the rarity.

It's already been stated, in this thread, that short, one line posts on topic are not the problem, so what is your problem with that?

On the 'relax' comment...I don't know how much more relaxed I can get. If you knew me and my situation (you don't), you'd understand.

by Ectoterrestrial
The moderators usually catch the hecklers quickly and warn them, but in the end, what we really need are for people to respond with

"I find that very hard to believe and here is why.." instead of "You are insane, and you need help."

This is simply discourse 101, but we have been skipping that class since 1900.

You've nailed it. People have forgotten how to have a civil discourse. In the age of 'instant everything' we have the added disagreeable tendency toward 'instant judgement' coupled with a lack of respect for other people, especially as we post behind our usernames.

The main reason, IMO, that ATS is a success is because the T&C's encourage us to civil discourse, while discouraging the opposite of that.

fixed quote



[edit on 3/11/06 by masqua]

You hit the nail on the head there. The one-liners always seem to get under my skin. I've started many a thread that have gone nowhere with the exception of about 15-20 post like, "that's dumb...lol". A lot of topics that suffer this one-liner beat down have a lot of potential to be very interesting. Unfortunately they never get a chance because they get so bogged down with short, degrading posts. I guess that is just the nature of the beast though.

By the way, I think adding to the point deduction really would cut down on these. Especially with the way everyone seems to have become so consumed with earning points lately.

Originally posted by magnito_student
I think one liners bring a balance to the lengthy posts that contain a bunch of technical jargon and citations etc.
I'm sure some get tired of 4-9 lengthy paragraphs.

Relax

HOW ? , it is very unlikley that a one liner attempting to address a 4-9 paragraph article that is " technical jargon ladened " will address the issues raised in any constructive fashion

have you actually read what the one liner rule says , or how it is applied .

if someone has just deliveded several hundred words , then a one line resonse is most likley to be useless fawning agreement like :

" you rock that was awesome "

or worse , sneering dismissal that does not address any opints raised , such as :

" that was garbage , you are an idiot "

neither is helpful or wanted on ATS

all one liners are not prohibited - it is sometimes possible to get a coherent and warranted reply in a single line - i know i have managed it on many occassions .

but when i have typed hundreds of words in support of my position in a scieftidc argument - it is often galling to get dome retard dismissing it all with " its BS " bedore running away gibing no coherent counter argument .

and yes that has happened to me .

rather than order others to " relax " you should become better aquainted with the ethos of the AT.com community , and the rules which you signed up to when you recieved your username here .

APE OUT

i would agree with the one liners stuff myself. although, i have been guilty of it a time or two.

but, about the discourse.
it is also worth saying, that just because you have created a thread, doesn't mean you will get "positive" responses. and if someone tries to be objective, critical, or whatever you want to call it, that person (if they have been respectful about it) should also be treated with respect.

i understand, the OP may have gone through great length to create the thread in the first place. but, if a skeptic begins to ask questions about it (again, if they are respectful) the OP's should expect this, and not just shoot back with " well, were do you get your info, can you prove it, you dont know what your talking about" so on and so forth.

it is also anoying when an OP just wants people to adore them, and the research.
im mean, come on, we're talking about aliens here. i am a skeptic, but, im looking to be convinced.

sorry if ive gone off topic.

I agree, civility has to go both ways. And it does frequenntly happen that newcomers get hit hard by some of the .. let us say.... pain enjoying skeptics... and then a flame war ensues. Those newbies need to be treated with kid gloves though, by the moderators, because most of the newbies learn pretty quickly how to more effectively communicate with this audience, given a few posts.

As usual, I think it is up to the veterans to set the tone of the place, and then others will emulate as they adjust.

Personally, I'm not much of a skeptic that there are strange things going on. I have no idea what they are, but such things have been seen by people I trust. On the other hand, we will get some schizotypal inflections and psychotic personalities. Some of that is just masking a real event. Other times, as I found out in volunteer work years ago, there really are vivid delusional beliefs and experiences that some people suffer from. It isn't possible to differentiate the two on an internet forum.

And there in lies the danger and a question I have:

(1) I know better than to assume other posters are insane. Many aren't, and simply are assumed to be by common sense-obsessed skeptics.

(2) Some posters are mentally disturbed and need help.

Therefore, when are we helping level people by listening, and when are we hurting delusional people by leading them on?

I guess I always lean in favor of listening.


[edit on 3-11-2006 by Ectoterrestrial]

[edit on 3-11-2006 by Ectoterrestrial]

[edit on 3-11-2006 by Ectoterrestrial]

I'll be honest with you,and I am not saying this to be a butt because I am guilty of one-liners as well, I think you should start enforcing point reductions for people who incessantly do this. I mean, this rule applies to myself as well. I know I have a knack for posting one-liners.

Really, I can almost guarantee you, if you start enforcing this rule, you will see fewer posts but the posts you'll see, will be contributable. Try it. It'll work.

[edit on 3-11-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
I'll be honest with you,and I am not saying this to be a butt because I am guilty of one-liners as well, I think you should start enforcing point reductions for people who incessantly do this. I mean, this rule applies to myself as well. I know I have a knack for posting one-liners.

Really, I can almost guarantee you, if you start enforcing this rule, you will see fewer posts but the posts you'll see, will be contributable. Try it. It'll work.

[edit on 3-11-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]

I'm honestly trying to enforce this, particularly in Aliens and UFO's because it is one of the busiest places on ATS. I think it's safe to say that most active members visit this forum for one reason or another and, in being more stringent in trying to stem the practice, perhaps it'll have a spin-off effect on other boards as well.

But, I'd like to make something really clear on this issue... speaking for myself only, as a moderator here, I will only give out 1-liner warning when there is nothing constructive being said. If a post said something like; "I don't believe a word of it because it goes against the Laws of Physics", then I wouldn't do a thing and just move on, even though the Law of Physics which makes the poster disagree was never mentioned. At least that 1-liner opened up the opportunity for discourse on the application of those laws.

see what I mean?

It's not just about 1-liners...it's about 1-liners which add nothing to the debate

Sometimes the smallest posts have the biggest impact and I've given out applauds for 1-liners which actually had that effect.

Yeah,masqua,I do understand. There is a difference in posting a one liner that means something and posting one to tell another poster to "shut up" or something to that effect. Of course, anytime you have a discussion board, you are going to have posters with varying degrees of knowledge about a subject, so, you have to allow a ratio for that.

Why can't the mods raise the minimum ammount of words and or lines typed in a reply to a post? Wouldn't that solve at least some form of the problem? I'm sure there will still be negativity and useless reply to posts but at least they won't end up being one-lined, sarcastic, remarks.

Originally posted by 1Crisis
Why can't the mods raise the minimum ammount of words and or lines typed in a reply to a post? Wouldn't that solve at least some form of the problem? I'm sure there will still be negativity and useless reply to posts but at least they won't end up being one-lined, sarcastic, remarks.

It's not the lack of volume, but rather the lack of useful content which is the problem. I see what you are saying, though, and a minimum number of characters in a post might be helpful, but there are always those situations where a link or something is asked for and then provided by a 'here you go' comment attached.

That, in no way, would get the poster a warning...if there was some work involved in providing the information, it would more than likely get an applause instead...

see what I mean?

Originally posted by magnito_student
I think one liners bring a balance to the lengthy posts that contain a bunch of technical jargon and citations etc.
I'm sure some get tired of 4-9 lengthy paragraphs.

Relax

There's not much I can add to that Wow!

Springer...

Originally posted by TrappedSoul
Hey, you just did make a one liner yourself!
I didn't...

Helloooo,
Is this in the Alien forum and not in complaints because only Aliens post one liners?

Sorry, I find one liners with out substance absolutely terrible, as if I am in the midst of a hoard of teenagers with out a vocabulary.
"So, how has your day been"
Answer by teenager:"DAaah"

Is that a yes or a no?

Elaborate, Please, All. We have a magnificent communication tool, language, use it.

WIS

I actually would prefer some of the long-winded and poorly articulated responses copped a penalty. So many posts make my eyes bleed that could really have been condensed in to 1 or 2 relevant points. What is implied in a one liner is often more thought provoking than an bumbling essay.