People putting porn links in Anon posting...

The mods have plenty on their plate just dealing with registered members. Is adding the boring task of policing the p0rn links included by anonymous poster to their duties asking way too much of ATS mods and can the mods respond quickly enough to keep this stuff from the eyes of kids?

Perhaps a button could be added to the anonymous posts which would let any registered ATS member immediately move messages containing sexually related links to a private thread for review by the mods. This would be the most immediate way to protect kids from being exposed to this crap, while providing mod oversight to insure that some unscrupulous ATS members are not using this kill feature to censor opinions.

[edit on 23-1-2007 by df1]

Don't worry guys. Like Djarums has said. We have it under control. We usually kill those offending anon posts in no time. You guys see about 1% of the total amount.

Originally posted by Cocker
What real purpose does the anon facility provide?

Good question. I stopped reading those posts almost from the beginning. Reminded me too much of those little cards that fall out of a magazine... If I'm interested in a particular thread, I expect ALL the posts to be in that thread. I have no desire to hunt for the possibility of a relevant reply in a telephone book listing...But, hey, that's just me.

I suppose the concept was to facilitate the flow of "information' by those who would otherwise be too paranoid to provide it under an account registration requirement. While the idea may be a romantic one, I don't think it's very realistic to expect any huge "disclosures" under this new option...

Originally posted by loam

Originally posted by Cocker
What real purpose does the anon facility provide?

Good question. I stopped reading those posts almost from the beginning.

Yes that's a good point. One thing I have noticed though, is that it seems to be a good way for a prospective member to "test the waters" a bit before registering. I'd be curious to know how many people posting in the Anonymous forum end up registering? probably isn't a good way to know what with it being "Anonymous" and all but my guess is that after someone has had some experience posting Anonymously they'll eventually get hooked enough to register.

I could be wrong.

Originally posted by loam

Originally posted by Cocker
What real purpose does the anon facility provide?

Good question. I stopped reading those posts almost from the beginning.

It gives readers of the site a chance to reply to posts without having to register an account.

But there also seems to be some confusion. Some of the people who have posted there, apparently believe that they are logged in with an account. Or at least that is the way some of these posts sound to me....

Posted by anon_87918 on 18-01-07 @ 09:55 PM
This anonymous post is in response to ATS thread: Adopt a New Member!
Please, I am about to pull out my hair. I don't even know how to reply to a post. I feel really stupid, I am not computer illerate, but I just don't have a "post reply" button. I'd love to be "adopted", if anyone if interested.
I am mYstigal.....

Posted by anon_90803 on 22-01-07 @ 12:02 AM
Hi, I'm a newly registered member of ats and for some reason I can't post a thread or replay to a discussion. How do I fix this problem?

Posted by anon_90800 on 21-01-07 @ 11:20 PM
This anonymous post is in response to ATS thread: Hello From Oklahoma
I am new here, hello.

Posted by anon_89957 on 18-01-07 @ 01:15 PM
Hi all,
I'm looking forward to exploring this great forum.
I can't seem to log in at the moment but I will keep trying.
Megatron

Stumason...

I personally want to thank you for pointing this out...

I have kids that go onto ATS on one of my computers and I have never really looked at the ANON posts before..

Because of you, I know to watch from now on..

Thanks MODS for catching all you can too. I know you are doing all that you can!!!!

Good post Stu...

Semper

Mechanic32, it costs nothing to join. So apart from enabling people to post abuse anonomously I see no benefit.

And if porn is already making an appearance I see even less of a point.

Haven't the mods got enough babysitting to do without the additional work?

First of all...

Stumason, calm down, do you actually think we want porn on ATS?

I also find it interesting to read all the "thanks" being aimed at you as if we seemingly allow such adult material and this is only just being mentioned. The admin of this site has said time and time again, we restrict the discussion of certain topics (among other reasons) so that they are suitable for viewers of any age.

You are quite aggresive in your post as if we support the posting of links to pornographic content. As a member of this website for 2 1/2 years, I would have thought you'd know our T&C strictly prohibit such activity.

Again, this is why we have a great moderator team, to flush out such posts and eliminate them. Please do bear in mind while ATS may be running 24 hours a day, our staff do require sleep!

If such a thread crops up which isn't squashed quick enough for you, U2U a mod, or even more practically, use the Comments button.

This thread in itself would have been more appropriately placed in a message using the Comments button.

Originally posted by loam
I suppose the concept was to facilitate the flow of "information' by those who would otherwise be too paranoid to provide it under an account registration requirement.

And that is why we have anonymous posts! As would (and SHOULD) be expected, conspiracy theory discussion is a topic not shy of the extremely paranoid. So much so, people do feel uncertain about providing their personal details. So we created a means of posting for them, and it is proving quite popular.

EDIT: After a quick re-read of my post it came across overly rude. I'm only defiant because ATS doesn't support such adult-related content plus I absolutely hate spam of any nature.

[edit on 23-1-2007 by SimonGray]