Open discussion about our beloved forums

OP, first off, I would suggest you just ignore the foes list completely. There's a glitch somewhere that causes names to appear there that are of people that haven't even posted in some time. And I even got a U2U from a member once asking me why I put him/her on as a foe when they couldn't recall having ever been in a thread with me. It happens.

The same with the friends list I would guess. I know who my friends are, in my head. And I don't have anybody I really consider a foe. I'm just as likely to disagree with one of my friends as with anybody else. It's how we learn to see other viewpoints.

The ignore button may be useful to some folks, but I have a built in one in my head. If a poster is clearly so biased or confused that they make no sense, in a little while I just tune them out. (Yes, I do at times get drawn into arguments, but only when I think the person involved is smart enough to be worth the effort.)

Drugs are an area where care must be taken. It is easy to see the "pro choice" people when they post, even if they skirt the T&C carefully. It is also easy to see the "haters" too. It's a topic that can get out of hand fast, so such threads are monitored closer than ones on something like weather control would be. That's to be expected.

My first thread on ATS was on this very subject.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

It garnered 20 flags and a respectable four pages. It wasn't closed by a mod, simply because it focused on an area that wasn't advocating usage, or describing usage. I'm sure that pederasty or other "taboo" topics could be covered here just as well. It requires some thought on the part of the OP to start a thread that has a clear intent of not breaking the T&C. If a thread has the intent of breaking the spirit of the T&C, even if they are careful to avoid outright doing so, then that thread will almost always crash.

ATS has certain policies. I find that these policies are not so onerous that it drives me from these boards. I find that what I gain from ATS far and away outweighs whatever restrictions are placed on me.

I suggest that you take a bit longer to watch the boards. Notice the people getting multiple warnings and being banned. Ask yourself if you would really invite these people home to meet your family? ATS is also a family, and in this family, some subjects are considered inappropriate, if not handled very carefully.

I hope that in some way I have given an opinion here that will resonate with you, and be of some help. I too am a fairly new member, having come on board back in April, so maybe my perspective will be valid to you.

I wish you a long and enjoyable venture in this place that many of us consider home away from home.

I often encounter the same personalities, only because I am a very provacative and innovative thinker. Of course if you disrupt a system and a rooted way of things people will detest! What I have found helpfull is to delete your emotions and react only to language as language. Many words carry with them emotional intent, but that is deep rooted in society because of our violent and entertainemnt based natures. If you can escape this perhaps you can find yourself replying to other posters on a more intellectual level, even throwing in a bit of comedy here and there to deal with the "rascals" or sensitive people.

Remember, anger, pain, rage.... is just a cry for help. Take it easy and don't get so emotionally involved, practice becoming the observer, even of yourself. It's taken me a few years of practice to begin to finally perfect this technique, although there are times when repitition, that is the repeating of something unnecessarily because some poster refuses to even read rather to merely deny, deny, deny, without investigation simply because it is a concept or idea that they have become fond of and don't want to lose touch with. Occasionally that can rile me up... but I'm getting good at that too.

Anyway, good luck and keep your cool and your heat so you can be just right.

[edit on 26-12-2007 by LastOutfiniteVoiceEternal]

Originally posted by JacKatMtn
If the discussion of illegal drug activity is so important, you could start your own site that allows this topic of discussion. Problem solved...

I can't help but to detect a hint of condescension in that statement. I don't really care. I am a member of many forums. if ATS wasn't so prude on this issue, it would be my most frequented forum, but instead it's like going to the airport and knowing there are certain things you can't mention for "safety reasons."

If you want to call me a whiner, that's fine. I would call that trolling, but whatever. Don't mistake my confusion as a complaint. I am well aware of this issue, and well aware it will not be changing soon, or probably ever. Flame on guys!