How YOU can improve the Quality on ATS

Definition of Quality-on-ATS: Posts that are well-researched, well-sourced, entertaining, helpful or revealing something new. Respectful Behaviour towars others

You can help to improve quality at ATS with the following measures:

1. Instead of Complaining about bad quality, post good quality yourself or refrain from comment

Its a fact that most threads that we term "bad quality" are promoted and "bumped" by the people complaining about them. Someone posts something lousy and then you have 20 people responding What a lousy thread!...and this is what lets that lousy thread become more popular, make the ATS front page and gain a lot of attention and momentum.

It is a fact that some of the worst threads of the most replies, and some of the best threads the least replies.

If you see something you dont like, leave it alone and look for something you DO like. If you cant find anything you like, make a quality-thread yourself.

Its basically a waste of time to create threads about how bad other members are, how bad a certain thread is, how bad ATS is. If you want to see it any better, you have to do it yourself - because this place is created by the users.

2. Support Quality Threads

One problem with well-researched threads that deliver clear answers is that there´s not much to discuss. These threads are more for reading than for responding to. But they have to be supported nevertheless, so that as many people as possible get to read them. If you see a high quality thread that does not incite much discussion, you can "bump" it, by adding to the information provided by the OP (links, more info) or asking questions towards the OP.

You also support quality threads by

a) Giving Flags, Stars and Diggs

b) Alerting others to a high quality thread

c) Linking the high quality thread in your signature.


3. Do more reading than posting

One of the main quality-downers are the many threads and topics that have been seen and posted over and over and over and over since years. It is advisable to do a Search before posting to see if the topic you want to post about has already been covered several times. If you find that it has not been covered yet, or that it has not been covered in good quality, or has not been covered in its entirety, then its time to make a new thread.

By reading more than posting you will get a feel for whats quality and whats not, what has already been covered, and how to write good posts.

And you will also discover a massively huge archive of rare jewels.

4. Know what you want to get out of ATS everytime you log on.

Another quality-downer is that many posts seem to be random, unfocused, grown out of boredom or frustration than enjoyment of this place.

What do you really want when logging on? Why do you come here?

By remaining keenly aware of what you want (quality reading, quality writing, making friends, intellectual stimulation, fantastic entertainment, interactive synergy, humor, learning, teaching...or whatever else) your surfing behaviour here changes and turns from random to focussed and bearing great fruit.

You then meet people with common interests, learn stuff you´d never suspected, and contribute great insight everywhere you go.


5. Remain mindful and respectful that there is a human being on the other side of the computer.

Communicating without seeing faces, eyes, bodies, beating hearts, a persons possible issues, sometimes makes us behave coldly and without interest, compassion or tolerance toward our fellow humans here.

If someone appears to be an idiot, remain aware of the following:

Hurting people often hurt

Respect is a lubricant that keeps good communication flowing.

6. Diversity of Opinion can be a cause of fun rather than a cause of anger

If you feel that "everyone else is wrong" and that others should agree with a certain viewpoint or have a certain belief, you are, without knowing it, working towards conformity. If everyone had the same beliefs our society would stagnate and eventually die. Diversity of opinion is a great thing and it is possible for you to be "right" about something, without belittling others. It is possible to disagree with someone without calling them a dumbass for having their own opinion.

7. What makes a good thread?

I dont know. Thats up to you. But judging from the history of ATS and which threads were much liked by the membership, a good thread usually has one or more of the following characteristics:

* Some of your own original thoughts and ideas (rather than a mere copy/paste from somewhere)

* Some of your own research and source-references built in (rather than a mere idea without any backup or reason-for-it whatsoever)

* Some unknowns or questions for discussion

* Maybe some pictures

There is stuff only you know.

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Possible Objections could be "yes, but, this and this member or this and this thread, or this and this behaviour is really bad!".

However, it still cant be solved by pointing it out, only by doing something better yourself. And if something is really bad, all you have to do is file a post-alert towards the staff of this site.

Another Objection might be Who are you to say whats quality and whats not?

To which I respond: Im not saying what is and what is not quality. Im just saying how you can support the things you think are important, you think are quality.

Finally: Why would you want to improve Quality at ATS? Because good quality posts attract more good quality posters which then again make more good quality posts. Build Momentum. What you give to this community, you get back.

The best comments to this thread are examples showing what you think are high-quality threads.