One upmanship...give me a break!

What is the deal with all this One Upmanship when posting thread headlines???

Everytime I look to the "Top" lists, all I see is...

The most amazing...
The most spectacular...
The greatest...
WOW...
You have to see...

I could go one and on...

Is this how it all "works" here?

Post the most outrageous, spectacular, sensationlist headline imaginable, to entice members to a thread?

I bet I've "wasted" 1/4 of my mouses clickabiliy factor on this...

To many Sun, WWN & Globe Readers?

Oh well...thoughts? comments?


[edit on 3/2/2009 by Hx3_1963]

reply to post by Hx3_1963


I'm guilty of the "Must Watch" in the headlines. Hey..at least I'm honest...but it's always things I'd like people to see.

Also, it sucks to have a thread that you feel is important and to have it completely missed..so I understand why people do this.



You can punch me for it...i'll just wear these glasses



[edit on 2-3-2009 by David9176]

reply to post by David9176
Star 4 U!

I understand the rationale involved...gotta get their attention, so they don't miss something that really could be important...

I just wonder sometimes if this desensitises the masses so much that they just automatically tune it out...

Nothing personally against anyone...just a observation...

Well honestly, all it really does is just reduce the credibility of the poster. The people who I pay attention to are the people who have been around for a while and have little points. When those people post it is usually because of something that is really needed to be mentioned.

My father use to always have two great sayings 1)"It is better to listen and learn, than it is to open your mouth and let people know how stupid you are" 2)"the empty barrel always makes the most noise"

He was a H.S. teacher for 35yrs before he passed.

[edit on 2-3-2009 by xyankee]

reply to post by xyankee
Star 4 U as well!

Horsesense is what me Gran' Pappy used to say, but, then again PT Barnum said,

“There's a sucker born every minute”
“Every crowd has a silver lining.”
“Without promotion something terrible happens... Nothing!”

reply to post by David9176

tbh sir , no one writes a thread they Dont want read

reply to post by Hx3_1963


I agree... although you're luck I clicked your thread. it looked boring. Just as friendly advice, next time you should add some flair to your headline. Maybe something like:
"OMG!! CLICK HERE IT'S NEVERBEFORESEEN!@#$%^&*()"
It also helps to cap and use special characters.

But seriously, I agree wholeheartedly. I started frequenting ATS because it's nearly a mainstream media filter for content I'm interested in reading. You guys catch the stories most people miss, or the news stations feel are unimportant or too controversial to cover fully. However, I keep running into articles on here with zero credibility. The Sun?! I mean... come on. May as well get your info from a more reliable source, like your local elementary school.

How do you feel about posting questions for topics? I find myself doing that quite often. I honestly want to learn, and post a question nearly every day to, not only rely on ATS to keep me informed, but hopefully 100 more people that have the same question, and can't find an answer.

reply to post by Avarus
Star 4 U!

All good questions...notice I used questions?

I think that's a excellent header for a thread!

Ask a honest question...most of US do dig deeper than the "average joe"...and you'll find topics/answers here you'd never think of finding...and MOST here are looking to "fill the empty glass"...knowledge is power!!!

Imaging having 1000 google search windows running at he same time...that's US...

Edit: BTW..I usually ALWAYS have a google window open...instant spell checker!


[edit on 3/2/2009 by Hx3_1963]