The Rise Of The ATS Invertebrate: or, it takes a spine to be a conspiracy theorist.

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander

I think we forget sometimes that just adding our voice against an -ism, be is racism, sexism, whatever, is our own responsibility...

this is great - and works with what the OP is saying

there's nothing wrong with an individual saying "hey - wait a minute..."

I think we all need to do more with civil social pressure, and not just wait for the "authorities" to step in. And that applies on and off the boards.

perfect

I've noticed the same thing Illusions - some really disturbing things get said - in all different categories - and nobody says anything?

that bothers me more than what was said in the first place

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


Criticism is one thing, and personal attacks another, I get that. But where is the line drawn on insulting a group of people? It doesn't make too much sense to have a policy that prohibits personal attacks, but that allows members to verbally attack a group of people. I don't see a distinction between being attacked personally and being attacked as a member of a group.

To say that a group of people are idiots is no different calling a person an idiot. There are certain politically charged terms that carrying the meaning of "idiot", or mean something worse, but they are allowed. It's as if one wants to verbally attack another, there's a workaround: Attack the group when you mean to attack one of the group. I don't get that.

Is Skeptic Overlord's Avatar "The Dude"? If so what does that mean???

Originally posted by ravenshadow13
reply to post by Stormdancer777

 

Exoskeletonism? Organisms with exoskeletons have external skeletons, usually made of chitin, and not an internal vertebral column (spine).

So, spineless-ness.
(Sorry it's kind of off-topic, just answering the question)

[edit on 3/29/2009 by ravenshadow13]

thanks raven I know what an exoskeleton is I just didn't get his point, but I do now, I guess.

Originally posted by FlyersFan

Originally posted by Stormdancer777
Let's separate the men from the boys around here baby.
I would have you all in tears and I am female,

So am I.

We could form a two woman tag team. OMG .. fun!
Like I said ... I know it can't be done ... but it would be such fun!

I would prolly back out, lol

Wouldn't want to ruin my reputation, lol

Originally posted by dntwastetime
Is Skeptic Overlord's Avatar "The Dude"? If so what does that mean???

Yes it is.

It means, "The Big Lebowski" is my all-time favorite movie.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


The Skeptic Overlord Abides!!!!!!!!

"I am the Walrus... I am the Walrus . Donny!!!!!!!"

[edit on 30-3-2009 by dntwastetime]

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


I was never going to complain about anybody anyways.
Dog fights should be settled among the dogs, no need to call in the dogcatcher.
Besides which, if one thinks one is right, one would rather have a lengthy written record of one's opponent's poor performance (more fool them) instead of calling for the authorities to cut it short.
Plus words don't hurt anyways, right? At least not among the righteous.
Plus who wants to cast themselves as a victim? Self-pity is a bar to power.
Plus who can get too excited, really, about all this phantom wittering online stuff anyways...

For fun you ought to put stats on each member, near their points, one for NUMBER OF TIMES COMPLAINED ABOUT and one for NUMBER OF TIMES COMPLAINING...that would help others to form a better weighing of each member's true digital identity, and identify whiners who use their fingernails...

Accountability for complaints might cut back your OP problem by a whole order of magnitude, I venture to say...

Man, this is my most favorite thread EVER!!!

ATS is not for the faint of heart or weakly constituted. The truth sometimes hurts - it doesn't have to be rude - but it's often uncomfortable.

We're not making daisy chains and singing Kum Ba Yah, we're looking for answers.



Thanks SO.

I would like to address what I would call the fine line between a personal attack, and a disagreement with someone's opinion.

Personal attack:

You are ignorant.

Or

You are an idiot.

Not a personal attack:

You are ignorant if you believe this.

Saying "You are ignorant if you believe this" is no different than saying:

I don't think you know what you are talking about.

I don't think you realize what you are talking about.

I think you need to research the subject at hand.

I don't think you have a fundamental grasp of the subject matter.

Are you aware of...

That is simply not true.

I have to disagree,..

To me, these are all different ways of saying the same thing, and I am not offended by any of them. Some might think that there are more polite ways of stating disagreement, but that also can come off as pompous. You think their opinion is wrong, and you are stating just that.

I think it is a personal attack to call anyone a racial or sexual slur, but I don't think it is a personal attack to call them a shill, a propagandist, a disinformation agent, a Yankee imperialist, a Muslim terrorist, a Nazi, a neocon, a liberal elitist, or a jerk. If you think they are one of these, as long as you express your opinion as to why you think this way, then it should be ok. If you don't explain yourself, then it is nothing but a personal attack.

Polite can be extremely boring, especially when you do nothing but go back and forth over the same argument without ever making any progress. That is what makes most other forums boring in my opinion.

Beat me, whip me, make me write bad checks, just don't bore me to death.

Of course there is the ever popular, "pull your head out of your arse", and come on, that is just funny. I see those kinds of translations here all the time, like in the cartoons, so I guess it is alright.

I haven't read the responses yet; I do not believe it is necessary to do so in order to adequately state what I wish to state.

I have been highly critical of many of SO's policy changes in the recent past. This one is one I can get behind, because it encourages frank discussion of issues. Thank you SO, for the clarification. Grow a backbone, indeed!



TheRedneck

so many sides to be on,

cant have one without the other, then there would be no discussion,

people are whiny babies, you, me, everyone!

regardless on what field you play on, there will always be an opposing side. words, just like bullets, will hurt. when someone whines, its because the words HURT.

Please set emotion aside, look at the facts... drop your damn beliefs for a minute, be it atheist, catholic, christian or w/e!

live in harmony, and meet in the middle with all the evidence. stop being biased based on belief, open your minds!!

why shut yourself out from one side when there's a chance your side could be wrong? when a side gets hit, and hit hard (Ive seen blood on these forums) of course its going to hurt, of course a bullet wound will bleed, CAUSE AND EFFECT, night and day, everything has an opposite... there's no way around it unless everyone drops their beliefs and starts fresh from that point.

BALANCE YOURSELVES!

It all comes down to this.

Set in stone belief.

Weakness in composure in what your arguing, and get frustrated because your argument is not strong enough. (not bullet-proof)

and last but not least... IGNORANCE!

~Ugie

Well, it gets back to what I always say, "We are living in a world where everyone wants to be right." It is unfortunate, but a fact.

Another thing is that everyone wants to take offense to everything.

Originally posted by SLAYER69

I have avoided many threads because of that, which has limited my participation. I think this is an awesome step in the right direction.

Applause awarded!

I am in the same position. I tend to stay away these days from ATS because off overtly simplicity in one-sidedness and emotion. Quickly scan if there is anything interesting. React scarsely and without to much effort (because it is mostly wasted) and don't look back or check for reactions because they are mostly personal defenses and not to the point.

Oh no you did NOT S.O.! Did you just dare to refer to me as spineless? I am REPORTING YOU!



Lol, jk.


Nice thread here, and I dare say that too many individuals now-a-days have reverted towards a fundamentalist form of Political Correctness, as opposed to the thick skins and good humor of past generations.

this is interesting to me

in a way it seems to be art imitating life


often in media and in our day to day life, everything is so uptight

everyone screams about being politically correct and everyone yells to watch what you say or think

say one wrong thing about Muhammad islam or jews and youre instantly some terrorist or some idiotic barbarian

obama makes a simple joke about bowling and special olympics and and people lose their mind


everyone wants to be free to say what they think, yet everyone wants to destroy and silence all those whos words differ from theirs

we seem to have lost freedom of speech completely and now its flowing over to ats

maybe even a similar type thing with the drug debate here on ats

one group wants to have intellectual debates on it, yet another person comes along says something stupid and the whole thing gets shut down

just another way of suppressing freedom of speech, some cases, its understandable as the board wants to keep a certain "style" for lack of a better word, other cases its just a bunch of people rambling on shoving their opinions down anothers throat

honestly id love things to be a little more relaxed
say what you want

think before you speak so its not all stupid and just allow everyone to have their own opinion


one last thing, we all know theres people on this site with agendas of their own, maybe these people complaining are just those who are trying to hurt our freedom of speech, glad to see those in charges making a statement about such acts

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


It seems that in an era of political correctness, it makes personal attacks that more attractive, especially when the person flamed is not only of an opposing opinion, but also a member of a different "category" of the general membership.

What the ATS and its various sites provides is an open forum where members may engage intelligent discussion about a plethora of topics important to some or all of the people in this country and on this planet. In light of that I thank the founders and staff who continue to work diligently to maintain a quality space for information and opportunity to speak out.

It is a sad commentary when these very same people are compelled to redress that membership due in no small part to the fear and stress that the global crises are placing upon all of us.

However I feel that it is through love and respect for life that we will all find our path to right the injustices placed upon humanity and all life on this planet by those that feel they have the power and the right to subjugate others, enslaving not only humans, but every living creature and plant on Earth. Their private domain in which we are granted the privileges afforded to our willingness to be chattel.

I joined and continue to participate because I feel that it important that people the world over shall unite in common good. To love and respect all life, and to create a world where hunger and sickness no longer exist, where education is freely available to all who wish to pursue it.

The internet is being exploited for criminal profits, for advertising megabucks, child molesters and pornographers, snake oil sales by everyone with an internet connection and a get rich quick scam. If there is a goal to be achieved through the participation in the forums and opportunities a media for free speech such as ATS is, then it will be accomplished through team effort, and not through petty bickering and emotional outrages directed at one another.

If you are not too busy keeping up with American Idol or the vast other mass media distractions, and you do care about what is happening and going to happen in the world, then you are probably here for the same reasons. Network with others that share those goals and take action toward reaching them. Anything less is supporting the problem and not the solution.

ATS is the best place I've seen because of a post like this. Most websites tend to start out diverse with all points of view, but eventually groups leave and all that is left is ONE group.

Here so far I've seen: conservative, liberals, religious, atheist, spiritual, and so many I can't think of at the moment, and all those in between. I think diversity is only possible when all those involved don't take(or give) things personally.

ATS is very diverse, and is a stronger site because of it.

reply to post by dragonking76

Here so far I've seen: conservative, liberals, religious, atheist, spiritual, and so many I can't think of at the moment, and all those in between. I think diversity is only possible when all those involved don't take(or give) things personally.

And with this in mind it gives us the perfect opportunity to reach out to one another with tolerance and the willingness to understand one another's points of view, I use humor as stress relief.

But for the first time today I found my self getting angry over snippy replies to my post,

There is a lot of anger on this forum, and it is building up a lot of negative karma.