ATS has gone down hill...Full of rude people

If i were administrating this site, i would try to hang on to the older crowd, you know, the "known evils" and be very careful who you allow in here.

ATS has been my home for many years and lately the rudeness is just overwhelming. I wont name names, but it doesnt appear to me that these people have any respect and are just here to lash out at people, no matter what.

I dont see too many old faces here, they didnt just move on to other things, they got sick and tired of the BS dshed out by our fellow posters.

This includes u2u's and for just about every coment made, there is a genius, an expert (self procaimed) that knocks you down. Over all i find ATS to be a very unpleasant experience....I havent started a thread for a long time because whats the sense.

Dont ask what ticked me off, its a series of things and i hope this board goes back to being the humane place it once was and in the meantime....GOODBYE.

I've moved on I don't come here as much I used to this place was good for the short time that I was active here. I'm mainly sticking to the blogsphere and other truther sites. There seems to be less debunking and flaming of members on these other sites.

nuff said

Dg, my dear friend, and if you leave then they win.
I have known you almost three years and ATS needs quality and polite members like you.
No matter where you go in life there will be rude people, it's all in how you handle it, and don't let it get to you.
*hugs

ATS has been my online home away from home for going on almost five years now. It seems to me like the rudeness has really taken hold over the past year or so. I personally think that it is some of the new peoples' mentalities that they "know more than what we do." It is that kind of mentality that is keeping me away from the ATS side of things now.

DG, if you leave us then that means the ones who are rude to you win. We, as in the "old farts," don't want our DG to beforced by others to leave.

Please don't leave us DG!!

reply to post by dgtempe


If you leave, I leave. But really, we have been around long enough to know that things move in cycles. But this cycle is LOW and LONG. I started going outside more. It's nice!

reply to post by whaaa

I started going outside more.

GASP!

outside? Don't you know what's out there? Tall poles with green stuff on top. DIRT! and NO CEILING!

Your a madman!

Yes I have also started getting sick of the amount of just slamming and flaming going on. It's given me a headache on more than one occasion. I guess it's just time to take a break for a while.

reply to post by dgtempe


I hear ya DG. I used to spend waaaaaay too much time on ATS. I can thank the ATS decline for giving me a bit of my life back. Now that I don't spend all night reading doom and gloom, I am actually a happier person.

So, sure... thanks to the new feel of ATS I don't have the desire to contribute here like I used to, but I also feel a lot better.

Now I just use it as a distraction. I hang out in BTS for a while and try to enjoy myself. If I get really bored I will see what the recent posts on ATS have, but it is usually filled with the same old same old.

Anyways, you're not alone in how you feel DG.

Damn right DG

Ive started hanging out in BTS more too. The quality here has been on steady decline for the last year and a half at least.

Things need to start changing around here otherwise ATS is going to lose even more members

[edit on 1/11/2009 by OzWeatherman]

So, do you guys think it has something to do with the site growing? It's a huge site (membership) and everyday new registers... Maybe the culture isn't what you guys remember because many long standing members are taking breaks/leaving and there aren't many around to "lead by example" so to speak (and NOT to say that's your job, by any means!) just thinking out loud.

For my part, I think there are quite a lot of really rude and argumentative posters, hard sometimes not to get sucked into it especially when your the one who gets thumped on... still working on it... *shrugs*

Originally posted by LadySkadi
So, do you guys think it has something to do with the site growing? It's a huge site (membership) and everyday new registers... Maybe the culture isn't what you guys remember because many long standing members are taking breaks/leaving and there aren't many around to "lead by example" so to speak (and NOT to say that's your job, by any means!) just thinking out loud.

For my part, I think there are quite a lot of really rude and argumentative posters, hard sometimes not to get sucked into it especially when your the one who gets thumped on... still working on it... *shrugs*

WRONG!
As long standing members..(do I qualify for that title???lol) It IS up to us all to show new members how we wish the site to continue.

I hear ya, dg. I am same with above posters re time/occasions spent, seeing blasts of opinions in rude/uncivil manner, and the idea that growth can scoop up more bottom feeders.

Ironically, by increasing excellent mods who don't post/post as often, the pool of excellent posters immediately decreases. It's kind of like fishing a lot of the excellent bass from a lake, with the resulting increase in catches of less desirable fish. There have been some excellent new posters, however. And the owners have tried to put some sense back into the system as it grows.

Do not leave, dg! I just thought your absence meant you were working on other projects.

We may/may not be able to see the results of our actions, but we can't give up. I came across this quote. "It was not granted you to complete the task and yet you may not give it up." Rabbi Tarphon (ancient)

Oh, and always, always, consider the source. Poison/muddy water from a polluted source is not the same as pure water from a clean source. Always consider the source.

reply to post by desert


desert- you are spot on.
When our best contributors become MODS..WE MISS YOU!
We all realize you are very busy....

I just love how people on this site always act condescending and call others "idiots" all the time. It's really annoying.

Then again, some subjects get really annoying. If I do get annoyed at someone, I won't call them an idiot. I'll most probably let them know that I am annoyed with them, though.

It's not like I'm a massively hXc and awesome contributor, though, so I shouldn't really complain too much. I guess I'm just sick of seeing all the new threads saying "UNDANIABEL PROF OV UFOZ" only to view 4 pages of a 12 page thread saying "This is a streetlamp"; "Wow, you must be ignorant to think that this is anything more than a streetlamp"; "You believers are such morons" etc.

It amazes me how these threads always end up getting starred and flagged into popularity, and they're always the hot topics. It's just too damn annoying.

Perhaps I should contribute! Nah, I wouldn't really know what to research. It seems all the saucy subjects have already been researched. Perhaps I could start a thread about a new mushroom that has been discovered or something when that opportunity presents itself.

Actually, I have an idea for a BTS thread. "Can Whine Flu Get More Flags in This Thread or in Minesweeper on the Highest Difficulty?"

I'm sure that'd be a hit.

The quality of subject matter discussed is a reflection of the quality of members and unfortunately this has deteriorated gradually over a period of time, but quite alarmingly recently.

Why?

The reasons are probably many and varied but I think the major reasons are too many quality members becoming mods and thus reducing their contributions to ATS, too many quality members have been banned and a large influx of new members many of whom seem unacustomed to ATS quality standards.
As a result it seems a lot of long term members seem to be disillusioned and have either deserted alltogether or only post sparingly.

I have only been a member for over two years now but have noticed great changes.
The whole feel of ATS has changed.
It used to have a community and 'us together against the world' feel.
Whilst their is definately still some quality here it now has a much more commercial and mainstream feel to it.
And yes, many of the new members seem to be exceptional rude and ignorant.

I for one have no intention of abandoning ATS completely but I miss the ATS of old as I miss some of the banned members and some of those who have become mods and do not post as much as they used to.

I agree too.

Many members have been banned and many have left over changes to the rules.

The Majority have just left because the site has changed so drastically.


It does feel different now and the amount of rude comments and poor content doesn't help at all.



It's a shame... i wont leave ATS altogether but i certainly don't frequent it as i used to.... it FEELS completely different now.


That's the price of progress i guess

ATS was like my favourite pub to me. I loved coming here and hang out with friends and have some good conversations. Or just sit by the table in "my" corner of the pub and listen to some really smart people talk and share their knowledge.

Now the pub has changed. New rules, new titles, new rewarding systems which has taken away cred from many of the smartest people around ATS. (I do NOT count myself among them! Believe me, I'm as blonde as they get, but I am perfectly aware what a simpleton I am.) Thread starters and also a lot of trolls are rewarded, while very valuable people who simply make excellent posts and comments, posts which really can make a thread worthwhile reading, are left out in this system.

I think it's unfair, it also gives ATS an atmosphere of competition, just like the system with titles did. I think that at least some of the oldtimers, perhaps some of the best, may have disappeared because of these changes. Few people like to be made invisible and have their contributions judged as unimportant in public. (And no, I don't think most people bother to check other members personal profile page to look at points or the amount of posts and so on.)

The pub has also expanded. I understand the need for it, ATS is a business after all, but at the same time it has filled up with a new crowd. Many of them people who come in just to shout and scream, disrupt, pick fights, make others feel bad. I guess other oldtimers have given up trying to be heard through the noise and havoc, they have quietly walked out the door. I miss them. Some oldtimers have been thrown out too, for reasons unknown, at least to me. I may not have agreed with some of these members on everything, but I miss them all the same.

I simply miss seing familiar faces around here. Nowadays I come to ATS, look around and often feel very lonely. Hey, where is everyone..? Blupblup..?

Originally posted by ziggystar60
I simply miss seing familiar faces around here. Nowadays I come to ATS, look around and often feel very lonely. Hey, where is everyone..? Blupblup..?

Hey my friend.... i feel exactly the same.

Many on my friends list and even people i didn't particularly like, have stopped posting and left.
And i miss them too..



It is very strange?


The place has lost its soul it feels like.

It's grown in size and financial worth..... but lost the very thing that people came here for in the first place.

A place that was different.

If you really want to get into some trashy "discussions" with a lot of rude nasty give and take, then anything political is the place to go.

The factions are clearly delineated with a "take no prisoners" attitude.
I find this type of "debate" stimulating and have a thick skin for the barbs thrown around. This type of atmosphere is an acquired taste. And Flag and star your friends is de reguere with absolutely no attention payed to content. I'm guilty; it goes with the territory.

But what saddens me is the lack of respect given to those with opposing views. Everytime I see the term "you people" used; I get a feeling of the
ATS community being broken up, fractionalized and wounded.
And yes the hateful attitude has gotten into other sections and boards where it really doesn't belong, turning all subjects into a debate rather than a discussion.

BTS, a place of refuge and peace.




[edit on 3-11-2009 by whaaa]

reply to post by whaaa


Politics in general aren't for the faint of heart. Lately though, it seems like it's all hell has broken loose.

Have to admit. I love me a political debate. But damn it can get tiresome sometimes.

Your right, BTS is the place to be for peace and quiet.

Originally posted by AccessDenied

Originally posted by LadySkadi
So, do you guys think it has something to do with the site growing? It's a huge site (membership) and everyday new registers... Maybe the culture isn't what you guys remember because many long standing members are taking breaks/leaving and there aren't many around to "lead by example" so to speak (and NOT to say that's your job, by any means!) just thinking out loud.

For my part, I think there are quite a lot of really rude and argumentative posters, hard sometimes not to get sucked into it especially when your the one who gets thumped on... still working on it... *shrugs*

WRONG!
As long standing members..(do I qualify for that title???lol) It IS up to us all to show new members how we wish the site to continue.

What if we want to covertly troll and sabotage the deny ignorance movement? I have been on this site for a while, most of it lurking, but watching and waiting nonetheless. I will admit its turned into 4chan over the past few years. Just look at the "Many of you are aliens" thread. Now that one was brilliantly executed and he finished in the end but overall its now doomsday, disinfo agents, anti-government / military / police / Israel / USA / ghosts of alien lizard people,ect.

Tell me back in 2007 that ATS would become this and I would laugh. What separates us from 4chan? Their purpose is to troll. ATS was created for intelligence discussions on alternative topics...or something like that. Of course now its all a load of crap. I have a few doomsday threads that predicted the world to end this month bookmarked...might want to bring those back up.