ATS's Star System...

is a conspiracy to get people hooked on the site. It goes back to elementary or grammar school, where pupils get stars for good behavior. Make a clever, witty or insightful post and get lots of stars. It's addicting.

It, just like religion is a way of controlling the masses.
2nd LINE.

Yay! I got some stars!

reply to post by walking_virus


Yeah, but those were GOLD stars, these are Blue, so I fail to see the comparison.

Gold stars ? Where can I get them
Please I want them. Really very much would I like to get them.

Seriously

Reward system. It's all there. And if ATS went to a GOLD star system this site would be like crack coc aine.

[edit on 4-4-2010 by walking_virus]

Yeah the only downside I can see in it is if people start fishing for stars to boost the ego they fail to go out on a limb with their post but rather just please the majority. Guess it comes down to whats more important, getting little stars on cyberspace, or getting the truth out.

double post sorry.

btw, star for you

[edit on 4-4-2010 by polarwarrior]

reply to post by walking_virus


Does it also says that after a while the star does not mean anything anymore. To simply post lets you feel awarded.

That's probably why the award keeps getting less after you pass a certain threshold

A pertinent quote from the Wikipedia entry on 'Reward system': "A psychological reward is a process that reinforces behavior — something that, when offered, causes a behavior to increase in intensity."

reply to post by walking_virus

ATS's Star System... is a conspiracy to get people hooked on the site.

It may be that the grade systems in school, and bonuses for good work on the job, are done for the same reason.

In fact, why should any of us care about showing appreciation for good work when good work is entirely in the eye and mind of the beholder?

2+2 may equal 4, but why not celebrate an incorrect answer as well? 2+2=47 is not right... but it does represent some degree of effort and being wrong may attract some... right?

A star system is only a representation of the individual member's appreciation of a post or comment.

Right... and that is exactly what it is.

Imagine that, lol!

To be honest, stars didn't hook me on this site.

What hooked me is the information this site has to offer and the interest members put into making that information available.

If somebody stars me, great. If they don't, great. I just flat out like being a part of this site.

I am sure others do appreciate the star system a lot more than I and I am glad they do. Just keep posting.

Star for you!

Originally posted by redoubt
A star system is only a representation of the individual member's appreciation of a post or comment.

It's either that or a sinister profiling system for the alphabet soup agencies that we just know ATS is in bed with.

Imagine this... you're browsing through threads and you come across a very controversial one that you would never publicly associate yourself with. You don't really want to add a comment attached to your avatar, but you feel safe in starring those posts that you agree with.

BAM! You've been profiled!

Oh yes... we know who you've starred!

Well Staring some posts?

It depends on the content!

I love a good argument amongst great contributors. I'll star both sides if their argument is valid.


[edit on 4-4-2010 by SLAYER69]

the only person i know who is addicted to getting stars is PHAGE

[edit on 4/4/2010 by l neXus l]

I am not addicted to getting stars.

I can quit if I wanted.

This thread deserves a star...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/1b07f8072b80.png[/atsimg]

Originally posted by SLAYER69
It depends on the content!

I love a good argument amongst great contributors. I'll star both sides if their argument is valid.

That's what it's supposed to be about. Sadly, that's not how most on ATS do it though. I'm quite certain that the majority star only posts that they agree with.

I could'nt care less about the stars! it's not stars that motivate me to make a post, if it was i'd spend a whole lot more time on ATS rather than here!

I remember being addicted long before stars, points, flags, etc.

To be honest, I don't even half understand the system, simply because I never put much stock in such things, hehe...