Suject Matter Experts & Document Acrhivist logos on ATS names: More info about this please

I had a pleasant run in with a Subject Matter Expert recently and it got me to thinking-after I saw the : Subject Matter Expert emblem under their ATS name/mini-board. And then I started to notice the: Document Archivist emblem also on other members.

Can someone explain exactly what these members do, how they got the emblem/recognition? What they can and can't do etc.

Like I noticed the one I met was not a MOD but was able to give out accolades/applauses etc.

Is there a list we can go to that indicate who these people are, what subject they are experts in etc etc etc.

Also, are there other title/emblem etc that I may not have seen?

Thank you for you time and consideration of answers everyone.

reply to post by anon72


I'm really not sure about Document Archivist and what they do for ATS but for FSME's I definitely think it should be made a bit clearer what forum they are FSME of and what they do for that forum etc.

Is there a list we can go to that indicate who these people are, what subject they are experts in etc etc etc.

So It's not official or anything and i may have missed some but this is the list i made of the FSME's and what forum they are an FSME of.


12m8keall2c - Political Ideology Discussion Forum

ArMaP - Aliens and UFOs Discussion Forum

Byrd - Ancient & Lost Civilizations Discussion Forum

chissler - Debate Forum

Cuhail – War On Terrorism Discussion Forum

FredT - Medical Issues & Conspiracies Discussion Forum

Djarums - Political Issues Discussion Forum

DontTreadOnMe - Breaking Political News Discussion Forum

Duzey - Regional Politics Discussion Forum

GAOTU789 - General Conspiracies Discussion Forum

Gazrok – Aliens and UFOs Discussion Forum

Gemwolf - Cryptozoology Discussion Forum

GradyPhilpott - Political Issues Discussion Forum

intelgurl - Aircraft Projects Discussion Forum

intrepid - Regional Politics Discussion Forum

JacKatMtn - Other Current Events Discussion Forum

jkrog08 – Aliens and UFOs Discussion Forum

kinglizard - Political Issues Discussion Forum

loam - Fragile Earth Discussion Forum

mrwupy - Political Ideology Discussion Forum

NGC2736 - Space Exploration Discussion Forum

Off_The_Street - Regional Politics Discussion Forum

ravenshadow13 - Cryptozoology Discussion Forum

Relentless - Global Meltdown Discussion Forum

Sauron - Political Issues Discussion Forum

semperfortis- Survival Discussion Forum

SimonGray - Area 51 and other Facilities Discussion Forum

Skadi_the_Evil_Elf - Political Issues Discussion Forum

Skyfloating - Philosophy and Metaphysics Discussion Forum

sminkeypinkey - Regional Politics Discussion Forum

The Vagabond - Regional Politics Discussion Forum

Although it would be nice if a similar list was already in place in my opinion but i hope this is helpful still.

reply to post by anon72


Document Archivists were members that helped compile information and documentation for the now mostly dormant FOIA forum.

Tinwiki Editor were members that contributed to tinwiki, a now defunct ATS wiki page.

There are a couple of others like "Conspiracy Master" and "Community Manager" which are self descriptive.

And yes, FSME can clap in the forum in which they are expert.


There is one other one, related to some silly championship, but it's not important enough to sport. Pfff ... I'm not bitter.

[edit on 6 May 2010 by schrodingers dog]

SD and Rising Against covered it, pretty much. But some links to help a bit.

Document Archivist These are some dedicated people that were unraveling a ton of information gathered via some (a ton) of Freedom of Information requests on I believe various subjects as well as some Library of Congress documents.

FSME is a title that goes back quite to before I joined ATS. You will see some people refer to them as junior mods as that was part of their function (applause, one-line post warning, thread tagging to the top of the forum, etc.). FSME's can and do applaud (as I have received a few in the past) however, since most FSME's are also mods, the automatic message will be posted from their mod account.

Not sure if there needs to be a revamping/evaluation of the FSME program or not. While on the one hand it would seem that FSME's should not also be mods, there are numerous cases of mods that are also FSME's that would be pointless to argue. Byrd comes immediately to mind as an example as she is without a doubt ATS's foremost expert on archeology/anthropology.

It should also be noted, that quite a number of forums do not have a FSME, and often when new forums are created it takes some time for mods to be assigned to the forum. Also, there are a few FSME's that are no longer currently active, as in thay have not logged on to the forums in a long time.

[edit on 6-5-2010 by Ahabstar]

Wow, thank you all for you responses and information.

More than I ever imagined. Well, not really. I figured I would get a boatload-but from Mods.

I think it is great you all are ON THIS topic-no doubt. I am glad I asked.

Just simply great info in these replys. I would F&S all 3 of you if I could.

You even answered my next line of questions. lol.