The infamous ATS 404 - Page not found!

In the infamous ATS 404 - Page not found. Under number 3 it states "Is it the PTB?"

It is understood that most threads that are removed are for breach of the T & C. Fair Enough to!.

However what is the total number of threads removed under pressure from the "PTB" as per number 3

Obviously we don't expect you tell us the names of the threads that were removed but out of those numbers in the above question who were the requesting body/group/agency/large corporation

e.g CIA, FBI, MI6, US Gov't.

Would be very interesting to see the data!

reply to post by phatpackage


It would also be interesting to see the data on the number of threads that are a complete waste of bandwidth... I wonder if the site would run faster if there was a reduction of such threads? Well, one can only hope that they are 404'd in a timely fashion...

That is all...

great design by the way i like the 404

Who's to decide what is "a complete waste of bandwidth"? I mean, in my opinion, ALL Atheist/Theist debates are "a complete waste of bandwidth"... I have yet to see an atheist convert to theism or a theist convert to atheism as a product of such threads, and typically NO useful information is exchanged therein. Rather, the threads invariably deteriorate into flame-fests.

Yet, hundreds of enraged atheist and theist members would cry foul if ATS banned their impassioned discussions, and rightly so. ATS has, indeed, grown less and less tolerant of the edgier topics of discussion (much to the detriment of ATS and their audience, I might add), such that ATS is teetering on the brink of mundanity, IMHO.

This website was rather challenging and intellectually stimulating at one time. Now it's drifting into the still waters of mere entertainment. Too bad.

— Zesko Whirligan

Originally posted by phatpackage
Obviously we don't expect you tell us the names of the threads that were removed but out of those numbers in the above question who were the requesting body/group/agency/large corporation

The 404 page is intended to be "tongue in cheek" funny.

While it might be "sexy" to claim more, in reality, very few pieces of content have had the honor of an official request for removal.

Way back in 2000, SImon Gray received a DoD request to remove a paragraph on a article he wrote about a secret facility (forget which article). The paragraph was based on an anonymous email he received, and apparently contained sensitive information. He complied.

In 2004, we received a request from a DIA Special Agent to remove his phone number from a thread. We complied.

Those are the only specific requests of which I'm aware. Of course, lots of content has been proactively removed by us -- nearly all of it has been material that contains personal information.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


No worries. Thank you Mod for your prompt & honest reply.

The aim of the thread was not in anyway to cry censorship against the moderators of ats but more to see if stuff that gets posted here worries the PTB too much!. Now judging by the fact there were only two requests in 10+ years it would appear that there's virtually nothing on this site they are too worried about. Maybe there is some stuff that might concern them wee bit but nothing that is a real danger to national security else they would have hacked it off or approached the mods to remove it!.

Originally posted by phatpackage
reply to post by SkepticOverlord

 

Now judging by the fact there were only two requests in 10+ years it would appear that there's virtually nothing on this site they are too worried about.

While TPTB may not be blocking ATS content, some ATS members were cited by the Anti-Defamation League just this year for their "violence inciting speech"... Which put an uncomfortable spotlight on ATS, I would imagine, although there was no actual violent or violence-inciting speech cited. In other words, the ADL falsely accused ATS members — but the result was the same. I'm sure more than a couple of eyes at the Dept of Justice turned this way, based on the false accusations.

— Zesko Whirligan

reply to post by Zesko Whirligan


Hi mate,

I was more referring to "Top Secret" classified info. Like when someone posts & says something "I have friend ...... & he told me ........ he works for the government......" or when people talk about secret bases or leaked docs etc. There would not appear to be any content on this site of a "Top Secret Nature". It's not like Wikileaks where the US military made a public appeal not re-broadcast the wikileaks stuff. I have never heard the military/cia comment on censoring ats.

That all. To re quote something posted many times on ats "Move on nothing to see here"

Cheers

Understood, old man, but in the USA, "Top Secret" doesn't mean very much these days, for a few reasons...

For one thing, our public officials in high office are more likely to sell or give away classified information than are the commoners. We mere peasants are extremely unlikely to stumble upon any classified material that wasn't already given away to China 20 years earlier.

For another thing, I don't believe ANY information is truly "Top Secret" anymore, and hasn't been since WWII — that was when our government discovered that it was more efficient and effective to disseminate waves of disinformation rather than try to intensively protect its classified materials. So, rather than clamping down advanced aeronautics and weapons development, the government fabricates UFO and conspiracy theory flaps, generating smokescreens of sensational misinformation and disinformation that hopelessly confuses any serious data miner.

Finally, we're moving into an era of communications and information transparency that is going to render "Top Secret" classifications meaningless. Communications and spyware will be so "smart" and so sophisticated that it'll be impossible to hide your deepest secrets. In other words, our governments will hide our secrets in plain sight and DARE anyone to try and steal them. It'll be almost impossible for terrorists, for example, to construct nuclear weapons without generating an information signature that is immediately discernible on the other side of the planet. Safety through transparency.

So, the greatest crime in the near future will be "going off the grid"... You'd better believe that.

— Zesko Whirligan

reply to post by phatpackage

It's not like Wikileaks where the US military made a public appeal not re-broadcast the wikileaks stuff.

Whereas Wikileaks is a fixed format as Zesko mentioned here on ATS it is an open forum where spin can be controlled by multiple parties. Following the threads you can see quite easily who is spinning disinformation and who is doing the psych ops trolling.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord



Greetings:

I was following a navsat weather link (I thought) and got this the other day and did not know where to post it.

Here it is for the record.

You are accessing a U.S. Government (USG) information system (IS) that is provided for USG authorized use only.

By using this IS, you consent to the following conditions:

- The USG routinely monitors communications occurring on this IS, and any device attached to this IS, for purposes including, but not limited to, penetration testing, COMSEC monitoring, network defense, quality control, and employee misconduct, law enforcement, and counterintelligence investigations.

- At any time, the USG may inspect and/or seize data stored on this IS and any device attached to this IS.

- Communications occurring on or data stored on this IS, or any device attached to this IS, are not private. They are subject to routine monitoring and search.

- Any communications occurring on or data stored on this IS, or any device attached to this IS, may be disclosed or used for any USG-authorized purpose.

- Security protections may be utilized on this IS to protect certain interests that are important to the USG. For example, passwords, access cards, encryption or biometric access controls provide security for the benefit of the USG. These protections are not provided for your benefit or privacy and may be modified or eliminated at the USGs discretion.

May your 2011 see you embracing its highest potential.

In Peace & Light
tfw


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