3 Months before new members can make a thread - Either this or the site dies

I'm pretty new to this forum, eventhough I have lurked for 3+ years, but I have no problem with what the op suggested. I'm new here, but senior on other forums, and it seems to be something every well known forum encounters at some point.

There are a lot of redilculous threads, and threads where the title has horrible grammar, misspelling, or is entirely misleading. So yes, a 3 month waiting period might weed out some of the people who aren't sincere. So would stricter enforcement. How about if you are caught abusing the system so to speak, and are trolling or intentionally putting out misleading/false information, you can't make a thread for 3 or more months?

reply to post by On the level


I completely agree with this. A delay before posting would be effective in detering trolls, as well as over enthusiastic kids who have just heard about a subject and feel that they has found THE truth and they have to push it on to everyone else on the site.

That being said, I think 3 month is too much. maybe a couple of weeks, a month at most.

Originally posted by Wowbagger
reply to post by On the level

 

I completely agree with this. A delay before posting would be effective in detering trolls, as well as over enthusiastic kids who have just heard about a subject and feel that they has found THE truth and they have to push it on to everyone else on the site.

That being said, I think 3 month is too much. maybe a couple of weeks, a month at most.

The only thing that deters trolls is to ignore them. Trolls post for attention. Give them attention, they keep on at it. But people just cannot do that. People cannot just ignore them. Feed. Feed. Feed. So maybe we should ban the people who feed trolls?

Trolling and what to do about!

Well if the OP is thinking of the same troller i am thinking of- the wackjob troller who had several threads this week having to do with the nwo, a ufo in london, and his dog- then I totally get where your coming from. Its frustrating. And I can agree with you. I too get really irritated reading what seems to me to be like "elementary" "is this an alien" type of threads like nearly every day now because ATS is becoming more and more popular and if people would just use the friggin search feature or if they werent permitted to just create threads at will they wouldnt just waste bandwidth.

I guess its at the owners discretion. I mean- if they want new members wasting bandwidth on pointless threads on trollers and new members asking "is this an alien" about an alien picture from 2005 that has well over 200 pages on ATS designated to it then that is their decision, not ours.

If it were up to me, Id say- for SURE- we need to have a new member training camp as it were. Complete with training videos teaching new members how to embed youtube videos and pictures into their threads because god knows the information threads dont do the trick. I am SO SICK and tired of new members who cant figure it out. And atleast a 30 days waiting period before they can start their own thread. Just my opinion of course.

Originally posted by greeneyedleo
How about members just alert staff to threads and posts that violate the T&C.

My thinking exactly. In fact, to be perfectly honest, I would be in support of removing the 20 post minimum rule. It didn't cut back on hoaxers, spammers and trollers all that much and it has increased the number of off topic posts by new members just trying to get their 20 posts in...

I swear... it annoys me to tears when I see a good thread and then I read a post that says nothing more than " Just trying to get my 20 posts "...

On and don't even get me started on the non intro, intro threads in which people try to circumvent the rule by making a thread there about some "amazing" UFO video that has been seen already a million times, or something of that nature...

But I digress... ( I do that a lot)

We have the complaint and suggestion form for a reason. The staff can't do it alone... If you see a violation of the T&C, report it. I truly think that is the best solution to the problem.

Originally posted by xynephadyn
Well if the OP is thinking of the same troller i am thinking of- the wackjob troller who had several threads this week having to do with the nwo, a ufo in london, and his dog- then I totally get where your coming from. Its frustrating. And I can agree with you. I too get really irritated reading what seems to me to be like "elementary" "is this an alien" type of threads like nearly every day now because ATS is becoming more and more popular and if people would just use the friggin search feature or if they werent permitted to just create threads at will they wouldnt just waste bandwidth.

I guess its at the owners discretion. I mean- if they want new members wasting bandwidth on pointless threads on trollers and new members asking "is this an alien" about an alien picture from 2005 that has well over 200 pages on ATS designated to it then that is their decision, not ours.

If it were up to me, Id say- for SURE- we need to have a new member training camp as it were. Complete with training videos teaching new members how to embed youtube videos and pictures into their threads because god knows the information threads dont do the trick. I am SO SICK and tired of new members who cant figure it out. And atleast a 30 days waiting period before they can start their own thread. Just my opinion of course.

ATS Freshman Forum

reply to post by greeneyedleo


Ah well I know it exists- the problem is its not mandatory and the new members dont utilize it and there are still the new threads asking people/mods to embed pictures/videos for them etc etc. Ive seen atleast 4 threads this week alone by new members with people not knowing how to embed anything. Here's to hoping more people will use it.

I rarely start threads, replying to threads is better for me.... The next thread I start on ATS will likely be my last. For what it is worth.

Don't let ATS die!

ATS activities are just like that of a married couples.
When we first engage in it....we had certain courtesy and great deal of consideration before opening up threads, but then the married couples getting older and older ....... this is where we are at right now. No consideration, no courtesy, lousy, angry, old couples.

reply to post by MysticPearl

There are a lot of redilculous threads, and threads where the title has horrible grammar, misspelling, or is entirely misleading

Perhaps you shouldn't be as quick to judge others on their spelling and grammar, lest you be judged yourself!

Back on topic, I really don't think new posters should be sanctioned in any way. A lot of people join the site because they do have something to share, many will post a thread in the introductions forum as a way, not only to meet other posters, but also to attain their 20 posts in order to start a new thread in the appropriate forum. Having a 3 month waiting period would probably just put people off.

I also agree with others who say, "if you don't like it, don't read it" I have come across a few posters, who I believe to be attention seeking morons. Whenever I see posts or threads by them, I just pass them by...unless I want to have a chuckle to myself, in which case I will read them, usually end up thinking "Ehh???" then I just leave the thread and go and read something interesting. I wouldn't even bother attempting to engage with them, as I know it is a waste of time.

ATS is a brilliant forum, with something for everyone, and on the few occasions that I have alerted mods, they have always reacted promptly and appropriately, and yes, I have had posts removed as being OT simply because I was responding to another poster, but to be fair that is perfectly acceptable as the correct course of action should have been to alert mods rather than responding to an OT or T&C violation post.

So, overall I think the current system works very well and I don't think it needs to change.

reply to post by On the level


Much Ado about Nothing..................Stay or Leave , it's YOUR Choice.....

Okay, As a very new user to ATS I would like to point out that I have been on the internet longer than most people on this board (I first used this username in 91 which explains why it is stupid) and even when it was expensive, difficult, and time consuming there were trolls and idiots.

You would be astonished the lengths a Troll will go to, the more difficult you make it the more they want to ruin it for you.

Trolls are the best kind of problem, if you ignore them they go away. I just wish I could get my other problems to be so easy.

Oh, and on people leaving because of trolls and new people? I doubt that. Old members leave because they get bored or find another board that better suits there interests or personality in general. A small percentage may have left for that reason but wherever they went will either grow into what ATS is or it will die and they will be back.

I agree with whoever said that what we're seeing here is the result of recruitment efforts to drive revenue. This was predictable and predicted. So this is the new ATS, deal with it.

Some of these Ideas being bred of frustration about the new reality—a 100-post minimum or three-month wait—are preposterous though, as they would be contrary to the new ATS. Very few new members—of any caliber—would stick around for that. as And third, these ideas don't really even get close to the root cause of the problem or the frustration.

Avoiding or ignoring what you personally might deem a troll thread or a thread being trolled is a nice concept in theory. However, it only works if everyone does it . More often that not ignoring trolls incites them more, they just keep posting more and cluttering up both the boards and individual threads—other members (trolls and non-trolls alike) pile in and mission accomplished. Notifying the mods is also a nice concept in theory. But more often than not, the mods just can't seem to get there fast enough or nothing seems to happen at all and the "damage" is done.

And quite frankly, what we're talking here goes beyond trolls anyway. Judge not lest ye be judged? Come on now. Lets be honest here. The "quality" of many threads here goes beyond spelling and grammar. Many threads now more reflects the type of thing people post on their FaceBook "walls, and that's obvious with thread titles like, "I was sitting here thinking...." These people seem to be missing the "point" of ATS or don't know what to do here and frankly many don't and never will have the observational skills to get it. But that's the standard of the self-wrought, newer ATS demographic, and it's not going to change too fast. It will, however, ebb and flow. Most of these people will find it's not the place for them, but new ones will come. So it's going to be a persistent issue.

One way to attempt nip this particular issue in the bud that might also help with the troll problem is to make it mandatory to have an Introduction thread. This way the moderators can come in with their nifty welcome package with all the handy links and maybe even a restatement of the vision of ATS. Makes more sense to me than placing random restrictions on things like posting and creating threads in hopes that newer members absorb things by osmosis and example.

Also, I think what's really frustrating many people more is the sheer volume of all kinds of threads—both those deemed troll or unworthy and those deemed of real substance, which get buried faster as a result of the former.

On the Recent Posts page and even in My ATS, if a thread scrolls off page 1, chances are it dies a quick death. This is happening more and more often now with volume picking up. It's becoming more of a challenge to both keep up with and find threads you've seen in passing and new ones too. You see two threads you want to read and go into flag or subscribe to one, and by the time you get back the other is gone, never to be found again.

Bringing back Ignore might help a lot here. So might bringing back the Hide function (exclude certain forums from Recent Posts...(maybe this is still around and I just haven't found it in the redesign).

And finally, I do think the mods need to get tougher about a couple of things.

1.) What's allowed in General Conspiracy and other forums. For example, a general conspiracy is not "Do you Feel Like having to work is unnatural" or "ATS live goes off air! Is the government attacking?" or "why does it seem more men are interested in conspiracies than women?" or "Elves and dwarves - do they exist?"

Seriously? These aren't conspiracies—they're chit-chat. Move these threads to where they belong.

2.) Thread titles, both the spelling and grammar and how they reflect the content. Recent examples of ridiculous thread titles: "Holy Crud, I Found Nibiru., "A Message to ALL Americans. READ!" or "URGENT: Your attention is required here!" or "This is it!! (dont't turn away, its real)" or any BREAKING or URGENT or WARNING that don't stay urgent or breaking for long or warn us about anything.

As I recall, things like this used to matter here. Not all of us come here knowing how to make a thread title, but in the past we used to learn the acceptable standards by having it pointed out to us and changed. This still happens to a degree with all-caps titles, but overall mods are getting lax.

Just some thoughts. Take them for what they're worth.

Originally posted by TNTarheel
[I don't know that a 3 month wait would help too awfully much; I've seen nonsense "threads" introduced as posts to an established topic. I've also seen where, in my opinion (after some detective work), the same person is conversing with themselves within a thread (think Bernie).

I, too, am a new member. I absolutely love ATS and I agree with this statement. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a lot of people have multiple accounts. ATS boasts about having as much as 217, 593 members on this site. I doubt that. It is just too obvious that some people, if not most, have more than one account. Every chance they get, they star and flag their posts and take opposing viewpoints to a thread for various reasons. It's sickening.

I say let's take a whole new look on all of this:

How about having a central database in ATS that stores IP Addresses? As soon as a new account is created, have some kind of internal flagging system that matches that account with others from the same IP and then ban ALL of those accounts as a violation of a new rule

reply to post by On the level


3 months? More like 100-150 posts before you make a thread.

And a spell checker would be nice as well. Atrocious spelling. I feel like I'm at GLP at times.

Learn to avoid the crap.
That is what one must do if one is going to make the most of this world (and this board).
Cherrypick the good and ignore the bad.
Simple as that.
Believe me, I understand your frustrations. It does get covoluted and polluted.
Zorgon said something like: Although there is no ignore button, there is a scroll button. Dont stop on the BS.
Thats my sage advice.

I remeber when i was fustrated with the humans of this world,i talked to the Mother of all Mothers, and ahe told me,she said.
'There is no 2 humans that think the same way,let alone a billion plus,always respect that every human has its on brain and own thoughts'.

Every body has a right,respect there brain and there thoughts of what they percieve to be what ever it is they think is credible.
As one owner told a poster ,;If you dont like it,go build your own web site and run it how you see fit'
i think thats how it went ?

While I understand the ire of established members, who have seen the so called exodus of minds of late, who are tired of the totaly outrageous insistance of some members that they be believed, and thier falsehoods accepted as truth no matter how insane, unsupported , and weak thier content and/or arguments may be, I cannot agree with the idea of a three month general ban on new members posting threads.
Just because a person is "new" to the site, does not mean they have nothing sensible to contribute, or that they are automaticaly incapable of abiding by the T&C.
I know I for one did not join up and immediately set about destroying the peace , harmony and general intellectual quality of the site in 2007. Of course it is true that there are posters, who seem incapable of honesty, integrity , and simple intelligent comment, however this in my opinion, is not a new problem, merely a larger quantity of an old one. With that in mind I have a much simpler suggestion to make , regarding a remedy for this malady.
When you see a thread which is nonsense, boycott it utterly. Do not post in it, do not comment in any way on its material. Reduce the amount of replies it gets by keeping away from its toxic intent utterly. Preventing the thread from gaining enourmous amounts of replies would be key in my estimation to keeping the tripe off the front page, and out of the most replies section. If idiocy abounds, and others ignore this simple suggestion, and post in the thread, search the thread and see if there is anything that the OP has done which would constitute a recognisable failiure to comply with T&C and if they have , report it. If they havent, take note of the names of the persons who have posted in that thread, and keep a look out for thier activity elsewhere in the site. If THIER behaviour anywhere in the site, constitutes a T&C violation, report it. If you see trolls, yell out and be heard by the mods.
The fact is that this site will NOT loose credibility through an increase of bad posts, and awful threads. These things are not new to the site, any more than the fustration regarding hoaxes , and the annoyance felt by persons of scientific mind, who see scientific endevours hijacked by charlatans and soothsayers. What WILL , almost without doubt cause a problem to the credibility of this site, as a place to discuss alternative and strange topics, is a clique of old timers deciding that its thier way, or a post ban. Remember please, that the people causing the problems on this site, are not the sort of people who would give a flying copulatory endevour, about how long they have to wait to be a scumbag, or an idiot. These fools are patient, and giving them time to gather false data before thier first thread, merely means that thier thread will have substantialy more crap in it, than it would have if thier tiny minds had merely summoned it up on a whim.
This site literaly cannot censor something, just because it is bunkum, nor can it be selective about its members unless those members are in violation of its rules. If it became otherwise, then the entire ethos of this site would be changed beyond recognition, and be far too damned highbrow , reducing the traffic levels not just by the amount of idiots who arent able to post, but because most people do not appreciate exclusivity, unless they happen to be squash playing health spa members with BMWs, and gold plated gonads. Not , I think , the sort of people we want here at any rate.
I commend my thoughts to the board, and hope that some compromise may be found in the future.

I am off work with a chest infection so will become the change I seek and will make a big thread on Shell and there plans that I found out about at an event held by them two weeks ago. I am will to make a prophesy too, I bet that I create a well researched and balanced thread about a page long based on fact and experience and it gets less attention than a thread about a ghost cat or a stargate or a reptillian horse someone has

reply to post by queenofsheba


haha you sure told him!