A couple of questions...

First and foremost, what is in RATS and how many points do I need to access it to see for myself? Second, if I get struck with poetic inspiration based on something I read here, is there an outlet here on ATS for that, or should I just keep that kind of crap on my myspace ??

Many thanks,
TB

I think it's 200 points to get access to RATS (Really Above Top Secret). It's really just more of the same.
There's places to post your poetry on BTS (off topic discussions).

reply to post by TrueBrit


You should be able to get into RATS. You have plenty of points.

I know I had to pay to get in before but I don't know how you pay for access now or if it's just automatic based on points. Did you try to go in there?

reply to post by subject x


Ah... One more question... where the blue and pink hell, do I access these features? I have looked around on the home page, on myATS, and I just cannot figure out where to access these features from.
Help?

TB

RATS is here
and the forum for writing and poetry and such things is here

Both these areas can be accessed from the "forums" page.
You have to scroll way down to find the BTS/off topic areas.

Hope that's helpful.

edit: What Dave said...

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Well I just went in there, and there were no bells or whistles going off, although theres a thread devoted to people announcing thier arrival on RATS. Sort of like saying " Is everybody known?" as if theres some secret cabal of conspiracists in there or something

The bells and whistles only go off when you enter the "Super Duper Ultra Secret Cabal of Mega Conspiracies" area. I'm not sure how to get access to that, but I have it on good (not to be named) authority that it involves the sacrifice of chickens and having to eat 100 of those mini-tacos in 3 minutes.

As I mentioned, RATS is just more of the same. I think it is (or at least was) supposed to be hidden from google searches. Other than that, having a forum called RATS is kinda cool, I think.

reply to post by TrueBrit

"Sort of like saying " Is everybody known?" as if theres some secret cabal of conspiracists in there or something "





It does seem like that! I had a hard time finding it myself, I didn't even know about it until something from RATS came up on the recent posts! I think the fact that it is hard to find keeps alot of people out and that is not a bad thing. Alot of the discussions in there are more indepth and civil. There are less of the "no way dude your an idiot" oneliners.
I still do not know how to get to RATS from the main page....I have this www.abovetopsecret.com... bookmarked though!

I don't often go into BTS either, it seems like a good place to go when ATS becomes a bit much, go swap some tunes or some recipes, maybe check out some member art!

reply to post by mutantgenius


With regards to BTS , I fully intend at some point to write some poetry or lyrics based on content and attitudes that I expirience on the boards of ATS, its just a matter of sticking it in the right thread.

1- RATS no longer requires points for subscription. It becomes accessible once you've hit the threshold number of posts. I believe it's 200. Sort of like Chat.

2- There are forums on Off Topic (the blue tab formerly known as BTS) that would be fine for your writing contributions. I'd encourage you to message masqua about getting writer's status for your account. That'll give you the ability to post in the writing forums and enter the contests that pop up occasionally.

reply to post by yeahright


I have taken your advice and messeged masqua about writer status. Thanks very much for your input, it is very much appreciated.

TB