This site has sold out.

reply to post by Warpedconsciousness


I agree, the Mods pick and choose what is offensive to them in their minds eye and then act on it, yet I see so many posts daily that say "PROOF" that have none yet these posts seem to stick around for many days.
Yet if someone posts something provocative and true it's usually moved or canned altogether.

Censorship at it's finest. The rules here are not exactly clearly defined and their are select members who get preferential treatment. This site is cliquish, and exceedingly ad driven that I think a new site should be built with new people involved and a re-focusing.

I applaud some of the work here, however, it's deplorable to hit us up with so many ads that are meaningless to me for the most part. All this cookie tracking advertising is a joke and very innacurate to say the least.

It feels like I am walking downtown only to keep running into homeless people asking for a handout when all i want to do is see what the stores have to offer.

Ive never had any problem posting whatever I want here. Of course, Im also not foul-mouthed in public, nor do I derail a conversation. But thats just me.

Ive never been banned, threatened, or bothered.

If something doesnt appeal to me, I dont read the thread. Just like at the library. I pass a hundred books before one catches my eye. However, Im not going to get angry at the books I pass up because their content is vapid, banal or just plain silly.

People complain and act as if there is absolutely zero redeeming content on ATS, when there is. And since the expensive overhaul of this site, it's even easier to find posts that you might enjoy.

Also, just to add: If you are over the age of 16, it's a little immature to say anything/anyone has "sold out". Everyone sells out. If you have a job, and any sort of stability, then you sold out. That doesnt mean you love the system, or that you have been assimilated into the hive mind. Money makes our capitalist society work. If you enjoy the computer and the world-wide-web, then you probably "sold out" as well. I dont care for ads being thrown at me either, however, this site wouldnt exist without them.

Nothing is free.

It's funny. I used hash marks as a joke about the content filter and my post was removed. Really, hash marks are bad now? How does a mod know that # = curse word or not? Anyone could just randomly put #'s in a post and it automatically gets deleted?

Also, I started a thread in GenChat entitled "Thread Where You Must Post Off Topic" and it was removed for not following the rules of being on topic and being offensive. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I find it completely ironic and hilarious.

Originally posted by InertiaZero
Nothing is free.

not quite true. This site is, to our members and guests, free of charge, unless you count having ads on the site. They aren't cumbersome, they don't require any action on the user's part and they don't cost you anything.

They do, however, provide us with enough revenue to maintain a site that brings in about 2.5 million people who view tens of millions of pages a month.

As far as we can tell, there are three ways to provide a site of this magnitude, to this many people, while ensuring it runs smoothly, and loads up as quickly as it does.
1. charge a monthly fee
2. pay for it all out of the owner's pockets
3. allow advertisers to pay for ad space.


I highly doubt the owners want to spend the kind of cabbage it takes, monthly, to provide the site to you and I would imagine that the end users don't want to pay for it either.

that leaves us with #3.

So yeah be soooo proud of your mod status, you wasted so much time here your seen as free labor and underthere controll.

Feel soooo proud of deleteing anythign you dont like or agree with.

That's just it, we're volunteers, not paid staff. What makes you think any of us want to delete things we don't agree with? Personally, those are my FAVORITE posts, as they challenge my existing beliefs and force me to reanalyze them.

Because we're volunteers, have to have a lot of us, as it isn't like we're all here 8 hours a day nonstop. It's sporadic at best, so need the overlap.

Personally, I prefer to CLOSE a thread vs. trashing it. When taking any action, my first question always is "how will this benefit the site".

We were asked to mod based on showing a fondness for the site and what it's about. If we truly thought it had lost that, there's nothing keeping us here. Yet, we're still here.

C'mon, you think I agree with a guy who claims to commune with Pleidians every night? No, but am I going to delete his posts? Of course not.

Deletions are, and should be reserved for violations of the Terms and Conditions.

Also, not all staff agrees on everything. I for one, feel we should have unfettered discussion of the legalization of a certain herb...not because I use it, but because I've seen the medicinal benefits of others forced to use it illegally in my state, for medicinal purposes because they don't want to become dependent on their STRONGER, PRESCRIBED narcotics!

But, I am but one. (and the last time we tried it, it was a mess).

Originally posted by EspyderMan
but fact is a site like this can easily run on a 6 dollar a month account without issues.

Now that's funny! Misinformed, but funny.

Our daily bandwidth in graphics alone is more than 300 gigabytes. We use a globally-distributed content delivery network to support that level of delivery that no shared-hosting provider would ever allow.

Our primary database server averages more than 100 queries a second. We have a monster custom-built 16-core dedicated database server (with SSD drives in Raid-10 configuration) to support a level of queries well beyond anything imaginable from a shared-hosting provider.

There are five other servers delivering the "ATS universe," but I think you get the picture from the above.

I've been here 6 years. The content of this site HAS went down drastically. There used to be more skeptics, now the majority are gullible people that believe anything.

There used to be more serious conspiracy topics, now there are things like ancient aliens and prophecies every day. Its kinda sad.

It's a shame those who don't like things round here end up bleating and moaning instead of trying to actually make things better by suggesting options, ideas etc.

THAT is what the complaints and suggestions button is for, but then I don't think that's what the grumblers want. They want boardtime, attention, aggreement, stars, flags and energy.

Oh the irony of coming somewhere you don't enjoy.

Originally posted by MaxNormal
So point is the owners sold out, they want money not the truth on anything.

Distributing the content contributed by our members to the millions of people who have become interested every month requires a fair amount of monthly revenue. In our current society/culture, if anyone has any ideas on how a business can form around supporting the free expression of anyone, and deliver that to millions, without using money -- I'm all ears.


As far as the advertising is concerned, if you actually take the time to calculate the number of ads, the ratio is far less than just about any other form of media.

The ads on our content pages take up, on average, only about 5% of the available square pixels - as defined by the site width of 990 pixels. Some pages (like the home page) may creep close to 20% on occasion, but the site-wide average is just about 8%. Compare that to an average of 27% for a magazine you purchase, or 36% for newspapers you purchase.

Well, personally I like this site because it is so well moderated. I decided to stay 'banned' from GLP, and became disillusioned with the haven for GLP disaffectives, LoP, because people think that their licentiousness equals free speech. Line after line of pointless and self-aggrandizing threads and posts with a lot of toilet-tongue thrown in for good measure.

Like I told my teenage nephew who believed he should be able to say what ever he wanted while living under his grandmother's roof, with his chest-thumping cry of 'FREE SPEECH!' is this: try speaking in this manner to a policeman; you may find yourself with a few contusions and black eyes, to a judge; land in jail, to your boss; the door won't even have a chance to hit you on the ___ as you are tossed out, or to someone bigger and badder than you; knocked out on the floor.

With courtesy, consideration, decorum, discretion and forebearance seemingly out of fashion in this society I give a big thumbs up to the moderators who probably have better things to do than to weed through the daily deluge of information that passes through this site and referee the players in their poor behavior.

In my little experience on this site, i think it provides liberty of expression for all. When there is a problem with MODS deleting threads, we can talk of that with mods. Now, maybe sometimes they are too severe but we can discuss it with them. Now let's create a chatroom with mods and us talk each other.
I have no much experience on this but since the start i have satisfaction on this site. Now the time will speak.

Peace.

Originally posted by PhantomLimb
It's funny. I used hash marks as a joke about the content filter and my post was removed. Really, hash marks are bad now? How does a mod know that # = curse word or not? Anyone could just randomly put #'s in a post and it automatically gets deleted?
.

to be honest i saw your post that got deleted, and to be fair the mods were well within their rights to delete them..
you may have used # marks but it was pretty obvious what you were saying, and it was a little unnecessary and completely pointless.

on the subject in hand, i totally agree with the way the site is run.. for example on you tube, i watch a video then view the comments and it is complete crap, i never even get past the first page, and i dont like to see curse words in every post, its just not pleasing on the eyes.. if ATS were like that i wouldn't even come here.

Obviously the ads are needed, this site is very good in comparison to others and that dont come cheap.. and its all free for me to use.. to be honest i dont even notice the ads anymore..
and ya know, so what if owners want to earn a bit of cash on top, thats just the way of the world.. if it was a choice between having a comfortable life or a struggle to pay the bills.. i would do the exactly the same thing..

and talking of the owners, instead of just deleting this thread, they come here and answer the questions, you gotta respect that, how many other companies or business are out there, that the owners will answer your questions directly and personally? not many, i can tell you that..

I don't mind the ads, and I don't have a problem with the owners making bank; but lately the amount of censorship, 404s, and mods deleting any post they don't agree with has left me dumbfounded. This is the last place I would expect such types of censorship, but it's turned into the most censored of any forum/community I currently visit. The guy above said ATS will turn into a Youtube-like environment with lots of trolls and spammers if it weren't for the strict mods, but that's a misled assumption. For the most part the users of ATS are much more mature, respectful, and contribute intellectual content more than any other community, and I'm glad people can be open to new ideas and theories. But some of the stuff I've seen lately makes me distrust the site supervisors, for example 404ing Rant threads similar to this (I'm stunned this hasn't been deleted actually), 404ing any thread related to drugs even if it's truly breaking news and not discussing personal use, sometimes deleting post that simply a mod doesn't like, and many other things.

I actually like the MOD action around here.
I think there should be more MODS, not less.

Originally posted by nerbot
So many NOOBS who think they have been around long enough to have an opinion about how the site runs comparing "then and now".

If you don't like it, just go away and stop whining.

If you don't go away then there is somthing here for you that costs you nothing. Live with it or don't.

hey its naaab you nooob not the other way around..lolz


But is see your point,

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


A magazine requires far more revenue to start up and even more to maintain in comparison to an electronic news magazine. But i respect your point and understand that every cent helps and every cent is needed, its simply doing business.

But if you really want the click's on a constant burstable red line bandwidth you might want to consider opening a section allocated to anon and its news, rest assured you will have the due attention as word would find its way around as a site that allows public posting of announcements, but it would also require far more attention than what the combined forums require to date.

The ads: No problem. The Mods: Some are better than others but so what. Free Speech/Heavy Hands:Has really been noticeable lately and has turned me off as well.

However, seeing as how this OP wasn't 404'ed immediately--as often happens--and has been responded to in a dignified manner by Mods & Owners alike, I'm feeling like someone is finally listening to some of the valid points addressed and hope we are all growing as a community.

Originally posted by Raelsatu
The guy above said ATS will turn into a Youtube-like environment with lots of trolls and spammers if it weren't for the strict mods, but that's a misled assumption. For the most part the users of ATS are much more mature, respectful, and contribute intellectual content more than any other community.

But the problem is it will not be mature, respectful or intelligent conversation around here if you let the kiddies, trolls and spammers run riot..
Those people that want intelligent, mature conversation will leave In droves.. Just think about some of the crap that does pass through here already and times that by a thousand.. That's what you will get without moderation.. Although I do agree that there are certain issues and topics that are censored and It does kind of contradicted the point of the sight, but to be fair I can also understand the reason certain things are censored..