Is ATS working against us ?

First of all, by ATS I mean some of the members, not the website itself.

There are many topics that are ok, that relate facts and some are debunked or not, real facts, real physics, real ideas.

On the other hand we have threads like:

"God exists because the Bible says so"
"The observer effect isn't real because I can point a laser at a nail"
"The US states it can't change the path of the hurricane"
"I found this website that says nothing clear, by an expert that you never heard of about an experiment that can't be replicated because he forgot how"
"The world will end on PICK_A_DATE"

I'm sorry but this is stupid, we have to look through 1000 misleading topics to find one that is worth it. ATS is, like TV and all of the internet, 90% noise. I start searching for some new useful information and end up on a topic so stupid I just can't take it and get sucked in.

We have to do something about this:

"The world will end on PICK_A_DATE" - user banned in case world doesn't end on that date. If it does, good job mate.

"The observer effect isn't real because I can point a laser at a nail" - user gets explanation and is banned from posting for a while, because he didn't research the thread at all.

"God exists because the Bible says so" - we can't do anything politically correct about this, this is trolling or just real fanaticism.

We need a button that states: This thread is great because it actually says something, it's not trolling, it is true or can be true because we have some proof.

If someone just made a tread "I found a way to turn ZPE ( replace ZPE with whatever you want ) into electricity" I'll never see it, because I'll be commenting about how stupid is the person who created the thread "Elephants can fly because a friend of a friend of a cousin of a friend of the guy who used to date my sister told me so".

You you bother to read this post:

if you agree star
if you have something to add please do, but make it reasonable
if you don't agree because your sisters friend told you so and want to start a flame war, I beg of you, don't reply

reply to post by RanDeLv2


I know it wasn't even this bad a few months ago. (lurking since last november)

It isn't just the idiot types you mentioned, in my opinion. There are great topics that are just instantly deleted instead of closed for (insert reason here).

An example: Earlier today someone made a great post with some very valid points in regard to WW2, among some other reflections, that could have lead to a great conversation. I read it and went to star/flag it and...404! Didn't catch the users name, sadly, otherwise I'd have complimented them on that post.

Another example would be ANY post regarding the legalization of ...well...things. You know

It's ridiculous.

"The US states it can't change the path of the hurricane"

Are you from the US?

I guess I haven't been here much longer than you but I have learned this about ATS...Love it or leave it cause it ain't gonna change too drastically in the near future. Maybe a few tweaks and tune-ups, but that's about it I believe.

I choose to love it with all the quirks, boneheads, trolls, shills etc. I think it would be a very boring site if everyone agreed on everything.

I love everything I can find that interests me. I love the fact that there are so many intelligent people here to learn from and I have learned to laugh at everything else.

In the end, I get to learn from others, share my thoughts or views and laugh at a lot of other stuff...what's so bad about that?

But yeah, I get what you're saying as well...

Peace.

Bit like life really...got to sift through a bit of garbage before you find something good, and those '404s' just pique the interest more I reckon. Makes you wonder with some of them if they didn't hit a mark.

reply to post by jude11


There are topics we can't all agree on, these topics relate mostly to feelings and emotions etc. We can't agree on aliens, God, corporations, presidents etc and that's ok.

I choose to think that people are smart, that a person who registered an account of this website did it to actually say something, not to talk about how he loves Jesus and about the way elephants fly.

I dream of a day when someone posts schematics to, let's say, a device that can use sound to break walls. I'd love to build it and come back and say, your design works, but add these capacitors to make it faster, or something similar.

I'm not from the US by the way and sometimes this is a good thing.

EDIT:

I was more or less posting on this website even 5 years ago. The creation of my first account was a result of the ban on anonymous posting.

Originally posted by RanDeLv2
reply to post by jude11

 

There are topics we can't all agree on, these topics relate mostly to feelings and emotions etc. We can't agree on aliens, God, corporations, presidents etc and that's ok.

I choose to think that people are smart, that a person who registered an account of this website did it to actually say something, not to talk about how he loves Jesus and about the way elephants fly.

I dream of a day when someone posts schematics to, let's say, a device that can use sound to break walls. I'd love to build it and come back and say, your design works, but add these capacitors to make it faster, or something similar.

I'm not from the US by the way and sometimes this is a good thing.

EDIT:

I was more or less posting on this website even 5 years ago. The creation of my first account was a result of the ban on anonymous posting.

edit on 28-8-2011 by RanDeLv2 because: (no reason given)

Yeah, we gotta weed thru it all to find the gems but I get distracted sometimes when someone sez elephants can fly....I just gotta click!

Of course! you cannot make money and be seen as respectful media outlet if of course you believe any of this crap. Seriously though... Jesse Ventura didn't care or believe.. Nor those bums on Decoded, or UFO hunters.. you're a fool if you think those who provide you the outlet and the information would indeed be advocating for such information to be true. It would be a silly business plan, or mission statement to admit to such beliefs.

I am correct..

reply to post by RanDeLv2
I hear ya, RanDeL... also, a thread I was reading, an interesting one, 404'd when I went to page 2 today.

reply to post by new_here


Well in defense of ATS, they have very strict rules on posting especially in regards to proper citation in order to attribute credit where it belongs. If that is not followed you will see posts go away. I've had a few get dumped because I didn't follow the proper procedure and I for one rather enjoy the fact that they keep a close eye on things.

As to the original post your still going to be flooded with Ron Paul, Casey Anthony, the latest hurricane or what have you type of threads. I believe the ones your having a problem with are the minority.

Originally posted by RanDeLv2

First of all, by ATS I mean some of the members, not the website itself.

There are many topics that are ok, that relate facts and some are debunked or not, real facts, real physics, real ideas.

On the other hand we have threads like:

"God exists because the Bible says so"
"The observer effect isn't real because I can point a laser at a nail"
"The US states it can't change the path of the hurricane"
"I found this website that says nothing clear, by an expert that you never heard of about an experiment that can't be replicated because he forgot how"
"The world will end on PICK_A_DATE"

I'm sorry but this is stupid, we have to look through 1000 misleading topics to find one that is worth it. ATS is, like TV and all of the internet, 90% noise. I start searching for some new useful information and end up on a topic so stupid I just can't take it and get sucked in.

We have to do something about this:

"The world will end on PICK_A_DATE" - user banned in case world doesn't end on that date. If it does, good job mate.

"The observer effect isn't real because I can point a laser at a nail" - user gets explanation and is banned from posting for a while, because he didn't research the thread at all.

"God exists because the Bible says so" - we can't do anything politically correct about this, this is trolling or just real fanaticism.

We need a button that states: This thread is great because it actually says something, it's not trolling, it is true or can be true because we have some proof.

If someone just made a tread "I found a way to turn ZPE ( replace ZPE with whatever you want ) into electricity" I'll never see it, because I'll be commenting about how stupid is the person who created the thread "Elephants can fly because a friend of a friend of a cousin of a friend of the guy who used to date my sister told me so".

You you bother to read this post:

if you agree star
if you have something to add please do, but make it reasonable
if you don't agree because your sisters friend told you so and want to start a flame war, I beg of you, don't reply

First of all asking for stars and flags can get you banned. I would know. So no dice.

Second. I think this thread will be deleted or edit bc of that line. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but the more people post on it, the better the chances it will be deleted.

Third. ATS is now one with BTS. There are general forums and conspiracy forums here and that has always been the way of it. Depending on the mod, they will either trash a thread, or move it. the lines between the two are being brought closer together to separate the crap from the gold. I see ATS threads moved to BTS all of the time.

Fourth. Since ATS and BTS were merged, things have gotten worse. Probably because of the growing user base. They are consolidation threads to the appropriate area.

Fifth. Even mods have bad days.

Sixth. This is a conspiracy site. A lot of them are bunk. There is nothing we can do about it. This is not a research board. This is a post a crazy story board and hope someone listens. This is info and dis-info for the masses created by ourselves. This site will attract the most unstable and manipulative people in the world. The mods just try to control the craziness that happens here to the best of their ability (and move or delete the post). Who would ATS be to judge every possible conspiracy theory? There is just no way to do it. They are trying to keep this site more respectable, but it is a loosing battle. They are only against us when they feel something is off or abusive.

Seventh. They are very strict on certain T&C's. Be very careful...especially around mods, ATS in general, and drug posts.

Eight. It is a website. It is their website. They can do what they want. Obey or find a place to get info like this elsewhere. There are a lot of forums on these same subjects.


I don't know. I don't think they are against us. I think they are against this site running into the ground. They have made an investment here, and they are doing their best.

I have been banned before multiple times, and a lot of my newest threads have been deleted . Some of the threads go for days, but eventually a mod comes on that doesn't like it. It has gotten worse, but I feel this is because there are just too many users. Some culling out is required.

This site does need to make money. They are hosting years and years of entire threads. They cannot keep them all, and they should not be expected to. There are some weird situations on threads but we all agree to the T&C. Even if we don't read it

Here's the way I see it. Most of us have gotten to the point that we want to decide for ourselves what is, and is not, going on. We can't assume that the MSM, any government, etc., can be trusted at face value, at least without due diligence. But you have to go through tons of manure to find a pearl or two. And one person's pearl is another person's horse apple, so to speak.

Hang in there. And happy pearl diving!

ATS is what members make of it. I too get fed-up looking for the diamond threads, having to go through random gibberish to find the good stuff.

When I first joined I lapped it all up and was quite naive, even started to get depressed and paranoid (not to a great extent, but you can understand I’m sure, when your eyes are first opened you read everything).
However, from these experiences I now know (to a certain extent) where the bull is, what is fear mongering, how to spot a troll, when to heed good advice, which members to trust etc.

I have changed my life thanks to a lot of things I have learned from ATS and members knowledge and experiences. Life is about learning and experiences if we didn’t go through the crap we wouldn’t realise what is good advice, information and knowledge.

So in a way I agree with you, but maybe it is helpful to have 'weaker' threads in order to learn and deny ignorance.

Peace