Has ATS Become Useless?

reply to post by HomeBrew


Honestly, sometimes it's good to step away from ATS, for a week, a month or two and then come back. Looking at this place day in and day out can wear you out mentally and make you a bit jaded.

Myself? I take breaks every six months of at least a week or so, for that exact reason.

~Tenth

Originally posted by HomeBrew
Any kind of evidence for anything simply can not be held as beyond a reasonable doubt anymore due to technology.

It has always been like that, I think the problem is that most people today see themselves more surrounded by technology than before and they see the results of the use of technology more often, but whenever a new technology that can be used to provide evidence of something (photography, audio and video recording, for example) appears, the ways of making fake versions of output from that technology also appear.

Personal experience of a paranormal nature is always bunk at face value, photos or videos or any kind of evidence is always suspect and easily dismissed, if not out of hand then with worldly possibility.

Witnesses' reports are still accepted by those that are really interested in a subject, while those that are only interested in appearing as a "hero" to their own side of the discussion will say things like "pics or it didn't happen".

For the people posting their own experiences, it sure helps to have something more than just their words, but, to me, their words are as good as evidence as a photo or a video.

Unfortunately many do not share in this and do whatever it takes to kill all that off as soon as possible.

Then we have to try to bring to ATS more of those that want a serious discussion about the topics, while alerting the staff of all violations of the Terms and Conditions of Use or other disruptive behaviour from anyone.

reply to post by HomeBrew

... we have gone beyond the threshold where just about anything can be faked to a degree where nothing can be taken as 'proof' anymore. Not a single photo, video, or anything can be put forth that could not be dismissed by the 'reasonable' premis of forgery and/or hoax. Not a single document can be posted that could be above suspicion, and no one gives a rats bum for personal expierence anymore.

Point being, ATS is the place where we converge to try and validate paranormal activities, conspiracies, and other worldly phenomona. Yet the mission is a fruitless one. NOTHING can hold up anymore, everything can be hoaxed, technology has ushered that in. Even a live feed of a mass UFO landing witnessed by millions can be dismissed by TPTB using holographic and/or technological and genetic advancments beyond the common knowledge barrior.

So, if all ATS can only offer post after post of opinion, political arguments, and mild entertainment, whats the point?

Very valid observations and certainly worthy of more consideration that they get here.

You're absolutely right; there is no line, to barrier that can be crossed here that can't be denied, returned or ripped to shreds. 'Proof' is a pie (or lie) in the sky and to accept anything as being real or a hoax, beyond question, is a fool's errand. But yet, even with this being as obvious as it is, the band plays on...

Originally posted by HomeBrew
So, if all ATS can only offer post after post of opinion, political arguments, and mild entertainment, whats the point?

Good question. I sat here for a few minutes trying to come up with an answer. I couldnt' do it. That in itself is interesting. I WAS going to say that ATS is a place for information that the MSM doesn't carry, and that the information here isn't hype and spin. But then I remembered the mob-mentality (grab the torches and pitchforks) over the Martin/Zimmerman shooting and I decided I couldn't say that.

I originally came here because of the supernatural forums and discussions.
That, and the UFO discussions. Etc etc.
Those are things you can't really find elsewhere.

I'll have to give is some more thought.
You may have just changed the course of how I spend my time.

reply to post by ArMaP

Witnesses'

Apparently ATS is pretty much useless. I am appalled by some of the moderators. Some are wonderful. Others seem to be morons. Ban away.

reply to post by HomeBrew


Maybe you who are just not getting the whole experience, UFOs are all debunk-able
but it is the open possibility that one experience just may be the one that
sends the entire ufology cult in a completely new and unexpected direction.

That's why I hang about the UFO forum.

reply to post by Domo1


Could you please rephrase that? I don't understand the relation between what you wrote and what you quoted from my post.

Thanks in advance.

reply to post by ArMaP


Written posts on ATS or any website can not be taken very seriously in my
opinion. The writer behind the keyboard may be genuine, or the other extreme is he may be a mental patient!

The whole thing should be looked at on balance.

At the end of the day I can come on here and tell you I am 6ft tall gorgeous and a millionaire,
but that doesn't mean that I am. (If you see what i mean).

reply to post by ArMaP


Ahhhhh. What I was going for was a full quote and giving some props.

Witnesses' reports are still accepted by those that are really interested in a subject, while those that are only interested in appearing as a "hero" to their own side of the discussion will say things like "pics or it didn't happen". For the people posting their own experiences, it sure helps to have something more than just their words, but, to me, their words are as good as evidence as a photo or a video.

I am a little bottom sore at a certain someone who shall remain nameless. I like that you seem to be able to say proof is important, but so is trusting someones word.

Man I really garbled the hell out of that post. Sorry. It looked like a weird backwards slight against you. Not the intent at all.

Originally posted by rigel4
reply to post by HomeBrew

 

Maybe you who are just not getting the whole experience, UFOs are all debunk-able
but it is the open possibility that one experience just may be the one that
sends the entire ufology cult in a completely new and unexpected direction.

The word 'debunk' is a horrible misuse of the language because it assumes that UFO reports, as well as those of other phenomena, are simply nothing but bunk to begin with. That the UFO community even uses this in its own terminology seems entirely counterproductive.

Considering that if the same sum of millions of people over seven decades, including police officers, civilian and military pilots, astronauts, cosmonauts, high ranking military officials, elected officials and just everyday people, had all seen a murder or robbery or some other event, their reports... both as individuals and combined over time, would carry weight in a court of law. But when we talk about aerial phenomena, there is no set of eyes or deposition that carries any weight.

Reason? Because there is no panel of expertise, no gold standard to refer to. Our government denies interest, our science rigorously ignores it and the media happily ridicules anyone who dares speak publicly.

Not so surprisingly, this all brings us back to the point of the OP because when you have a site like ATS that regularly stamps subjects as [HOAX] - even knowing full well that there is no way to judge most of the material spoken of here as being an absolute of anything - you can, as an individual member, begin to question your own rationale for even trying.

It's like visiting a race course and finding a barricade at the midway point. The concept of denying ignorance is a good one and considering the subjects here, it takes that to see a story sprout legs. But there are no absolutes... nothing can be debunked because nothing can be proven either way.

All we have is our view of the evidence and our opinion of it...

Every once in a while I read something interesting on here. If I do encounter an alien spacecraft and take pictures, there is a good chance I will post the pictures here first if I don't send them to a major news studio first. That is if I'm not on the run because government agents want to take me into custody.

I probably have a better chance of taking pictures inside an alien spacecraft than I do of winning one of those mega million jackpots. The other stuff I post, well I don't really want to prove things to other people so I'm happy just to talk about it and have not very many people believe. If everyone believed something paranormal was going on, I wouldn't get any peace and quiet unless it was common among many people. Not everyone wants to be a star in a video gone viral because it is so unusual everyone wants to see it. I haven't experienced any really strange things lately so not much to see here. If it does though and I can get pictures, well I'm a member here already. With ATS members across the globe, this site can generate news or provide leads for news reporters.

Originally posted by redoubt
The word 'debunk' is a horrible misuse of the language because it assumes that UFO reports, as well as those of other phenomena, are simply nothing but bunk to begin with.

Well, no, in this context it assumes that SOME reports are bunk and those are the ones to be debunked. Ufologists have known for decades that the majority of UFO sightings can be explained, some say as high as 90 or 95 percent. The point is to eliminate all the false reports and concentrate on the truly unexplained. In that regard debunkers do ufologists a service.

Originally posted by DelMarvel

Originally posted by redoubt
The word 'debunk' is a horrible misuse of the language because it assumes that UFO reports, as well as those of other phenomena, are simply nothing but bunk to begin with.

Well, no, in this context it assumes that SOME reports are bunk and those are the ones to be debunked. Ufologists have known for decades that the majority of UFO sightings can be explained, some say as high as 90 or 95 percent. The point is to eliminate all the false reports and concentrate on the truly unexplained. In that regard debunkers do ufologists a service.

Still and all, the word 'bunk' is not deserved for mistaken identity... unless we intend to ridicule those whom have less than perfect eyesight?

We can do better with our lexicon. Our language is far too dynamic to allow it to become a dumpster.