It's been posted before...

Hello ATS.
My post is about the annoying trend of some ATS members that find it nessecary to enlighten everyone on the pre-existence of a particular topic.

That all too familiar cry of "this has already been posted" followed by a list of threads that involve the same subject matter.
It wouldn't bother me so much if they were polite about it, if they gave their support for the topic and shared their enthusiasm for the subject matter and then proceeded to let everyone know that there is further information on several other threads as that would be helpful.

But the arrogant way in which some people go about dispensing the information is just rude.
It ties in with the whole 'Noob' attitude that so many online personalities have now days, like anyone that doesn't invest as much time and energy into something or that has not got some degree of senority amongst the population on a particular forum is somehow not as good as someone that does, we all have to start at the beginning you know.

The main question that is raised by people who find the above stated trend annoying is: "how am I supposed to know that the subject exists in the first place in order to use ATS's search function to find it?"
And this is a very good question.

I can understand that having several concurrent threads on the same topic is pointless, and i can also understand if someone fails to at least try to find a topic that they intend on posting about before posting but honestly, if someone wants to post about a subject and finds that the last post was 6 months or a year ago, then what is the big issue with re-posting the content? maybe people will find it interesting, MAYBE the people who have never heard about the topic would like to be informed and as they are unaware of it's existence they will never get the chance unless some, frankly, enterprising individual decides to re-hash the subject, to bring light on it again. Some people like to be involved in a current conversation as well, which is another consideration.

So maybe a compromise between the ATS nerds that seem able to recall every line of every post and comment verbatim since the dawn of ATS and everyone else that has not the time or inclination to shut themselves away in a dark room for months at a time researching, is required.

If you want to post about a subject and you either cannot find or do find a reference to it but it's very old then add a small note at the start of your post explaining your motivations and perhaps provide the links to the other threads yourself.

But maybe all of that would be pointless as the people who find it impossible to not comment with (in a mentally disturbed parody of their voices) "This has been posted before, i am so clever because i know this and i want to gloat and be arrogant and condescending about it..blah blah blah, mummy didn't cuddle me enough e.t.c" are usually just trolls anyway, whether you want to admit it or not, this is effectivly what you are: The bully in high school that always picked on you. By being so rude and arrogant you are being the equivilent of that very same high school bully, you do realize this don't you?

You remember the pain you felt as you were publicly ridiculed and humiliated? ostricized from the student community? well thats how you make the poster feel when you take it upon yourself to be a clever-dick and rudely violate them by plastering your only partially useful list of previous threads on their post.

So when the urge to enlighten the ATS community with your exceptional knowledge of ATS content raises it's arrogant and condescending head, try to be as nice about it as possible. Be supportive and encourage the person to get involved and enjoy the subject at hand and make your posted information a useful resource instead of an intellectual slap in the face, just think how much you would have appreciated that same treatment in your own past, maybe at school, maybe within your own family, whatever, almost everyone has been in that position at least one in their lives....

Just THINK before you act, it's not that hard a thing to do.

By having a bit of class, tact and a spirit of helpfuless and usefulness you are making a better person of yourself, someone you can be proud of as you are doing good instead of making problems worse.

Whats better? to be a smart-A#$#d know-it-all or someone that everyone respects and admire's? because the only difference between the two is the method of delivery.

Happy researching ATS

do you ever go to the links they post?

reply to post by yourmaker


As a matter of principle i choose not to, i make a point of not letting people like that be involved in any way in my own ATS experience.

I think there should be a minimum number of years that one should be a member before telling the community of ATS how to act.

Yeah I got one of these. I posted a thread about a new app by Mozilla that would allow people to see who is tracking them, I called it nifty.

Then a smart guy replied with this:


"It sounded nifty the first time I read about it...
www.abovetopsecret.com...

And even the second time I read about it...
www.abovetopsecret.com... "

I just thought, 'OK, thanks for letting me know. No need to be a dick.'

It is quite obnoxious, and even more so because they think they are clever and have a big "E-Penis" which is quite pathetic in itself. lol

The number of threads on a certain topic is irrelevant.

This is a discussion forum.

Let me ask the question, how many times have tax issues or or gay marriage issues been discussed in our government halls? Just think about that.

If people want to partake in a debate with fresh heads at ATS than that's fine. Don't waste your time finding links and bashing headlines. Like really guys get a life. If you've heard/seen it before cool...just shut-up and move on.

The only thing that pisses me off about double-triple-quadruple topics is when it is on the day of the event or release of information about the event. When you have people rushing to the site 2 hours after a news worthy event, they should definitely use the search function.

Originally posted by amongus
I think there should be a minimum number of years that one should be a member before telling the community of ATS how to act.

Or perhaps people who have been here too long need to get off of their high-horses.

This is a forum site, not a frat house.

reply to post by amongus


Why?
I'm an adult, i can read and i have the ability to see something that is wrong.

Why should i have to be around for years before i am allowed to express a concern that i have had from the very start?

And it's not like i am the only one that feels this way.

Why not explain why you feel this way, tell me exactly why you feel people (me) should have to have been here for years before we (I) can express these concerns.

Older topics may become more relevant as time passes and new threads on old topics may have newer information. Personally, I think if one has to use the search function and finds a thread not posted on recent boards, that thread has died and unlike Lazarus, cannot be raised again in the same thread. Only a new thread can sew the two together. I do read the older threads but if the issues have changed, even slightly, I will respond to the newer thread and not the older.

Originally posted by amongus
I think there should be a minimum number of years that one should be a member before telling the community of ATS how to act.

Maybe we should also think about the maxium number of years a person should be able to contribute. 5 seems like a nice round number.

I know that a few months back the OWNER posted some reminder rules for everyone to read. I searched, but could not find it. Even so I know that one of the reminder rules he posted was a warning to other members that they should not come into a Post simply to tell other members that the subject had already been posted. It is the duty of the MODs to do this. Of course it did not do any good, as you see. I will keep searching for this rule reminder thread, and post it here if I find it.

My bad. It was a SUPER MOD
LINK

So when a new member - one of the 2 billion, comes knocking on ATS's door the very LAST thing they need to be treated to is sarcasm, rudeness and downright ill mannered petulance from members who simply cannot get over their own ego's fast enough in the race to dismiss a question as foolish, stupid or tell someone that they should "use the search function"

At the very least it was mentioned in this POST, but I am pretty sure it was also mention in a POST by the owner.

YES OP!!!! I have been really annoyed by the "this has already been posted" pithiness that just ruins it for others. I couldn't have written it better myself.

It is FINE if a poster wants to point the original poster to previous threads on a topic, but to get snippy about it is rude, unnecessary, and indicates a personality that is a bit of a bully.

I'm sure that many people hesitate on starting threads because of this....Or worse, tried to start a thread only to be shot down immediately by a bunch of know-it-alls, and they never tried again.

Civility and common sense are called for in these cases. The search function on this site leaves a lot to be desired and on quite a few occasions hasn't loaded for me.

Of course ideas in threads will be repeated. I appreciate people bringing things up....maybe it has been posted before, but how do I know to look for it unless it is brought to my attention? Most people on here have a life and can't spend 24 hours, 7 days a week on this site, so we don't know everything that has been posted.

A polite reminder and a supportive attitude are sorely needed on ATS right now, and I mean for EVERYBODY...Mods included.

Let's not have ATS stand for A-hole Thread Smashers.

Your rant has been posted before.
Please use the search feature.

Originally posted by godfather420
The number of threads on a certain topic is irrelevant.

This is a discussion forum.

If people want to partake in a debate with fresh heads at ATS than that's fine. Don't waste your time finding links and bashing headlines. Like really guys get a life. If you've heard/seen it before cool...just shut-up and move on.

This.Sometimes it's a bit more interesting looking at it with a fresh set of eyes,so to speak.I don't care to read a topic that was discussed here six years ago..as a good many of those posters probably no longer post here.That's my only issue with people who say "its been posted".They'll link a thread that's years old and expect the topic starter to continue that one.New members join every day and they'd like to have a recent discussion about whatever topic.Now,as for news stories or stuff like earthquakes,we don't need ten threads 5 minutes apart on the same topic.It just wastes space and time.That's how I feel about it anyway.

Originally posted by tvtexan
Your rant has been posted before.
Please use the search feature.

HAHAHAHAHA
Thanks for the laugh

Originally posted by VeniVidi
I know that a few months back the OWNER posted some reminder rules for everyone to read. I searched, but could not find it. Even so I know that one of the reminder rules he posted was a warning to other members that they should not come into a Post simply to tell other members that the subject had already been posted. It is the duty of the MODs to do this. Of course it did not do any good, as you see. I will keep searching for this rule reminder thread, and post it here if I find it.

My bad. It was a SUPER MOD
LINK

So when a new member - one of the 2 billion, comes knocking on ATS's door the very LAST thing they need to be treated to is sarcasm, rudeness and downright ill mannered petulance from members who simply cannot get over their own ego's fast enough in the race to dismiss a question as foolish, stupid or tell someone that they should "use the search function"

edit on 4/17/2012 by VeniVidi because: (no reason given)

At the very least it was mentioned in this POST, but I am pretty sure it was also mention in a POST by the owner.

edit on 4/17/2012 by VeniVidi because: (no reason given)

And HERE is a great example of how i think people should add prior information to a thread. It is polite and informative and it provides a quote and link to the prior content, no one gets ridiculed and everyone is better off for having the info available.

Kudos VeniVidi, you should add vinci to your name as you just conquered this.

I agree with you, but what I would like to do is hit one concept a bit harder: The Search function. Apparently there are a lot of people who don't go to the New Topics firehose first, so they don't see that that particular earthquake has already been posted 358 times. (Although, with the number of people posting every g--damn earthquake above a 3.2, you'd think that they would *assume* that it's already been posted and have a quick check of the firehose just to be sure.) Far be it from me to indulge in the characterization of these... citizens... as idiots. I am far above such a thing.

But you'd think that if they're not going to do a quick firehose check first, they could at the very least do a search. From what I've seen and from what I surmise, my sincere belief is that people who did truly use the search and didn't find something were unable to find it because they used TOO MANY WORDS in the search. Just to clarify: The MORE words you include in a search, the FEWER results you will get--in other words: the more you restrict your search. Now, you would THINK that anyone wouldn't be dumb enough to word their search as the exact topic heading they plan to use--bad grammar, misspellings, and all. But you'd be wrong.

In any event, I do want to point one thing out that someone pointed out to me recently: Try using a Google search instead of an ATS search; but include "abovetopsecret" in your Google search. I've tried it a couple of times and it works....

reply to post by Raivan31

So maybe a compromise between the ATS nerds that seem able to recall every line of every post and comment verbatim since the dawn of ATS and everyone else that has not the time or inclination to shut themselves away in a dark room for months at a time researching, is required.

OK, fair enough. But here is the thing. ATS is composed of several thousand very intelligent and very clever folks from all over the world, and I would say if you wish to discuss pertinent topics in ATS, you had better come prepared with research on that subject matter. Other wise, you will get shut down pretty fast. And some do not have much emotions, either. It is a lot like going into battle with an unknown enemy.

I personally think it's rude as hell. All the little "mini-mods" get on my last nerve.

There's been lots of times I wouldn't have known about a certain subject if the new thread had not been posted. Also, if a thread was done a year ago or three years ago or whatever, a current discussion and new info is alot better than posting to a thread that is long dead.