Two Birds, One Stone

I am tired of hearing about: 1. ATS is run by TPTB, and they don't want you to know, usually something the poster invents, because he/she ran into having to behave themselves here. 2. There are to many ads, the wrong kind of ads, ads the complainer does not like etc. I propose an annual membership fee. Doesn't have to be on the same level as say a Country Club joking. A reasonable amount, would cut down the need for so many advertisements, don't think you could do away with them, but say a nice trim. Anyone one who is unhappy, here is your pro-rated refund, buh bye. What do you think?

Originally posted by Iamschist
A reasonable amount, would cut down the need for so many advertisements, don't think you could do away with them, but say a nice trim.

Ads? ATS has ads? Really?

One way to beat ads is provide content When you reach that magic number, ads go POOF

reply to post by zorgon


Braggart! Some humility from one's superiors is expected, in order to cut down on the insufferable qualities of same.

Originally posted by zorgon

Originally posted by Iamschist
A reasonable amount, would cut down the need for so many advertisements, don't think you could do away with them, but say a nice trim.

Ads? ATS has ads? Really?

One way to beat ads is provide content

When you reach that magic number, ads go POOF

Whats that old saying about quality and quantity

Sorry zorgon couldn't resist

reply to post by Iamschist


If there was a membership fee I'd leave, or rather I wouldn't pay it and would therefore be excluded. I usually just ignore the adverts, just as I ignore the threads that don't interest me. It is really that simple. Some of the ads do talk though, which makes it harder to ignore them, and then you have to identify which one is talking and locate the mute icon, that can be annoying, but hardly worth getting my knickers in a twist about.

However, I noticed an ad yesterday, and I actually clicked on it. It was about flying a Spitfire or a Hurricane. It sounded fabulous, and I have always wanted to do that...but on closer inspection it turned out not to actually involve flying the aircraft themselves, but to just fly next to them in a helicopter. Now what fun is that? And £299 just for 10 minutes of doing that? Someone's having a laugh surely. Now really, what is the world coming to?

Just thought I'd mention that, since this seemed like an opportune moment to bring it up. I am very disappointed. Not that I have £299 to spend on a flight in a Spitfire. But it's the principle of it.

Phew, I'm glad I got that off my chest, it's been troubling me all day. Thank you

You know,sometimes you gotta bitch cause you just want to.
It means you care,in away.

And,yes,the ads start to vanish with more of those numbers you acquire under your profile.

I'm shooting for Zorgon's status of no ads,total bullsh!t..................JK

I just hate that people are always wanting to stone birds ::sigh::

Funny how I did the same thread months ago, so I'll have to say, "SEARCH is your friend"!

No membership fee for ATS, EVER. That position hasn't changed in the past few months, so deal with it.

The bottom line, my friend, is that ATS members won't pay for membership, nor does ATS need to charge for membership. It's 100% free. Always has been, always will be. That much I have learned here. I have the utmost respect for the site owners.

Mods, eh, they still try to get on my good side.

FYI, the topic of ATS charging for membership gets a thread moved to the 404'd forum.

Hope I have enough time to post this!

Ad Lib

We all have our opinions about ads, and we are all quite entitled to them, but I do ask that we not discuss or advocate the use of ad blockers on ATS, because we don't solicit donations, the site costs a lot of money to run and ads are the only things keeping the lights on.

Or, as our terms & conditions put it:

20b) Ad Blockers: As the Websites are provided as a free service, in part through the income of our advertising, you agree not to use "ad-blocking" software or similar built-in web browser options designed to obfuscate or block online advertising while using the Websites.

I understand some members and guests will resent that, but since none of us has the kind of extra money lying around that would be needed to pay the bills out of our own pockets, I hope it's not considered too high a "price of admission".

Also, as zorgon mentioned, members see fewer ads than guests (personal disclosure: that's actually one of the main reasons I signed up, myself), and members with those fancy borders around their posts don't see any ads at all. At least, so I am told, because I don't have a fancy border, and I still see ads on the main page and forums page.

We do have a thread for reporting obnoxious ads that irritate our members, and don't want anyone to be negatively affected by them.

The owners have repeatedly rejected any and all proposals involving a membership fee, and while I'm pretty sure the OP is being a bit tongue-in-cheek about the idea, it's never a bad idea to point that out.

As for the AboveTopSecret.com is a Government COINTELPRO Disinformation Operation issue, that's practically a rite of passage, and I doubt any of us hasn't considered the possibility at some point or another.

I know I did, and figured ATS would be an ideal place for doing that, sort of like the way the feds infiltrated and basically ran the "militia movement" back in the '80s (and presumably still do today). Not that anyone would believe me, but after seven years "behind the curtain", I can say that if the government is somehow behind ATS, they're doing an outstanding job of hiding it from everyone on the staff.

As a compiracy buff myself, I understand the sentiment and don't mind it, as long as people don't make false claims or personally attack the owners or staff for doing our part in keeping things running. I mean hey, this IS a conspiracy site, after all. Some things are expected.

Anyway, another long, rambling MajicPost™ I guess, but I figured I might as well throw in my two bits. Lucky you.