It’s a shame about ATS... we can hardly recognize you.

Fallen so far short, and so changed you are, that old-timers barely recognize you... and that this descent was accomplished in record time proves yet again that nobody can elbow Americans aside in their rush to mediocrity of the lowest common denominator.

In years past, and not so long ago, many members eagerly netted up ATS to devote all too many hours mining various threads for hidden trends, breaking news, and thought provoking insight... and these efforts often bore the fruit of increased consciousness.

That was then, but unfortunately in the now, the most prominent trend is to showcase the self-inflicted wounds which have largely accomplished what TPTB could only dream of doing: to discount ATS as a premier source of cutting-edge thought.

Over the past 18 months ATS appears to have morphed into a 'microcosm of the macrocosm' for the weaknesses that signpost tears in US social fabric and culture as announced by the rising crescendo of opinion heard from unwashed, uneducated, mindless zombies.

Where previously hours were devoted to search and research ideas posted on ATS, now only requires mere minutes of half-hearted glance at an increasingly lame crop of threads, secure in the knowledge that reading the comments is a pointless waste of time.

Because it’ll be page after page of unlearned and untraveled opinions mostly from immature children and the women that raised them; eaters and breeders going nowhere and doing nothing except consume and occupy the lowest lowest levels of society... and make noise.

At first my inner-social scientist was interested to watch the culture war between young and old and male and female and to marvel at how this divide has come about in the last 30 years, coinciding with declines in values that older Americans still hold dear.

But it’s boring to read through so many posts that demonstrate the real problem with America is Americans; and that the newly emerging servant Class has yet to learn their place in the scheme of events, and this is particularly true for the Dead-End kids.

It’s demoralizing to see so many socially and politically “correct” philosophies but it’s easy to distinguish between the generations that were “socialized” instead of "educated," and programed to be little more than dull servants and cannon fodder.

It’s the new Zombie Class. Not savvy enough, or motivated enough, to ask “what happened to me?” but somewhere they got the idea that the opinions of losers matter to anyone, and unfortunately, ATS has recently become a Premier Place to mouth them.

It’s not worth the effort to struggle through page after page of tacky social networking style comments from women and children just to find a rare drop of insight, and many members whose opinions I formerly sought and valued, are not longer participating in this madness either.

Often I find myself longing for the old ATS with much to offer, and wonder where all the thinkers have gone... they must be on other sites, and I wish I knew where they went because social networking lemmings add nothing to the quality of my life and I think it’s best for the living to stay as far away from them as possible.

This is posted as a Social Comment but could just as easily be a Rant ... in any case, I'm just the messenger.

Good emphasis on women and children ruining ATS

/sarcasm.

You've been here long enough to know that you can turn it around then, by posting informative threads that are juicy to read...like the old days.

I'm not saying you are entirely wrong, i have my moans and groans at time too, but there are so many of these threads now, i do sometimes wonder if there is an agenda going on?

There is good and bad on every site on the net, including the sites where the "great ex-members" went. People have left here, made other forums of the same nature yet just whinge about ATS....thats not a great new site, it's like a playground bitch session.

Change this place if it's that bad.

CX.

Starred and flagged. When I first came to ATS (lurker status) I found tons of incredibly interesting threads, ideas and opinions. Some of those anonymous posters actually changed the way I viewed some things. Not so much anymore. You hit it right on the head with the site now reflecting the very things we all detested.

I posted a rant about people not wanting jobs but wanting paychecks and I immediately got hammered by the welfare mongers and jobless. Many of those people felt that since the Government stole from them, it was fair to steal back. Never realizing they were only stealing from themselves.

I got hammered for owing a business and paying part time employees $75.00 a morning for three hours work. That is ten percent of my gross that day! The government gets 25%, the costs are 50% and I get hammered for keeping the remaining 25%. I got called opportunistic.

This site has degraded into a place full of the very people they pretend not to be.

reply to post by Brown Bear


I think this rant is lame

ATS is somewhat like the real world, all forms of thinking from all walks of life.

What did you expect a site where everyone agrees with you and only talks about what you want to talk about?
How would you learn anything from that, and how odd is it that your focal point within your rant is wanting to learn.

The power is in your hands, you can make new threads, post your opinions in threads where you oppose the general premise.

But instead rant???

reply to post by CX


There are surgical supply salesmen and woman who cannot do surgery. There are airplane mechanics that cannot fly a plane. There are researchers that cannot write. For those of us that liked to use ATS for research , this place is becoming more and more worthless.

Yeah this is my 10th account, every time I bring up a certain topic I get banned, and I dont get it because it's really unexplainable why they wont let me bring it up. It has to do with eco villages, watch ill prolly get banned now...Im convinced that 95% of the posts and replies are from some sort of automated super intelligent system with a deeper agenda in mind. Either that or they employ tons of propaganda agents. Either way I can sense the discreditably coming from this site now.

I think the rant carries some of the same sentiments I've seen many other 'old timers' express over the past 6-8 months. Where I'd disagree is the tone which suggests ATS is winding down or near bottom. I think we're seeing what staff and users alike predicted, warned and planned for seeing across 2012. Posts here from both groups stated in numerous ways, the tidal wave of...fluff...we were likely to see mixed in with and over running the good meaty threads that make ATS what it is.

It's also summer and the net as whole always takes a dive for the summer months. Lets check back mid-September and see if SOME of this hasn't calmed. Although, hey, it's 2012 and the last half. It'll be loony tunes through Christmas and a Happy New Year! (and happy it will be too!)

reply to post by tothetenthpower


I see it as garbage.

reply to post by Brown Bear

Who is responsible for the threads that are posted on this website?

ATS is what you make of it.



It appears that you took some time creating this thread. Now try doing the same about something that matters.



In other words: Shut up. Stop whining. Do something about it.

Originally posted by bourbon2nite
reply to post by tothetenthpower

 

I see it as garbage.

Yet you're still here.

Isn't it funny how that works?

~Tenth

Taking an immense break did me wonders. Perhaps it's time to take a vacation; sounds like you need it. Perhaps some of the "old timers" are taking theirs as we speak (type). The content has obviously changed a great deal, and perhaps is tedious a bit.

Our youths are sharing the pains of their collective childhoods with us, and are looking for answers from anyone who will listen. They grew up in a generation where both parents worked and missed out on the close-knit style of family that some of us older folks had. They're sharing the fears and doubts a generation of war and supposed terrorism has imposed on them. These members question their place in such a world, as would I had I been born just a few dozen years later.

They're looking for answers to questions that didn't exist in my generation, and probably yours. Take your vacation; there are many wise mothers and fathers here who may be able to help some of them. The rest will go back to Facebook shortly, not having found what they were looking for here, and that's sad...

reply to post by Brown Bear

Where have all the thinkers gone?

I know where one is, but I'm keeping him all to myself.

Perhaps ATS in seeing an influx of "new" people that still need to learn the ropes, I know I am one of them.....but if you find yourself here.....you're "searching" for knowledge.....and to "awaken" from the zombie state you describe is not an easy process...and I would ask the "old timers".....to share thier wisdom, not thier contempt to others they feel are not as "evolved" as themselves....isn't the point of this to learn from each other?

This site is full of thousands of fascinating threads.

You just have to look.

The "Old Timers" threads are available at any time.

Originally posted by bourbon2nite
For those of us that liked to use ATS for research , this place is becoming more and more worthless.

I think if you looked at it another way, that you have read most of the good threads and there isn't so much that excites you anymore, thats would be how i see it.

Those that have been here a while, have read all or most of the great threads and conspiracies. They were amazing, fascinating to stumble upon when we first read them....and as new members we were thrown into a huge pile of them. It was great.

However now, we've been there, done that. So now and again a juicy one might come along, but not in the huge amount that we first had. Another example, you train for a qualification, you learn new and interesting stuff, it grabs your attention and you're really keen. Once you're qualified, and you've read that material a thousand times, and you do the job day in day out, it loses it's wow factor.

That's how i see this place. Like a great learning establishment for conspiracies. Yes you'll end up getting bored at some point because we've read it all, but being such experts, we should have more than enough skill to go dig up some more juicy stuff eh?

CX.

Be the change you want to see man. 3 years and less than 150 posts? You can do it.

Everyone, young, old, male, female, whatever has the right to a voice...

I think what the OT is complaining about is an increase in popularity - the dead end kids and stay at home moms have found ATS just like the info nerds before them so the tone has shifted because there are more of them.

UFO rock formations endless threads are lame but so are the older star child threads that offer no proof. I think ATS would be better off moderating alot more the number of topics posted that are duplicates and also the faith based ones as well except where applicable.

Ultimately the good stuff is getting lost in the mess and I think that is the biggest issue.