Wait! Take a minute and think before you post. Take two.

Ok, fellow members of ATS.

It has recently come to my attention that entirely too many solid contributors to this site, are no longer with us. I don't know about you, but I find this entirely unacceptable.

I will not be naming any names, but I am sure many of you have noticed the lack of certain people here. We have no one to blame but ourselves. Do not allow yourself to be goaded or manipulated into violating the T&C. It's just that simple.

I understand some of the debates on this site can become very heated, but lets not lose sight of the goal here. If I am not mistaken, the general purpose of this site is to uncover the truth of any subject, no matter where it is hidden. We cannot do that if we are violating the rules. And on the flip side, you do not need to violate the rules to present a valid argument.
This is evidenced by the members who have been here for several years. But then we have lost members who had been here for many years also. So all you old timers, do not become complacent and think your tenure provides you some kind of exception.

I don't know about anyone else, but I find it very disappointing when I learn that another member, whose arguments and posts I think are very good (whether or not I agree with them) are suddenly absent. This site becomes a lesser place when that happens.

So I am imploring everyone. If you find yourself in a heated debate, and you just HAVE to shoot down some misguided souls post. Take a minute, collect your thoughts, and do so in a civilized manner.

Because everyone else suffers when you post without thinking.

That is all.

Sometimes a certain style or opinion is no longer appreciated or tolerated.
Or one to many stupid comments occur out of pure frustration,rubbing certain people the wrong way,ect.

But phage is still around,amazing as that is.

reply to post by kdog1982


From what I have seen, that is because Phage does not really become personally invested in threads, he posts facts.

If you do not like facts, that is not his problem.

reply to post by watchitburn


Very Well put together post. I've said some things I regret posting and have been warned, and every time the mod that warned me was completely right. No matter how long a member is here, and who they know, they don't get any special treatment. Evey member has to abide by the rules, or their membership will be terminated.

That's one thing that I respect massively about ATS. Stick around here long enough, and you'll also make good friends!

There's a handfull of members I miss very much

There profiles show no evidence of TnC breaches...

The wonders of ATS..

Because everyone else suffers when you post without thinking.

I do not suffer.. Hermits have no peer pressure.

Originally posted by watchitburn
reply to post by kdog1982

 

From what I have seen, that is because Phage does not really become personally invested in threads, he posts facts.

If you do not like facts, that is not his problem.

And that is they key to success.
Impartial,unbiased and unattached.
That is hard to do sometimes.

Originally posted by TechVampyre

Because everyone else suffers when you post without thinking.

I do not suffer.. Hermits have no peer pressure.

That is true, But I get bored easily.

And when all the most interesting members go away, ATS gets boring.

Yes, I am being selfish. But I am OK with that.

Don't forget it's summer and back to school too. Some of the regulars actually go outside in nice weather.

Don't forget a LOT of topics on ATS have already been covered and some regulars don't even bother to sign in tell tell newbs to hit the SEARCH button.

Just sayin. Good Point Though.

I agree with you op. So many quality contributors are missing now that ats has certainly lost the edge of knowledge it once had. Its a sad fact, surely disapointing for all parties.
It would be good to I think for ATS mods to have a round-table discussion about offering all those axed/fallen/perhaps even missing from self imposed exile, an olive branch. Some may decide they are better off away, others may be humbled and grateful to able to return. I would like to see a revised plan on how to deal with t&c 'breakers', I would think perhaps a week ban/month ban would be more effective than outright bans for those who have shown themselves to be respected contributors. I'm sure the mods AGONISE over clicking a perma-ban button on some members, a month ban would be much easier on the mental anguish this must cause some mods and serve as a useful tool for having members think before they post.
Otherwise once banned, they just think "well screw you ats, I've put in years of research and quality all for naught". Would it not be better for them to think "oh, crap, I see what I did wrong... I can't wait to get back to my aztec thread!"?

Originally posted by Qumulys
I agree with you op. So many quality contributors are missing now that ats has certainly lost the edge of knowledge it once had. Its a sad fact, surely disapointing for all parties.
It would be good to I think for ATS mods to have a round-table discussion about offering all those axed/fallen/perhaps even missing from self imposed exile, an olive branch. Some may decide they are better off away, others may be humbled and grateful to able to return. I would like to see a revised plan on how to deal with t&c 'breakers', I would think perhaps a week ban/month ban would be more effective than outright bans for those who have shown themselves to be respected contributors. I'm sure the mods AGONISE over clicking a perma-ban button on some members, a month ban would be much easier on the mental anguish this must cause some mods and serve as a useful tool for having members think before they post.
Otherwise once banned, they just think "well screw you ats, I've put in years of research and quality all for naught". Would it not be better for them to think "oh, crap, I see what I did wrong... I can't wait to get back to my aztec thread!"?

Usually,they move on or start they're own site.
Whats going on is a change to fit the current hunger for knowledge.
Long gone are the days of area 51 and it's hidden mysteries.

reply to post by Qumulys


I think that is a brilliant idea, and I would support it all the way. Which is probably worth exactly nothing in the grand scheme of things here.

But, I am willing to wager a shiny penny that same idea has been considered by the Site owners and discarded for one reason or another.

Even so, it is in fact a good idea, and I would be interested in hearing some feedback from the Admin. about it.

To protect the incontinent

To protect the incontinent .

reply to post by kdog1982


That is interesting.

But I have not noticed any kind of Facebook activity regarding ATS. Then again, I don't mix the two. Not really sure what to make of that.

I have not noticed a decline in activity, the quality of content seems to come in waves though. At least to me anyway.

sorry,got scared /

reply to post by kdog1982


Thanks for the links. I will have to look through them.

I've seen PT's site but not the others.

Any discussion forum you're on is just a game to see how long you alst before you get banned.

Because there will always be somebody who gets mand at you for believing in something different than they do and will call you a troll and take it to the moderators.

Originally posted by EvilSadamClone
Any discussion forum you're on is just a game to see how long you last before you get banned.

Because there will always be somebody who gets mad at you for believing in something different than they do and will call you a troll and take it to the moderators.

That is true, to a point.

That almost exact thing happened to me a few months ago. I don't think I was accused of being a troll, but some one went to the moderator and complained about everything they could. They were nitpicking the content of my signature, the size of my avatar, everything.

I thought it was kind of funny, but I didn't let that person influence my actions. And I am still here.

As someone that has been post banned a few times, and come real close to perma-ban, I totally agree with your post.

I have seen several long time members and even former moderators get banned during my time here. I really miss a few of them that made spectacular threads here.

I'm not sure how the month ban thing suggested by Qumulys would work. Maybe it work for some cases but typically the mods give you ample chances to correct your behavior before the perma-ban goes into effect. For the long time members that have been around for a while, they know the rules and what they can and can't do. From what I know about a few cases, the violations were pretty serious. I know that if I caught my wife having an affair I wouldn't just divorce her for a month. Some things you just can't forgive.

Thanks for the thread watchitburn!
It's a good reminder for all of us here.