Did somebody call out the troll Army?

Ok so I was wondering if anyone else was aware of this pattern on ATS and it is normal or are some specific members on ATS the targets of gang stalking? Personally I wasn't to interested in the term but noticed something in a thread where it becomes quite obvious.

Now I don't want to call people out by name, but after I leave the link to this thread its going to be quite obvious who looks like they might be guilty of such ad hominem attacks and gang stalking. These folks seem to be more interested in ganging up on certain members and attacking them then addressing the issues raised in the OP but instead resort to mindless attacks on the idea that capitalism is the reason to all of our problems.

The thread is here. www.abovetopsecret.com...

Now at first glance, seems like a well thought out post and has some good discussion until about page two because on page one somebody mentioned something about socialism and then this whole army of trolls comes out of the woodworks arguing that capitalism is evil and how people who use the term socialism dont actually know what the word means and then attack and completely derail the thread based on the assumption that the OP or someone else in the thread used the term without actually knowing what the term means. At least one of the posters is quite obviously not even American and displays his ignorance about the reality of American life and culture on display for all to see.

It is as if someone sent out a mass email and suddenly and swiftly, this band of trolls appears on ATS to derail and deflect the thread in a massive show of gang stalking. Also the thread at least as far as I can tell is not even about socialsm, I don't think the OP even used the word in his opening post. But someone else did and clearly the band of trolls is not about the subject but either attacking the OP for other reasons. I had to stop reading at page 3 or so because this goes on for about 8 or 9 pages and I could feel my IQ points dropping quite literally as I was trying to follow along with this garbage and then realized it was time to stop reading when I realized that I had actually began to forget what the original topic was about in the first place.

It reminds me a lot about those weird black friday protests who mob and people and verbally attack them for shopping at "corporate chain here."

Quite frankly I find this kind of behavior disgusting and I am wondering why this type of disinfo and deflection is allowed to happen on ATS. I have seen people get warnings or other disciplinary for alot less. But this just takes the cake.

So, is ATS doing anything to stop this?

Just wondering,
A member of the ATS community signing off.

If you don't agree with someone you can reply to the thread or you can just ignore it.

You should have seen the anti-obama thread 1 week before election.

4-5 members are hardcore in these types, and most of them are on the first page of the thread you posted.

edit: it seems you are new, if you stick around, you will know what thread to avoid by looking at the author.

There are certain members that only seem to be here for a very specific topic, not sure if I could call it trolling. Sometimes I do wonder if some people have like some kind of alert that goes off when keywords are submitted here, not sure if that would be possible, who knows.

Originally posted by TKDRL
There are certain members that only seem to be here for a very specific topic, not sure if I could call it trolling.

I think it is only trolling when they try to make EVERY thread about their favorite issue.

reply to post by txinfidel


See... there's the rub. What you call "disinfo and deflection" is what others might call "their opinion or beliefs". It seems to me that you agree with the OP and his position - which is awesome, acceptable, and totally within your right. But the same goes for those who disagree with it.

Without two way ( or even more ) dialogue, then there's no point for places like ATS to exist. We could just all log onto Facebook, disable comments, post our ideas, and then wait and count the likes as they roll in. The very reason ATS thrives is that we do our best to allow a venue where all (legal and courteous) sides of an argument can be openly stated on a level playing field.

In an event where you feel that members are driving a thread off topic or violating the TOS? Simply utilize the alert feature that you'll find in the menu at the top and bottom of every thread page - or in every single mini profile on every single post. That will let staff know that we need to take a peek to see if anything needs to be done. We ask this of our members because with the small number of staffers we have on ATS ( all volunteers culled from the community itself ) - there is no way we can possibly see every post made.

I hope this helps.

~Heff

There are some 3 letter agency types out there, that employee people to go around and spread dis info etc..
They have software set up that flags them to some topics and then these disinfo agents show up and go to work...

They are pretty easy to spot once you learn how they work and the fact they never talk about the OP..always redirct and mainly insults...

Let see if I can show you how it works....first you have to try and call them... ( may not work on a board thread )

So Haarp cause earthquakes and the government uses it against the world...
Or

Obamas birth certificate is so fake...my 5 year old can make a better one with crayons and dried macaroni
Or
I like guns!



It's all about the topic choice

reply to post by Hefficide


Thanks for your input Heff. But I am not sure if you understand the assessment I made. I do understand that all people dont agree on all things and I dont think its disinfo or deflection to disagree. It seems to me that there is a group here on ATS of around 10 people, maybe more that gang up on individuals based on their posting history or positions on certain topics. I have noticed it in other threads too, but its not as obvious in some. What is obvious is the group of posters that seem to be working together to deflate the topic or the useful discussion desired to be had based on the member. I am not sure that they are breaking any terms or conditions, however what becomes obvious is that the thread becomes so watered down, not about the original topic at all and divisive to the point where it is pointless to even try to have meaningful discussion any more.

Dont make me create a list of these types of threads and point out the patterns I have noticed here with obvious patterns of a group of ten or so members that will be all over one topic or member and care less about other topics. Because I will.

I am just wondering though, is this a pattern that other people in particular mods have become aware of and are trying to do something to prevent, or is it something that is turned a blind eye to or even encourage? Because if so I wonder if there is any reason for me as a member to try to attempt to have any sort of meaningful discussion here about certain taboo topics on ATS, or should I go elsewhere.

I did join GLP once and will never go there again as I made a comment in a thread about how the constellation of Orion was in the wrong place. I posted that it is right where it should be and stated why, but suddenly when I hit the reply button I was banned for seemingly no reason, they later lifted it but it turned me off big time and I will never go back. Anyways I did some research about some of the owners of that site and found some really distasteful stuff.

While Im not putting ATS in the same category, it is far better. I wonder though the direction this board is taking along with many others across the internet.

reply to post by okiecowboy


The birth certificate is not fake.

I am new here and what jumps out immediately is that this board allows certain types of discrimination and bad behaviour from certain members. Shame on you ATS.

reply to post by InTheLight


Really? I am not really that new here anymore, can't say I have noticed such things.

Looks like the usual suspects.
I fight every thread of these I look at.
As a matter of fact there were more than a few comments in that thread
that got me fired up. Although I didnt post in that one.
I figure why? If they are they are that far gone, nothing I say will bring them back.
If I remember correctly this "gang" has huge numbers in stars and posts.

reply to post by txinfidel


I do understand, but reiterate that what one sees as trolling - or if you prefer "forum gangs" - might well simply be folks speaking their minds.

When it comes to politics, since that is a forum that I post in fairly often and used to be very, very active in, I can honestly say that - right off the top of my head - I could name about 8-10 right wing style posters, and an equal number of left wing posters, who tend to end up in just about every hot political thread on the board.

Having said that, I can also say the same for threads about disinformation, Middle East issues, music, Masons, Alex Jones, avatars, UFO's, cryptids, etc. Every forum has its regulars - usually representing a polar opposite sort of positioning. In UFO's, for instance, it's "believers" vs "skeptics". Both are fairly rabid and highly opinionated groups who spend most of their threads basically saying "No" - "YES!" - "NO!"....

People from both sides will gravitate to their subject of choice. The T&C specifically prohibits forum gangs - to be sure. And any proof of them is dealt with accordingly. But their is a major difference between a group of people who all share the same interests and tend to end up in the same threads - from a group of people who coordinate their posts, compare notes, and pursue a group based, shared agenda.

IE agreement doesn't infer collusion.

~Heff

reply to post by sealing


What i find amusing is that if more then 3 to 5 people disagree with a poster, and challenge them to a debate, all the sudden its gang stalking.......

If people arent capable of fielding questions and challenges to their opposing views without getting butthurt or accusing others of various transgressions........

Then perhaps you shouldnt engage in those debates at all......

ATS isnt here to cater to anyone. Its an open forum for the sharing of ideas, you might not like some of them, I might not like some of them, but its the way the world works.

As heff said, if you are only here to have people stroke your ego or sympathize with your viewpoint you are in the wrong place....

I get beat up like crazy on some boards for my view points......but I dont think of it as gang stalking, its just more people on the board at that particular time who disagree with my viewpoint, and they are entitled to do so

reply to post by ManBehindTheMask


I agree with the OP, the problem he is referring to is the 'deflection' part, where posters veer off the topic asking all sorts of non-related questions or pointing out non-related beliefs and such. The original topic either gets waterd down, as the OP described, or just a mess of people's thinking going every which way.

reply to post by txinfidel


OP, I feel compelled to respond since my thread was mentioned.

I do see the pattern you’re referring to and it isn’t something new. There are certain people who gravitate to certain forums and certain topics (myself included). There does appear to be a gang-like reaction when certain topics are written about but I believe its from members on both sides of the issue. It’s not uncommon for members that share the same views to show up on the same threads and respond in a similar fashion. It does seem like a pack-mentality, and maybe it truly is, but that’s human nature. I’m as guilty as the next guy of jumping in and defending other members that I agree with, and many of them do the same for me. If associating with members who share your views wasn’t a common thing there wouldn’t be Friend/Foe lists provided on our profile pages.

So…I suspect other members do collaborate on attacking my threads…and I expect it.

Personally, I don’t mind it one bit. I actually enjoy it!

This site would suck if everyone agreed with me!

What I don’t like are the members (often new accounts…likely sock accounts) who try and derail a thread with personal, completely off-topic attacks. I like to argue but I don’t like the attempts at getting threads closed. I think the mods do a good job at stopping those things though.

No complaints here!

reply to post by InTheLight


Then I reiterate - all volunteer and small staff who do not see every post. This is not like many other sites where posts are reviewed before they become public - a process that kills real time conversations outright. There are plenty of theories abounding on the web that we're all Masons, or Feds, or Conservatives, or Liberals, or whatever... mostly from folks who couldn't fathom the mechanism here and how it works ( some are just bitter that they got banned or in trouble too ).

ATS is 100% member created content. IE it's a reflection of the membership, not of staff. We're like referees in a sports competition. All we try to do is keep play within the rules as stated in the T&C. To do anything else would be editorializing and then ATS would not be ATS anymore. To accomplish this we have to rely upon members to let us know when things, like what you are discussing, are happening. We do our best, but we can't see it all. We really do need folks to use the alert feature.

Also... to understand that we do things by consensus. That means it a post is alerted it might take awhile for staff to come to an agreement as to how to proceed. Sometimes that means we decide that the post is OK and we do nothing. But we always discuss it. This helps prevent any one moderators own personal biases or predispositions from dictating how things go.

~Heff

Originally posted by InTheLight
reply to post by ManBehindTheMask

 

I agree with the OP, the problem he is referring to is the 'deflection' part, where posters veer off the topic asking all sorts of non-related questions or pointing out non-related beliefs and such. The original topic either gets waterd down, as the OP described, or just a mess of people's thinking going every which way.

the problem becomes more perception ............what you might believe is deflection might not be to someone else.......

ATS mods arent here to try and psychoanalyze what someone might believe deflection is from another who might think their "deflection" is leading to another point.......

Thats the whole point of a debate IMHO......

You can always disengage yourself from the conversation........ive done that myself when I feel a person is intentionally doing so......

The thing is if the response in question is off topic, then report it as off topic.......

You have to remember some people cant debate......some people have scattered thoughts and arent as concise as others.......that doesnt make them trolls , it just makes their thinking patterns different

reply to post by ManBehindTheMask


Fair enough, next time I will question the veerer offer where they are going, or what point are they trying to make in relation to the topic...for my clarification purposes.

reply to post by txinfidel


I think what we are getting at here is there are people who you don't agree with. So simply put,
Yes the troll army rises