A note about serial thread crashers......

I haven't posted a rant in awhile so I suppose it's been overdue. There certainly is no shortage of little things my monitor hears all about some days. Poor thing...someone ought to give it a medal and combat pay.

* * *

My note today is about a unique sort of user out there. I make no distinction to specific names. You know who you are and so does everyone else. There is no need to approach that bright line of T&C in making anything personal to individuals. There are enough to go around on this one.

First, what is a Serial Thread Crasher? Well, I think a few criteria are proper to consider in that description.

• A 'Johnny on the spot' tendency to be the 'firstist' with the 'mostest' to say about OTHER people's threads
  
  
• A common pattern of having little contributed themselves for threads to anything of substance
  
  
• short, curt and often mean spirited replies seen as the norm, not the exception
  
  
• Often off topic by a sheer lack of reading the Op to even grasp the original topic at all
  
  
• Finally, a bitter 'fight to the end' defense of their own bad conduct.
  

Above Top Secret is a special place, in my humble opinion. I'd imagine my feelings are fairly clear by the time I spend writing my own contributions here for others to enjoy or badger, as any given one may come to be. It's a place where one can post and discuss everything from who killed Kennedy to the latest video game or television show news to what one's favorite or least favorite politician is up to....anywhere in the world. This is a place where, within fairly clear and well understood lines of conduct, almost anything goes and ideaology has never, that I've seen, been a cause for a member to be kicked to banned. That alone is near unique to sites which follow something like this format.

Our little community has a plague though and it's a black plague of anger, hate and discontent. Not unlike the Plague of old and historic note, it's a contagious and toxic thing. The more it spreads, the more who rise to spread more of it. It becomes a self feeding monster.

* * *

Now I don't mean the occasional note to figuratively slap an Op on a stupid thread or bad topic. I've both done the slapping and been slapped myself, plenty, over my time here. No, that isn't at all who or what I mean

I mean those folks we're seeing and have seen a rise of since late last year, who seem to come for little more than personal amusement and entertainment by making other people feel bad or less than worthy of attention for their threads or topics. Some of these, obviously, take real time and effort to put together.

* * *

For those who do not yet write their own contributions, it's important to explain something. Some of these threads we, as regular contributors, write for ATS take time. REAL time. One thread I wrote about the Nez Perce Tribe and it's last running battles under Chief Joseph is a decent example in being among the shorter of my "significant" contributions. That took several hours in a flowing narrative and a single session from start to finish. Other threads I've written have taken weeks to fully research, assemble and compose. I have no doubt many other members spend equal degrees of time and tender loving care to their creations before turning them loose to an interested membership for review and consideration.

All that time, effort and sometimes, even love (depending on topic), so one jackwagon can top post the thread with "Well, that was really stupid, Op! Get a life!!" or something similar. Sometimes all but killing an otherwise quality thread or derailing it into the ditch, right from the start.

* * *

I'd just ask that those who take pleasure when others have misery, think about those actions and what motivations lay beneath them. Both for the attacking without substance and for those being attacked without basis, all too often. It's a passing and momentary thing to the Serial Thread Crasher. Just another stop on their busy day of spreading discontent ....but the hurt it can cause others is considerable and the impact, lasting.

I sometimes wonder, as I consider the "goodbye" notes I have in my saved U2U's from good members and friends already lost over the period I've been here, how much ATS has lost for quality because of this approach by more than can be outright ignored. I can't help but think a great deal of quality content which may have been, will never be. This issue, being as much a reason as any.

* * *

Treat other's threads as you'd want them to treat your own. Consider that a good % didn't just write themselves and more than a little time was invested by someone in writing it. Then, please, ask yourself....Thread Crasher....is what you have to say in attack so valuable to share after all? Is anything actually added by the comments? Will anyone likely see them as more than trollish and small minded? If the answers to those questions aren't positive? I'd say moving on to threads that are to your liking is the best approach. Not crashing ones which hold no interest but to ridicule those who wrote them.


(Hops off Soapbox)

reply to post by Wrabbit2000
Here, here!!!
In appreciation of your eloquent rant:

Great thread! S&F!

I've noticed an uptick in this behavior lately. Extremely juvenile, and I'd be tempted to draw a correlation between this and summer break.

It's disheartening to see posts that attack folks or threads with snide remarks of no substance. I completely understand your frustration...constructive criticism and dialogue is one thing, deliberate ridicule something else.

I've found that, for me, ignoring the behavior works the best. If only everyone could do the same, maybe they'd lose interest and leave.

bravo to you! really good thread topic,don't know if it will make a difference, but apprec iate then effort on your part!

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


A great thread indeed. I know of a few of these type of posters. I think they forget about the deny ignorance bit and think it says. 'I'm ignorant ".. Well said wrabbit :-)

reply to post by littled16


(warm smile) I can't express how touching that is.... My favorite too! Carrot Cake! Now, how did you guess?

Thanks.

Wrabbit, I hope you (and everyone else!) will feel free to tell me if I get out of line or give offence.

reply to post by Magister

I'm sure folks certainly will and I'd not even thought of your screen name in relation to this thread's focus. In all fairness, I'd hope others would do the same for me as well. I think we're all capable of getting a little bad at times and with some topics. Often not realizing it until the damage is done, right? To thy own self be true on that point.

Very well said Wrabbit!

I find it hard sometimes to bring myself to comment in threads that I would love to participate in....just because the conversation is not productive in any way and my opinion would just become more ammo for the naysayers.

In fact, I have a thread saved on my PC that I worked on for over 3 months. I even paid to have specific material shipped to my home and spent days scanning it, etc. It has tons of great info that many on ATS would love to dig in to, but I will never post it. Simply because I would not want my time and effort to be wasted by some idiot that comes in and gets my thread shut down just because they can't take the time to understand the context of the thread.

I have found other ways to express my opinion and hopefully that works out well. Otherwise I am content to read, rather than contribute as much as I'd like to.

SS

Originally posted by sheepslayer247
Very well said Wrabbit!

I find it hard sometimes to bring myself to comment in threads that I would love to participate in....just because the conversation is not productive in any way and my opinion would just become more ammo for the naysayers.

In fact, I have a thread saved on my PC that I worked on for over 3 months. I even paid to have specific material shipped to my home and spent days scanning it, etc. It has tons of great info that many on ATS would love to dig in to, but I will never post it. Simply because I would not want my time and effort to be wasted by some idiot that comes in and gets my thread shut down just because they can't take the time to understand the context of the thread.

I have found other ways to express my opinion and hopefully that works out well. Otherwise I am content to read, rather than contribute as much as I'd like to.

SS

Please post your thread. Don't let the few who do make childish remarks stop you. I, for one, would love to read it.

A LOT of those people you speak of, have been on ATS for a long time. They are the BIGGEST culprits of it all. Think not? Go read ANY of the "chemtrail" threads or ANY of the topics related to "weather manipulation". It took some time to figure out, the wheat from the tears, but it's become obvious, now. Lots of misinformation being passed off as "proof".

reply to post by Wrabbit2000




I totally agree. What irks me is the snide ( sometimes little more than a sentence ) comments below well thought out threads which in no way contribute to them.

It's just plain rude.

Thank You Thank You !!! I have been so tempted to start a thread exactly such as this, but did not as I was afraid I was the only one who felt this way.
I posted on a topic just the other day where this exact thing was happening. Luckily the others in the thread ignored the attempts to trash the thread. We all see this happening, and I have wondered about these people. At first I felt they wanted attention by posting to so many threads (pts, applause??), but as they always are so negative and aggressive I soon doubted that was the case.

The only bad thing about these type of people is they never realize they are the one being talked about!
Thanks Again!

reply to post by smyleegrl


I'd love to, but it's not the childish remarks that give me pause. It's the fact that it's a very provocative topic and would require a thorough read to grasp the context of the thread.

Many would just begin to comment and I have no doubt the thread would be 404'd very quickly. I'm not about to put my work in that situation.

Perhaps someday I will be able to post it but as Wrabbit points out....the thread crashers would be all over it at this time.

Thanks for the kind words though!

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I like you Wrabbit2000, I do, and I thank you for this thread, and not you are not the first one to post this type of concern in my years as a member in these boards, is been many threads by others before you.

Sadly it happens, you are so nice that you call the pesky ones thread crashers, but they come with other names like misinformation agents, debunkers, trolls and government spies among others.

Yes, they are real and they are many, but what is public board without their fair share of this type of problems.

Thankfully they come and go.

Would those be the same people who would claim that your statement condones the suppression of freedom of speech?

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Wrabbit... YOU DA WASKIILLIEST WABBIT I KNOW~ And one of the smartest... Minus Bugs.... That Wabbit is just Da~Man

Well said! :::Applauds:::

I thought and actually started writing a thread similiar... But as I was proof reading I noticed my habitual habit... well past habit of breaking T&C was shining like the North Star.... So I stopped.... I had to learn to stop when I get to heated to not hit the post button on accident



Thank you for that! I'm not sure how many Serial Thread Crashers will hop, hop, hop in here and actually take the time to read your eloquent OP, regardless well said!~

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


No idea what you are talking about.

But, you are likely wrong, and I am of course right.

Don't bother arguing about it. I'm outta here!

JK.

Good observations.
Hope I'm not one of these posters....

reply to post by defuntion

I want to write a note of thanks here everyone, for two important things.

First, for the response to my sentiments and feelings on this. I wrote my OP on this from the heart and a place of genuine concern. I wasn't sure how it would be received or, if perhaps, I might have presumed too much this time in sensing an issue of common interest among members. It's a pleasant discovery that I wasn't the only one thinking this and even starting to write the same thoughts, as some of you noted in reply. Pleasant, in that I didn't hop back to find a mob waiting for me with torches and pitchforks and a rope near a real tall tree.

Second, for everyone staying above the personal in even a passing or vaguely implied way for replies and sharing the overall feeling. Indeed, this topic is skirting quite close to the lines of Terms as ATS has them established. I think I can see the other side from here, in fact, and it's a whole lot closer than I ever like to be. I felt it was worth it to throw the general topic out for consideration and thought though.

So many of us have a great deal invested for time and friendships within the community we've all come to form here and I'm happy to be a member and contributor to. I hope to be here many years from now with as successful a community then, as we have had up to now.

A thread like this could have gone in bad directions and in a flash. It didn't though, I really thank everyone for that.

Very, very well said. I know right off the top of my head at least 3 posters that do this daily, and I know to keep an eye out. Its sad really, but as long as you remember who they are and see the constant problem, you can eventually ignore it, and them.


Peace, NRE.