Help ATS Recover With Your Contribution

Yep, there must be something wrong with me for finding something distasteful about this. Clearly, what the heck must I be thinking that a site owner or a mod wouldn't step in directly and say "don't". Why wouldn't they?

Question everything. Isn't that what we're supposed to do?

originally posted by: Domo1
a reply to: WhiteAlice

I think given the response I quoted it's quite clear Springer would not encourage him to donate blood to make a contribution.

I'm not particularly fond of the way you were responded to by a mod, but I have to agree with him. It's proob's money and all we can do is advise him not to donate.

The admins aren't here 24/7, and there aren't that many to being with. I can give them a pass for not being here on Friday night.

Mods don't get to read everything instantaneously.

Check your U2Us in 5-10 minutes please.

I don't feel encouraged. I just mentioned what a friend named Fred at a homeless recreation center told me about this plasma donation place yesterday. I have not even been there yet. Again to me this would be to me the first job i have had in a while. Well income wise. i am used to getting by on bar minimums so if I was able to donate to me i would have more than i do now. So what's wrong with me not wanting to help my favorite place on the interwebs with my new found income. Again i am not selling my soul or blood. I looked it up online and it's just plasma and it's safe. I might be a little tired afterwords, no big deal. Peace i have to get off this pc now and let others use it before 11 pm, peace.

a reply to: proob4

So what's wrong with me not wanting to help my favorite place on the interwebs with my new found income.

Because it's better spent on you.

Proob I'm going to say this once. You will probably disagree.

You are a human being. You are not in a great place. We all appreciate you and your spirit of giving. You are more important than ATS. Far more important. Your health, your comfort and general well being are all so much more important than a cool internet site. I realize it's more than that, it's a community. It IS special.

Donating plasma or blood or anything else because you're hard up means you're really hard up. Any money gained from that should only be used to help you. There is a big difference between skipping a few trips to Starbucks and donating plasma.

I understand that you are very well intentioned, but saying what you're saying is going to be used by people that dislike this site and the idea of donating. Can you imagine the news headline? "ATS approves of members donating plasma to keep the site going"?

My man worry about YOU right now. That's the best thing you can do to help. When you're in a better spot donate. Again, two people have already donated because of you.

Giving money isn't everything. Someone can give $10,000 to buy playground equipment, but someone is going to have to put it together. The people that can't donate the money donate their time. Are they any less admirable?

ATS is going to be fine. Think about this too. The more you save up and spend on yourself, the more likely you are to get a good job. With a good job, you'll be able to donate more.

Conspiracy, a plot between two or more people that is generally done in secret to bring about a desired result that is usually nefarious.

Conspiracies exist. We see them all the time. Those that are accustomed to how they are formulated are especially good at seeing what agendas are formed in secret little hideouts. Always the question is to if it would be more harmful to expose those conspiracies discovered or plainly inform the conspirators that you know the gameplan at work. Sometimes subtle hints are all that the conspirator needs to become aware that you know what is up.

ATS is that light of day. Sometimes bright and searing. Sometime subdued. But usually the message is read and understood by those that need to know that they are now known.

As far as donations to the site, the owners have put it in your individual hands as to if you feel it is a good idea for you to donate. Which is different than the past where they declined offers of donations. The owners have stressed that they don't w ant people to suffer financially to donate. And I personally would not want to hear of anyone skipping meals or otherwise put themselves in a bind in order to throw a few bucks at the site. And this coming from a guy that walked a half a mile to a park to broadcast a few shows for some listeners.

originally posted by: proob4
Again i am not selling my soul or blood.

Proob. Please let me implore you to keep your money.

I know how you feel right now. There is a very strange, sometimes intimate, feeling when those in need hear of others in need. I've been there. When Mrs. Overlord and I had very close to nothing, we still donated what we could to those who needed it. But we don't need it as much as you do.

And, if you feel still compelled to somehow but the money you've just encountered to good use, promise me you will do this instead of donating to ATS: take a fellow homeless person out for a bite to eat… maybe someone who can't get to the shelter for some reason. Your money will be put to better use, and I will feel so much better than you did that.


We just gave 59 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables (and other food) to a homeless shelter here today. They never get the fresh stuff… always the stuff that's rotting. They were floored, and it felt great. If you must share your money, make someone else feel great.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

oh man....BBS...those were the days...oh, and Usenet

a reply to: proob4

Losing ATS would suck for a lot of us as we have built friendships and enjoy what we have here.

BUT you should not ever feel like you have to donate what little you might have to help ATS. Seriously. I know you feel the need to do so, and you consider ATS family, but like family sometimes we take care of others when they need it. Meaning this one is on the rest of us. You sit this one out. Right? That's what families would do for each other.

If you donate plasma, please keep it for yourself and your needs. Make your donation your contributions. Seriously. It takes all of it to make it work. Not all of us can give money, but all of us can contribute with our words. Contribute that way and let others contribute how they can.

Take care of you Proob... First.

a reply to: sheepslayer247

You are full of yourself aren't you? I can find no other way to respond to the utter crap you've posted in this thread. You have twisted what we've said to fit your narrative that ATS is making bank when, in fact, ATS in a HUGE hole financially.

Where do people like you come from? Disneyland?

Do you have ANY understanding of business? How many businesses (I mention this because you keep repeating "ATS is a business so it MUST be fat with cash") online do you own that depend on nothing but ads to survive? If you don't own any online businesses how many do you run and pay bills for?

If the answer to either of the above questions is more than one, I'd like to know your secret!

I think you're just taking the piss, and it's pissing me off.

Seriously man, you are utterly full of something other than REALITY.

a reply to: Domo1

I could not have said it better...

If you don't have the money for life's essentials (water, food, walls, a roof, and heat) please DON'T donate.

Take care of yourself first, without YOU and your input the site is nothing anyway, right?

I'll repeat this for those who missed it the first time:

originally posted by: Springer
a reply to: proob4

My friend, you never, ever, have to feel obligated to donate to ATS.

You take care of yourself first.

If, after you have your basics covered and you still have an extra fiver, go buy yourself a good cigar, a hamburger, whatever you want. Please don't concern yourself with this site at this point.

It's obvious to me at least that we have your support in a very meaningful way just based on what you posted, that's worth much more than any money could be.

Proob4, YOU are a golden soul, please take care of the vessel it walks this earth in first will ya?

I'll say it again my friend, you need only to add your thoughts to this site, they are worth far more than any dollars could be.

I love ATS, all it does, all it is, warts and all. It would be a terrible shame to even come close to losing it.
I don't have much money, but I gave you ten bucks. I'll give more when I can.

However, what I do have is a movie coming out Sunday, right here on ATS, among other sites.
It's called Battle at Beaver Creek. A few of you know about it. The rest will Sunday.

I hereby donate to ATS 10% of the gross proceeds of my movie, not just from the traffic ATS generates, but total gross, in perpetuity.

I don't know how much that will be, but whatever it is, is yours.

I guess it's a bit unusual to happen to have a movie coming out that features ATS, but I'd like to challenge other ATS members with online money making enterprises to donate a portion of their proceeds as well.

Extraordinary times, extraordinary measures, you know, all that...

Your transaction ID for this payment is: 96P31342DK5206212.

originally posted by: Springer
a reply to: cody599

That picture of you and Rodinius is absolutely magical. It never ceases to amaze me how many of our members have shaken hands.

Heck, I've met dozens over the years but it's always been at someone else's big confab (Bay Area UFO Expo, etc...), the thought of ATS members meeting just because they can and want to is fabulous.

A few of us met up in Scotland at Gordithedrummer's holiday flat this summer just for the fun of it, you can see the pics and read about it HERE It was a magical weekend.

This is Gordi and I meeting for the first time


I've never met an ATSer that wasn't a pleasure to be with, I'd highly recommend ATS meet ups. You never know what to expect, and so far I haven't been disappointed.

Cody

originally posted by: proob4
I think i might have found a way to help ATS. I was at the shelter's community center yesterday and a man i was playing dominoes with told about this plasma donation place. They pay money for your plasma and pay you through a Visa prepaid card. he said it was pretty easy to donate and you can do it twice a week. This is good news for me too cause I don't have any income right now. So I am going to go there next week and look into it and see if i can donate, then i can re-donate to you guys! I just have to pass a physical and a blood test. I am healthy and have no diseases so I should be good.

I've thought of doing this a couple of times, being a poor student and all. Then I think about it essentially being the victim of a vampire just because I'm lucky enough to be at the bottom of the income scale and I change my mind. I would reconsider if I were you, some of those plasma donation centers are pretty sketchy too. There was a huge wave of closings of them a couple years back.

Now, if you decide to sell plasma anyways there's much better uses of the money, such as using it to put yourself in a position to not have to sell plasma in the future. I've seen enough forum closings in the time I've been online (since I was 3 in 1985) to know that if ATS does close down, as unfortunate as that would be someone would pick up the slack remember that nothing is permanent. If you want to help ATS and have the time, the best thing you can do for the site honestly is to make good posts, and author good threads that attract people to the site in the first place.

a reply to: briantaylor

Gross proceeds is very generous!

Brian i will look out for your film

originally posted by: sheepslayer247
Seems to me that this entire idea is setting ATS up to be nothing more than an elitist GLP where you are paid to post your extremist BS nonsense.

originally posted by: Springer
a reply to: sheepslayer247

You are full of yourself aren't you? I can find no other way to respond to the utter crap you've posted in this thread. You have twisted what we've said to fit your narrative that ATS is making bank when, in fact, ATS in a HUGE hole financially.

Where do people like you come from? Disneyland?

Do you have ANY understanding of business? How many businesses (I mention this because you keep repeating "ATS is a business so it MUST be fat with cash") online do you own that depend on nothing but ads to survive? If you don't own any online businesses how many do you run and pay bills for?

If the answer to either of the above questions is more than one, I'd like to know your secret!

I think you're just taking the piss, and it's pissing me off.

Seriously man, you are utterly full of something other than REALITY.

I have not, in fact, said ATS is making bank. What I have said is that they have profited from our (the membership's) content. This is a member-generated content site, correct?

Now that things have seemed to have become "unprofitable" and you must upgrade to defend the site from attack, you wish to spread those expenses out as much as you can by asking for donations from the very people that generate the content your site is built upon.

Can we not at least agree on that?

Let's also agree that ATS is not the only venture some of the big dogs are involved with and have, in fact, been able to raise MILLIONS to push......but ATS needs donations from people that are willing to give money (and blood) to keep it online?

Yet I'm separated from reality?

Look, I'm a big fan of ATS but I am not willing to send you money (or blood) when I have learned from my business experience that if something doesn't make money (if that is it's purpose) you must let it go when it fails to do so.

ETA: If ATS is a "labor of love" or something like that, learn to eat it like many of us have had to do.

a reply to: sheepslayer247

Man! You're starting to piss ME off now. Wtf.

The site took a hit cause of a massive attack. They've never EVER asked for money before. EVER. So they need a little help now. It is an extenuating circumstance. You're finding EVERY DAMN REASON you can think of to hold on to a lousy ten or twenty bucks, when you could have just shut yer friggin trap, and pitched in. WHY are you trying SO HARD to derail this effort??????????????????????????????

????????????????????????????????

Damn. Just damn.

originally posted by: TrueAmerican
a reply to: sheepslayer247

Man! You're starting to piss ME off now. Wtf.

The site took a hit cause of a massive attack. They've never EVER asked for money before. EVER. So they need a little help now. It is an extenuating circumstance. You're finding EVERY DAMN REASON you can think of to hold on to a lousy ten or twenty bucks, when you could have just shut yer friggin trap, and pitched in. WHY are you trying SO HARD to derail this effort??????????????????????????????

????????????????????????????????

Damn. Just damn.

They have never asked for money because their business model has been able to maintain itself....until now.

Now it can't, apparently. Is it good business sense to throw money at such ventures?

a reply to: sheepslayer247

By donating we are not contributing to a business venture. We are giving freely and without expectations, to try and save something that is really priceless to many of us. I love this site, I love many of the people on it, they are my family. It is what it is.

originally posted by: sheepslayer247

originally posted by: TrueAmerican
a reply to: sheepslayer247

Man! You're starting to piss ME off now. Wtf.

The site took a hit cause of a massive attack. They've never EVER asked for money before. EVER. So they need a little help now. It is an extenuating circumstance. You're finding EVERY DAMN REASON you can think of to hold on to a lousy ten or twenty bucks, when you could have just shut yer friggin trap, and pitched in. WHY are you trying SO HARD to derail this effort??????????????????????????????

????????????????????????????????

Damn. Just damn.

They have never asked for money because their business model has been able to maintain itself....until now.

Now it's can't, apparently. Is it good business sense to throw money at such ventures?

Or to put it yet another way, if they have not needed to do so until now, will having both ads and donations become a regular thing on ATS? Will they be continually having fund raising drives to cover additional expenses? Usually websites either have ad revenue or donations--not both from what I've seen.

I also would like to know what is different about this particular attack. Wasn't ATS DDoS'd a while back? I don't recall any fundraising going on for that one.

a reply to: sheepslayer247

This transcends business sense. This goes back to long before you were here, and even longer before I was here. And that is a long damn time. I guess you're just never going to get it. You're just never going to trust and give them a chance. You're just going to whine. Ok Sheep, whine. If that makes you feel good. But you are upsetting this effort. And that's not good for the rest of us that would like for ATS to continue, in whatever form. I suggest you kindly bow out of this thread please. When you can do no more good, it's time to go.