ALL MEMBERS: Important Notice On Creating Threads - STOP THE MADNESS!!!!

To the Overlord of ATS,

I get your point about not making a tangent request being the first point in a thread. That makes sense.

Not to be an ass, but ATS does not make it easy to search previous threads- before posting a new one. AFAIK, to search, the site is ask.abovetopsecret.com At least that's the one I use.

Which goes along with enhancing the search results screen request - to make it handy to see whatever SHTF occurrences are hot at the moment, with the results spanning all different forum groups for a given search topic.. If the results can be sorted by date in each group - that would just be great. If the search can filter total results by limiting the post dates to 1 day, two days, one week, one month, one year, and for everything... that would just make it an even better and easier tool to use.

IDK. Maybe this has already been implemented and I missed it (haven't been on that much of late).

Thanks.

I have done that before, because my searching truly came up with nothing. My announcement was more a show of good faith and respect to the mods- a sort of recognition of their authority, a recognition of the rules, and my willingness to adhere to them and any action that might be taken concerning my thread.

I find it confusing that that is irritating to the mods. But whatever, I will refrain from any such statements in the future.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

No worries for me cause nobody posts the crap I
post.

a reply to: Bluesma

The issue is that when you post that first (your opening line in the thread) it's what shows up in the search returns on Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc...

Now think about that, somebody in Mogadishu is searching for the latest info on a secret weapons program or a recent UFO sighting and the one sentence "description" (that's all you get with the big search engines) under the link to your thread is "Hi Mods, I don't know if his is the right forum for this or if it's already been posted..."

That is exactly how it will appear to anyone who is searching to read what you wrote. The point about putting such disclaimers at the END of your post makes total sense because it won't be in the snippet revealed in Google displays.

Finally, when you consider that search is what drives way more than 95% of the traffic that would see (and hopefully learn from) what you posted why wouldn't you want your best foot forward as it were?

Much better for them to read something like "This afternoon the Whitehorse lawn was covered in aliens wearing hula skirts and dancing to fresh Cuban beats".

That will get your content some attention while "Mods please move if this has already been done" doesn't make sense to someone seeking information on a topic.

Make sense?

Its just to deter the "already been posted" Nazis.... Ya know? I refrain from posting threads simply because of the Nazism ruled by forums. Who cares right? Its all been posted already right? Somewhere... Of course! lol

Maybe if the place was more liberal about stuff... Posters won't be so self conscious about posting disclaimers?
"Don't scold me! I'm only the messenger!" Ya know? Now if any of you were cheering when Joan of arc was burned that's between you and god.... Don't bring that attitude here, please?

Don't know if this post has been ....

AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!

I think Mods can edit most things ,
so ..... just delete those offensive sentences ?

edits away !

a reply to: radarloveguy

Me?

originally posted by: raedar
But, are you certain this topic hasn't already been posted?

You are right it might be smart to put a disclaimer of some kind or maybe even ask to move it if needed.

originally posted by: Bluesma
My announcement was more a show of good faith and respect to the mods- a sort of recognition of their authority, a recognition of the rules, and my willingness to adhere to them and any action that might be taken concerning my thread.

Same here. I very rarely start new threads, so I feel like a "newbie" whenever I do that. Since I make a lot of mistakes all the time, being human and all, I feel the need to acknowledge that my thread might be unnecessary or misplaced and, if that's the case, I'd be happy to be corrected by a mod.

That said, double (or worse, triple) threads are REALLY annoying. A little search before posting something doesn't hurt, so I understand why this might annoy the mods... if it's indeed a double thread, it can come off a bit like "I don't care, I'll post it anyway and let a mod close one of the two threads".

a reply to: Springer

Ah......okay I see better the reasoning (should have opened my post with "I didn't read the other pages of response, but..." )

Now I feel all self conscious! I only started opening up and writing heartfelt threads once I felt I was amongst ATS family, I hadn't figured "outsiders" might find it!

Okay, that sounds really stupid. But emotions and sentiment don't always adhere to much logic anyway.
I don't really like the idea of attracting public attention to myself. But I understand why that matters to the admins of the site.

Im not sure I posted this reply in the right thread....mods please move of nessessary...I will hold a grudge however....

Mods if I am posting in the wrong thread at the wrong time, in the wrong forum, on the wrong website, please call me a cab. Thank you.

So, anyway, um there's this video of an ape, uh.

nvm

originally posted by: SkepticOverlord
Do you know what my number-one pet peeve with some new threads might be?

No? Well, I'll tell you.

It's threads that begin with something like this: "Mods, I searched and couldn't find if this was already posted, or even if I posted this in the right forum, so please feel free to move it or something."

Actually, I cringe and and my hands compulsively reach for the keyboard in a turrets-like spasm with a overwhelming urge to move the thread to the trash.

The most important thing to making your threads matter is that first sentence. It's what search engines index. It's what readers first see. And that type of thread-opener makes no sense.


The easiest way to see if your thread might be a repeat of what's been recently posted is to click the new button in the main menu. It delivers a chronologically sorted list of new threads.


But if you must put that type of "PSA" message in your opening post -- please put it at end of your post. Mrs. Overlord will thank you.

When I first started, I'll admit I was that way. Once in a very blue moon, if a forum isn't working properly I'll wait, then sometimes I'll be forced to put it in a different but similar forum. But I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, search. I may search by topic, or by person. For example, Drew Peterson, to see if it has been posted already. The search came up empty, I posted, then found out, I posted at almost the exact same time as another member and both threads were about as popular. The Mods allowed both to exist until eventually closing the other and allowing mine to stay. (For which I'm eternally grateful!)

I always try to find interesting things to create threads about, and I'd like to think I'm getting better at my thread titles. Such as my recent
Taliban Thread. Yes, I'll admit, I've had my fair share of stinkers. I'm also admit to trying to do better. That's all I can offer to do.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

God man, surely you must realize that by posting this OP someone as childishly annoying as me will never be able to resist starting my next OP thread with ""Mods, I searched and couldn't find if this was already posted, or even if I posted this in the right forum, so please feel free to move it or something."

Its simply..................irresistible.

Of course, I have to admit that I've never posted a new thread OP because I've never been able to summon the courage to fade the ridicule of having a thread closed because I couldn't find the topic had already been taken because of the unreliable search function.

Now however...................................

The most important thing to making your threads matter is that first sentence. It's what search engines index. It's what readers first see. And that type of thread-opener makes no sense.

Well, you see, that's what happens when you give a troglodyte a computer, and just enough intelligence for basic use of it.

My dear Skeptic, have you seen many of the threads on this site, the subjects of the threads? Some are so bizarre, so ridiculous, that even Ripley's would not entertain them. Yet, here you are moaning about the unintelligent use of the first line of a thread. It must be so frustrating for you not to be getting your google index score higher due to the dodo's on here as members.

There are quite a few well reasoned and intelligent members on this site, even those I can't find myself agreeing with...it's a mindset thing, don't sweat it, but they tend to get drowned out by all the silliness. Anyway, the only way this site is ever going to 'deny ignorance' is to actually deny the ignorant. Maybe then, your index scores will grow?

Same as there are never any completely new members..
" I have been lurking here for 3 million years and i have decided to join..............................burp"

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww LOL

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Sorry if I offended or put anyone off by that. I started a thread today and said that, I did not mean anything by it or to put anyone off by it. The law was put into effect about 2 months ago and I wasn't sure if it had been brought up, so I searched, did not see anything, but I see a lot say that the search function sucks, that is what happened so I put that there. Any type of.. anything I may have had before that post has just been shattered, for the benefit of everyone here lol. I tried, im sorry, I obviously cant do anything right.

It makes so much sense to NOT put a disclaimer at the beginning of the post...

Perhaps an acronym that everyone recognizes....like "PDPPDM" for Possible Duplicate Post, Please Delete Or Move.

??

Easier than typing all that other stuff out...

Is it possible to start a new thread here with a new account?

I came here to post about shills of the conspiracy being allowed to be moderators at the David Icke forums, but when I click on 'new topic' I get a blank screen. Turned Flash on, still get a blank screen.