A Forum Implodes

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

This whole 9/11 forum mess has got me thinking. I was going to make some suggestions in the ongoing threads, but they are disabled from comments. If I am violating some restrictions by posting this here, my apologies and I am sure the requisite action will take place.

Just a few things occurred to me that I wanted to share about this situation.

ATS makes it very easy to be a member, I was surprised by the simpleness involved, just provide an e-mail and choose a screen name, get a password and you are in. I am thankful, but maybe it is time to be a little more discreet or require a few more hoops to jump through. I am mindful that this is an ad based driven site that depends on revenue, so I am sure the goal is not to prevent people from joining.

I think there is a rush to judgment when a 9/11 thread pops up and it sends alerts to members who have an agenda to push. I am American. I watched that day unfold like many of you. I was going to write my own opinion piece about the events that happened that day. After seeing the way many people attack the messengers, I thought better of it.

Maybe instead of closing trolled threads though there could be some restrictions placed on the forum itself and if there are specific members that abuse the privilege of responding they could get banned from the forum not the site.

I know the subject is extremely volatile and many get worked into a frenzy, but what makes me disappointed the most is the fact that a few rotten apples have spoiled the whole bunch. It is like punishing the entire class for the idiocy of a few and that is not fair in my humble opinion.

This is a private site on a public domain and many people gravitate here because of the content, 9/11 included, I just think the members that are here have a responsibility to uphold standards without being hand held every step of the way. The "T&C" that is so readily thrown into the mix are just guidelines, but do you really need mommy and daddy to tell you what is right or wrong behavior? I think the majority here are highly intelligent well spoken and mature individuals and are quite capable of policing themselves and other members behavior without the baby sitters having to do all the work.

The answer is not more moderators, the answer is accountability to each other and self control. I did not know about many of the options available until I decided to actually sign up, but it is obvious to me in my very short time here that there are many safeguards in place to deal with unruly and immature behavior. There is the alert button. There is the U2U message system. There is the complaint option. There are email links provided directly to Above Top Secret in the contact area.

I have been a member of many forums over the years and I can say without a doubt this site is the very best one and I for one do not want it to be sullied by the actions of a few. Neither do the bosses here or the moderators, but they are not in the business of trying to shut people down. They have just basically thrown their hands up in the air in disgust much like parents do when their children continue the same infantile behavior that they refuse to change.

I will probably regret this because it will most likely affect me, but in the interest of seeing something change, just restrict the 9/11 forum to members that have established themselves here for a period of time. Do not even let us newbies in until we can demonstrate that we have the capability to participate in a non-combative manner. This way, if someone does get drop kicked off the site they can't just keep coming back to that forum at least and stir up trouble over and over, like I suspect has happened already many times.

I just think it is an absolute shame that something as important to the history of our country and that has impacted so many things we deal with daily has to be put aside because of the actions of a few. I think they are accomplishing what they want to, much the same way terrorists have impacted us. I implore the powers that be on this great site to not cave in to their actions, but to make some overt changes to prevent it from happening, aside from the obvious one that was made recently.

Wait they closed down the entire forum????

Personally I think that's wrong just gives into those who are responsible for the mess in the first place.

And I know this will not win me any favours with the mods and owners but I think their expectations are a little high as far as civility goes and dare I say it but at times I felt like there was a tone of elitism from the powers that be over this one. Then again I might just be upset that my favourite forum has been shut down.

This is actually a pretty sad state of affairs a bunch of adults can't play nice together so we get treated like kids and they take away our toys.

originally posted by: pirhanna
Is it just me, or has this site slowly morphed from a conspiracy, alien and alternative thought site into mostly a news and politics site? I think its also slid from a somewhat libertarian to a bit more establishment leftist in overall tone.

These other ideas and viewpoints that once were posted in quantity still exist here but seem rather diminished in scope and quantity.

Disclaimer: I have left a large bowl of salt at the entrance to this post... please feel free to take a grain (or more) before reading.

I put that disclaimer because although I have been reading this site for years (in the framework of a thread being one of the Google links that appear when I would have the desire to read about 'oddities' in our world), I have only began posting a few months ago.

That being said, I couldn't agree more with what you have stated. To be candid, each morning when I check Matt Drudge's site, I go down the list and can fairly accurately predict which stories will show up on ATS over the next few hours. (At times, I can even predict which members will be posting them).

Snore - SSDD.

I've never seen so many whiners in all my life. My God, you all act like Santa murdered your favorite toy.

originally posted by: whyamIhere
This site is kind of like the owner's home.

He ask that people no longer put their feet on the furniture.

Some people act like its up for debate. It is not.

His house, his rules. Hope that helps.

I disagree...to a point. Yes it is like the owner's home but the rule is you can only discuss topics and have some opinions to which the owner approves. If your group's conversation has turned a bit heated and repetitive...you will be told to shut-up or be asked to leave. If you discuss Sandy Hook and believe there is a deep conspiracy involving the parents...the owner doesn't agree and therefore ends your conversation.

I'm not implying that the owner doesn't have such a right...but that is a bit more accurate in my opinion.

I have a question. Not sure if this is the best forum, but it seems like the best one at the moment.
How do I flag a comment? I've seen mods state previously that if a member sees a comment that violates
ATS t&c's that we should flag said comment for their scrutiny, but I cannot see a way to flag any comments?

a reply to: symphonyofblase

See the little green person in the bottom left of your and everyone else's mini profile? Hit that and it opens up another window with several options. One is to report that specific post. So, if you wanted to report this one you would hit the icon in my profile and hit 'Alert!'.