Coming out of the shadows at last...

Greetings ATS community!
I've already posted a reply in another thread, but wanted to make things official and introduce myself.

First I'll confess that, yes, I've literally been lurking about on this great Web site for years. Like many here, I'm one of those people who enjoys staying up late at night and researching all kinds of topics that you just don't read too much about in the MSM. On one of those long, late-night surfing runs I happened upon ATS and have been reading dutifully ever since. Alas, as the title of my post says, it's time to come out of the shadows and participate in the community. I would like to extend a hearty thank you to the mods and everyone who takes the time to maintain this most excellent forum; I would also like to say thank you to all the dedicated individuals who contribute all of the fantastic information that has helped me delve further into the vast, unknown depths of the universe. I can only hope that anything I eventually contribute will return even a small fraction of the favor.

Just a little about myself:
My acedemic background is in English and Philosophy. Thus, I love good, lively discussions on all kinds of topics--spirituality, religion, history, cutting-edge science (e.g., quantum physics), the creative arts, the paranormal, and yes, good old fashioned, hackle-raising conspiracy theories--just to name a few.
I'm a dedicated family man, but in my spare time I enjoy reading just about anything I can get my hands on, exploring the outdoors, gardening, and practicing the martial arts.

Finally, I would like to state that I will do my level best to honor and respect this community by being mindful of my tone in posts and replies, courteous to all, and welcoming of views that I disagree with. I will also do my level best to ensure that anything I post is well-researched and cited, which is an old college habit in any case.

Cheers and thanks for reading.
-Gandalf77

a reply to: Gandalf77

more like coming out of the closet

ha

a reply to: Gandalf77
Hello and welcome!!!

I'm so glad you have come out of the shadows to join us!

Welcome to the madhouse!

Here are some helpful tips on navigating around this place.

The top row has shortcuts to the most used items: ATS Home Page, Top, New, Recent, Forums, Archive, etc. Once there you will either see threads listed, or, links to more subjects.

If you choose the thread title, you end up on Page 1 of that thread. You can choose other pages by the little number(s) below the thread title (they're in green). If there is the Forum icon next to thread, you can click on that to jump to that particular Forum.

If you want to see the last reply in a thread, select the MemberName to the far right (just past the “reply” and “flag” icons) and that will jump you what that member posted.

If you are in a thread and see “reply to” and some text and wonder what the heck they are talking about, hit the “reply to” and you get to see the post being responded to pop up in a small window! That is one advantage of membership!

Now you should take a look at this link, and often: A Guide to BBCode on ATS (to tell the truth, I like posting this link so I do not have go searching for it!). In that forum you can practice all sort of things without mucking up on ATS! It is a great place to start! Welcome aboard!

Welcome Gandalf77! Good time to come on out of those shadows too, I suspect.

a reply to: Gandalf77Glad to have you here!

a reply to: Gandalf77

Greetings! Welcome!!

Hello and welcome! Glad you decided to stop lurking!