Does ATS's "front page algorithm" favor sensationalism? The End of ATS Is Nigh!!

originally posted by: SacredLore
"ford logo" as the prime reason to come to ATS is also interesting.
Maybe I should question Alexa's or Google's algorithms, too :-)

I think that one is all due to the Mandela woo.

originally posted by: WakeUpBeer
How about those threads you make that you regret, in retrospect?

By "you" I really mean me.

I think I have maybe three threads I don't think are #.

I think everything that can be started should have a stop button, too. Everything done should be able to be undone.
But content is money these days. Facebook, Google and the likes hate it when content gets removed. It harms their business.
ATS is surely harmless regarding this, but, yes, I would welcome an option to delete one's own threads.
And an extra button, just for me, to delete all threads about US politics with one single click :-)

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Oh, I missed that! Maybe because I stopped reading the ATS front page :-)

a reply to: SacredLore

I Really miss the Amigos... It was like losing dear friends when ATS got so big they could no longer or rarely join in as fellow members. They used to make ALL of us feel special in one way or another. That is the biggest change I have seen. AS for the front page stuff, just hang in, the political rhetoric dies of its own accord and so if history repeats itself, there will be better days ahead.

I feel for you and empathize with your concerns. I miss many things in life, especially the people who once filled me with joy and purpose who have now passed on into the unknown. It is hard to find new footing when the familiar is so comfortable, but in time it does come. As you stated in your OP, I too sometimes just go to the forums of interest rather than fall into past habits that only lead to frustration and let down on the front page topics.

I WISH ALL POLITICS would go into its own sub-category such as BTS or RATS... And that's my final answer...

originally posted by: SacredLore
Oh, I missed that! Maybe because I stopped reading the ATS front page :-)

Skunk Works Forum.

a reply to: SacredLore

But, seriously: Does it really make sense to favor threads that get many flags in a short time over those that have even more flags but take some time to gather them?

I think ATS has taken the right approach.

I see your point, but if not 24 hours, then how long a period of time?

Because you do have to set a timeframe. If you did not, the frontpage would eventually become static as it would simply list the most flagged threads.

The frontpage is a tool to discover new popular threads, sand in that light 24 hour seems like a reasonable compromise. If it were much more than 24 hours, the threads on the front page would both be fairly old and fairly static.

You can use the "top" tap if you want to see a list of threads that has proven popular over a longer period of times.

originally posted by: antar
a reply to: SacredLore

...just hang in, the political rhetoric dies of its own accord and so if history repeats itself, there will be better days ahead.

Thank you! You gave me hope. Knowing our own history helps us understand the present time and take the right decisions for the future. Seems to be true for things like ATS as well.

a reply to: SacredLore

Sometimes my own cringe is nice to go back and cringe at though.

It can always exist as a reminded to do better.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I absolutely agree with you and I also don't think that my thread about the Zimbabwe Ariel school UFO incident deserves any special attention or that its OP content is particularly valuable (the documentary it points to, however, IS important, I find). The only thing about that thread is that it collected more flags within about 10 days than other threads that made it to the "front page" (thereby gaining exposure and additional popularity).

Investing hours into writing a well-researched thread about a subject worthy of the title "Above Top Secret" becomes less attractive if there is a danger that it does not get noticed because it is pushed to the background by other short-lived content.

And let us not forget the possiblilty that a thread could start out with a meager OP but then others contribute to it so that it really becomes valuable. This can take a significant amount of time. One of (the few) threads I made can serve as an example: Disclosure by DeLonge & Levenda, Sekret Machines: Gods. A crappy OP by me, but over time the thread wound up with 419 interesting replies and even Peter Levenda himself contributed.
It may be hard to belief, but my motivation is not to push MY threads to fame. I want to discuss mysterious subjects, especially UFOs and get to the truth behind them. This can take time and is something I do NOT find in the mass media. This is why I came to ATS in the first place.

Some businesses make the conscious descision to focus on a niche and serve that, and only that, well. Maybe ATS should not try to be a platform for everything, but limit its topics to what actually falls under the headings of the mysterious and unexplained. But I am not the owner of ATS and maybe it is doing really well the way it is. Then be it as it is.

originally posted by: DupontDeux

I think ATS has taken the right approach.

I see your point, but if not 24 hours, then how long a period of time?

Because you do have to set a timeframe. If you did not, the frontpage would eventually become static as it would simply list the most flagged threads.

The frontpage is a tool to discover new popular threads, sand in that light 24 hour seems like a reasonable compromise. If it were much more than 24 hours, the threads on the front page would both be fairly old and fairly static.

You can use the "top" tap if you want to see a list of threads that has proven popular over a longer period of times.

Thank you for the explanations, good points. I was going to suggest one month as the timeframe but that would indeed just duplicate the (useful!) "Top Topics".

Probably some experimentation is needed. Personally I would start with 3 days. A time frame that is long enough for fear and hate to subside somewhat :-) I would play around with the parameter until the ATS homepage distinguishes itself MOST from a mainstream media news outlet. Currently it looks disturbingly simliar.

Or, drop all forums that are absolutely unrelated to the concept of "Above Top Secret". But this is a business decision. If the ATS website makes good money as it is then that is what the world wants (and deserves).

originally posted by: DupontDeux
The frontpage is a tool to discover new popular threads, sand in that light 24 hour seems like a reasonable compromise. If it were much more than 24 hours, the threads on the front page would both be fairly old and fairly static.

You can use the "top" tap if you want to see a list of threads that has proven popular over a longer period of times.

Hmm, I just took a close look at the "Top Topics: 30 Days" and can now put the finger directly on why I do not feel at ease with how ATS is at the moment. Only 2 of the 8 topics are of interest to me. The rest ranges from "redundant to Google News" to "complete waste of time" on my individual fascination scale. Now, of course, the people who voted for these subjects will see that differently, but I also wonder whether they have any actual interest in the UFO subjects that I love.

Conclusion: Maybe ATS should have multiple landing pages. At least two: One for forums related to mystery and science. And one for politics and all the rest.

Or make the homeage configurable for the individual user. Not a perfect solution, though, because it only works when you are logged in.

originally posted by: SacredLore
Conclusion: Maybe ATS should have multiple landing pages. At least two: One for forums related to mystery and science. And one for politics and all the rest.

Or make the homeage configurable for the individual user. Not a perfect solution, though, because it only works when you are logged in.

This site is customizable, use the 'My ATS' feature.

Now that I am learning the ATS search engine better, I try to more frequently search ATS instead of the web for corroborating information to my threads. Truth is, there is a # ton of data, facts, theories, information and sources buried in ATS archives that we could probably support an entire thread on any topic sourced entirely from ATS threads!

I think thats actually pretty cool. I think I have only ever had two or three threads make the front page, and not for long obviously. I do mostly threads on ww3 and critical economic happenings and the conspiracies surrounding those. Every now and then I veer towards science and aircraft stuff as well as military projects and weapons systems.

I really enjoy the diversity of the topics we can discuss. It does not strike me odd at all that the most quickly flagged appear at the front. It is a system designed to generate better revenue by promoting what the majority actual participants are submitting and reading.

I thin of it like a Sams club. Yea most of the stuff is just wholesale consumer stuff, but you can find some really really nice and interesting niche items as well if you just take a peek. Hey, I know it sucks that zombies have essentially become the bulk of the ATS community.

Even the zombie apocalypse has survivors though that continue to make things better. Try to see it from that perspective.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Thanks a lot, this helps!
(I once selected a forum as a favorite, then forgot about the feature. It happens often that I am not logged in.)

a reply to: SacredLore


No worries, glad to help.

a reply to: worldstarcountry

These are very useful suggestions!
Maybe I should really approach ATS in a different (less lazy) way. Takes a bit of effort, but probably worth the trouble.

I only wish the search function gave us more options. Particularly ordering the results by date (ascending and descending) and grouping results by thread.

a reply to: SacredLore

Yea you and me both! I have taken to the habit of adding a date in a title if the topic is a common occurrence. Like last year when Turkey continue to suffer from bomb attacks after shooting down a Russian jet, and then they made amends and coincidentally the bomb attacks became a lesser occurrence.

But that point I am making is sometimes it can be helpful to add a date into the title so that when it does come up in a search, they know exactly which specific incident the thread refers to.

a reply to: SacredLore

Yes, ATS has lost serious credibility over the years. Anyone who's been here for a while can tell you that. In many ways it has just become another place for people to come and throw sh*t, spread lies, push agendas, cultivate bigotry, vent bias, etc.

It will never have it's long gone days of glory like when it started. It's gone very mainstream now with ads and the like as well. But that is to be expected. That's how all things go. At first when it's new it's cool. Then usually gets even better as it matures a bit. But then it becomes used up and over played, over used, flooded with trash, etc.

But it still has it's moments and some good gems here and there when you can find them. But don't think it's ever going back to the way it was like 10 years ago or earlier. It's not possible anymore.

a reply to: SacredLore

.....Or, drop all forums that are absolutely unrelated to the concept of "Above Top Secret". But this is a business decision. If the ATS website makes good money as it is then that is what the world wants (and deserves).

I hear you SacredLore. ATS is what everyone makes of it of course and you are not alone in broaching this topic. It seems a lot of people are wanting to return to the older golden days of conspiracies, UFOs and weird topics. The core topics of this site. Perhaps our nostalgic views are clouded by the passage of time?

However I do question the need for 6 political forums in "Political Forums", a political forum in "Breaking News" another in "Current Events" and yet another in the Conspiracy section. It sort of makes it appear that the site is heavily weighted in favour of politics (mainly US politics).

I haven't a problem with people wanting to talk politics and it probably drives traffic to the site. Which believe it or not is a good thing. But should 10% of the site's forums be all about politics?

It's not what I come to ATS for. Especially as I am not an American. So maybe the algorithms for the non-political/news regurgitation stuff should be changed to allow a little more time for a thread to get noticed and grow? There are also some forums where your post will get very little attention now matter how good it is because traffic is very slow.

I do think that the growth of smartphones and social media has probably increased the quantity of posts but diluted the quality of a lot of posts on here. We often see a few words from the OP and then a quote from somewhere else or a Youtube video (if we are lucky) and it's almost like everyone else has to do the work to make the thread grow. It also becomes hard to find a decent post amongst the chaff of mediocrity.

But we also have to be part of the change we envision by setting an example in our own posts.