ATS is lacking political balance

a reply to: JinMI

I use ad hominems to point out the hypocrisy that is rampant on this site. Read through my thousands of posts and count the number of times where I use an ad hom unprovoked. It's probably in the low double digits at most.

It's a fact (as this thread has shown) that those on the Right get their panties in a twist anytime someone insults them. Meanwhile we have entire threads devoted to insulting the Left. If you have a problem with only one of these examples and not both that makes you a hypocrite.

originally posted by: Sillyolme
Why is this in board business?

Temporary stop on the way to the trash bin.

BB is appropriate and also removes the star system. Probably let this chuckle fest ride out to about page 10 for amusement and then get canned.

originally posted by: knowledgehunter0986

originally posted by: OtherSideOfTheCoin

originally posted by: knowledgehunter0986
It wouldn't be hyperbole to say the left attracts the low IQ and mentally-weak to their party.

This isn't meant to be an insult, but rather an observable fact.

That you can’t prove....

You guys prove it for me everyday.

But I'll at least give you credit for somewhat evolving from what you once were.

So you actually believe that because you hold a different political ideology to me that automatically makes you intellectually superior?

You don’t see how the arrogance of that could be seen as offensive?

Let alone that there is zero evidence to support it

originally posted by: Assassin82
a reply to: CriticalStinker

Thanks! I definitely am not trying to come across as "whining" about it. I just think ATS has so much more room for better conversations.

I caught the gist of your thread, because I read it without feeling like "it was attacking me"...

I think you're right, so much so that this thread is proving your point.

a reply to: latic

No dear...they are trump supporters....

originally posted by: Assassin82

Now, I can confirm some of these things. The site is clearly right leaning now. There are only a few brave liberals left who stand up for their views left here. I'd assume that most of them got sick of the constant right leaning rhetoric. Most political content gets posted in the mudpit where it seems the gloves come off and any chance for an intelligent conversation is gone. I know the moderators do their best but it seems like they can't keep up with the postings. And the users who rely on the mudpit to constantly post their content are using it as a place to release their internal rage on whatever topic has them stirred up. The owners are pretty much long gone. The only time we see them pop up is when there is a profit to be made, a documentary to pitch, or a book to be sold. It would be nice for them to reengage to try and help balance the conversation a little but it's not happening.

Is the site right leaning or has the left in the last two years gone much farther left than what was in the recent past that they now see anyone right of them, even life long liberals, are now right leaning? I say this not so much to debate, but I think it is safe to say that Kennedy would not recognize the liberal narratives of today. I see people so far left now that even left leaning people are now seen as conservatives in their view.

Another thing to consider is the overall state of political ideology in America and how it translates here. Everyone is either far left or alt right. Except they're not. Most people fall in the middle but the fringe is the most vocal. It's fair to assume that those fringe vocalists have found various places on the internet to dig into to spread their beliefs as best as they can. Reddit, for example, is heavily populated by vocal leftists spreading a progressive ideology. With Reddit, however, you could choose to ignore certain subreddits and only see content which you choose to see. You can't really do that here as effectively.

A lot of attacks from either side, the slight difference is much of the right attacks are retaliation style from a very aggressive left. I don't think you would hear much from the right if the left wasn't in an extreme mode of attacks... "he is not my President" from day one attitude kind of set the start.

But that's part of the problem...we shouldn't be ignoring opposing viewpoints. Instead we should be embracing them in intelligent dialogue. Most importantly...we must be willing to accept the fact that sometimes our individual views are wrong, or can be viewed a little differently when discussed with factual content. By now we have to assume that most of the American media infrastructure is infected with Russian bots and partisan politics. I'm almost certain this site has had some Russian bots disseminating information but I wouldn't know how to prove it. And with that, we should be able to recognize that very, very few news outlets and news sources can be trusted with truthful, unbiased content. Yet, most conversation on here relies on ideological propaganda to back them up.

I think we can remove the Russian_01 narratives, they are no more or less than in the past. Once again we have the left in a McCarthy style attack in many areas, whether it is @metoo movement, Russia, Socialism, victimhood etc seems many have gone way extreme in these areas that might have had some merit in the past but have all mostly evolved into extreme narratives and actions.

a reply to: Sillyolme

Seem to forget?

We're only Trump supporters because We didn't like Clinton or Sanders.

a reply to: neo96

Guess ya got me cuz I dont know what the phux you're talking about.

originally posted by: knowledgehunter0986
It wouldn't be hyperbole to say the left attracts the low IQ and mentally-weak to their party.

This isn't meant to be an insult, but rather an observable fact.

Actually it's lie. You alt right fools just like saying it over and over because you are hoping that the more you say it, it just might come true.

From the sources that the right uses, you can gauge their intelligence. They are the low IQ and mentally-weak to their party. Not an insult, just stating an observation. It is extremely easy to manipulate you guys, just recently it was the abortion issue where the tag line was "ATS is lacking political balance" and you guys went on the attack. start a thread with Abortion, AOC, Dems Trump is bad and viola, watch the emotional replies start.

It is so easy to manipulate that it is quite embarrassing.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

You use ad homs in kind? Ok, so you are not better than those 'dumb' people.

a reply to: Assassin82


ATS lacking balance?

Are there supposed to be quotas here?
Is participation open to all and still voluntary?

The Left are NOT victims here...unless they choose to be.

I think its less of a move to the right, and more of a move away from the crapshow that is the popular left.

I'd even say that I have been seeing this in many different areas across the internet and in the pockets of society I know.

I can only hope that continues..

But, I suspect that as the general population moves to less.. radical perspectives.. that those remaining firm will start to coalesce into a new religion. Its already well on its way.

a reply to: OtherSideOfTheCoin

Its having an effect on the quality of the threads too. Now t hey are basically .. trump is great.. yeah I agree.
the left sucks, Hillary should be in jail. Yeah I agree, and I agree and I agree and I agree and I agree and I agree....

originally posted by: schuyler
So somebody decided to edit Wiki to say Trump has taken over ATS, thus the issue with Wikipedia becomes apparent. It wasn't log ago that Ron Paul supporters "dominated" ATS, and after that it was all about Bernie. It certainly felt like THOSE guys dominated ATS for a good long while. Now Trump supporters have "found a voice" and you are upset.

From my standpoint politics has "taken over" ATS to the point that alternative subjects like UFOs have been shoved under the table. But you know what? I know that I am capable of formulating as many UFO threads as I want. And when I do they usually have a pretty good run.

So stop whining and make ATS what you want it to be. But if you want to go down on Hillary in front of the rest of us, expect to take some heat. And if you can't stand that, leave. Nobody owes you your concept of "free and open debate." This is NOT a public forum where anyone has to pay attention to your "free speech rights." It's privately owned, so get over yourself.

I'm sorry you interpreted that as "whining". But, I think you missed the point so much, that you helped make the point I'm trying to make.

a reply to: IgnorantGod

It was a joke dude.... calm down.
tee hee

The problem I see isn't about the division and personal attacks from right and left, nor if one as taken a site over the other. The problem I see is the mud these leaders of said parties has blurred the water. Their fight isn't against each other, it's them vs us. Nowadays, we can't trust MSM, just like we can't trust alternative media. They are taking our best weapons, not these bullsh*t AR-whatever comes after, our access to concrete information. They have taken out the reliability of internet, and by doing this, has taken the trust we can have between each others. You know, simple war tactic, divide the enemy and fight back together.

Generally I do not respond to these kinds of threads because they generally end up in the trash as anyone with a beef wades in and turns into a thread of who can piss on the carpet the best.

After a few pages it hasn’t devolved that far. So here goes and keep in mind I am speaking for myself and not the site and staff in particular and these are my opinions and mine alone.

Wikipedia as a source is subject to modification by just about anyone so their position is suspect and based upon opinion rather than facts. In the past ownership tried to address negative viewpoints there, but was a hopeless cause. As the authorship was inevitably in the hands of banned members with an axe to grind. Deep searching in obscure corners of the seldom seen internet will reveal hate sites dedicated to “exposing the truth of ATS.” Pages upon pages saying some of the nastiest stuff of former staffers until the nerd rage and paid domains expire.

On more than one occasion, sites have cropped up to be competitors by allowing for “forbidden subjects and uncivil content.” Most last less than a year before the echo chamber closes or infighting kills it.

ATS as a site does not exert editorial control over opinion politics. As a moderator, I do not care what your thoughts are on a subject only that it expressed in conjunction of the T&C’s. As a member, I’ll give my opinion and may disagree with you on any number of topics. And I won’t razz a person that I don’t like or feel a connection with. Only natural, because we joke amongst our friends in real life so why not here as well.

I will tell you that I have both met and been camping with quite a number of the staff here. I have spoke with many more on the phone or skype a number of times. Some will express their opinions more openly than others. Some have quite a bit on their plates in real life. Not all staff have mentioned it for various reasons. Not all staff will chime in on a subject no matter the size for various reasons least of which is that staff cannot moderate threads in which they have participate in.

So as for ATS actually being left or right (I see it as neutral, myself) is not due to the actions or inactions of the staff nor ownership.

So why doesn’t ATS have big time threads on more esoteric subjects than politics dominating the site? Well we do have new threads all the time but at the same time those subjects have become more mainstream. Many TV shows cover it to death to the point of they are dropping off like Ghost Whisper, Bigfoot, Preppers, Ancient Aliens, Curse of Oak Island, etc. It isn’t just old episodes of Leonard Nimoy narrating episodes of In Search Of... anymore.

But if you want a good political conspiracy to figure out, traditionally conspiracy theorists are anti-establishment. As a whole they were against the currently serving president (Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, GHW Bush, Clinton, GW Bush, Obama) yet it would seem to be more for than against Trump. Why the sudden change?

a reply to: JinMI

I'll let you know if that ever happens.

originally posted by: neo96

Intelligent members see that was nothing more than whataboutism.

So you didn't see that as whataboutism?

I’m sorry but this thread is basicly “ this site is problematic because less and less people agree with me, more people should agree with me”

Go join a Vox blog or BuzzFeed chat room if you don’t want to be challenged

If you notice more and more people disagreeing with you, what does that tell you about your ideas?