Transparency On The Future of ATS

So, after reading all 11 pages 2 things occurred to me,

1 turn off our ad blockers.

2. We (the USA) are heading into very dark waters.

Since most MODS and members will see this I wanted to say, no hard feelings. I know no one has really gotten to know me all that well but I have been a member since I think around 2006 and I have had many run ins with MODS as well as members. I have an abrasive and sarcastic way of making my point that doesn’t always come off as intended.

That being said it is with a heavy heart, I receive this news. I wish you all the best and I am pretty sure that this was inevitable.

This site has been a integral part of my life for a long time I will be a little lost without it.

I hope everything works out but if not it’s been a pleasure and I wish you all well.

I would be more than happy to donate to a go fund me account.

I have learned so much over the years from watching the discourse. I don't watch any news, I get all of it here. I really hope there is a way to keep the site going.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

I joined ATS in 2010 as it was suggested when I was searching about aliens and other conspiracy things. I have slowly faded away after the whole politics and mud pit forum had emerged, including the influx of trolls and others who simply posts negative one-liners to get stars, instead of actually promoting a discussion on the issue at hand. That in turn derailed a lot of threads with potentially good content for discussion.

Another point is the loss of quality threads that was a standard back then. Most of those quality threads are gone since the older members who provided them stop posting them and those members do not come on ATS. Now it's simply all about politics with a small paragraph with a random video attached to it, without any input from the OP of the thread.

For me personally, I lost interest infrequently visiting ATS due to all the dominant "threads" are about left and right politics with simple commenting on news headlines and mud pit. It is sad but it is evolved in that way.

Second, the paid subscription model remains unproven, and would require hundreds of monthly subscribers to sustain an active business that could support operations.

Have you considered implementing an ATS-Webshop or some other service? I mean since ATS has a wide spectrum of persons maybe we have some artists that willing to promote their independent work. They could promote their work from the webshop and maybe ATS can have a small revenue from the artwork that is being provided by its artistic members. That might generate an extra income to get included in the costs of sustaining the website. Or maybe do a combination of both mentioned above.

Currently according to the worthofweb

The estimated worth of this website is $1,237,600 with a 77% Worth Of Web Rank? The estimated revenue per day is $828. The estimated revenue per month is $24,840 and the estimated revenue per year is $298,080.

Also, it´s worth mentioning that the link above provides some alternatives to increase revenue and some alternatives to the AdSense and other helpful links that you might get to explore?.

For those in the know... consider the cloud datastore costs for this: our entire content database instance is over 50GB, with an average of 56 queries a second... with more than 3TB of supporting (images) files. What would that cost on AWS?

I am not in the know but I have found the following :

1. Concerning Cloud Datastore. ( Cloud Datastore Pricing)

Maybe it could be of interest? They provide 1 GB storage $0.18 GB/Month

Pricing Guide

2. Concerning AWS. (AWS Calculator)

Whether you are running a single instance or dozens of individual services, you can estimate your monthly bill using the AWS Pricing Calculator. The calculator allows you to estimate individual or multiple prices and use templates to appraise complete solutions.

I am simply making some suggestions as I truly like ATS. But if no buyer can be found or alternative methods for the support it will be a sad day to let ATS Forum go.

Peace

originally posted by: Aallanon
I have an abrasive and sarcastic way of making my point that doesn’t always come off as intended.

That being said it is with a heavy heart, I receive this news. I wish you all the best and I am pretty sure that this was inevitable.

This site has been a integral part of my life for a long time I will be a little lost without it.

I hope everything works out but if not it’s been a pleasure and I wish you all well.

Echo on.

+1 to projectvxn (again)

I will miss you all.

Cheers
-Snarl

What kind of money are we talking about here, I could maybe get together a few wealthy-ish investors but honestly have no idea what kind of money it takes to run and maintain a site of this stature. I work in the automotive industry not technology.

I've been coming here for 14 years. If my account was a child it would almost be old enough to drive. I sincerely hope you guys figure something out! There is no other place like ATS on the entire internet!

A very solemn day ...

ATS is world within a world where people can find a niche. That is a special thing in this age in which we find ourselves, one that will be sadly missed.

Thank you to ATS and all who make it special ...

originally posted by: SkepticOverlord

originally posted by: harold223
Anyone who is not a one-eyed Trump supporter who comes across this site would walk right on, thinking its a right wing jerk fest. Would they be wrong?

There has been a seismic paradigm shift among conspiracy-minded people.

In the 20 years I've been a member/moderator/management of this site, along with prior "paying attention" back to the Ford administration, one thing has been consistent: As a group, Conspiracy Theorists always lean in the opposite political direction from whoever is in the White House.

Until Trump.

I find that odd.

Very, very odd. Almost like it’s by design.

But that’s neither here nor there I guess.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

It is odd Bill, but Conspiracy Theorists have always been antiestablishment. Hillary has been at the political table since Nixon. And I mean leaving the GOP that she and her parents were a part of (they remained Republicans) when Nixon won the 1968 Convention.

Trump was the outsider. Hillary was not. The hatred and vitriol kept Trump the outsider, thus antiestablishment. Myself, I would be equally hated by all sides because I would put them to work or put them out. Every day would have been a new thread on an assassination plot/attempt.

Would have been great for business...not so much for me personally though as eventually they would have succeeded.

Well this sucks.

ATS is one of the last places in the internets that still allows free speech.

IF Bitcoin moons I'll hook up skeptic.

originally posted by: Lumenari

originally posted by: continuousThunder
just spitballing here, but maybe the prevalence of hateful, violent rhetoric could be contributing to the decline in traffic?
in the last week alone i've seen innumberable vile thing said about trans people, claims that black people are predisposed to crime, of lower intelligence, deserve their treatment by the police, and should "only live among their own kind", and i've seen multiple calls by separate posters for a nuclear weapon to be dropped on an american city (!!!).

like, on one hand there's free speech, and on the other there's people using their own free speech and discretion to go elsewhere when the climate is so foul.

So you are essentially saying that the left can't handle free speech and they are going to kill off ATS too.

Sounds about right.

Your proving his point with that statement.

NO, he is saying that people with nothing but hatefull content, are destroying ATS - You know the sort of people who would hijack a post about how hate speech might be a factor in ATS decline, and then spread their hate by claiming that it is for an example, the lefts fault. That would be hate speech about the left, both left and right does it, it has nothing to do with that, it is a human flaw, HUMAN! it has nothing to do with much else - but these hatefull people, they really dont seem to get it, they just keep on spitting out hate towards anything that is not themself, simultaneously screaming about how much they hate ATS is closing down.
If they dont get it, they dont get it - not much we can do really other than enjoying these last few months we have left.

originally posted by: Seed76
a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Another point is the loss of quality threads that was a standard back then. Most of those quality threads are gone since the older members who provided them stop posting them and those members do not come on ATS. Now it's simply all about politics with a small paragraph with a random video attached to it, without any input from the OP of the thread.

I see this sentiment a lot. One thing though, most of the conspiracies / alternate topics have been beat to death here and elsewhere on the internet. There isn't much left to make threads about in that way. There are still gems that pop up here and there.

Long lived communities like Something Awful have shown that a one time fee model can work, if you have an active community.

Alternatively, and independently from the current owners, the existing members could create a coop for joint ownership, crowdfund some negotiating money, then make an offer on the site ourselves. I'd be down to invest, personally, if something like this were to happen.

I just want to say something serious for a moment.

Many on this thread have been critical and have blamed, actually blamed, members for the sites potential demise.

It's as if some are saying that people should have not expressed themselves.

Ironically, for many members, the internet will soon be very monochromatic and many of those voices you have blamed will be silenced by giants like Google.

There will be fewer and fewer sites that are open to ALL ideas.

That's not something just to be sad about, it's really something to mourn.

Just want to say this sucks. I discovered this site at the start of high school when looking into the Philadelphia Experiment. It's been a crazy ride ever since. Even when I get worked up I'd hate not to be able to see various opinions on these crazy topics even if I vehemently disagree.

Never realized until now how influential ATS has been in my life. I wouldn't be questioning anything if it weren't for this site, especially the real quality posts of years long passed.

originally posted by: Xcalibur254
Sad to hear but not wholly unexpected.

I know you guys have some famous friends that are fans of the site. Have you tried reaching out to Robbie Williams? It might even be worth trying to get in contact with Tom DeLonge's people.

Lets be honest if word got out that RW was basically funding what is now largely a far right site it would causes some very damaging publicity for him.

If it was still a conspiracy site then he might be tempted but now that its basically a site full of toxicity its not going to happen.

a reply to: FauxMulder

I see this sentiment a lot. One thing though, most of the conspiracies / alternate topics have been beaten to death here and elsewhere on the internet. There isn't much left to make threads about in that way. There are still gems that pop up here and there.

That is true. Most of the conspiracy has been beaten to death. Sadly no one revisits them to provide any new info that might have come up. Also by quality threads, I mean that people who make a thread can provide more content that simply one random video with a small paragraph. We need more gems than coal that's for sure.

I hope a solution can be found to save ATS from going dark.

Peace

originally posted by: TheRedneck
a reply to: DoctorBluechip

Would the content no longer be available in it's entirety ? Wouldnt web crawlers already have stored the information ?

When the lights go off, the place goes dark. That's just how it works. Server space and bandwidth cost money; we've just gotten spoiled to having "free" access to the net. In truth, it has never really been free. Few things worth having in life are.









*sigh*

This has been my home for over 13 years. It's seem me through personal victories and personal tragedies. I know I'm an argumentative old fart, but a little while back, when I was facing major surgery, a friend posted about it here and I was flabbergasted by the personal and heartfelt responses. Rednecks don't have tear ducts, but the first time I saw those replies... well, I tried to grow some.

But you guys did something that took an old, decrepit redneck who had been consistently trying to assassinate himself for almost a half century, pumping jelly through clogged arteries, and pulled him through using one thing: prayer. Not only did I wake up above the ground, but I was able to retire. Maybe, just maybe, a little of that would help now. There's been a lot of talk about kneeling lately; I don't want to get into an argument over it here, for obvious reasons, but I for one am kneeling before God right now to pray that a way for ATS to continue can be found.

Anyone who wants to join me in that... please, feel free.

TheRedneck

Aw, hell, screw that formal crap...

Doug

So what I'm hearing is that with the site gone , all historic content will go with it ?

For clarity's sake , at the moment if you search with a username a thread title and the site name ( ATS ) you can get the stored content of a particular thread.

That's good enough for archives sake... but will that NOT be the case AFTER the website itself is closed ?

I say this on one count for example because recorded details of a serious crime which has not been investigated yet are on a certain thread .

originally posted by: Seed76
a reply to: FauxMulder

I see this sentiment a lot. One thing though, most of the conspiracies / alternate topics have been beaten to death here and elsewhere on the internet. There isn't much left to make threads about in that way. There are still gems that pop up here and there.

That is true. Most of the conspiracy has been beaten to death. Sadly no one revisits them to provide any new info that might have come up. Also by quality threads, I mean that people who make a thread can provide more content that simply one random video with a small paragraph. We need more gems than coal that's for sure.

I hope a solution can be found to save ATS from going dark.

Peace

I honestly used to spend a lot of time writing up huge threads, I enjoyed it but now am just like whats the point.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Covid-19, Murder Hornets, Riots, Race Wars, Police Walkouts,

I'll take all these things in 2020, but not the demise of ATS.

I will subscribe or donate too.