Newbies and Silly Threads

Hey Mods,

I don't know if this should be a thread, or if I should have U2U'd somebody, but, out of concern for the continued integrity of the site, I just wanted to suggest that maybe there should be some type of probationary period before new members are allowed to start new threads. I've noticed that a lot of the threads where people say, there's already a thread on this, were started by people who had signed up that day. Or, they cite India Daily, or a publication like it. I don't really know how these things work, but I'm sure it takes up space on your server.

Just trying to be helpful

And, yes, I do realize the irony of someone who just registered starting this thread.


[edit on 16-2-2006 by HarlemHottie]

What's wrong with India Daily ??

Seriously though we were all newbies once and we all make mistakes. A probationary period would put people off joining.

[edit on 16-2-2006 by John bull 1]

You laugh and ridicule rags like India Daily, but I believe that a small percentage of what they report is actually true. If anything weird happens anywhere around the world they run the story in magazines like this and the story instantly loses any shred of credibility. It's brilliant!

Keep laughing, because believe me, somebody out there is laughing right back at you.

Think outside the box.

Peace

[edit on 16-2-2006 by Dr Love]

India Daily, Pravda, MSNBC, Wiki, Fox, NASA, NYTimes...what does it matter where the story comes from?

It's the story that matters, IMO...and to disclaim it due to where it was covered it like judging a book by its cover.

We can disclaim all sorts of sources, especially if we are polarized by opinions. ATS has gone through some painful experiences in that regard and it was the one lesson I took from all the drama involved.

If a story comes out of a questionable source...so what?

The story, if it's interesting, should float or drown on its own merits through the investigative criteria used by members here. That's what makes this place so dang interesting.

I'm with Dr Love on this...thanks to India Daily and Pravda for interesting coverage of 'way out there ideas'.

Good topic, HarlemHottie
.

Dr. Love and Masqua have good points, both.

When you start questioning the source, prior to investigating the credibility of the story itself, you're actually embracing ignorance.

Personally, I think the so-called "trusted sources" should undergo more scrutiny, due simply to their demonstrated "bottom line" reporting styles.

Just another $.02

Goodness, India Daily seems to be a sensitive topic around here.

Maybe you guys are right, though... give people a chance... I just get tired of seeing the same topics, and the same ideas, then the same conclusions. I always think the poster will have a new idea, but, no.

I'll try not to be so impatient next time.

Thanks.

HarlemHottie - So? If someone posts something you don't think is relevent or up to your standards you can't just read some other post. When there is a TV show on I don't like I simply change the channel. I don't demand that they remove the show from the airwaves so no one else can watch it.
Same thing here I think.
I think this site is meant to encourage freedom of speech, not supress it. I'm sure you can find plenty of posts you approve of without anyone needing to be censored for your benefit.

[edit on 16-2-2006 by Blaine91555]

Probative Value

Originally posted by John bull 1
Seriously though we were all newbies once and we all make mistakes. A probationary period would put people off joining.

Yeah, I still remember my first few weeks here. It takes a while to get a feel for the ATS culture, and I'm still working on that.

My default style of learning is "the hard way", and while it's not the most painless method known to man, it does ensure a high rate of retention of the subject matter.

In the case of posting on ATS, I think most members learn the same way. I'm pretty sure every member can tell an amusingly embarrassing tale or three from their early days on ATS, and in many ways, it's something of a rite of passage (or being “jumped in” to a street gang).

I know some new members can be intimidated by the monstrous size of ATS (is there anything we won't talk about?) and the meritocratic ATS culture, but my advice is not to sweat it and dive on into the shark tank.

Just think of those acerbic replies you may get now and then as “love bites”.

It just takes some time for people to adjust.

An important first step is to learn about the "Search" feature.

The thing is, there are such a massive amount of topics covered here that there's no chance of finding everything you're looking for in the "recent" threads anymore. Something that you may still find current, say just 2 weeks old, could already be pushed 1,000 topics back!

Searching is really the only way to tell, well, unless you have lots of time anyways. But searching before posting is something that takes a little time to get used to. When most people start out here they've realized they suddenly found this whole new world and want to interact already. I certainly remember feeling that when I joined ATS.

At this point, we do the best we can for new members. There's an intro forum where they can say hello to everyone, and there they are greeted by more experienced members and staff who are always happy to help out with anything. If someone new starts a topic that's already being discussed, no big deal, one of us sends them a message with a link to the existing conversation, closes the new one, and politely explains why keeping the conversation in one place fosters better discussion.

We all began from scratch, so no one minds helping people ease their way in.

People are jumping down my throat, and I want to make myself clear: if the point of this site is to put our heads together and figure these things out, why must we start from the beginning everytime? Shouldn't we try to see how far the forum has gotten, and then add something useful?

Remember, one of the beautiful things about literacy is that you can read what other people have written before and start from where they finished.

Blaine, its not about the posts being 'up to my standards.' I've just registered myself, so what do I know? I thought these were your (plural, meaning ATS') standards.

Originally posted by Djarums
If someone new starts a topic that's already being discussed, no big deal, one of us sends them a message with a link to the existing conversation, closes the new one, and politely explains why keeping the conversation in one place fosters better discussion.

Well, okay, then.

Ear, Nose And Throat

Originally posted by HarlemHottie
People are jumping down my throat, and I want to make myself clear: if the point of this site is to put our heads together and figure these things out, why must we start from the beginning everytime? Shouldn't we try to see how far the forum has gotten, and then add something useful?

I hope you won't take friendly disagreement the wrong way. After all, some members clearly hold India Daily in high regard.

As for new members catching up on things, I think it's a noble concept, but to be blunt about it, there's just too much to catch up on.

Whatever the other reasons may be (cutting down on ads, mainly), most members register so they can post to ATS, and I for one want to do everything I can to encourage that.

This goes especially for new members who may not be “up on ATS culture”, because once we start expecting everyone to fall in line with whatever established beliefs we may have, we are well and truly screwed as a community.

That would turn ATS into just another dogma site where an insular clique of “insiders” dictates opinion and forces it on others.

The Paradox Of History

ATS gets accused of that plenty enough as it is. Just peruse the vast, extensive and sometimes dishearteningly repetitive history of the over four thousand threads dating back to 2002 in this very forum (BQ&B) for details.

Ironically enough, you'll find that the very topic of this thread has been discussed repeatedly in a variety of different ways over the years.

Does that mean you shouldn't have started this thread? Maybe. But I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt – as are the staff -- because maybe what was decided last time wasn't good enough, or maybe things have changed since then, or maybe members may simply want to revisit this topic anew for some reason.

Why not just leave the door open for that?

It may not be the most efficient way of doing things, but sometimes openness is more important than efficiency – especially on a website that, as a core principle, challenges secrecy.

It's actually a rather consistent policy, when you look at it from that perspective.

That's my opinion, yours may reasonably vary, it's okay when it does, and it's allllllllll good, baby.

Harlem, I'd like to respectfully reiterate the others' opinion against your idea of probation. We all need to start somewhere, and even if you have to wait X number of days to make your first thread, you still got to make your first thread sometime--might as well get the screw ups out of the way as soon as possible.

Duplicate posts are always kind of a touchy subject. A lot of people want to try and look at a topic differently without hijacking someone else's thread. As Majic pointed out, a lot of people don't think that a topic was covered properly. I personally have had lots of things that I've wanted to say or ask relevant to a particular topic (9/11, for example), but there's already a thread that's similar. Do I start a new one and pray it doesn't get trashed, or do I steal someone else's thread, or do I just hope someone else puts something up that is a bit closer of a match?

That and a lot of people just don't pay any attention to what's going on.

Originally posted by Majic
Ear, Nose And Throat

Originally posted by HarlemHottie
People are jumping down my throat, and I want to make myself clear: if the point of this site is to put our heads together and figure these things out, why must we start from the beginning everytime? Shouldn't we try to see how far the forum has gotten, and then add something useful?

I hope you won't take friendly disagreement the wrong way. After all, some members clearly hold India Daily in high regard.

Majic, you certainly have a way with words.

I have to agree with Harlem, but on the other side of the coin, with out new topics to talk about, what would keep this place going?

Every good topic started out as a silly topic in the beginning.

I think Harlemhottie has gotten an answer to her topic.
So, as there's lots of other areas to debate, I don't think we need to debate her idea anymore

Closed.