My problem with the ATS Forums

I will start off by saying that several posters in the past made me quit coming to this board several months ago due to the following reasons. I came back hoping that the problem might have been fixed, but alas, it has only gotten worse.

I have ran across too many people on this site that just go out looking for fights. They post "fighting words" in threads, take suggestions as personal attacks and claim other posters started it, and deliberately post blatently off topic remarks to make the threads no longer about their original topics.

The other problem I have with this board is the way newer members are treated. If a member has less than 10000 points they are automatically looked at as if they have nothing to contribute and are idiots by many of the more "experienced", though obviously less mature, members of this forum.

For those I am talking about above:
If your goal on this board is to keep it to the elite that have been on here for years and have tens of thousands of points, you (and your group) are doing a great job of it. But maybe you should get the moderators to ban everyone with less than 10000 points and lock the boards so no one else can join. I know I won't be telling anyone to join until things get fixed, and may even take another leave of absence myself.

Just my $0.02

This is not the case for myself (though I am STILL waiting for points for my seti wu's).

As for the rest of your concerns, ignore them or call them out and settle it by talking to them.

People have strong opinions but I really don't think anyone takes point totals into consideration when determining what posts are reasonable, logical or worth reading.

I hope you continue to enjoy this site and it's membership...just have fun and make your opinion known.

Blessings to you......

SB -

I have a hard time myself reading some of the threads without cringing, but the Three Amigos do give us some ways of dealing with the issue.

If there is vulgarity or just out-and-out fighting going on, you can use the SUGGESTION button to report it so that a MOD can go look and close the thread if needed or warn the offending member. I think it was SO that said he was gonna be in the forums more and he was changing the ATS policy for a bit where a person doesn't get two warnings, they get one and then they are banned.

If it is just one person slinging mud over and over, you can use the IGNORE function that is found at the bottom of the person's avatar. Click on it and you won't see any of the person's posts anymore.

Hang in there, take the parts of ATS that appeal to you and use them and keep posting.

JDub

I would hardly call anyone with 10,000 points "experienced" or "elite".

There's members around here with over a 100k that walk around with a drool cup.

Post good quality stuff and you'll get noticed.........or just be handsome with a tight butt like me.

Peace

The funny part is that the points are basically useless, they let you dress up your profile and buy access to RATS, but other than that they are worth precisely nothing. And as for credibility thats just the name of the game, those new to the block have to prove themselves, just like anywhere else on the internet or even in *gasp* the real world.

People here are going to start crap, thats what a good portion of the site likes to do because its stimulating rather than just everyone agreeing on the topic. If you can't stand someone because of their posting style or content then just poke that little red ignore button and you dont have to see any of their posts ever again, but this unfortunately can disrupt the flow of a conversation if said person is a frequent poster.

When I joined ATS a little over a year ago I was treated with respect and kindness from both the ATS staff and “senior” members. I was really impressed with the treatment of new people. You seldom see words used like Newb or Nebwie.
Now that I’m a moderator I see the same kindness and respect on a daily basis. As a Mod I can see the “complaints” forum and I have not seen one complaint on how an individual is treated based on their points or register date.

In the end it is up to the individual.
See a need, fill a need.
If you think that new members are treated poorly why not spend some time on the introductions forum or the freshman’s forum?
There are some really outstanding members that already do this and they really make this forum a place that welcomes new people.



When the ATS T&C is broken the Mods are there to take action. If you see something that needs attention please use the suggestion box at the top left of the screen. This will help us make ATS a better place. With the size of this forum it is impossible for us to see everything no matter how hard we try.

This is the internet and “text” is not a good form of communication. We loose facial expressions and body language and sometimes people can take things the wrong way. Also many people on the net us it to say things they never would in real life. Some people are just plain jerks.

When a thread goes off topic, again the mods will step in. I’ve closed two threads already because some members ignored warnings to stay on topic. Again if you see something that needs attention feel free to use that suggestion box.

Points?! We don't need no stinking points!

I have no idea where mine keep going. I refuse to run around here tagging old threads just to stay above 0. Am I getting docked for having an unpopular opinion? Did I cuss? When do I get off punishment? I wanna go outside and play.

K, just spent like 15 minutes tagging...let see how long they last.

And to sidetrack...My problems with ATS forums: Stupid people. Followed closely by people with no sense of humor...and fat girls.

One thing that I have noticed is that there are too many people out there with thin skin. This is true for both ATS and the world in general. People can't or don't want to tell the difference between criticism and a personal attack. Too many people think that if you don't agree with their views that you are attacking them personally. Yes there are some who make wise acre comments, but you get to know who they are and can generally ignore them and the mods are pretty good at not letting it get out of hand. The world that we live in can be a cruel place, deal with it, get past it. If you are truely offended by something here and the powers that be don't resolve it to your satisfaction, there is no one pointing a gun to your head forcing you to log on to ATS. If enough people feel the same then odds are that something will be done, if not, well by not logging in you won't have to be bothered by it any more.

I'm suprised anyone would give 'several posters' the power to make them quit coming here. I'm just flabberghasted whenever I hear something like that. How can you let several people that you don't even know dictate what you do?



And people don't do that on other forums? The answer is yes, they do. I've seen it all over. And that's one problem you have to deal with when letting people express opinions of all kinds. If you want to censor opinions, then yeah, you can ban people who have strong opinions or use "fighting words", but as far as I've seen, ATS tries their hardest to allow all opinions, and when that happens, ya gotta take the bitter with the sweet.

In any group of people, there are going to be jerks. Your experience depends on how you respond to them. If you respond by leaving, you've just handed them the power.

What would you like to see happen about this? Do you think ATS should ban posters for expressing themselves? I just skip over the "fighting words" and get to the quality stuff. It's a choice each of us makes.



Again, you show me a board where that doesn't happen and I'll show you a very one-sided board full of whiners and 'protected' discussion. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just not what ATS is about.

The challenge here is to DENY IGNORANCE. Remember that? The challenge is to move through the BS and get to the good stuff. The more energy and attention you give to the fighters, the more reason they have to stay around. After all, if they weren't getting a reaction, they'd leave.



I really have something to say about this. I was a new member once and yeah, my opinions didn't get many responses, but I was NEVER called an idiot and I was NEVER told I had nothing to contribute. I knew I had to EARN the respect of these people. And I stuck with it. And I made noise. And I did my research and made really good, thought-provoking posts and I worked hard to contribute meaningful, interesting content to this board. I followed the T&C to the letter and I ignored the low-level fighting crap and didn't react to the fighters.

Before long, I was a valued, respected member. And I've seen plenty of other people do exactly the same thing.

Secondly, 70% of the people on this board are really cool. They welcome new members and help out when they can. In the BQ&B and Introduction and Freshmen Fora, there's all kinds of activity with members and moderators welcoming new members and pointing them in the right direction.

Maybe 10% of people have an 'attitude' about new members having nothing to contribute and thinking they're idiots. But they do not represent the board as a whole. Unless of course you give them the permission to do that.



This 'group' of maybe 10%... It sounds to me like you're letting them dictate your experience of the board.



I can't say I'm really upset by this threat. If this thread is what you consider to be adding value to the board, then I can't say I'll be sorry if you take that leave.

However, if you want to change your mind and become a valued member at ATS, it's ALL within your control. It's all up to you. You have the power to ignore these people who think they're 'the elite'. You have the power to ignore the "fighters". You have the power to help new people. You have the power to be a contributing, valuable member of this board. It's really your choice. And the more you give your power to other people, the more they'll take.

I hope to see you around.

I've seen members get very abusive towards each other in a few threads, but everytime I've used the Complaint/Suggestion button the mods have responded swiftly to correct the problem. On occasion I've sent a u2u to a mod directly if the problem warrented it, and have always had a reply and a thank-you for pointing out the problem.

Everyone on the web has access to the ATS boards if they open an acct. and this brings a lot of diversity to our community. I think that diversity makes us a more vibrant and interesting group of people.

And the points mean nothing, I know I've never passed judgment on another member based on the number of points they have, or how long they have been a member. I read their thoughts and form my opinion of them based on their words.

And I thought my previous post might be a little strong. Well said Benevolent Heretic. The ultimate power is in your hands, it's called the mouse buttons and keyboard. What really cracks me up is that I know the real names of only 2 other ATS members, everybody else I know as a screen name. Kind of makes me want to open a second account and flame my other self



I know there is probably something in the TOS against it.

...And dont go getting any ideas.... but i find everyone here to be very nice to me, weather they agree or not.
Some of my best friends dont agree with me at all.
I am sure the mods will jump in and save the victims. And they do. They do an awesome job here.

I am sorry you've had a hard time.

Points mean nothing. When the points system was getting revamped (into it's current system of three types of points), FredT cashed in a half-a-million points for the plan, just like that. Myself, it stays around 10k just because my average is x number of posts per week and I spend most of my points on images.

The thing I look at is a person's applause bar because it indicates how long a person has been contributing good quality posts to the forum. Applause is also given to newer members to encourage them from what I can tell. I see newer users' applause bars grow fairly quick I notice this and appreciate it when mods are active in applauding the newer folks because it makes them know somebody is listening.

Sort of reminds me of junior high school.





Hall Monitor Edit: Please Don't Quote Entire Posts

[edit on 4/14/2006 by Majic]

SwitchbladeNGC,

Well, I'm glad you came back and decided to clear the air.
Some members here are nicer than others, I guess it's just the way some people are
However, if the above methods to improve your ATS experience don't work, if some dolt is just waaaaay out of line, u2u a mod you know, use the Suggestion button and let us know what's going on, be sure to provide a link.
Bad behavior is not denying ignorance.

SwitchbladeNGC, dude, don't let others dictate your stay here on ATS.

There's a few recent threads that outline the new 'no fighting' and 'no name calling' polices.....the staff is cracking down on trash like that.

About the points....who needs points? Points mean nothing....just get enough to pimp out your avatar, that's all you need.

Sporty

Switchblade, I just want to comment on one of the issues you have with the forums. As for the points issue I believe you to be wrong, Ive been around here for awhile and I really dont see it like that, even though Ive made posts and got no replies. I've found that if you put together a well thought out post with logic and intelligence, you will usually end up with a reply, regardless of how many points you have. And I know the other end too,of posting and you dont get any replies, which can be frustrating, maybe there is no merit to the post or just no interest at that moment. But I guess it can be hard for newcomers, but if you look in the Introduction forum, I see plenty of well mening members always there to offer help and assistance to whoever asks, so anyway stick around a bit longer Switchblade, lend a hand when someone might ask for it.

Dont let the few who may be as you say, allow you to draw judgement on all of us here at ATS, there are a lot of great people here among us.

[edit on 13-4-2006 by tracer]

ive only been here a short while myself and have found most of the longer members extremely helpful. it did take a while for me to get the hang of the place but im glad i did. sure there are some both longer serving members and newer ones who push all the wrong buttons, but no more than in the real world as somebody else mentioned in an earlier post. i havent used my ignore button yet and would prefer not to, never know what you might miss out on!

as for the points i see it as just reward for providing threads with intelligent discussion. ive started threads that have received bugger all posts and others that i was reasonably happy with, its all a learning curve.

hope you hang around to chew the fat, i promise i'll be nice. (one thing i havent sussed out yet is how to get those smiley dudes in my reply's).

cheers
M4S