Anecdotes

This may be linked to the silly season currently bedeviling ATS . or just my deepening cynicism , but the latest rash of anecdotal “ encounters “ is chipping away at my sanity

Without casting any aspersions on the thread starter – this thread is a poster child for the type of thread I mean :

anecdotal story

The format is always the same :

“ I saw something strange….. but have no evidence beyond my own testimony … “

Unlike UFOs and cryptid sightings – which may have been seen by others from a different POV , or have left physical evidence , the anecdotes always happen when the witness is alone , and in a locale which would preclude other witnesses

The thread then spins off into baseless speculation , or worse poo flinging by skeptics

And after reading the opening article – I am often left thinking what was the point ?

I don’t wish to appear the advocate for censorship or attempting to discourage sharing of experiences – but to be blunt , on a discussion forum – the experience being related – has IMHO to have some verifiable underpinnings that can be researched – otherwise it is just an anecdote

To illustrate this , here is “my “ fictional experience :

“Hi , something weird happened to me the other day – I was just lounging around the house doing DIY when my cat started running round the house in random directions , just getting underfoot – the strange thing is he would not go in the front rooms at all – he always sits on the front window normally – but then the doorbell rang – and the cat ran out the back like he had a rocket up his ass .
When I answered the door there was a weird Goth chick standing there , just chewing gum – she stared at me for about 5 seconds , not saying anything – then just blurted out “ well can I come in then ? “ , when I said no way – she just vanished – one moment she was there the next , gone
Does anyone know who she was , any ideas ? “

I just made that up – it too 2 minutes , longer to type than figure out the script

It was fiction – but I am convinced that if I had posted it in a thread , I would have got reply after reply .

That is what irks me – it is impossible to differentiate truthful testimony from fantasy when reading a web forum – the posters are anonymous – and without external evidence , there is simply no way to tell

There ends my rant – I may need to get out more , but doesn’t every one ?

Mods, this might be better suited in the suggestion forum, but ... what about allowing members to rank these threads? ATS is already set up this way for news stories, and I seem to remember a search engine with a funny name organizing its results this way. Different members' votes could even carry different weights or whatever. Anything better than having to sift through all this formulaic, mindless drivel.

I'm with you 100 percent on this one, Ignorant Ape. I even read one ATS'er informing a newbie that we were all this mindless. Sheesh.

Over the past few years, I've noticed in discussions of IQ that the majority of ATS should be capable of more... any other ideas for how we could engage with that human potential? Admissions exams?

Excellent point. .

Sometimes clicking on a thread is a long trip for a short reward.

Although . . . some of these stories are/could be interesting if presented well.

I think as well we don't always need documentation to post or appreciate a story.

What would really help in this kind of situation woud be if the folks who run this board could set it up so holding the cursor over a title without clicking would give you the first few lines so you could catch the flavor and/or precisely what's in the post.

Several other boards I hang out on do that and it's a nice and muchly appreciated feature.