Thread flaging as a survival tool

Ive noticed a serious lack of thread flagging on the survival boards. Why is that important you may ask?

It's important because even the experts among us don't know every thing. The more people we bring into the ATS survival community the more knowledge there will be. The more knowledge the better the chance of survival. flagging of Threads gets them noticed and in a sight the size of ATS getting noticed is Important. So flag already your survival may very well depend on it.

Good point. There really doesn't seem to be too many people even visiting the survival forum.Sad really.It is one of the main reasons I joined ATS.Although my survival knowledge is limited I hoped to learn everything I needed to know.I suppose people don't feel it is important unless it's down to the crunch and they feel they might need some info.Might be too late then. I say to everyone-READ ALL YOU CAN and get prepared NOW.If you wait for something to happen it's too late! BTW AngryAmerican"Flagged".

i like the survival forum but seems pretty slow.

Originally posted by AccessDenied
Good point. There really doesn't seem to be too many people even visiting the survival forum.Sad really.It is one of the main reasons I joined ATS.Although my survival knowledge is limited I hoped to learn everything I needed to know.

If there is stuff you don't know yet don't be afraid to ask. With the collective knowledge of ATS survival forums it is better then any library, and less work. In a library and even google you have thousands of books and sites to look through. At ATS all ya gotta do is ask one question and the answers come to you.

I suppose people don't feel it is important unless it's down to the crunch and they feel they might need some info.Might be too late then. I say to everyone-READ ALL YOU CAN and get prepared NOW.If you wait for something to happen it's too late! BTW AngryAmerican"Flagged".

I couldn't agree more. Survivalist in the wild are very dangerous determined people. Survivalist on the net are very nice encouraging people. Why anybody would choose not to be prepared given a survival tool like ATS is beyond me?

SO lets start flagging those important threads. Our survival may depend on it. One more thing don't forget to use the Star thingy. Its important because people who feel like they are making a difference will continue to make a difference. rating a persons contribution shows your making a difference.

[edit on 10-6-2007 by angryamerican]

A single piece of information picked up here might mean the difference between living and dying in the event of something bad happening.

And the info might be useful in a situation other than the "End Of The World" idea. There are many bad situations that people find themselves in where knowledge about how to make shelters, or find water, or set a broken bone, would be very helpful.

Not too long ago there was a person in a car that wrecked, and they were not found for something like a week or more. Airplanes crash where surviving a week or so is needed before help can come. Losing power in a boat and being adrift for days happens regularly.

I would think that this sight would be extremely popular. And extremely useful.

Originally posted by NGC2736
A single piece of information picked up here might mean the difference between living and dying in the event of something bad happening.

Yep thats my thought process anyway.

And the info might be useful in a situation other than the "End Of The World" idea. There are many bad situations that people find themselves in where knowledge about how to make shelters, or find water, or set a broken bone, would be very helpful.

Personally The end of the world scenarios are not for me. Its the Tornadoes and earth quakes and hurricanes that are on my priority list because those happen on a regular basis.

I would think that this sight would be extremely popular. And extremely useful.

Its our job to make it so. Thats why I started this thread. if we can get us as a community to start flagging and rating the important threads They will come.

Angry, I think that one reason many people avoid this forum is fear. They don't want to think about needing these ideas. It is not a "feel good" topic.

Also, there's not a lot to rant about over here, and there are a lot of folks who come to ATS just to blow off steam.

Just my thoughts.

I will add in the topics department. As soon as I learn how to post some drawings and photos, I intend to start a thread on home preparedness using what could be termed an Amish style approach, meaning the 1001 things you can do to get the job done without using electricity. I want to use the real nuts and bolts approach. Sort of a 'How To' thread.

Maybe soon.

[edit on 10-6-2007 by NGC2736]

NGC2736- that is a great idea you have there.I too have been thinking lately about the Amish way of doing things(there is a community near where I live and I see members sometimes when out and about).I think you are also right in that people don't want to think about emergency preparedness unless they live where there are frequent hurricanes or tornadoes.Even a blackout for a few days where your frozen food goes bad and you can't cook or go to the store can be an eye opener.Funny how people will buy life insurance, and plan for retirement but not for an emergency.I don't care who you are or where you live, you should be prepared for a real emergency as best as you can.Let your friends and neighbours laugh at you.Just make sure you plan for stragglers knocking on your door.It's true there isn't much to rant about in the survival forum except maybe the lack of enthusiasm shown.(not by the usual contributors).

NGC2736 I think that will be very helpful. if there is anything I can do to help let me know. the rest of your post is right on to, in my opinion. There isnt much you can do to make the topic of people dying and dead sexy.

Kinda funny how me being a arse brought you here isn't it? Ime not happy about my behavior twords you in the past but ime very happy it brought you into our survival community.

AccessDenied, thanks for the kind words. I try to do what I can to be a productive member here.

Angry, I don't believe in holding on to the past, bud. You're a good person, and that's what counts with me.

As soon as I get better at this computer thing, I'll start that thread. I'm hoping it will be an ongoing thing that will not only draw people to this area of ATS, but really help them.

I may need help with this and will keep the offers in mind. And friends to give me advice is always a good thing.

The use of 'what if' scenarios make for good lateral-thinking excercises. I've already started a thread dedicated to salvaged materials/lo-tech inventions and alternative material uses, such as CD-ROMs for example (more ideas and SketchUp drawings to be added in the next couple of weeks)

I've also started rendering up some basic 3D 'virtual urban environment' scenarios with the idea in mind that it would enable others to walk-through and get a feel for an environment and add annotations and suggestions, such as how you could turn a town terraced-house row into a defensible fortified community, or arrange lookouts or communications

Citizen Smith, great! there is no such thing as too much thinking. It's too little thinking about "what if" that can come back to haunt you.

I look forward to new ideas.

Originally posted by angryamerican

Originally posted by NGC2736
A single piece of information picked up here might mean the difference between living and dying in the event of something bad happening.

Yep thats my thought process anyway.

And the info might be useful in a situation other than the "End Of The World" idea. There are many bad situations that people find themselves in where knowledge about how to make shelters, or find water, or set a broken bone, would be very helpful.

Personally The end of the world scenarios are not for me. Its the Tornadoes and earth quakes and hurricanes that are on my priority list because those happen on a regular basis.

I would think that this sight would be extremely popular. And extremely useful.

Its our job to make it so. Thats why I started this thread. if we can get us as a community to start flagging and rating the important threads They will come.

I agree with you that emergency preparedness will most likely be implemented for something along the lines of a hurricane or tornado. However my plan has always been to plan for a worst case scenario and hope it never actually is needed.
With this in mind I think that you need to keep in mind that you will probably be one the few families in your area prepared for the worst. I think this makes security and your ability to protect you and yours from panicked , desperate others who didn't have your foresight. Security has to be a major component of any disaster plan.

duster

[edit on 10-6-2007 by duster]

duster, if you look around in the survival forum, you'll find threads touching on this issue. You are very right in mentioning this, as it is part of being prepared.

Looting takes place right after almost any natural disaster, and if the event were to be of such scope that local police could not cope, it is very likely that a person would need to be ready to defend home/family.

Good post.

I have just started using the flag system because I wasn't quite sure how it worked, but more importantly I wanted to flag threads I am posting in and want to keep up with.

Is the flag system an appropriate way?? so that I won't have to look for the topics I am interested in? because this is a HUGE board with lots of active participants , hundreds of threads, it would be hard for me to read everything here becaue I don't have the time.

You would have to spend 24/7 on this board to know everything that is going on here.

Originally posted by Jillian_Bacardi
Is the flag system an appropriate way?? so that I won't have to look for the topics I am interested in? because this is a HUGE board with lots of active participants , hundreds of threads, it would be hard for me to read everything here becaue I don't have the time.

You would have to spend 24/7 on this board to know everything that is going on here.

Yes I believe the flag system is an appropriate system to bring attention. Accentually if you get enough flags the post end up getting prominently displayed to bring yet more attention to it. In the survival forums the more the threads are read the more people will start thinking and most importantly sharing what they already know.

I also feel the star system is a good idea to. It shows an appreciation for what a person is sharing. If A person can see we appreciat what they are doing they will do it more.

These two systems like any and all other systems only work if they are worked. Sure they can be abused but the same can be said about any tool.

I gotta admit (you guys are gonna hate lil' ol' me for it but...) I just came back after some time and never noticed the survival board in the last few weeks I've been on (and addicted again. But this is probably going to be my favorite board now.

I've been flagging once and a while when there is a really good survival threa that I feel is important. I agree that the survival forum is pretty slow, it goes days without a new post sometimes.

While it is true that this forum does not produce the quantity of threads that others do, it also does not produce the amount of 'junk' threads and posts that other areas do.

To me that is a worthwhile trade off. Quality over quantity any day.

And, as more people become aware of this forum, and it's relevance, the number of threads will increase.

Yep its true the Survival forums can be a little slow. However dont think of that as a bad thing. It's members are just taking the time to make sure Our information is correct and causes no harm.

That is the most important thing cause no harm. If we give out the wrong piece of information it could end somebody's life instead of saving it. That is a huge responsibility. We don't get a second chance to save a life.

Sexy subject matter or not we are teachers as well as students. Like all teachers its a heavy burden. Sometimes our students dont want to listen. Thats ok we need to try and teach any way.

Without flagging nobody will see the information. For the members who are just here for yourself and don't want to share. Think of it this way. if you don't flag nobody sees it. if nobody sees it nobody can add to it or correct it. the left out piece of information may be the difference between living and living well.

Its also important to flag threads that you yourself may not think are important to you personally. they are important to somebody. it can and does bring in new members who may pass on information that may help you. So you see thread flagging isn't about popularity its about saving lives, espically yours.

For all you ATS addicts like me out there, think of it this way. If a majority doesn't make it threw the Sit X nobody will be able to keep the web going. no web No ATS. What kind of a world would it be without ATS