Who here believes a large amount of the news they read on this board?

I think there are three types of people that visit this site.

Type 1: These people believe everything on this site is either a hoax or utter non-sense spouted off by some paranoid freak. These people come to this board to get entertained.

Type 2: These people believe almost everything on this site is either a hoax or utter non-sense spouted off by some paranoid freak, but that occasionally a piece of true and valuable information winds up here that cannot be found in the mainstream media. To them, this board is a riverbed full of grime and muck, that has an occasional gold nugget in it.

Type 3: These people believe that a large amount of the information on this site is true and valuable. They believe the hoaxes and paranoid freak psychobable on this board is neglible or even non existent.

So which type are you?

I believe that a good chunk of activity is done maliciously and that hoaxers and frauds that pass themselves off as being truthful are abundant (and evil).

I believe that a lot of people have real accounts and encounters that are hard to rationalize so they come here to a forum of discussion where people are not as likely to push them away and may provide insight or accounts of similar activities. Some people just need to get it off their chest and tell somebody.

It is not easy to be alone and not believed by personal friends, especially in the realm of the unknown.

ATS is the best news outlet in the world if you have a brain and knowledge to decipher what is bogus and what is real.

Amongst those who have a sincere belief in the "unusual" theories they post here, how many of these theories have merit. The theories can lack merit because

1. The person that posts the theory does not have all the facts or has a limited understanding or perspective of the phenomenon they observed. For example, if I see a magic show and sit in the audience, I may believe the magician truly made his assistant disappear. If I view the show from the backstage, I may be able to see the assistant crawl through a trap door in the stage that the magician concealed from the audience.

2. The person that posts the theory may be a bit delusional, paranoid, or perceive the events they witness irrationally. There can be multiple explainations for the events we see in our daily lives. Some people will choose to believe the more sensational explaination. If a van is always parked outside your house, one explaination can be that the van belongs to one of your neighbors. Another explaination can be that the FBI is using the van to conduct survelance on you. Some people may choose to believe the more sensational explaination, while others may choose to believe the less sensational explaination. Sometimes one's thought process or logic is skewed when they believe the sensational explaination. Other times one can be in denial when they choose to believe the less sensational explaination.

I believe more I read here than I do on the Corporate US media (tv or radio or newspaper).

The sources at times may be less than credible, but the internet has a lot more truth than our news.

At least they show both sides of the story instead of force-feeding you one.

None of these options. I have just registered after lurking for a long time. The reason i have joined is because ATS is a quality site, a class above many CT sites.. the people who really cut the mustard are members here at ATS, the way things get scrutinised is admirable, even though it looks aggressive to some, it is a ruthless way of eliminating hoaxes and establishing truths.
I came here to Deny Ignorance, and to become part of the best conspiracy site on the Internet.

Originally posted by hotpinkurinalmint
Type 2: These people believe almost everything on this site is either a hoax or utter non-sense spouted off by some paranoid freak, but that occasionally a piece of true and valuable information winds up here that cannot be found in the mainstream media. To them, this board is a riverbed full of grime and muck, that has an occasional gold nugget in it.

Well, I certainly wouldn't call them freaks...."gullible" maybe, "attention hounds" occasionally, and "outright frauds" on an increasing basis, unfortunately.

For the record-
I believe. I've seen things I cannot rationally or logically explain. I believe that these things that cannot be rationally or logically explained are very very rare, but very very real.

I also believe that our governments don't necessarily work in our best interest, and tend to hide things that they don't want the general populace to know. I believe that governmental slight-of-hand and misdirection is often done to cover bureaucratic screw ups, and is not usually sinister. On rare occasions though, they are very sinister indeed.

That having been said, I am here to learn more about the real events, and I sincerely believe that "gullible", the "attention hounds", and the "outright frauds" do more damage to to the CT community than anyone else ever could. They muddy the water and make the rest of us look like whackos and nut cases. To speak plainly, I don't think that they "help bring the CT community to the main stream". I believe that they damage the community and I resent them, and I don't like them

So if you must categorize me, I suppose that I'm a Type 2.

I am 25% Type 1 - OK I admit this site entertains me and on more than one occasion I have caught myself laughing out loud at a poster's outlandish claims.

... and 75% Type 2 - I do believe there are some elements of truth scattered here and there. Most of what is here I feel is BS (IMHO), but I do believe a few items of truthfulness here which deserve an audience.

BTW I really enjoyed the recent GR thread. It was a highly entertaining read, although I don't condone hoaxes or deception. I just love fiction.

Realistically there is no way of weeding out all of the BS and Hoax material found here so I take ATS for what it is. A place where I can come, read, and make up my own mind.

[edit on 6/29/2007 by EvolutionEvil]

Originally posted by The Janitor
None of these options. I have just registered after lurking for a long time. The reason i have joined is because ATS is a quality site, a class above many CT sites.. the people who really cut the mustard are members here at ATS, the way things get scrutinised is admirable, even though it looks aggressive to some, it is a ruthless way of eliminating hoaxes and establishing truths.
I came here to Deny Ignorance, and to become part of the best conspiracy site on the Internet.

A fair summary of this fine Community, The Janitor. I'd just like to add that I think it remains a "cut above" due to the fact that we insist on civility and forum decorum, as opposed to the all-to-common Fowl Play you see elsewhere on Internet discussion boards.

As for who believes what, when, or for whatever reason ... that is a decision that I feel is best left to the individuals themselves. It is, afterall, their View of the world around them ... Views that are as diverse as the world populace itself.

.02

12m8keall2c, I gave you a little star thingy there. Unless I'm way off base, I detected a subtlety in that post that many would not. Especially if they don't know how to trace an IP

Reality,

You did a much better job than I could of defining my stance within the community. I have no ideas on your views of hot button issues but I totally agree with your view on this site in general.

A star for your post.

I am definitely a 1.

This site is waaaayyyy more entertaining than The Onion or the Weekly World News.