Confused about the purpose of ATS

It's the hoaxers and such that have made the media and even society at large scared of accepting new ideas and believing things that can't easily be proven. I think the OP was simply stating that it would be shame of ATS became (or has become) as jaded as the rest of the world in such matters.

While I certainly think hoaxers are despicable, I am also frustrated when I see something like "OK, can you offer us any proof?". Sure, its nice to have something to back up the person's claims, but that isn't always possible. Unfortunately, giving people the benefit of the doubt can obviously make you more vulnerable to hoaxes and scams.

That said though, if ATS wants to encourage more people to come forward with news and information that may not be popular or easily believable, an attitude of innocent until proven guilty may be more fruitful for the community at large.

reply to post by gammahelixx

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Ronald Regan said it best, when he was negotiating arms treaties with the former Soviet Union:
"Trust, but Verify".

reply to post by cbass

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People these days need to lighten up.......alot.
you all need to think about this deeply for a second, Carl Sagan said something about "proof" and the "impossible" once......a couple hundred years ago, we would be criticized for saying the earth was round.....and before that we would be criticized for saying that the earth rotates the sun....and now....for saying that "traveling faster than the speed of light is impossible".....but we dont KNOW that.....we dont KNOW anything untill we go out there and SEE!!!!

so speculate and imagine.......without great sci-fi wirghters...there probobly wouldent be the technolagy that we have today.....

reply to post by cbass

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Those people, who don't believe in aliens from other planets are ignorant. They have no respect for people, who tell them the truth about aliens, unlike the scholars & open-minded students, who have helped online-community by sharing the truth about their experiences or testimonies about aliens.

No one should blame this online-community for bringing those ignoramuses to those forum-threads, which had written-discussions about about true encounters with aliens or any alien-related news.

reply to post by mcmartinson

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WELL PUT!

I find that ATS gives me a place to come to for things I believe in such as UFO's, mythical creatures and paranormal activies. Its a place we can all come together and learn off of each other no matter if its another UFO filmed or another conspiracy arising. Also, people come HERE so they dont get made fun of as a lot of people dont believe. Its a place for the any believer out there.

Well, you gotta do what you gotta do. If you absolutely feel you have to convey the message, then I guess that's what you need to do.

If you have no proof at all, then you admit it right up front. Nothing wrong with that. You present your story, along with your interpretation of it. Fair enough.

But you should expect people to be critical and skeptical, and point out places where your logic might be faulty. Otherwise, expect to be ignored or joked about.

You've done what you can to convey the message. You realistically can't expect people to just believe you with no proof (although a few folks will). And as long as you're honest about it, admit the weaknesses of your story, and don't get your feelings hurt by honest criticism, then that's about the best you can do.