WE NEED YOUR INPUT

Greetings members of AboveTopSecret.com...

We have been discussing the issue with the "I am an alien/time traveler/government insider, etc..." threads that have been appearing more frequently as our traffic continues to increase.

It's obvious that ATS represents an easy way to get the attention of millions of people and there are those who would abuse that for whatever reason. Because of that abuse we are considering opening up a new forum possibly titled "I am an alien/tine traveler/government insider" and require those threads to be started therein.

The idea is that while there is certainly a chance that a genuine "insider" could desire to "come out" here on ATS, the reality is that 100% of them to date have been hoaxers seeking attention or "internet fame" or who knows what... While we want to stay true to our "you can post anything you believe is true within the bounds of the TAC we don't want to continue the distractions that these threads create in our existing forums.

When someone posts an "I am an alien/time traveler/insider thread" and they actually provide some substantiation for their claims we will move the thread to the appropriate conspiracy forum immediately, but until they offer us at least crumb of evidence it will remain in the new forum.

Here's where you come in:

What topics do you think we should add to this list?

What do you think the name of the new forum should be?

What level of "vetting" should we require for these to be moved to a conspiracy forum, while being respectful of the poster's privacy?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Springer...

I could imagine that this forum would be called Whistle blowers. That is a good idea.

I don't particularly like these kinds of threads myself but I can see the off chance that someone could maybe be legitimate. Someone may in fact post here for that purpose.

As far as what these people should be forced to prove? I don't know. How would one go and prove that they were in fact from the future or used to work for a government agency and had secret knowledge? Without of course exposing themselves?

The level of information that I guess would be required would be in the form of confirmation. If they can have someone else cooberating their story we might find it more legitimate. Sort of like an affidavit of cooberating witnesses.



[edit on 5/9/2008 by whatukno]

Names for new forum:

Inner I

Space Cadets

Travel the Friendly "I"'s

Undercover Brothers

Topics to include:

I am an alien
I am a time traveler
I am an ex Area 51 employee
I Came Here from the Planet (insert) to warn Humans.....
Ok Anybody who wants to know about (insert obscure galactic overlord here) ASK ME!

Ok obviously I dont want to have posters real information, but what proof would prove someone is from the future? Or an alien? So I am not going to offer vetting solutions, I dont have a clue on those!!

Great idea!
a few names maybe:
Inside information forum.
Insiders, prognosticators and tattletales.
Tattletale forum.

It could be confusing.

Forum Title:
The Grey Area

Works on many different levels.

And could cover many different topics.

Or the grey sphere etc etc.

Sounds like an idea...but isn't that what "skunkworks" is supposed to be for?

"whistleblower" when you absolutely, positively have to blab to everyone...

Thanks! This is something that will work for the forum and reduce the amount of time wasted on these recent flareups of preparation H type threads.
I really like the idea that you have not closed the door to the possibility of credible accounts being moved to the appropriate forums when proven more than a hoax.
There have been a couple I believed to have been genuine.

reply to post by seagull

---

Skunkworks is for far out theories and wild speculation, with relaxed rules of vetting. We never intended for it to become the "hoaxes on parade" or a "whistle blower" forum.

Springer...

I think that's a great idea. I fully support it. As for names, I'm mighty slow this morning without my usual coffee so I'm lacking in the imagination department. I'm also at a loss for what vetting you could do. I would like to say that I like the idea of naming it the Gray forum.

Tela

Just call it"OZ"

mikell

I thought we already had a forum for this called Collaborative Fiction.

Seriously, vetting is the tricky part. Any evidence they provide to substantiate their claim has to be accepted by consensus. More than one the the resident "experts" must put a "stamp of approval" on the topic in order for it to be moved to a legitimate forum.

I like the "Grey Area" suggestion above; except that it might be misconstrued as the "greys".

Also, how about adding the "I channeled an alien message" type people? Or heck, "I channeled the spirit of my dead dog" ... just lump all channeling in that group.

Anybody can get online and 'pretend' they channeled anything ... and it seems over half of the people here would believe anything ... anything whatsoever ... the further from reality, the better.

I asked a pathological liar the big why question. That person responded, "Fiction and fantasy are more INTERESTING than truth."

So, you might consider adding "channelers" to that list.

lol call it

" The Soap Box "

or

" alter entities "

as for the threads to be included, any thing or one claiming to be anything of interesting nature.....

I am a meat Popsicle, I am from the year 2020.

anyone who claims to be such needs to get on the soap box an start preachin.

I like "Whistle-Blowers", that works on every level for people claiming to be coming forward about stuff.

Regarding vetting, I wrote this thread called Debunking Secret Facility Fakers a while back that might be of some help for our bi-monthly "I'm from Area 51" employment claim.

As for aliens, it should be incredibly easy to vet them. You simply ask for their language. Every language has recognizable math patterns to it, and repetitions, and so forth. It's really easy to claim to be an alien, but it's an incredible undertaking to come up with an entirely new language, and then be able to read, write, and speak it fluently. If they can submit a podcast of them speaking it, all the better.

If someone is claiming to be a mythical creature, then their vetting would be nothing short of a video podcast proving it. I want to see them transforming into something, or flying, or casting a lightning bolt, or whatnot.

Likewise, I think cult leaders should be confined to the WB forum.

Now, what to do about Indigo Children? Do we have them go to the Whistle-Blower forum with the other "Special People", or do we make a separate "Teen Drama" forum?

This is a great Idea!

As for names, I like:

WhistleBlower :although the name doesn't seem broad enough to cover say "I am an alien"

Truths Protected Layers

Grey Matter

Pandora's Box

The Z Files

Grey's apothecary chest

The Phantom Zone

Springers believe it or not

Flavors of Grey

to name a few.

Oh, just in case we aren't married to "Whistle-Blower" yet, after reading the other suggestions I thought I'd throw one in.

The Pulpit

oh and a few I forgot to add

Occam's Razor

The Pendulum Pit

ATS Confessional Booth

[edit on 9-5-2008 by QBSneak000]

How about "Altered States" as a title?

As for vetting, it depends on the claim, doens't it? You're an alien? Provide DNA for comparison. Or laboratory results proving said claim. You're from the future? Make a prediction that can be easily verified.

How about naming the new forum "Pinch of Salt".

As in all stories contained within are to be taken with a pinch of salt.

I'm not fond of these sorts of threads myself, but clearly some others are.

Additionally I would suggest barring those threads from the Most Recently Active Disussion Threads page, so that members would not get annoyed by seeing them; yet if a genuine/ possible genuine whistle blower is found by flagging it will appear in the hot boxes on the front page.

Thanks for the chance to give you my input Springer

How about we call the new forum

Dreamland

Seroiusly, I'm pleased to see ATS taking steps to improve our wonderful site. Best part is getting the membership involved in the process



[edit on 9-5-2008 by elevatedone]