My Important Threads Are Ignored But Just Let Me Start Some Stupid Thread About Eating Dinosaurs...

and the darn things one of the hottest topics all day. I sell advertising for a living and sometimes you have to appeal to the lowest common denominator, but not on ATS! Does anyone else feel my pain?

[edit on 12-7-2008 by MsSmartypants]

Maybe other people don't think your threads are as important as you do? You can't expect everyone to find the same things intriguing that you do, and besides, dinosaurs are awesome.

reply to post by rexpop


yes dinosaurs are. but sometimes its how the topic is presented that determines whether it catches anyones eye or not. Not always the content. Its a matter of having a good opening line.

Originally posted by MsSmartypants
reply to post by rexpop

 

yes dinosaurs are. but sometimes its how the topic is presented that determines whether it catches anyones eye or not. Not always the content. Its a matter of having a good opening line.

Which begs the question, and I mean no offense, Why do some of your other, more important threads not contain a "good opening line"?

I'm just saying...and I groaned audibly when I saw the title of the dino thread...I read a few of the posts to see how serious it was and I think I may have been physically pained...

reply to post by MsSmartypants


Yeah, that's a criticism I can accept - even I do it sometimes, if I'm only on ATS for a couple of minutes or something, I'll just scan for whatever thread has the most interesting or weirdest title, and then find the thread itself is just junk, probably missing loads of really interesting discussions that are titled something less noticeable.

But I think some people on here will eventually read even the "boring" threads when they have the time and inclination, and one would hope find a thread that really has a lot of cool ideas to discuss, despite it's more prosaic title. And those are the people you know are actually interested in what your thread's about and discussing (not necessarily agreeing with) your ideas.

I understand your point.

It's a matter of the all important thread title. Which thread do you suppose is gonna get the most attention here?

Report: Iran developing weapons of mass destruction.
or
Remote Viewers see Giant Iranian Radiation/Gene splicing Terrrorist Spider Project

Guess which thread occupied the the front page for several days? I suppose it's just the nature of the beast.

I just posted a Breaking News thread recently titled:
Burning Tires for Power: Green Energy or Health Hazard? about plans for a plant in PA which would burn 900 tons of tires a day to produce energy. Nobody seems to care....

I should have named the thread:
TIME TRAVELER from the FUTURE returns to warn of PA tire burning plant. Heh, betcha THAT would garner some attention. Oh well, that's the internet for you...

Edit: Fix Link


[edit on 12-7-2008 by SystemiK]

I have a tendancy to post in the areas about paranormal stuff or things like that. I read the important threads but I don't feel qualified enough to post on them. That and I have a tendancy to wander off topic sometimes. This site is a way for me to know more about what is going on in the world though, wheather it be the breaking news, or eating dinos.

Also I would have read that thread on the burning tires but I haven't seen it yet.(I've been camped out in the bedroom watching movies due to a nasty inner ear infection and it hurts whenever I move around a lot.)

reply to post by SystemiK

Oh that was good! You really made me laugh. You see my point exactly. I just started a new thread over in Aliens and UFOs.

Regardless of the topic, if you want your thread to be read, always start with "Albino Transsexual reveals...."


In no way do I mean this to be disparaging to Albino Transsexuals.



[edit on 12-7-2008 by whaaa]

reply to post by MemoryShock

I've asked myself that same question. You live and learn I suppose. The three rules of thread topics are...Sensationalize, Sensationalize, Sensationalize!

I agree somewhat with your statements. I also notice that what I call "Seinfeld threads" (because they are about nothing, nothing at all) garner much attention here on ATS.

For example:

"I have found a crashed UFO and I will post pics later..."

reply to post by TheComte


Oh I know and there seems to be a rash of these 'copy cat threads' lately. Is it a matter of 'oneupmanship'?

reply to post by SystemiK

I was just looking over the titles of some of your previous topics. they sounded really interesting and the opening lines were real attention getters and clever. I don't understand why you received such a poor response. Maybe you should put them in a different catagory next time.

Oh, and 'more cowbell' is funny in our home too.

[edit on 12-7-2008 by MsSmartypants]

Dude, I think you were combining threads!

It was about aliens eating humans. My post about humans tasting like chicken was removed by the mods. Not serious enough or something.

And the other was "Did dinosaurs exist". My reponse that the OP should use "The Flintstones" as a viable source of proof of the existance of dinosaurs was allowed.

Now, I'd be all over that thread about Albino Transsexuals......

reply to post by MsSmartypants

sometimes you have to appeal to the lowest common denominator

I hate titles that are misspelled or have bad grammar.
It makes me think they may not have anything intelligent to say.
So, even if the topic might be interesting, I usually avoid it, unless I get really bored.

Shoot, my bad. There IS a thread about humans chowing down on dinosaurs!!

Sorry!!

reply to post by jerico65


talking about eating humans... I had an elementary school teacher who told us that according to cannibals the best part of the human is the meaty part of the palm thats attached to your thumb. Yeah, that little fleshy muscle coming off your thumb, there.

Originally posted by jmdewey60
I hate titles that are misspelled or have bad grammar.
It makes me think they may not have anything intelligent to say.
So, even if the topic might be interesting, I usually avoid it, unless I get really bored.

That's my pet peeve. I wonder how many people know that good spelling and grammar make you look a little more intelligent than some strange run on sentence?

I also have made the mistake of thinking my threads were thought-provoking. My threads don't go far.

But guess what? My most popular thread of all time was about a guy who had sex with a picnic table... sigh... it got deleted.

IT EVEN MADE THE FRONT PAGE!

Here's a couple good strategies for creating some popular threads on ATS.

1. Offend someone. Call out a religion, race, policy, etc. If you really dig the hooks in, you'll get responses for weeks! Even if people are responding simply to make you look like a moron, its still a response!

2. Make something up. Its easy enough to BS people. We see it here daily, and the best tall tales last for months!

3. TYpe lik tTHIS and PertNd you!re a SPEACE alien Or you arE "in tha kno" about Sumthin BIG! LOLOLOLOL!!!!

4. Take a large amount of hallucinagenics. This refers to #2, but at least then, you'll be able to believe yourself.

5. Go in your yard at night and record your dog running around with a flashlight duct-taped to its back. Make humming sounds or just make a high-pitched "peeeooooo peeoooooo." Post on youtube, job done.

6. One-up that, become a CGI artist and... nuff said.

7. Find an article or speculate about something with some REAL CONTENT! Oh wait, that never works.


There are such good reads on this site with so few responses, so that's kind of sad. But then you are making the mistake of assuming that ATS'ers aren't like the general population as a whole....

Edible dinosaurs is an important topic..
Do they taste of lizard or more chickeny..

Maybe the first chicken didn't even taste of chicken actually.
Man it's gonna keep me awake thinking about it now.