Denying Ignorance, page 1
Pages:
ATS Members have flagged this thread 5 times
Topic started on 21-7-2008 @ 11:26 AM by Heike
The first thing that some of you will do when this post loads is check my registration date. Yep, I'm new to ATS. However, I've been "around" since I was running the BBS for my local Commodore 64 users group, so this ain't my first rodeo (or forum).

A few days ago I started a thread about my own UFO encounter. It happened a long time ago, when I was a child in fact, but it's quite real and a bit unusual so I thought it might be worth posting. My thread received not one single reply. I was discouraged, a little hurt, and disappointed. Were I not a mature adult - and quite determined to make a place for myself here at ATS (hey you, move over a little and let me in!) - I would very likely have just given up on ATS and gone somewhere else. And THAT, folks, is EXACTLY how we need to deal with these Trolls and the garbage they are cluttering up the forums with.

In the few days I've been here, I've seen quite a few inane and pointless threads. I've also seen a few threads complaining about the inane and pointless threads. I've also seen some quite funny satire, some witty sarcasm, some thinly veiled insults, and some disgust and annoyance expressed in writing. Yes, you're having a bit of fun. Yes, you're showing all of ATS that you're too smart to be fooled by this clown. Yes, you're venting your feelings and giving your opinion. Yes, you're 'racking up' the points. Yes, you're feeding the Troll.

You see, Trolls are like fairies in at least one respect. They thrive on people believing in them, paying attention to them, and thinking about them. When they are ignored and people pretend they don't exist, they tend to fade away rather quickly.

So, here's my proposal. All of you (dare I say all of us?) who want to spend more of your ATS time being intellectually or emotionally stimulated and challenged and informed about serious topics and less time wading through BS, don't feed the trolls! When you see a thread that is inane, ridiculous, and a waste of your time, just hit your back button or close the tab and move along. There's really nothing to see here, anyway.

If enough people will get behind this effort and stop rewarding the trolls with replies, they WILL go away. Just yesterday I was reading a thread here that mentioned negative attention being better than no attention at all. That's quite right, in my opinion. The worst thing you can do to someone who's a bored kid looking for cheap thrills, someone with no life looking for attention, or someone who just wants to poke their figurative stick into the freakazoid CT cage to see how they react is not give them any attention at all. Even a negative reply gives them a foot in the proverbial door and way to start a discussion (argument?).

The ATS motto is "Deny Ignorance," right? Well, in my opinion these Trolls are IGNORANT and we should DENY them what they want!

And yes, before someone points it out, I too am guilty. I just fed a Troll not long ago and didn't think better of it until after I'd hit the post button. But I'll do my best not to do it again, and I hope you will, too.


reply posted on 21-7-2008 @ 11:57 AM by Ian McLean
reply to post by Heike


Thanks. I've noticed that many very awesome threads get few or no replies. IMO, this shouldn't be discouraging to the OP! Sometimes there just isn't much for readers to add to a topic, and of course sometimes things fall between the cracks.

Here's something I've done, when considering some of my own less 'successful' threads -- instead of looking at number of replies, look at the number of views. Then, imagine even half that number of people, standing in an auditorium, choosing to hear what you have to say, without a single one criticizing you. Not disappointing at all, when you think about it that way.

Pages:     ^^TOP^^