Originally posted by TheNetherlands
Guys, blackout? i know i havent been online for a couple of days but am i missing something here? what blackout?

Not yet - ATS had some down time and there was some odd weather with nights lighting up and days darkening - so it prompted the discussion of Life Without ATS Mawahahaha... and how we could all still give each other heads up and keep this unique community alive.

If you don't have time to read the whole thread, bottom of P. 6 has a synopsis of list of ideas of how to distinguish ATSers amongst the masses. And some more good ideas since then as well.

creepy, a secret society within ATS.

Originally posted by UFOfinder51
creepy, a secret society within ATS.

no not creepy - friendly. We've discussed the "secret" vs. "non-secret" issue and some are comfortable just announcing that they're ATSers and others are more comfortable with a level of anonymity (like the avatars provide).

But creepy is preferably not the ultimate goal

i think that when something like this happens, we should use a signal to mock the new world order, like if they make a signal,

or even something like jay-z's "diamond cutter" sign:



we could do liiiike, something similar, only like, when doing it, use your middle finger to cross through the middle of the triangle, so it looks kinda like an "A".

it's a little ingenious in my opinion but then again i am a genious.


lololol.

peace, bros

I dunno if I'm misreading things, but are some of you actually considering asking strangers if they're on ATS? I dunno how many members ATS has, but say there's 1000 in the USA. With a population of around 300 million you have basically 299,999 people out of every 300k who will look at you funny. Am I missing something or getting my figures wrong? In most other countries the figures will be worse. I'm looking at 1 in a few million in South Africa who might be ATS users.

Maybe it has already been said, and if it has then I second it. I am thinking of the movie Shawn of the Dead. We need to meet in a bar. The best one you can find. I have it on good authority, you can indeed live by beer alone. (Sophomore year proves it.) That way when you travel to a new town, you will know where to find fellow ATS'ers.

the 5 P's. It's no different then anything else. If you start now and designate who you would want to meet and what they bring to the table and then train with them a couple of times to see if they can and are able to do more then type on a computer. Then get out a map and plot work and home and where most of the place your goine to be outside of 5 miles from home. Then pick both gernerally close sites to the group for localised events and larger fall back points for major life altering events. Have a master phone tree for the group made up with emails and phones numbers and drop events that would require no communication just movement to "secure" scouts prior planned spots. Keep in mind times of day and run a drill or two every couple of months. Why wait until chaos is upon yourself then hope to meet others of like mind and planning.

Originally posted by TheNetherlands
Black out?

Anyways,.. i suggest the ATS Logo. Put it on whatever makes it visible to another person. Like a key-thing. I dont know the name for it in english but i mean those things you can put your keys on to keep them together.

Something like this?

Something like, WTF Where is mine?!?! I want one!

But seriously.. I wasn't joking about the whole local chapters type thing.. I for one would embrace it.. plus I think it'd be smashingly good advertising for ats... (can I have a cookie for coming up with the idea) ...[or at least popularizing it?] ... hahaha

Hello all,

I am a like-minded individual who, up until now, has lurked on ATS for quite some time. I hope you won't mind if I jump in and join the discussion.

I wanted to reiterate what other posters have touched on earlier. Any specific ideas for signals, passwords or pass-phrases, etc. that get discussed on an open Internet forum like ATS are instantly and irrevocably compromised.

Also, as a licensed ham radio operator of nearly 20 years, I can tell you that the radio spectrum is monitored often and certainly would be monitored 24/7 during a "Situation X" scenario. Any mode, including voice or CW (digital would not be practical or even possible in a large scale blackout with no power), would be insecure and subject to triangulation with even modest equipment on the hunter's end.

As for hand signals and symbols to identify fellow ATS members, I have one idea. Perhaps instead of agreeing on a particular thing - like the hand gestures discussed before, or the wearing of a particular badge or pin - there could be an agreement on a particular theme which would allow for wide variations among the specific signs and/or actions actually performed, yet would still be recognizable to ATS members who are alert.

For example, one theme might be "the missing link." A man removes a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He puts one in his mouth and then searches his pockets for a lighter only to find that he has no lighter. He returns the pack to his pocket, perhaps leaving the cigarette in his mouth. The "missing link" is the absence of a lighter on the person of a man who smokes regularly.

Another theme might be "mirrored gestures." A woman wearing glasses picks up a pamphlet, magazine, etc. She then removes her glasses before proceeding to read it.

The rationale behind the "themes idea" is 1.) the only thing agreed upon and set in stone by ATS members is the particular theme to be adhered to, allowing wide variation in signals that, while not obvious to those not looking for the theme, would be obvious to other ATS members, and 2.) the specific behavior chosen as a signal would be something that looks perfectly normal, i.e., something that any normal person would expect to see other people doing out in public. Non-ATS would not see such behavior as significant in any way. Finally, 3.) the nature of the specific actions could be changed very easily worldwide by simply changing the agreed-upon theme, like, say, editing one master CSS file to change the entire style of every page of a website at once.

This is just an idea. I hope you find it at least thought provoking.

ambrose