Please guys, get a grip

I'm a very big supporter of ATS, have posted a lot of my own threads and joined the conversation in others, for a few years now.

I see so many "this is going to happen on this date" or "skull found on Mars" or "I used to work at Area 51 and this is what goes on there" threads.

Please, give it up guys. I want full disclosure too. Not one of these threads have changed anything. In 2008 we are still posting our claims on ATS, me included. I just realized, right now -- it hasn't changed anything.

Please guys, get a grip.

Unless you have a video of an alien or UFO, and want to stand behind it with a phone number that you can send the moderators for verification, or names we can call, or evidence we can send to a TV show or third-party scientist for testing, or a prediction (in a few days, not months or years) that you can actually put your name to (or send to the mods if anonymous) then, please, don't bother posting.

Let's see some real action, proof, accountability. Stop others laughing at us and let's effing start hitting back.

Thanks,
Chaz.

I commend your post my friend, but you forget the real reason that this forum exists. I will tell you the real reason that this forum exists after a brief introduction to the topic. For as Walter Lippmann says, (Paraphrased) “The truths of life are so overwhelming that to fully understand them requires an almost complete revision of the thinking process itself”. “The truth is something that most people are not trained or equipped to deal with.”

I will tell you a piece of advice that almost no one will ever recommend to you. Almost all sources of power on earth study two topics of importance who’s relevance cannot be emphasized enough.

The first is the Bible.
The second is Propaganda.

Essentially, the Bible is studied to learn and understand universal truth. Propaganda is studied to learn about universal lies.

If you study propaganda techniques then you will learn that most conspiracies are designed events. A conspiracy is a method of propaganda used to hide a truth so completely that it is then indistinguishable form the lies surrounding it. Conspiracy is designed to detract, not promote an idea or truth.

A critical element of propaganda technique is “defining the term”. You see, once an idea is properly classified in the public’s view then it becomes impossible to change its classification. If you are presented as guilty in the news media then most likely you will be found guilty be those who have viewed that news. The reason that the news media will identify an idea as a conspiracy is so that it will be avoided by the public at large. For the perceived definition of a conspiracy is something that is unprovable, regardless of how fanciful or mundane it is presented. For psychology tells us that most people are afraid to turn against the norms of society, and all rational people expect proof of certain claims.

In short, this forum exists in order to allow you and I a place to classify our truths in the public’s mind as a conspiracy from the moment we post a topic on the board, regardless of whatever truths we present. As well, there is a lot of money in presenting conspiracies to the public because of the small truths that do lie within all of them and the desire that resides in many people for many emotional things to “become true” regardless of the actual facts.

I think this is about all the truth most people can handle for one day. If you want more, let me know.

[edit on 28-8-2008 by Hot_Wings]

Very good. Art history is all about propaganda. How much truth can anyone handle about anything. Hot Wings' answer was great. IMHO

Actually the real reason most of these topics like "my next door neighbor is reptile" is quite simple. See those annoying flashy things on the right and top of your screen? You know the one that just shouted out "congratulations! you've just won a free Ipod!" Well the more ridiculous the posts the more hits thus the more ad revenue generated.

We all know the truth about UFO's and aliens the truth is.....Yes! I just won a free iPhone! can't talk now

ATS is just here to make MONEY. It prays on the psychologically unsound - like us - to do as such.

reply to post by frivolouschick

Thank you Chick, and I agree about Art History. In fact, it was art history that first showed me the truth about propaganda as well. For who can look at Gardner’s Art Throughout the Ages and speak otherwise.

But most people who do not study art or media do not realize how manipulated we all are. Here is a list of books that I just purchased myself that so far are helping me to learn about propaganda techniques. But honestly, the Bible is a great source for learning about propaganda also because it tells the evil side of many plots as well as the good.

Remember what Christ has said, “You will know them by their deeds.” If we want to know the truth of things we must look at what people do, not what they say.

Manufacturing Consent by Edward herman and noam Chomsky
Propaganda by Noam Chomsky
Public Opinion by Walter Lippmann
The Crowd by Gustov Le Bon (no, not the hurricane, sorry couldn’t help myself)
The Dialog in Hell between Machiavelli and Montesquieu
Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion by Victor Marsden (warning - racist in nature)
The Franklin Coverup by John W. DeCamp

Chaz, are you saying that if people don't have any proof of their claims that they shouldn't post? What about people who post just to air their ideas and theories? It would be nice if irrefutable evidence did appear on this forum, but a good forum is a place where people can chat and share their ideas and stories.

This subject is always going to attract the loony element, but if you can identify these stories then you will have no problem finding the odd kernel of gold.

Logical Magician, ATS needs advertising so that it can pay for the shear amount of bandwidth that it burns through every day. ATS provides everyone with a high visibility forum to share ideas, stories and hopefully evidence. There are several high quality web radio shows and news updates, and yet by some devilish witchcraft we don't have to pay a penny.

I don't know about you, but I haven't noticed any pop-up advertisements on this site. The adverts are all fairly discrete and non intrusive. I'll bet that when you log into your email that you are exposed to twice as many adverts than when you log into ATS. If the site owners were only interested in making money then ATS would look very different.

Check out the stats page to see how many hits this site generates per month and then try to imagine how much bandwidth the radio show podcasts must get through as well, and now imagine what that kind of bandwidth usage is costing the site owners.

My point is quit moaning about advertising when you don't have to pay a penny for a brilliant service.

I'm with you, Chaz. In fact, I'd push the envelope further and request that we completely ignore those who are CLEARLY (that's the operative word here) lying or delusional from the word go. And that's easy to define:

Any thread where the author claims to be a timelord, a reptilian, any other kind of alien, claims to know ANYTHING DEFINITE that is special and secret and sets them up as the hero in it--Any of that is a lie or a delusion.

It doesn't take several pages of detective work and exhausted energy to figure it out. I know some of you are going to argue that we need to give everyone equal time to hang themselves with their own rope--let the people decide, etc., etc., and that's simply untrue. If you don't know that the above examples are the product of delusion or lie then you don't belong here.

Look, this is all either a fun little game we play to pass the time and feel creative or it's serious. Decide.

Jeremy, I totally respect you and the work that you do with culture of contact, but I have got to disagree with you on this one.

Everyone should feel free to post as long as it isn't offensive to others and not spam. I have come into contact with abductees that are also fantasists. That sounds like a total paradox, but it is kind of understandable when you think about it. There are a lot of completely level headed abductees as well, but there are a number of folk that want answers so badly that they convince themselves that what they are preaching is for real.

A lot of the time the visitors will abduct folk without any communication occurring what'so'ever and as an individual that is hard to take.

It is a lot more desirable to consider yourself as someone that has been specially chosen for some higher purpose, but often the evidence points to the fact that some visitors are just here collecting biological material. Often these folk are suffering from post traumatic stress and as a result may find themselves descending into some sub-consciously scripted fantasy world, that can often borrow elements from the other UFO mythologies and belief systems that they find on the web. That doesn't mean that we should ignore these folks, just because their testimony is tainted by fantasy. If we are studying this phenomenon we need to study all of it's effects including the extreme psychological effects.

I admit that there are a hell of a lot of people out there that are just posting for some narcissistic need to be part of some bigger picture, but if you stop them from posting how are you going to tell the non-abductee fantasists from the real abductee fantasists. It is much better that everyone gets an equal opportunity to have their say and we just use our own intelligence to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Okay, I'm stepping off the soap box now.

its no surprise that women dont really do this sort of thing. "please GUYS, get a grip"