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"When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head," Oscar-winning French composer Maurice Jarre once said, according to several newspapers reporting his death in March.
However, the quotation was invented by an Irish student who posted it on the Wikipedia website in a hoax designed to show the dangers of relying too heavily on the Internet for information.
Shane Fitzgerald made up quotes and entered them on Wikipedia -- an encyclopedia edited by users -- immediately after Jarre's death was first reported on March 30.
Originally posted by jdub297
There are many legitimate conspiracies around us, around the world, without having to rely on hearsay and fabrication as a foundation for ATS submissions.
It can save a little embarrassment, too, for those gullible posters who get called out -- if they have any self-respect to begin with.
Originally posted by jdub297
For what they're worth and taken for what they generally are: entertainment and info-'lite' .
You've been a member long enough to have seen it.
I can just ignore most of the obvious crap, and do without regrets. But when someone posts "Breaking News" that is nothing but a video from some hoaxing kids, they waste my time and hurt ATS overall credibility.
Did you see the "fark" thread about ATS and the incredibly gullible posts and threads? Is that the reputation we want?
I thought we were really approaching a turning point with our own 'press corps' and increasing citation from other forums and media.
Reading a topic that starts "I have Proof ..." that arises from or depends an uncredited wiki post or CGI video and posts nothing of substance adds nothing to meaningful discussions.
But, why go to wiki for a definition or citation when Webster's, et c. and Google can lead to more accurate and more trustworthy authority.
Again, I enjoy both Youtube and Wiki for what they are; but, they are not authoritative by any stretch of the imagination. They can be a great place to start research, but should not be the final destination.
Trying to use [ATS] as a launching point for (silly) categorizing of these other sites as "info-lite" shows that you are a supporter of the mass media.
Perhaps you need to spend more time on both sites doing your own research rather than letting the posters here chose when and through what links you visit?
As for Webster's and Google being more trustworthy, I will be happy to win that discussion.
You don't seem to be able to separate wheat from chaff. This tells me you are not able to understand, or you have an agenda. ... Your agenda seems to be much more sweeping.
There is a ton of truth in both YT and Wiki which was not available before Internet, so you must also logically now denigrate the Internet?
Also you seem not to understand that "Wikis" are excellent tools for knowledge and MUCH better than the two pathetic examples you've cited. A "Wiki" is actually directly human created and unlike anything humans have ever had.
You are trying to say that the sun is not warm, when clearly people are being warmed by it. Even if Wikipedia is a tool of the elites, it is still a new type of tool for them in that we finally have access to the information in it.
Originally posted by jdub297
It shows no such thing. I've been a researcher for probably longer than you've been alive. I know where and how to find reliable sources, with or without "mass media."
The point of the thread is not to avoid such sites, but to be careful. Maybe you missed the original post where I said:
"There is a reason that blogs cannot be used as "sources" for "Breaking News" submissions.
I never vouched for Webster or Google, I identified them as paths to authority: "Webster's, et c. and Google can lead to more accurate and more trustworthy authority."
I make my living "separat[ing] wheat from chaff." My only agenda is accurate communication.
You are reading way too much into things I never said, and missing the things I did. And assuming a lot that there is no basis for. That's not good.
There is a ton of truth in both YT and Wiki which was not available before Internet, so you must also logically now denigrate the Internet?
A truer non-sequitur there never was. One can criticze or compartmentalize internet content without discrediting the internet.
I make no endorsements anywhere in here
Since you can't see their value, there is no way to convince you that they are so valuable
Okay, I'm gonna have to keep you honest here: You did not just make a friendly post here asking us to be careful. That is a baldfaced lie.
There is a reason that blogs cannot be used as "sources" for "Breaking News" submissions.
With the admins here looking for a way to crack down on "negativity," it would seem that a lot of flaming could be avoided if posters weren't so credulous, and used a modicum of "research" beyond what other Internet users have posted elsewhere.
Read carefully, use with caution, and above all, THINK!
That is a baldfaced lie. ... you are positioned here in defense of established (controlled) mass media and against emerging media forms.
Let me see if I understand you: People who want to post about conspiracy subjects would have better luck quoting Webster and Google?
Many people here find that "authority" often hides actual truth by presenting half-truths and falsehood. Let's have that discussion if you want.
You are saying perhaps that the chaff/wheat ratio is higher on Google than Wikipedia? Please, explain it to me.
I am defending websites which are bigger and better than yu or whatever you think you know. Get it?
[Google and Youtube] will teach us more than you, ever, will. So I am defending them and their content against a world which is dissecting them, and which world includes so many "smart people" of the past generations who don't have eyes (or hearts) to see.
There is a ton of truth in both YT and Wiki which was not available before Internet, so you must also logically now denigrate the Internet.
Non sequitur (Latin for "it does not follow"), in formal logic, is an argument where its conclusion does not follow from its premises. In a non sequitur the argument is a fallacy because the conclusion does not follow from the premise.
I will now explain what a non-sequitor is ... .
I'm just calling you out in defense of YT and Wiki.
You claim to be telling youngsters "be careful" but that's not what you body of work and this thread is communicating, at least to my ears (which could be faulty I guess).
You are making defamatory comments, repeatedly.
You've got no better user-created content website to offer us.
You are being critical of the two places where finally humans can communicate directly with one another. That tells me a lot.
Your post above whines about little kids who are enjoying and linking to both sites in their quest for truth.
Let me be clear: You are not allowed to blame the young, the Internet or anyone else for what value you personally fail to find on You Tube or Wikipedia.
Please understand there is nobody who needs to be advised or protected from these sites. They are unique, amazing, and in their infancy still.
If you could actually produce a video or maybe contribute to one of the thousands of Wiki's out there, you could stay aware and keep pace with the world.
That is what makes this site so good, people wont accept face value so go and try and get to the bottom of it ...
scouring through the information is the only real way to find out what is right and wrong information.
Here we see a report regarding someone who purposefully diminished the value of a Wikipedia entry, by entering a known false-hood.
...
Reporters, don't simply 'plug in' stories and run, editors are supposed to review them, so the failure was more than just the reporter/researcher's.
Wikipedia, is not a source for anything in and of itself. Nearly everything has some 'root source' that should be found somewhere in the entry, for the most part. If they can't be bothered to look for footnotes and attributive citations what kind of research skills to they have? What kind of journalist doesn't pursue this practice - and isn't that part of why they go to journalism training in the universities?
Nowhere in my thread have I "blame[d] the young, the Internet or anyone else" for anything.
... you mockingly joked about ATS users who post links to You Tube and waste your time.
when someone posts "Breaking News" that is nothing but a video from some hoaxing kids, they waste my time and hurt ATS overall credibility.
... you weren't willing to show us an alternative ... .