Thread Banning.

Lets say there is a big thread going on, and someone is causing trouble, could there be a method to kick and ban the trouble maker from the thread, so that it can keep going and not be disturbed.

Forgive me if this is already possible.

the offending member would be post banned by a mod.
that is, if warnings did not suffice.

You can also hit the ignore option at the bottom of the avatar portion.

Originally posted by mikerussellus
You can also hit the ignore option at the bottom of the avatar portion.

this, or just use your mind powers to ignore said poster. I know it's not always easy, when someone's stirring it up, but it's not hard either

I do believe the OP was more concerned about keeping the thread alive.
Its really frustrating when you are involved with one of these threads and they suddenly disappear.

I think there should at least be a page explaining the decision instead of just the 404 page, at the very least.

Preferably the offending poster should be dealt with and leave the thread alone.

A thread I am interested in has just been closed while a problem is discussed by staff.

I wanted to plead for it to stay open and the troublemakers dealt with, but I was too late. I had to leave the forum after I saw the warning from the mod, and by the time I got back to it the decision had been taken.

The people responsible for all the backbiting were easily identified as having brought a little war to ATS from other sites but they got away with it. I don't know why they couldn't have been banned.

For the most part other ATS members had been able to conduct a civil debate and even the exceptions didn't go all that far. A couple of censored posts and a warning could have been enough to bring them into line.

Any new members who went straight to that thread and started pitching in with the 'Oh yes he is' 'Oh no he isn't and you're an idiot' style of posting could have been kicked straight off.

I'm hoping the thread can be opened again, but from past experience I doubt it will be.

Well that is ATS. I forgot which mod said it but big foot himself could post here as long as he stayed within the T&Cs. That is the beauty of ATS it is a place for people to discuss the less than popular topics. ATS is not a place to get a pat on the back 100 stars and flags for everything you put up, it takes a certian ammount of grit and backbone. The "trouble makers" are the people who keep the threads interesting, are you interested in reading a thread that is only preaching to it's own choir? So if someone is violating the T&Cs let a mod, know if they are within the T&Cs yet still offending you to the point where you are really upset maybe you should take a break from the net for a bit. Sticks and stones may break your bones but ATS should not really hurt at all.

change their avatar for this for a week and ban them from that thread

If you find another member is breaking T&C or doing something to disrupt a thread, just hit the ALERT button. All staff will see the alert.

Thank you

Originally posted by zaiger
Well that is ATS. I forgot which mod said it but big foot himself could post here as long as he stayed within the T&Cs.

...Only so long as he didn't say he was bigfoot.

If he did that he'd probably get warned or banned for lying (about being bigfoot of all things).

Then when he posts a pic of himself, he'd be banned for sure. If he did it as a thread, it would have the [HOAX] tags added soon after.

And ATS would probably be right for thinking that it is a hoax. There are no bigfoot allowed in the concensus reality.

So you are right, bigfoot could post here. But I dare that big sucker to come out and try and tell us what he is.

*That's right Bigfoot! - If you're out there I dare ya to tell us who you are and post pics - Thanks in advance Big Fella.

....now there would be a situation where an OP would also be able to make use of a threadban feature. Bigfoot would be able to ban those in denial of his existence - as they could only ever be a detriment to the thread and if they expressed their denial it would further suppress the reality of the situation resulting in less people becoming aware of/accepting it as the truth that it is.

Threadbannings should not be left strictly to the member either; except if the member is a bigfoot. In which case it would save the mods work answering all his ban requests.



[edit on 18-9-2009 by Exuberant1]

Originally posted by berenike
A thread I am interested in has just been closed while a problem is discussed by staff.

Yeah, I *think* I know which one you're talking about - lol. Look, by closing the thread, all they did was reward the people who were purposefully disrupting the thread with their constant insults. Those people *wanted* the thread closed - that's why they were doing that. I agree that the offending posters should have been banned. But... it may also have been for other reasons that the thread was closed. PM me if you're interested in what I mean.

Originally posted by faulconandsnowjob

Yeah, I *think* I know which one you're talking about - lol. Look, by closing the thread, all they did was reward the people who were purposefully disrupting the thread with their constant insults.

That's exactly the point I was trying to make.

I don't want people banned simply for disagreeing but it's obvious when there is an agenda behind all the insults and bickering.

Closing the thread only hurts the OP and those who want a reasonable debate with a view to uncovering the truth.

As long as it's known that a thread can be closed down due to disruptive behaviour it leaves the door open for anyone who strongly wants debate on a subject suppressed.

It certainly sheds light on disinfo tactics.

...What all of this seems to suggest is that the Powers That Be (PTB) have developed COINTELPRO to an all new level of Social Shaping, Cultural Brainwashing, and the main targets of this activity would include virtually anyone who is seeking the truth about the shifting realities of our world. The cases of COINTELPRO activities against political groups must be no more than the tip of the iceberg, given that the great bulk of COINTELPRO-type operations remain secret until long after their damage has been done. By all indications, domestic covert operations have become a permanent feature of U.S. politics and Social Programming, and it is hardly likely, considering the evidence, that the New Age and Human Potential fields are exempt.

The implications of this are truly alarming. Those who manage to get close to the truth of these matters, despite the many obstacles in their path, face National covert campaigns to discredit and disrupt their research and reputations. Clearly, COINTELPRO and similar operations under other names also work to distort academic and popular perceptions of the problems facing our world. They have done enormous damage to the search for the Truth.

How to Spot COINTELPRO Agents
Laura Knight Jadczyk
laura-knight-jadczyk.blogspot.com...

... Since their goal is to silence you, it would serve their ends to have both you and
themselves banned from a given forum or online publication. They don’t really want to
be there anyway. They want you to shut up. If you’re not there, they have no reason to
be there. In all outcomes, it is your removal they seek. They will do whatever is
necessary to accomplish that goal. They have no personal interest in the forums they
harass...

If you are a target, anything you post online will be targeted with inane and pathetic criticism. Even the smallest aspect of what you write will be magnified by the fake activists. They will interpret anything and everything in the worst possible light. My advice on this is to ignore it. Real activists will see it for what it is...

Finally, they will often pretend to be activists bored with your writings. This, of course,
is absurd. Think about it. When you see a boring article, what do you do? If you are
normal, you just don’t read it and go on. You do not spend your time responding to it
and elucidating to the world just how boring it is. Only a troll does that. If you are
political, that troll is a COINTELPRO operative...

I propose that most online forums are a kind of Trojan horse. They are
offered on false pretences. Sitting behind the forum, the administrator may be more
interested in things such as making money, identity theft, blackmail, extortion and
governmental monitoring. Indeed, what I have discovered is that many online forums are
run by retired police officers. Several I have encountered are run by a U.S. Army PsyOps
agent. Others are run by intelligence agencies...

An Introduction to The Signs And Techniques of Online COINTELPRO
By Stephen DeVoy
www.indybay.org...

...Technique #6 - 'GAINING FULL CONTROL'

It is important to also be harvesting and continually maneuvering for
a forum moderator position. Once this position is obtained, the forum
can then be effectively and quietly controlled by deleting
unfavourable postings - and one can eventually steer the forum into
complete failure and lack of interest by the general public. This is
the 'ultimate victory' as the forum is no longer participated with by
the general public and no longer useful in maintaining their freedoms.
Depending on the level of control you can obtain, you can
deliberately steer a forum into defeat by censoring postings, deleting
memberships, flooding, and or accidentally taking the forum offline.
By this method the forum can be quickly killed. However it is not
always in the interest to kill a forum as it can be converted into a
'honey pot' gathering center to collect and misdirect newcomers and
from this point be completely used for your control for your agenda
purposes...

Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum.
www.dailypaul.com...

[edit on 18-9-2009 by faulconandsnowjob]

reply to post by faulconandsnowjob


Since I cannot give you a star on this forum I will simply say those were some intriguing and thought provoking quotes.
I appreciate your adding them to this discussion.

reply to post by faulconandsnowjob


Yes, FCASJ that was excellent....... I will have to save that somewhere; concise, and to the point. Definitely worthy of a thread

reply to post by faulconandsnowjob


WOW - Excellent info! I went to the dailypost link... what an eye opener! I'm new to ATS, so thank you very much for sharing. In times like these, not only are the tactics good to know, but the tips about how info is collected is a MUST READ.

By the way, a couple of days ago, I noticed an OP requesting info on what type of weapon others on ATS have... very similar to the example in the article. Hhhhmmmm..... I thought it looked a little fishy.

Star to you!

Originally posted by greeneyedleo
If you find another member is breaking T&C or doing something to disrupt a thread, just hit the ALERT button. All staff will see the alert.

Thank you

Well it sounds good in theory, but in reality it doesn't happen that way.

You guys allow hecklers to reign free on this site ALL THE TIME and have driven away very knowledgeable posters in the process.

You cannot deny ignorance and at the same time allow everyone who has an ax to grind to grind it on someone else.

Either you guys are in on it, are totally incompetent, or really don't see the problem in NOT using common sense when threads get totally taken down by these types of posters. This has happened three times that I've witnessed myself, and I'm not a regular or major contributor. But what I did see was really pathetic (on the mods end) - and if you disagree, well, you can ban me as I've heard you've done to others who were very long time well-respected contributors.

If you allow the bullys to reign free, this is your result. If the posters have to do all the moderating, why have mods at all? I was quite surprised to hear you guys don't even read all the posts - nor do you apparently ever look up heckler posters history to see that they're here to only disrupt and "yell" at people trying to discuss topics they don't agree with.

If they don't agree with a thread topic, then why do they have the right to badger others who do and cause such kaffuffle to warrant closing the thread entirely - punishing the good along with the bad - very un-ignorant move - (sarcasm in case you're not sure).

You guys do random spot checks, maybe, and when you do jump in you do a clean sweep - how's that fair to those who are trying to use this forum the way it "seems" to have been intended... which begs the question "is the forum even intended to be a discussion site and if so, why are non-discussers allowed to continue to go on and on and on....

It's NO DIFFERENT than censorship which is often confused with bullying - if you allow everyone to speak, there will always be those who only want to yell above all other voices to ensure they aren't heard at all above their own. That's not fair and its not a discussion, but it is, ultimately a form of censorship and without that, well, we have a whole lot of messes on the planet for just that reason.

I did complain and it got nowhere.
I got so tired of the hecklers and then I was getting reprimanded for nothing valid - too many 'quoted posts', off topic conversation (that wasn't off topic at all), yet hecklers can jump in and start calling regular posters all kinds of insults without being pulled.

I absolutely welcome opinions - but I don't welcome someone elses telling me mine is stupid, or I am stupid, especially when it's not their topic or thread in the first place. And even then, if they said it once, fine, but then leave or contribute, at least pretend everyone's an adult.

So I don't know which one it is - moderators are in on it, totally incompetent or don't see the problem - either one, it's a real problem IF you think this is a well-run and moderated site.

But yeah, stop a thread that was doing well .... until.... certain posters show up en masse with the only intent of heckling...

If the moderators don't moderate, you can't call this site a place to deny ignorance with a straight face.

People MUST realise by now that there are people who frequent this website who DELIBERATELY set out to have a thread shut down simply because they do not like the opinion of the OP or those in the thread.

I have seen this happen many times, I try to point it out but those same people tend then to drown the thread in thinly-disguised insults and off-topic posts.

I've just come back to say 'Thank you'. The thread I was talking about has been re-opened.

I haven't posted a 'thank you' there because I am so worried about going off-topic - I don't want to spoil things

Really, thanks.