ATS is dying, a cancer grows within.

I've been on forums for over 10 years - - started with ICQ

reply to post by Annee


Anee I too started way back when, even before ICQ, and I agree that moderation is needed, however, what I have experienced here was not in fact simple moderation, it was downright being censored, and the subject was addiction, the point of view was that of being the family member of a methamphetamine addict. Real life , life or death struggles. The subject cannot be discussed in ATS, no one came on saying 'hey man I do meth and I love it', no, people came on and expressed their pain of living with, or having a family member who is an addict. Now tell me, why can we not discuss that???????

Originally posted by OzWeatherman
Ok, so instead of using proof to debunk, we should just believe everything that we read here?

So what if there are debunkers, its needed here, half the stuff posted here ends up being garbage which is easily disproven with logical thinking and backing evidence. That where the applause is awarded.

It's not debunkers that are needed. It is open minded individuals who can analyze and contribute, using facts and truths. A debunker is someone who consistently tries to disprove anything and everything that is out of the ordinary. Sorry to say, there are many things that have occurred which simply can't be explained by any means we possess, and if you really think you can explain everything out there, and that there is proof of everything, I feel sorry for you, because that must be a mighty small container you are living in.

What good is it when the information provided by this person is automatically biased. An open minded individual is willing to look at all sides, not just his own, and for me I will take what that person has to say a lot more serious than some person pushing his or her own biased interpretations. Skepticism is a good filter, but not to the point that it blinds you from the truth of the matter.

Originally posted by OzWeatherman
Deny ignornace, and deny idiocracy

Exactly.

All the Greats seemed to have gone underground, that or have been banned it seems. Got to love the popularity contests these days.

I'm all for a theory being debunked, but what i am opposed to is people being out right bloody rude. Ok so you dont believe or go along with a thread, but you dont need to be rude or disrespectful, thrusting your own opinion, a simple, yeah i can see what you mean by this evidence show it to be wrong, and then offer up your evidence to that effect, this is not a school playground for bullies, and fighting, we are all adults im sure if you have the evidence most people can take it on the chin. and as for being afraid of any particular member, dont, just cut them off if you don't like their attitude, simple.

Oh no! they've got OZman now too!

But seriously, Even though Im a more recent member, Ive noticed change too, and I must say, I dont like it

Im willing to stand and fight with you.

Originally posted by stumason
reply to post by GrOuNd_ZeRo

 

You sling around the word "debunker" as if it's some kind of derogatory term when in reality it's people with, in many cases, in-depth and professional knowledge about a subject trying to educate people who couldn't navigate out of a wet paper bag

ding! bottom of page 1 we have a winner for THEE PROBLEM that the OP is trying to identify. i, myself, have come to recognize this problem in my own life and to correct it as necessary and it is this:

people KNOW nothing.

even those with "professional knowledge" dont really know anything. people that think they have got it all figured out are going to get a hard and fast lesson in life. somewhere, somehow, their "knowledge" is gonna come back and slap them hard.

what is wrong with simply having "really useful ideas"? why must we insist that we "know" something?

I've been lurking around here for a while now, mostly reading, everyone once in a while posting, always paying attention...

It might have been stated already, but just in case...

Why, in the name of whatever God you may or may not worship, would people be surprised that the mods applaud the skeptics???

Uh, hello?

The owner of the sites name is SKEPTIC OVERLORD.....

....seriously people??

It has been my experience, and personal opinon, that this is a conspiracy site, yes, but it was created by skeptics to proove these conspiracies don't exsist. That, combined with the heavy censoring, has always given me the idea this site is a disinfo/intelligence gathering website.


Just my 2 cents

For those who think that members have become mods and subsequently "infiltrated" ATS in a plan to bring it down from within....

Correct me if i'm wrong, but aren't mods still overseen by certain members of staff, and untimately, the owners of the site?

If there was any serious "killing off of ATS", do you not think that SO, Springer and Simon, or any of the site administraters that have helped built this place from scratch, would step in and do something?

I've not been here as long as many, but i have seen this place grow and change more than any other site of it's kind on the internet. That takes commitment, passion and love for what you are doing, and i dare say a few more dollars that you or i would have or care to invest in such a project.

Do people honestly think that the owners and founding staff members would sit back and see moderators kill the place off?

This is just my opinion, i do not have an indepth knowledge of the way the mod system works, but i would place money on the fact that moderators are not just made mods and allowed to run riot with their new "power".

I'm not saying everything ATS does is perfect, but you can't please everyone all of the time though. Those who run this place seem to do so to the best of their abilities, whilst also having the decency to actualy ask members opinions about the structure of the site. How many other places do that?

Personally i think what is bringing ATS down is seeing negative threads repeated like this. They say you master what you focus on, if every day someone writes a new thread moaning about the state of things here, pretty soon thats what the site will become.

If we replaced those negative threads with something of at least a little substance, maybe ATS would get back to being what it always has been.

I just think it's laughable that anyone would think that mods are not kept an eye on too.

CX.



[edit on 14/12/09 by CX]

I think there is something more to this than meets the eye.
Someone out there wants this forum to go away.
They want it to look and feel so bad that users will scream for help.
And we all know what happens when we scream for help.
ATS will turn into a subscription site to destroy this new "threat".
Once this is done infiltrating the high ranks will be an easy task.
They will have control over the flow of information,control over users,old users will leave some will be banned because they argued with the mods.
If you can't buy something destroy it from the inside.
And then ATS will just talk about gay rights,women rights,obama,lady gaga.
Other topics that make you think out of the box,that make your imagination go wild will become obsolete.
There are talks that others forums were bought it doesn't take a NASA pilot to think that ATS was approached as well.

i think the cancer you are referring to is really reality.
we all know there is a cover up. all lies all the time. and NOBODY is going to save us.
thinking about all the lies on television, in churches, in schools, the global warming, and the list goes on.
all we KNOW is: life, death, and confusion.
confusion is THE best tool of the 'elite'. when you think about the fact they we k now the end is near, it can only make you bitter.
nobody is going to save us, except ourselves.

reply to post by OzWeatherman


It would make more sense for you to stick to threads that you agree with.

How would anyone prove anything to you?

Do you know how easy it is to forge a name on an e-article? How easy it is to say, "This is how we did it, and we'll use these words that we invented to explain how we did it."

Moral?
For all we know, these guys are getting paid cash to say whatever the government wants them to say, along with getting funding to continue doing their "research."

You do not know these doctors. You do not know these scientists. You do not know these men with microscopes. We don't even know if they really have microscopes, or a lab, or a face.

Did I tell you that I created a way to travel back in time? The next time you walk through a doorway, close your left eye, and picture yourself moving physically backwards. Do this for four weeks, every doorway.

After the month is over, lay down, put on some nice music, and do the same thing, with the opposite eye closed.

I call it "viaggio del tempo."

Oh yes, I went to the University of Cambridge.

You weren't there, you cannot say I wasn't. You can't ever know, though you will most likely make up your mind to ease your own mind.

Most people cannot accept the Truth.

The rule of the universe is:

You can prove nothing. You can disprove nothing. You can do nothing.


You never know when one day, you will wake up, and your entire world will be upside down.

It won't be your fault; you'd simply perceived the world another way, before.

I will Defend ATS from the Skeptics that want to Debunk At Least Everything on ATS!

[edit on 14-12-2009 by masonicon]

I agree that there should be discussions regarding threads & everyone replying should show respect to each other. There is alot of intelligent people on ATS & we are all lucky to learn from each other

[edit on 14/12/09 by Sth Hemisphere]

I joined this site a month ago or so after lurking for a short while. I was going to post more often but I noticed it started getting a bit like Youtube with the flaming.

I love reading the fantastical posts no matter how 'out there' they are or whether I believe them or not. Unfortunately when someone starts a thread it's usually followed quickly with "FAKE", "I WANT PROOF" or a 'BS' flag being raised.
Surely conversing is the way forward? If you think somethings fake, explain why in a nice manner, then others can join in this pleasant conversation and put their thoughts across.

I loved discovering this site. I'd finally found somewhere I could discuss the unbelievable without people thinking I was crazy and I had wished I had found it years ago. I'm starting to think I was wrong and actually feel sorry for the long time members who have had to deal with this unfortunate transition. I hope I'm wrong.

I know coming from a noob this wont mean a lot to most of you but I thought my post may be valid in some way... the views from a new lurker perhaps? I'm going to go back in my shell now but hopefully not for too long.

Originally posted by GrOuNd_ZeRo
I am not as smart as most ATS members nor do I post anything that hits the front page, but I have been here a long time and this site is changing for the worst, the content that is generated on this site is being sniped before it goes anywhere.

Spot on! Is it therefore any wonder that most of the veterans and the guys who brought some excellent stuff on the table have all left for better pastures?

Pick a thread any POPULAR thread and tell me what you see.........

On page 1 you will find an interesting topic full of very informative data.

On page 2 you will find intrigued members asking the OP questions and relating experiences/knowledge

On page 3 you will find that the wolves have arrived and have started to circle their prey.

On page 4 you will find the pack leader going in for the kill, whilst the others watch from the sidelines, getting ready to join in when told to.

On Phage 5 onwards, All the wolves are feasting and the original data that the OP provided is lost.

I have been sitting on the sidelines for a while now therefore, I can relate to what is being said.

There is no doubt in my mind that this site is riddled with GROUPS of debunkers. These are people that are either paid or feel loyal to their country in order to dereail important topics so that the general public are not made aware of anything outside their remit.

I urge anyone to put this to the test and step aside and view this site from a distance, you will be suprised at what you see.

Yes ATS is a business but IMHO (from a view of sitting on the sidelines) it is much much more than that.










[edit on 14-12-2009 by franspeakfree]

The institution of "moderators" should be abolished. No one should be allowed "to moderate" free speech and freedom of information.

reply to post by ahemot


I believe that's been attempted before.

The internet isn't the place to have a forum, or any community, moderation-free.

Spammers, trolls, children.

The spammers alone would make it hard to find any good topics. Imagine fishing through hundreds of topics per day to find maybe 5 decent threads that have 4 replies over six days because not many people found it.

I wouldn't say it's dying, as in so much it's become commercialized. Look at all the ads. Look at all the trolls. It's more-or-less a mainstream website now.

reply to post by DocEmrick


The real killer is because the site is funded by advertising, as long as people are talking, the mods have no incentive to ban folks. The only people who are banned are those that seek to put an end to the mindless drivel some people on here spout, as that directly equates to lost revenue for the site.