ATS 2010 - Part Two - Convergence. (Merge BTS & ATS?)

Explanation: I have no probs if the login/password between all domains is streamlined.

I will have a problem if the domains are merged.

BTS is basically an off topic compartmentalization that exists for several reasons, most of which are good and working.

There is no need to promote BTS at all as that is well OFF TOPIC!

We are here to deny ignorance are we not?

BTS is about denying boredom and its out of the way, hard to get to-ness
acts as a valuable screening and vetting process that weeds out the unworthy! It also acts as a semi official trashcan/skunkworks and it acts as a valauble halfway house for those threads clinging on to their reputation ect.

That BTS has mutter open on every single instance of a BTS page and this canes my bandwidth and I love that I can keep BTS seperate from ATS and therefor moderate my own mutter madness and a merge will prevent me from doing this and will dull my enjoyment of surfing the site!

Personal Disclosure: I came to ATS via BTS and therefor I have nostalgic reasons for keeping my vote a big fat NO!

I think everything on ATS will debunked by skeptical Debunkers?

I vote 'yes'. Many threads posted on ATS could just as easily be posted on BTS. Moving them would no longer involve board jumping to relocate and follow the discussion.

As a business decision it makes sense. Why maintain two domains when both could be streamlined into one?

1. Keep BTS.
2. Don't merge BTS with ATS.
3. Do something so that idiots like me don't think they're suddenly bumped off and logged out if they click on a favorite thread that's been moved to BTS but don't realize what happened. ....Maybe a joint log-in, or a really loud bell or a few bright flashing lights? And a very large notice, with pretty arrows. Or send one of the mods over with a head-hammer (that's the one with a round end).

The split was a good idea. ...but some of us do get a bit confused sometimes.

Don't merge them - BUT FIX THE LOG-IN ISSUE. I know some on here have said they have never had a problem, but I do. Every time I want to participate in a thread on BTS, I have to log in again and then I think "ah stuff it, why bother" so end up not going in there at all.

Which is a shame, because it would be nice to talk about other non-conspiracy things once in a while.

So.. don't merge them, just simply alter your code so we are logged into both ATS and BTS at once. That way, I for one would be more likely to post. On the other hand, if I click on a BTS thread and I see ads running down the side and logged out, then I'm simply going to close the tab and read something on ATS instead.

EDIT: I agree with the above - Nothing worse than when you see a thread that's been moved into BTS and want to add a reply but suddenly you're bumped out.. it's unnecessary, off-putting and very annoying.

[edit on 10-2-2010 by RiotComing]

I would suggest keeping the sites separate as they are now, but with one improvement:

Once you are logged into either of them, you can jump to the other one by clicking on the link at the top. In other words, don't require a separate login for each, but still keep them separate for the reasons already stated.

Originally posted by RiotComing
BUT FIX THE LOG-IN ISSUE

As it has been explained, there's no "fixing it."

Two different domains. Two different cookies. Two different log-ins. No real graceful way around it.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord

A tabbed version of ATS and BTS on the same server would be a way to merge the two, without infringing on the separateness of the two (I think this was mentioned) but would be a possible compromise.

Thinking out loud...

Using the user database to track login status instead of cookies shouldn't be that hard, assuming ATS, BTS (and even the media portal) share a common user database. You already track "User was on XX minutes ago" so... one more field in the db for "Logged in" should be rather easy. If they are separate databases that replicate or are mirrored, a periodically ran script to synchronize those database fields shouldn't impact the servers too much.
...or...
You could use a URL rewrites to resolve to / from a subdomain like "below.abovetopsecret.com" or whatever to a subdirectory to ATS- as in "www.abovetopsecret.com/bts", which should solve the cross-domain cookie issue.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


BTS?? never heard of it until now, i think i may be suffering from DU OD. actually i have ostrich DNA. anyway, the link between the 2 sounded like a good idea--or was that the impossible part?

I vote "no".

I don't post often, but usually check into ATS every day to see what is going on in the world. I like to read or listen to the pros and cons of the serious discussions. This gives me a somewhat balanced view of world news. This helps me to keep an open mind about what I see on TV or hear on talk radio. I believe this is the way that I "deny ignorance".

I also like BTS and don't find it a problem to log in when I want to enjoy other discussions. Usually this would be when I have more time and this is where I usually do post my own "pros or cons".

Perhaps I am a traditionalist also because I like ATS/BTS as they are and have for a few years now. But, whenever you have made a change I usually accept it and also get to like it.

Thanks for asking.

Mahree

I think we should all be really thankful for the opportunity to have a say in this. Its one of the things I love about ATS. Personally I have no login problems, I just click on the BTS link at the top of the page and I'm there. I can see how many members would find this annoying, but I think the biggest issue here is the content of the forums. Mixing them would cause navigation to be a little bit more confusing, so I vote no on the merger. I'll be here regardless tho

why dont people just adjust their settings to save the password for each site,

i dont have to type anything in to change sites, just click, running xp pro sp3.

I still cant see what all the point is.

I think admin wants to change the site anyway,

its a great layout now, if it aint broken...........

Originally posted by scubagravy
its a great layout now, if it aint broken...........

If it ain't fixed, don't break it.

Having a global login amongst the associated domains would be nice. A merge would still be best served by a logical partition. The two should never be allowed to be confused; they definitely don't quite serve the same purpose.

My vote: keep ATS and BTS separate.

I vote yes, I always have to re-log on to bts every time. Plus what is the point of running two separate conspiracy sites? Dont you guys hate dealing with the maintenance and constantly moving threads from ats to bts because it is not always 100% clear that its conspiracy oriented? What if someone just has difficulty expressing what they are truly trying to relay and it just comes out as something "not fitting" for ats but ok for bts, but turns out the poster just miss wrote something or whatever and it could be something important or interesting.

At first i was slightly confused, so after searching for an input or upload of my biometric scan data i simply realized it was duel log in.

Did this create any stress, at first yes,

Could this be refined, yes

Should there be a single log in for the whole site, yes

Either way, its no big nsa threat to me. Step 1

I vote to keep the two seperate, BTS after all serves a purpose, to throw 'certain' created threads to somewhere more appropriate.

But may i suggest, to address the log in consideration between the two which seems the main contention here.

That on ATS and BTS, on the home pages, on ATS, a button on the main navigation bar, or wherever, which transfers an ATS member to BTS on toggling it, switches to the BTS homepage and which automatically logs one onto BTS, and vice verse, a button on the BTS homepage navigation bar or elsewhere which when toggled, automatically transfers you to ATS and autologs you on.

Wouldn't be hard to code, keeps the domains seperate but bridged so members already logged on to one site do not have to log onto a sepeate site.

If members have different identities on both, that's for them to rectify and merge identities.

Problem sorted, everybody happy.

Peace.

[edit on 11-2-2010 by DeltaPan]

I vote yes.


I don't even visit BTS because it's annoying logging-in so often. And having two domain names is just annoying, IMO.

[edit on 11/2/2010 by C0bzz]

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


good idea...it should just be one of the forums with its own subforums...ever since I decided to sign up I rarely log off ATS and its rather a chore to have to log on to BTS when I feel the urge