Forum Gang Activity On the Rise on Ats?

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


You brought up a good point about a thread being dead for hours then all of a sudden it gets active.

Well again this could simply be many like minded individuals in the same time zone becoming active at the same time period reading, starring and commenting.

So now you have a dead thread that appears to have all of a sudden become active with many responses all coming in at once.


Somebody earlier made a great point. One group may consider themselves just friends and the opposition would consider them a gang and visa/versa etc.

I'd say it's a perspective thing.
Anyway I have to start posting, Replying and starring.

reply to post by SLAYER69


Well you have fun and please play nicely with others.

Thanks for posting!

good job bro fight the fight!

reply to post by stickynanton


Thanks for the encouraging word.

Fighting the good fight is something we should all do in my humble opinion.

Thanks for posting.

Originally posted by SLAYER69
reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler

 

You brought up a good point about a thread being dead for hours then all of a sudden it gets active.

Well again this could simply be many like minded individuals in the same time zone becoming active at the same time period reading, starring and commenting.

So now you have a dead thread that appears to have all of a sudden become active with many responses all coming in at once.

I've always attributed this to people using the "recent posts" button to navigate ATS. Especially if a "popular" poster replies to a thread, I think it brings in a rash of readers to the thread. And since those readers are likely to be people who look for that person's posts (either to agree with or to disagree with), you end up with a sudden burst of starring that could look more organized than it actually is.

I don't mean to discount the possibility that there are actual organized "forum gangs" operating here, particularly on certain topics. Just presenting another explanation for something that I've often seen cited as evidence of "gang" activity.

reply to post by SLAYER69

Well again this could simply be many like minded individuals in the same time zone becoming active at the same time period reading, starring and commenting.

Very interesting so if I understand you correctly members of forum gangs in the same time zones coordinate to sign on at the same time.

Fascinating and very revealing based on some of the most recent data coming in on my study.

Gangs who post in conjunction with one another on as many as three web sites sign on all at the same time and then start reviewing each other's efforts.

Management and logistics just fascinate me.

Maybe you could answer another question do paid posters get paid per post, per length of post, or the rating reviews of the post?

Working three sites would have to be a full time job.

You know if you listen carefully to other people they will reveal everything you really want to know!

Can't quite figure out why the CIA needs water boards!

This is looking like an Emerill situation, might be time to take this all up a notch!




[edit on 1/3/10 by ProtoplasmicTraveler]

From what I can see the majority of the population is moderate. Outside of that the rest is split between conservative and liberal. If you post an extreme opinion (Screw that unqualified communist Obama, or screw Reagans' legacy), the majority will disagree with you. An increasing amount of moderates are against the new drift of the nation.

What I have noticed is lots of very junior members signing on and attacking conservative posts. They'll search for anything anti-Obama and post 'you must be racist' or similar trolling replies and usually don't return. Sometimes there's a sprinkling of posts in a thread, and maybe that poster makes more than one reply.

These attacks seem to be posts by junior high school kids (or politicians) due to the weak command of language and little apparent thought applied. Possibly an Acorn-style 'community center' where the group focus of the day is make posts defending the current administration and their agenda.

reply to post by warpcrafter


To quote the great Ellen Muth "You have 10 fingers and I have 10 fingers lets be friends and if we meet someone with 9 fingers we can beat the crap out of them!"


ah the joy of anonymity and proxies

[edit on 2-3-2010 by tigpoppa]

reply to post by Dbriefed


Well we do know that Obama has a huge network of volunteers he has kept in touch with through email efforts since being elected.

Some of them amazingly are still passionate about the man.

Though I suspect many of them at this point or actually Indian Call Center Costumer Service Reps working for 2.94 an hour!

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

Stormdancer is an excellent example of someone that i knew before coming to ATS (i think i actually got her to come here, can't remember for sure). But i rarely even see her in the vast expanse of ATS.

Yea, you invited me, look what you have gotten me into now,



As all forums I have haunted I have a love hate relationship with them.

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


Hi mate, to be honest earlier my perception was echoing Benevolent Heretic and neformore and I highly doubted that here were forum gangs [agents (who derail or attack author) more likely but coordinated forum attacks I doubted] on the forum currently but after I went thru the "thread" yesterday and noted the post of mail/U2U I was not shocked but actually saddened that people indeed use such cheap tactics on discussion board. As this is my first and only public forum I have not come across such activity before.

However, do not digress my friend for such lies always need help when facing the truth. The fact that the person is calling for help to "counter" against a single user shows their own weakness. The search for truth is always ridden with hurdles but one should not be discouraged by it.

I learned this from wildlife even several hyenas cannot take on a tiger. They will try to distract and surround and make funny sounds around it but due to their weakness cannot attack it. The forum gang is similar. I hope Mods or Site Admins. can review all U2U's in question and identify the forum gang if indeed the rules were broken as per ATS T&C.

I love animals and they always brighten up my day, hoping this will brighten your day





[edit on 2-3-2010 by December_Rain]

reply to post by December_Rain

Hi mate, to be honest earlier my perception was echoing Benevolent Heretic and neformore and I highly doubted that here were forum gangs [agents (who derail or attack author) more likely but coordinated forum attacks I doubted] on the forum currently but after I went thru the "thread" yesterday and noted the post of mail/U2U I was not shocked but actually saddened that people indeed use such cheap tactics on discussion board. As this is my first and only public forum I have not come across such activity before.

I think to a certain extent what we are seeing in this thread are three types of people my friend.

1. People who know true forum gangs exist because they really have encountered them often either through attempts they rejected to be recruited into one or uncovering real evidence of one’s existence like I displayed in the ‘thread’ you are referring to.
2. Posters who haven’t encountered them through attempts to be recruited or running up against one and researching and investigating the matter who then have concluded that they may exist or may not exist and concede that they are possible for reasons inherent to human nature.
3. Posters who are actually a part of a forum gang trying to provide what they consider to be rational explanations as to why the data trends that point to a forum gang at work don’t indicate a forum gang is at work.

Some people might want to ask themselves why otherwise intelligent and articulate people who technically should understand what the people in category 2 understand that its typical human nature to seek out protective offensive/defensive herds would be so interested in trying to convince other posters that this type of common human behavior wouldn’t translate itself into forum gangs.

I agree totally that those who post in organized gang coordinated activities are individually insecure and weak but only to an extent. Because some of them are in fact agenda driven and the agendas they typically push are ones that most favor the military industrial complex, war, death, and the entrenched political status quo there individual weaknesses are in fact combined through their mutual efforts at an attempt at dominance.

What forum gangs like to do of course is dominate the forums through deceptive and disingenuous tactics that in essence are designed to turn their individual weaknesses into common strengths.

Because this is an inherent human trait and is prevalent not just across the Internet Board but the broader board of life what we are in fact seeing is some of the weakest minds joined in an effort of domination and they do in fact most often achieve that domination because of people’s inherent need to join social and protective/offensive herds that validate and absolve them.

The good news here is the bad news here. Any organization is only as strong as its weakest link.

That would lead some to argue that the world is in its sorry state of war, poverty, scarcity and inequity because of the weak minded, weak link thinkers involved in those organizations that have that utter need to dominate and will inflict war, poverty and deprivation upon others through group management of the people in the group and the resources it can acquire to leverage those towards domination of others.

Amazingly what I have seen through the “thread” you refer too, is each weak link actually showing that weakness when initially exposed but then as one might truly expect of the truly weak minded not to rethink their strategies and tactics that they also inherently know are wrong when confronted by them in a moral way, but to rather temporarily retreat, communicate amongst the herd, and come up with a new strategy to come back and attempt to dominate through their numbers once more after convincing one another that their numbers and tactics will in fact in their estimation continue to protect them.

It is sad in a way and funny in a way too, sad because in essence all such agenda driven groups can in fact only recruit people with weak minds. Those who are most susceptible to the poorly thought out dogmas of the status quo who have turned the planet into a seething ball of war, starvation, deprivation, indifference, prejudice and poverty and then their own weak desire to perpetuate them for a slightly bigger slice from the scarcity pie for performing for the herd’s masters.

If it were only fools ruled by their egos and need to be right it would be far less sad, and far less dangerous but the truth is it’s fools not just ruled by their egos but fools ruled by their egos who are responsible towards a herd and the herd’s agenda to attain and maintain dominance at other’s expense.

What is truly funny is how we have seen the guilt ridden some of which who were exposed in the “Thread” in question then flock to this thread to try to explain away forum gangs through attempts at illustrating how what they would like to purport are natural occurrences that end up drastically altering data trends are in fact unnatural occurrences and revealing a portion of their tactics in that endeavor.

Apparently that particular forum gang is having a difficult time understanding the present gravity of their situation born out of having one to many weak links exposed in their organization.

No matter how well organized any herd is though or what tactics it uses it is always susceptible to the lone wolf.

Be an army of one!

Not only can you travel light, but you can always have seconds in the chow line you don’t have to wait in. The chain of command is simple; it stops at the mirror that people in herds can never quite seem to bear to honestly look in!

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


I see what you are talking about sometimes but I normally see it from a group that is on your side of the table and blasts everything that has the world Israel in it.

Because you say you see the same things, it leads me to believe we each are just seeing what we want and its probably just normal forum activity.

reply to post by whoshotJR

Because you say you see the same things, it leads me to believe we each are just seeing what we want and its probably just normal forum activity.

If only this was true whoshotJR. The truth is what Proto has laid out. It's an information war and the lines between the good and the bad side have been made clear in my opinion. I know what to watch for and I know how to deal with it now.

Originally posted by whoshotJR
reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler

 

I see what you are talking about sometimes but I normally see it from a group that is on your side of the table and blasts everything that has the world Israel in it.

Because you say you see the same things, it leads me to believe we each are just seeing what we want and its probably just normal forum activity.

I sure can’t deny that I have a very supportive following on ATS. Nor can I deny I am against Zionist politics but I sure would love to see a peaceful Israel inside pre-1948 borders with Jerusalem maintained as an open city under the Holy See like the original treaties and accords called for (not because I am a fan of Rome or it’s politics but because a contract is a contract) enjoy prosperity and security in perpetuity with their Semitic Islamic brothers and sisters happily ever after.

I receive a lot of support for my comments, insight and knowledge of history on the issue and it is both humbling and flattering but what I don’t do is orchestrate that response by coordinating it with anyone. I don’t U2U people saying whoshotJr is on a thread star me and I will star you back. My U2U activity is primarily writing people back to thank them for complimenting me on posts or leaving comments on my profile. A few people who follow my works and theories on the Roman Empire still exists and rules the world occasionally send me information that they have encountered in their own research.

My main interest in Israel besides a human rights one is in fact for the Israelis who are in my humble opinion unwitting and sacrificial pawns in a plan of Rome’s to use modern Israel as a touchstone and prize to be fought over to usher in a one world government after an apocalyptic war of Rome and not G-d’s doing destroys it.

Most of the Zionists who are in fact part of Rome’s vast armies and plans reject this notion that I in fact am fighting harder to save Israel than they are by fighting against the Zionists who have set Israel up like a domino to be knocked over by Rome when the situation is ripe.

Yet the truth is that short of not speaking my mind, and not putting quality effort into my posts I can’t stop people from appreciating them or the numbers that appreciate them.

It is in fact why I have been so flattered as to be target number 1 of the two organized forum gangs working Middle Eastern Affairs.

They do coordinate their activities between one another through private communications and I have uncovered plenty of evidence of that.

They do operate in conjunction with one another in packs and operate from what I am now finding out not just on ATS as a gang but three different websites as a gang.

They are in fact paid posters, mercenaries promoting key agendas trying to shroud it in ideology and religion.

I have seen them go to this extent….

Proto: The sun comes up in the morning

XXXX: That’s absurd what are you a jihadist the sun doesn’t come up in the morning.

Proto: No I am not religious look the sun really does come up in the morning look…
Navalobservatory.com

CCCC: Man proto I thought you were smart but you think the sun comes up in the morning sailors don’t know when the sun comes up lame attempt.

Proto: No really the sun comes up in the morning look!

Nasa.org

JJJJ: Proof of your Islamist moon worshipping agenda trying to claim that the sun comes up in the morning! Go back to Saudi Arabia already.

Proto: No look the sun comes up in the morning look!

Britishobservator.eu

RRRR: right on CCCC, JJJJ, XXXX its about time someone dealt with this creep everyone knows the sun doesn’t come up in the morning.

Proto: No really guys it does, look the sun comes up in the morning do any of you have proof it doesn’t or when it does?

AstrononyToday.com

DDDD: Wow talk about a demented looser what kind of idiot thinks the sun comes up in the morning?

Proto: Look guys the thread is about the Broadway Production of Annie can any of you prove that the sun doesn’t come up in the morning?

SunriseSunsetCharts.com

LLLL: Wow you just don’t give up proto, epic fail all those sources are internet sources and financed by the Saudis!

When it gets that bad and some times it does get that bad you got yourself a forum gang that loves you!

There is a difference between popular posters, and organized attempts by organized gangs to attack posters.

The key is they aren’t going to talk about or attempt to prove when the sun really comes up. Why? Because the truth is they can’t prove it doesn’t come up in the morning. They aren’t going to debate the issue they are going to debate you and to a lesser extent the credibility of your sources, while adding little to nothing of any substance of their own to prove an argument of their own or even disprove your argument. It’s all about baiting, and deflecting, and trying to discredit a poster and get them to discredit themselves.

One of the reasons I get so many stars is in fact because I get a lot of U2U’s that say wow Proto you have the patience of Job those guys really went after you and you never lost your cool, some great posts too, I learned a lot.

The truth is though there are some people who either suspect I have a forum gang, or am part of a paid effort, and whether they believe that genuinely or not or its just another way to say no the sun doesn’t come up in the morning I don’t know.

Over 200 people have selected me as a friend on ATS, some of them really love my posts. The truth is though if I did have a forum gang, with that kind of strength of numbers to put together one, I sure wouldn’t need to be drawing attention about and to forum gangs, I could whip up on them with a gang of my own!

This thread is aimed at asking all members to fight the good fight, be civil, keep it above the belt, and to remind them if you are in an organized gang ultimately your gang and agenda is going to be exposed as the enterprise it is, because that gang makes the quality of threads suffer and ATS suffers.

Flash gangs and mobs are one thing, people who gravitate towards the same forums and threads another, it crosses the line when it involves back and forth communication aimed at going after posters and not the issues.

Collaborate all you want when it comes to information and presenting quality arguments and pooling and sharing resources, that’s not a Forum Gang, it becomes a forum gang when it specifically targets posters and not issues.

Some people are still reluctant to grasp that, but that’s the dividing line between innocent and guilty as charged.

Some people are guilty as charged and believe me they know who they are!


[edit on 2/3/10 by ProtoplasmicTraveler]

[edit on 2/3/10 by ProtoplasmicTraveler]

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


Holy #, that is going in my bookmarks.

I myself try to keep away from the mideast threads due to my lack of understanding of the whole thing. Instilled chaos is meant to be chaos.

That is all I have to say about that.

And those chocolates can be quite atrocious at times.

Army of one, where no one can join! Only LEAD!

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


All of this Ramble for 6 pages really serves no purpose. Really there is no T@C Violation as Slayer pointed out earlier, There are no Gangs, who show up and roam wild on threads, because someone or a group of people doesn’t mean they are out to get you. Hell December Rain and Rainfall are not who I consider "Friends" but they have valid points and sometimes they post together in threads... are they ganging up on me?

Modern Academia, Sean 48, and Republican08 have different viewpoints as I do, but sometimes they all show up in a thread and let their views fly.. I have been put in my place by the above mentioned and I have done the same to them, They Have changed my opinions on some things, as I think I may have on them… So it isn’t all that bad.

Are the Ganging up on me?

Hell no they are pointing out there points of view, who cares if they come in a pack or not they have their opinions and I like to hear them...

But seriously are you going to complain because a few people show up to your threads or where you are posting and take you to the woodshed? (in there yes they are) We have different points of views if we didn’t ATS would be boring kind of like the Huffington Post.

reply to post by poedxsoldiervet


Ah you know I just love old addages.

Nothing like seeing rats fleeing a sinking ship.

I sure could appreciate why some members would hate seeing a quality discussion on forum gangs, and how to spot the differences in an organized gang that communicates behind the scenes to attack posters and not issues, versus like minded people who flock to certain threads that they like to credibly debate the issues on.

I find it truly interesting that so many people would like to deny their existence when in fact forum gangs are a known part of the internet makeup.

We all know trolls exist, we all know forum gangs exist if only because those destinctions have been made to create names for people engaged in certain types of activities those labels are meant to describe.

Is Denying Ignorance denyong one's own if the face of it, or is denying ignorance about teaching people how not to be and when not to be yourself.

Forum gangs exist, they exist on ATS, they exist in a couple of different forums, two that I have identified operate in Middle Eastern Affairs.

This thread is about learning to look for trends and tell tale signs that suggest a real organized forum gang is at work.

How to identify them, how to not fall victim to them, how to stay out of them, and comically for those in them evidently they would also like it to be about how to learn to deny the existence of forum gangs and that they are in them.

Funny some people would call complaining those efforts to elevate people's awareness and deny ignorance!

Like moths to a flame, so go the days of our lives!





[edit on 2/3/10 by ProtoplasmicTraveler]

Originally posted by ProtoplasmicTraveler

Working three sites would have to be a full time job.

You know if you listen carefully to other people they will reveal everything you really want to know!

The three websites I mentioned that you seem to have twisted into a "Conspiracy" if you have to know. I'll tell you so you can finally shut up.

Not that it is any of your business.
It just goes to show the reader how far your cheese has slid off of your cracker.
Or were you drinking again?

One was FACEBOOK. I use that to keep in touch with my Daughter who is away at University taking classes on Film and Studio production and my Son who is in the service formerly in Iraq and now stationed in Greece. There is a message board feature.

The second was Gmail. I was writing my Ex-Wife on the details of our long awaited final Divorce papers.

The Third was a [PC-Gaming] SITE I belong to. I worked in the PC computer game development field for over 10 years before being let go due to downsizing in 2003. I still have friends in the industry and we chat about the latest hardware/software and what titles are coming down the pike.

So excuse me for being distracted that night as you can see I had more important things to deal with than just your myopic view of Iran.
Have a nice day.



[edit on 2-3-2010 by SLAYER69]

reply to post by SLAYER69


You know I am strill trying to figure out why we need waterboards to extract confessions.

I think the Catholics do the best job at extracting information myself.

Unburden your troubled soul my son the Lord shall forgive you!

One thing is for sure since the advent of political correctness no one seems armed very well for battles of the wits any more.

Common sense can be your friend! Not politically popular in the politically correct propaganda age but the truth is people involved in organized attempts at defeating common sense are in fact in the longrun just defeating themselves.

This thread is about learning how to play nicely with others.

Play nicely with others they will play nicely with you!