Are ATS Members Losing The Ability To think For Themselves ?

Originally posted by Stormdancer777

Originally posted by Maybe...maybe not
reply to post by Doc Velocity

 

Doc Velocity.....
I'm with ya Doc.....
I'm with ya!

Tell me brad, I mean, err, umm, maybe maybe not, what have you done to make them suspicions of you?
Are your fellow cohorts famous too?

Stormdancer777.....

I don't know.....

I have to go ask Zaiger.....

Originally posted by Maybe...maybe not

I don't know.....

I have to go ask Zaiger.....

I had to tell him to go ask Zaiger...

Man, Brad sure is a follower.

you noticed this now? welcome to the human club:=

Originally posted by Mr Mask

Originally posted by Maybe...maybe not
I don't know.....
I have to go ask Zaiger.....

I had to tell him to go ask Zaiger...
Man, Brad sure is a follower.

Zaiger has an animal living in his hair.....

Originally posted by Omega85
Greetings all .

Im writing this thread because i have noticed what seems to be an alarming trend that seems to be happening more and more over these past few months .

The truth is there always was a small element of this, but over the last couple of months i have come to notice this strange situation grow and grow until now , i thought i would compose a thread on the subject to see if there are other members out there like myself who are noticing this too .

Im not going to point fingers and call peoples names out about this and it is my very last wish to step on peoples toes or make them feel that i am singling them out .
Instead i believe that if there are others who have seen what i have seen then we will all get a general idea about those of you whom it seems are included in this subject .

What i am talking about is the fact that as i come to ATS nearly everyday and read up on my interests as well as open my eyes to new things , I am seeing a loss of individual thinking and/or ganging up of certain people as soon as certain member enter a thread with there ideas .

It seems that there are certain members that have a whole bunch of followers under them and these people will promote ( sometimes insultingly ) the members ideas and thoughts of whom they follow . Its almost like there are people here whose words are gospel and as soon as they open there mouth about something ten other people jump on there bandwagon without a second thought and start preaching the "leaders" ideas as if they were stone cold facts.

I have even seen members reply to a thread , not to build on or collaborate on the subject at hand or offer new insight ,but to just say "I cant wait till * Insert name here* sees this thread" ...

It almost seems that some members here have little cults that follow them everywhere only to jump in and promote the "leaders" ideas unquestionably .

There is a big difference between sharing a viewpoint and being a "groupie"

This is apparent with the star system too , A member can lay an awesome eye opening reply down into a thread and only get a couple of stars but then another member can come in and add a couple of lines of mere thought and they will get stars that go off the board .

I think that it is so wrong and is the last thing we should bring ourselves to doing .

I just thought i would post this thread and get your thoughts on this subject .
I respect all your replies and i just wanted to know if i am the only one seeing this .

We are all equal and all have the same goal in mind , It is up to US to think for ourselves and come to our own conclusions about the things in this world.


Here at AboveTopSecret i thought we were meant to stand up for what we believe in and grow as INDIVIDUALS , not hypocritically emulate the sheeple that we fight so hard not to be .

Respectfully Yours My Fellow ATS Members .


Omega

Creating a thread about posters/repliers and their habits does nothing more than point them out.
Most have already seen and noticed this.

Welcome to the world we live in and post about. People can read and make their own judgments from what they read without your own attempt at filtration.

..You know? with a grain of salt? We can read/ comprehend/judge for ourselves without a nudge in either direction. We know the playes.

Originally posted by Maybe...maybe not

Zaiger has an animal living in his hair.....

Noticing a man's hair eh?

Don't ask, don't tell...

On topic- Hasn't this thread been done a hundred times? No offense to the OP (I dig him), I'm just being honest. Every once a month we see this accusation that ATS has lost its momentum/intelligence/thinking-abilities-etc/

I'm judging this how I see it...most people are nodding yes-drones, and very few can put up with that for long so they leave...

Or Agent Pit erases them and we just "think" they left...




[edit on 11-7-2010 by Mr Mask]

I don't get it. Due to the anonymity of screen names, we don't really know who anyone here is.

I read many replies on this thread about how some follow others, the screen name Phage keeps coming up. How many say this person uses science in his/her response. How does anyone know who this person or anyone else on this site is?

I read the threads and find them interesting, and respond from time to time. If something dosen't sound right, I research it from other sources. When I respond, I try to give sources of where I get my ideas from.

I'm new to this site and don't really pay attention to who writes threads or who I respond to. Personally, I can't take anyone serious until I know who they are, their level of education, and their life experience. Anyone can say anything about who they are and what they have done.

Anyway, that's how I see it.

reply to post by Mr Mask


Mr Mask.....

On topic- Hasn't this thread been done a hundred times?

I don't know what to think.....

Kind regards
Maybe...maybe not

Originally posted by MCAinSTL
I can't take anyone serious until I know who they are, their level of education, and their life experience.

I am Mr Mask> Pleasure to kinda-meet you.

I barely made it out of high school alive. Thank the gods (Doc V included) for passing Cs.

My life has been one roller-coaster ride of "holy whoa, boy did I mess up or what!?"

I hope that helps you trust what I have to say.

Welcome to the site, please don't agree with me.

"I would posit that the best way to take down a 'collective brain' like ATS (by the powers that be) is to saturate the forums with bullcrap. Either that, or entrench teams of people to direct and channel discussions in certain directions, with specific agendas."

I do not think the motivation is to take ATS down as much as it is to marginalize, trivialize and discredit those who bring potentially credible alternative viewpoints to the table.

The main tactic used is to assemble a category of self-proclaimed alleged experts from various fields who work as a team to continuously beat down alternative thinking. These people love to blow their own horns, advertising themselves as experts, and propping themselves up as the "go to guys" for any information related to their fields.

The way that you can figure out that these people are out to sway public opinion, is that all six or seven of them have the same exact mindset and opinions about the subject being discussed. They never waiver one bit from their positions and never admit that they are wrong, even when compelling evidence is presented to counter their position.

Of course, I am not going to even get into the fact that with all things being equal, these "experts" have no business even visiting a conspiracy forum, since their thinking is as about conventional, mainstream and conformist as you can get.

The other tactic which you mentioned involves spinning the threads into a million different directions and filling them up with nonsense and gibberish. This serves no beneficial purpose, other than to dilute and trivialize the information which they are interested in burying.

Even though they are anonymous, people who work together as a collective are obvious and easy to pick off. Especially when their mission is to suppress unpopular information and free thinking.

Originally posted by Maybe...maybe not
reply to post by Mr Mask

 

Mr Mask.....

On topic- Hasn't this thread been done a hundred times?

I don't know what to think.....

Kind regards
Maybe...maybe not

You know what I think Brad...

I think you work for Phage's army of alien Chadwicks!!!

I don't have proof...but I got pics...including one with three fine looking ladies giving you a thumbs up!

**** ATTENTION ****

Get On Topic.

Off topic, ridiculing posts will be removed.

Ok! Listening to the Mod here...back on topic (shakes fist at agent Pit)

Is it possible that I myself am an unwittingly programed disinfo agent?

I mean...in school I disrupted class. At the dinner table I disrupted dinner. At work I disrupt work...and well, obviously I disrupt threads with my shenanigans and tomfoolery.

What I am getting at is this-

You have my word that I am not paid to disrupt "meaningful discussions" here and I honestly try to "not rock the boat" (usually failing to do so).

SO- is it possible that MK Ultra has tinkered with my internal programming so wherever I go I mess up really deep conversations that would ultimately reveal secret truths if I wasn't here to disrupt them?

Perhaps there are hundreds of "sleeper jerks" like me across the country just messing up everything productive and insightful...

Man...I hope this is not the case...I really would hate to be some Manchurian-Troll!!!

OMG...that's it, isnt it?

I'm an Manchurian troll...

Shoot me...

[edit on 11-7-2010 by Mr Mask]

reply to post by Omega85


I totally agree with you!
Many members are not able to think for them selves and create by believing certain members a front against everyone who has a different opinion.
People should lighten up and listen to what everyone's has to say and make up their own mind.

You got a choice in life, walk with the masses or walk ahead of them.
(many are far behind)

I didn't see it before but now I see it.

I guess it takes a while to see who has social skills and know how to properly communicate.

I've been on groups such as this, and it does make the moderators come up with rules like 'no one-liners' and at least ATS gives a U2U option.

But yep. I see it.

I see the posts that are more U2U's and saturating the thread.

I think ATS has an 'ignore' button.

I'm new here, but if there is a way to filter out the nonsense I will learn it before I learn what a star or a flag is.

Who knows I may leave before it matters.

Nonsense building on nonsense = more ah??

Well I would equate some of those posts like I did the one where the guy said ETs would disclose themselves on Saturday, oh but wait he said they didn't like being called ET and wanted to be called supreme beings?
(I knew it was fake when he said they 'hated' being called something)
Intelligent beings don't care what they are 'called' their intelligence and LOVE wastes no energy on low density words that don't define them.


These posters appear to know where they stand. From the reaction, it seems there is some truth in what was said by the OP. I never expected such reaction. Before that, I had no clue, no idea, and no opinion.

They are creators. They are creating experiences that 'block'.
I always remind others to be careful what they create.

When these posters look at their lives, they may find many instances where they have been blocked...be it from employment, or money, or status, or ownership, or relationship, maybe their health is blocked and they have a bad back, can't walk, or their expenses are blocked and they can't pay their bills, etc...

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
I love the complexity of the universe and how it manages the flow of the energy created.

I'm not going to stop anyone from creating their own realities.

I can't be a fly on their wall to see how what they do here, affects their
everyday life. When I think about it. I don't want to waste my time.

They use each other to prop themselves up.
Is a prop useful in this existence or is standing on our own better?

Hmm.

Now where is that 'Ignore' button?

In this universe all things are possible.
Judge not that you not be judged.
I'm glad I get to choose my experiences.
I love you and I forgive you, and in doing so I love myself and forgive myself.

Light and Love

reply to post by Omega85


I believe this is actually the opposite of how most people look at this, not always of course but mostly.
Rather than it being a case of sucking up to other members or an inability to think.
It might actually be that some members take more offence to their toes being tread on than others or the member is known for great rebuttles.

We are all here to debate about what is true or false, at least thats what I am here for and theres going to be times when a person is right and wrong given the very reason the site exists.

At the end of the day, nobody should be a scaredy cat when it comes to a viewpoint because the worst thats going to happen is that you see a piece of text on your screen from a user that disagrees with your point.

Everyone has to remember that theres a lot of younger members as well as older members, I dont mean just the fact that members are new to the site, they might be youthful, age wise as well. I think it is a good thing in some cases if another member aspires to anothers posting quality etc.

If it is fear of another posters rebuttle that drives it though, then its just simply wrong as your hiding your point of view from others in debates when you might be right.

This is not something thats recent, its went on for years and you can see it in the sites archive of threads. It will always be here as theres such a variety of people on this site be it age, location, belief, experience and so on.

The problem with this thread, at its core, is that thinking for yourself critically becomes a part of agreeing with others that think alike. Thinking for yourself doesnt mean living life with your head up your own butt, other people are a part of life.



[edit on 11-7-2010 by XXXN3O]

I have a little more faith in the human capacity to judge another person or situation at first glance, without collecting a volume of data, most of which is opinion and biased doo-doo, from a hundred or a thousand other people.

I mean, taking polls before you make every single move is what Bill Clinton did for 8 long years, and what did it get him? Nada. He had no real presidential accomplishments to his credit, he was constantly holed up in the White House, stonewalling investigations and worrying about what people thought of him. His personal, "salacious" misadventures took precedent over his foreign and domestic policy.

Because he was afraid to make a move without taking twenty or so public opinion polls, gathering a consensus of what a cross-section of America thought he should do.

In short, he showed no leadership and he pretty much wasted America's time for 8 stinking years. Not that GWB was a trophy, either, but at least he scored an honest-to-God kill on Saddam Hussein. Which was a sick treat for the bloodthirsty (meaning most of us), and it got him reelected.

Don't you know Bill Clinton was kicking himself when they caught Saddam on GWB's shift. Dang! That could-uh been ME stormin' inta Baghdad... Say, baby, would ya collect your panties off the bathroom floor before Hillary comes home? Thanks, honey, and, here, take the rest of this 8-ball with ya, yeah, you can have it....Man, I need ta slow down some....

Okay, I'm just using Slick as an example of the Liberal mindset, spinning their wheels trying to appease everybody's feelings and spreading the love and never rushing to judgement without a comprehensive review of every fekking opinion.

Which gets you exactly nowhere.

We're not here to massage each other's ego, okay? Life is too short — we're here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and dammit an unmanned drone just blew up the bubblegum factory.

So, you know, let the fur fly and all that. That's why we're here, to compete, to cast the weak aside that the strong may inherit the Earth along with all the weaks' parking spaces.

So WHAT if somebody has more stars than somebody else? What are we, Sneeches? You Dr. Suess fans explain it to the others

BZZZZ! BZZZZZZZ, I tell you!

Now we rejoin our regularly scheduled programming, which is already in progress...


— Doc Velocity

reply to post by GobbledokTChipeater


It general, most ATS members can see the difference between a troll post and a genuine poster whether the poster is accurate or not.

One's Intent, just as in a court of law, goes along way.
This was not an issue until you made it one.
As per Phage, I'll keep my opinion to myself as I should.

I try to be responsible for what I post. Sometimes too much information is not a good thing. Rather than focus on individual 'acts' of the day, I'd attempt to focus on the theme of issues so one may see a trend or see matters from outside of their box whether it be self imposed or ingrAIned in the brain.

Most are taught what to think, how to think; to follow. This is not good for society or for the advancement of 'all' the races. There are differences among races and cultures though when one sees the 'I' they all possess, they are that much closer to seeing a matter objectively rather than subjectively or .....worse, told what to think.

I watch the MSM to keep track of what the folks who own the networks wish the public to believe. Sometimes there is true reporting, though often the 'intent' is way off par with reason, rationale and logic. If there is a problem, often it is for no good 'reason'. Without reason you have chaos, with reason, you have Order of the best kind. It works for 'good' reason.....as it should and by natural and intelligent design.

Some ATS members have developed a reputation for accuracy and truth in reporting. Naturally they get more attention. I see no problem. If there is a problem, the ATS member is most likely to find it and expose it.

oh, nice cat.
I get it.



[edit on 11-7-2010 by Perseus Apex]

reply to post by Omega85


I honestly don't think most of them ever did in the first place. It's just another sub-culture people fall into looking for a place to fit in. 99% of posts on here exhibit no critical thinking at all. 90% of topics are complete bunk. 9% of them are interesting, but eventually end in asking you for money. Most of the good threads on here are 8-9 posts long, buried way in the back, little nuggets of truth that most people in the world wouldn't notice if they came crashing through their roof into their lap.

reply to post by SphinxMontreal


I'm liking your thinking there bud. As another member has commented further back in this thread 'we know the players'. I could list about five off the top of my head, and then would have to look around a bit to figure out the others, but there's no doubt they exist as a cohesive unit here on ATS.

The grand scheme rolls ever onwards.

May we open our eyes, then open them again..!


Noah.