404 errors on the site

We seem to be getting a few errors on the site over the past few days

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Have the mods been working overtime or is it a technical isue and can we have a section where we can read these theads that we all need to be protected from that does not show in the main forum area else some might think the mods have an agender.

don't ask me why but a thread with the youtube vid shown below got removed last week and no one seemed able to say why



i come here because i'm sick of the BBC deciding what i see and i don't like mods deleting threads without a good reason so maybe you can PM me and say why these threads are being removed.

Moderators don't delete threads for no reason. The reason for the move (when it's not obvious) is usually discussed with the poster of the thread. It would be hard to communicate a thread move (or a post removal) to each and every member every time it happens. If you want to know why a thread has been removed you can always contact the moderators via the complaints feature to enquire about it. You can almost always bet that the thread went against the T&Cs or the thread was posted in Breaking Alternative News when it wasn't anything close to Breaking Alternative News.

The thread you linked to above was removed because it didn't qualify for the Breaking Alternative News forum, i.e. the guidelines wasn't followed.

IMPORTANT: Off-topic submissions that do not relate to the "alternative topics" of ATS, are more than 36 hours old at the time of submission, or cover news stories already submitted to the news forum, are subject to immediate removal without warning or explanation.
...
Posting a news article

Well yes i agree breaking news should be breaking news so maybe it would be best to move the thread to another part of the forum.

just because a automatic message is sent to the person that posted the thread when it gets deleted does not mean the mods are accountable and if like today we get 3 deleted thread from the main listing page then would you not agree that it would appear that the mods are being a bit too agressive.

We all understand the needs for having mods but i'm quite happy to to see 'Elvis lives on the moon' threads in the listing and would like to make up my own mind if i want to read it and if i beleive it or not.

Looks like i'm on my own pulling the mods up so it might be i was out of order.

reply to post by Gemwolf


And why was this one removed?

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Funny because it was about disinfo agents and I have seen Mods and even Skeptic start threads on exactly the same subject....

But obviously theirs dont get removed

Personally I dont see the problem with these posts..

reply to post by LieBuster


In the past we have simply moved threads from B.A.N. to a more suitable forum, however we found that people simply posted in B.A.N. with the hope that their threads would make it to the front page and in some cases where new members try to circumvent the 20 post minimum requirement. This caused a lot of administration for moderators - to such a degree that we were constantly moving threads out of B.A.N. To get the point across that people should review the B.A.N. guidelines we started to simply delete the threads (as per the quote I quoted above). We only have to delete a person's thread from B.A.N. once for the message to get across.

They are always welcome to repost the thread in the proper sub forum.

You'll be amazed at the amount of threads we move around during the day - i.e. we don't delete threads left and right. I think the fact that you "discovered" what seems like a lot of deleted threads recently is pure coincidence.

Moderators are volunteer staff and they do their best to keep ATS tidy and workable. They are here to help. Full stop. If they would back off from moving threads around people would soon realise what a mess things really are.

reply to post by virgom129


the link you gave is the link to the 404 page... And the 404 page is still there, so...

reply to post by Gemwolf


Yep, but the original thread was removed, hence the 404 page...

I just didn't see that thread as detrimental to ATS in any way,shape or form..

Just wondering why it was removed...

Well credits to the mods they didn't delete this thread because someone dare ask about missing threads so they can not all be that bad.

The current practice of just deleting threads and only telling the OP why is counter productive. Instead of a "404" there aught to be a page for all who are interested to see; posters on the thread for example, that explains the problem that led to the thread being deleted.

That would be informative. It would help spread the news about what is OK and what is not. That would help reduce the recurrence of such problems in the future would it not?

You keep us all in the dark and then wonder why we don't understand your thinking.

reply to post by Gemwolf

 

the link you gave is the link to the 404 page... And the 404 page is still there, so...

OUT the disinfo agents on ATS

www.abovetopsecret.com...

thread596952

[edit on 25-7-2010 by Zeta Reticulan]

reply to post by wayno


IMO, all you need to do is read the T&C.

I mean, it's not complicated, hell they even trimmed it down last year because people were too lazy to read the whole thing.

I also think it's counterproductive for the staff to have to explain themselves everytime a thread is removed or moved to some other place.

The only people who really need to know is the OP itself, any "major" event, such as the Doc Velocity thread from a few days back ALWAYS gets explained to the general ATS members at some point or another if it's required.

But the mundane little threads throughout the day? That would be an epic waste of time. Could you imagine a bunch of threads that just say " removed because of censor circumvention", "Removed because not at 20 post mininum" etc?

~Keeper

i've seen this happen atleast 5 or 6 times in the last month or so in which i also could not comprehend why it had been deleted, i even saw one thread titled why did you delete my thread, and that too was deleted, bad form on a conspiracy site, no one could expect that it wouldnt get some of us suspecting.

i even considered migrating to a different site, but thought better of it, because i realy like ats and also i decided it was probly a justifiable reason,

i did conclude to keep my eyes open and that if it did become obvious threads were being deleted suspiciously then i would leave, but right now i only have unreasonable suspicion, im waiting to see if it becomes more reasonable suspicion,

how bout we suggest locking threads and moving them instead of just deleting them, or if you had a BAN forum then just make it moderator write only, so no one posts there and only mods can move and put threads there.

or you could also just have one thread in which it is always posted when a thread is deleted and why, example thats why this thread exists except so far we've only questioned two examples, alot of time spent when a thread with only the answers would have prevented the need for this thread,

perhaps that would be to time consuming? maybe have one particular moderator with that sole job other mods would simply u2u him and then he'd post the reasoning when they also remove a thread.


btw why did you remove a thread titled conspiracy surrounding me? on 7/21?

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/3f2d276120f7.jpg[/atsimg]

[edit on 25-7-2010 by pryingopen3rdeye]

I have read the fax on how to and were to post .
and I to have seen threads deleted that as far as I could see were in the right form ,formatted correctly , and had nothing in the thread that could be considered umm bad rude .
now me personal i think that like the bad leo's theirs bad mods as well these are people with there own aganida and when they see a thread that goes against what they believe they delete it.
now no dought like a leo corrupt mods are few and far between but also like loe's they stick toghter supporting the bad mods as one of there own taking no responsibility for the bad mods .
So who mods the mods? well the mods them selfs do just like the leos and it will take grandma being tazed to make it oves which mod is the corrupt one.
one last thing a thief gets angry at being called a thief .
so as this new thread about mods who step over there authority progresses lets see who gets pissed .
as i say its only a few bad mods and I even like most mods (unlike leo's )
of corse its easer to let bad mods slide as they cant accutly taze us (or can they ?) lololol ps even spell check gave up on me :

reply to post by xxcalbier


I don't really understand how people here can think that there are "rogue" or "bad" mods who just delete things willy nilly.

As far as I know, most if not all thread closures a staff decisions are made by consensus after staff discussion. Unless it's something really obvious that breaks the T&C.

~Keeper

Originally posted by wayno
The current practice of just deleting threads and only telling the OP why is counter productive. Instead of a "404" there aught to be a page for all who are interested to see; posters on the thread for example, that explains the problem that led to the thread being deleted.

That would be informative. It would help spread the news about what is OK and what is not. That would help reduce the recurrence of such problems in the future would it not?

You keep us all in the dark and then wonder why we don't understand your thinking.

This is exactly correct.

The only beef i have with ATS is this issue. This is a conspiracy site. Deleting threads is going to do nothing but make the membership wonder what the agenda is. that is what i think.

The deletion of threads is disrespectful. If there is a particular issue with BAN, then have a policy for that forum. Maybe you simply lock the thread with the explanation that because of it being BAN, moving threads is not possible?

It really, really pisses me off when i read a thread in the AM, before work, and bookmark it so i can finish it and cull some data from it when i get out of work, only to find it was deleted during the day.

This issue, as it is increasing, is likely the only thing that will end up driving me from this site. Take that for what you will. But know that it is common sense and obvious that the practice will only drive away more users, and discourage new membership. Added to that is how bad it makes the site look when a link followed in from Google is 404'd (which has happened to be before, too).

But it is your place. Run it like you want, i guess.

as far as you know hu. well that statement in of its self shows just how much a mod could do and not be accountable for.
and who are you kidding? Mods are people to even the best person will use power in a wrong way if given power.
Bet you theres not a leo on the planet that hasn't seeded even though there was no need to speed . lol accutly bet theres not a person on earth who hasnt speeded alest once .
heck even Jesus if he had a car would have once lol .
I am sure they like you defending them but lets be real mods are people to and will on occasion do what they want contrary to the rules . heck I have seen mods post one liners lol so don't be so quick to make them gods

Originally posted by virgom129
Funny because it was about disinfo agents and I have seen Mods and even Skeptic start threads on exactly the same subject....

No staff member ever has initiated a thread to "search for" disinfo agents on ATS, and none ever will. We will not support a witch-hunt mentality on this site. Simply post good content, and intelligently and politely refute those whom you believe have an agenda.

Simple.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by wayno

 

IMO, all you need to do is read the T&C.

I mean, it's not complicated, hell they even trimmed it down last year because people were too lazy to read the whole thing.
I also think it's counterproductive for the staff to have to explain themselves everytime a thread is removed or moved to some other place.

The only people who really need to know is the OP itself, any "major" event, such as the Doc Velocity thread from a few days back ALWAYS gets explained to the general ATS members at some point or another if it's required.

But the mundane little threads throughout the day? That would be an epic waste of time. Could you imagine a bunch of threads that just say " removed because of censor circumvention", "Removed because not at 20 post mininum" etc?

~Keeper

You are easily one of my favorite posters here, so don't take this in the wrong way. But that is ridiculous. Especially the bolded part. Communication is always the solution, and the lack of it will always cause problems.

It is about some respect. Understanding their audience. This is a conspiracy site. People are asked to put their ideas here. Treating them with a little respect is all that is being asked. Lock the thread, but don't delete it. That is VERY disrespectful, and a true example of counterproductive action. Think how many people would learn the ropes by seeing an explanation of what causes a thread to be shut down, rather than an arbitrary action taken by the shadowy hand behind the curtain?

Like i said, it is this lack of respect that could drive me, and many more, from this site (it is part of what happened with Zorgon, based on the conversations he and I had last year).

Just sayin'.

like government which works great when its small .This site has grown to a behemoth. and again like the government when its has reached thous heights.
It becomes more controlling not less .
and like the people that make up that country ( site) as the population grows you get more trouble makers which is what gets the government thinking they need more control .
in a town of 500 there is almost no crime every one knows every one and you cant get away with corruption then . But in a city of millions ( like ats the anonymity of the crowd gives the trouble makers a place to hid in plane site.
and my word use isn't any better then my spelling .
English bites wish I was polish as there language is spelled hypnotically.
well alest this time spell check got all the words spelled lol

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Don't worry, I have thick skin . No offense taken friend. Thanks for the compliment!

I get what your saying and I agree we should perhaps have SOME threads which don't get deleted but just locked so that members can see what went horribly wrong for it to end up that way.

But my comment was for ALL of the threads, and I mean really do you want to see like 10 locked threads on the recent post page with stupid crap like "closed duplicate thread".

Or any other manner of closures and deletions that don't effect the everyday running of ATS or it's members?

Sure the big threads, Doc Velocity's thread, that was a GOOD thread to keep open/locked so that other members could see what happened and WHAT happens when members behave that way etc..

I just think doing it for all would be really cumbersome and would make the boards messier than I would enoy them.

~Keeper