Why are distinguished members who have contributed alot to this site over the last 5 years leaving?

When I first came here there were some really good topics and threads posted here daily from very knowledgeable people and some really intellectual chat would take place. Now, it seems that ATS is over run with skeptical/argumentative people and the whole content of material posted is becoming awash with contaminated sources.

I started to notice that something was wrong a few months back when one of my favourite members stopped posting indepth threads which always made it to the front page, Which made a huge difference to this site IMHO. Then I could see by going in to their profiles that more and more well known members stopped visiting ATS. It wasn't until recently that my suspicions were confirmed, many members have indeed left this site and moved on to another. "So what, who cares" I hear you cry. Well it makes a big difference and many many more are following.

IMHO This is seriously bad for this site. It appears that there is an increase in argumentative members which are having a massive effect on the experienced members and to be honest I believe they have had enough of it. If something isn't done soon we are going to lose many more members and this site will become something completely different to what it stands for. Instead of deny ignorance it will be deny everything.

This is going to be extremely detremental to this site if more and more experienced members leave and are replaced by other people who are new to conspiracies and are just starting their research. Think how much information/knowledge we are going to lose because of this mass exodus.

Its a problem that needs to be addressed.

[edit on 1-9-2010 by franspeakfree]

reply to post by franspeakfree


Lol! Who are these so called 'distinguished members' on this annonymous site?

Another latest attempt to cast aspersions, divide and conquer members?

By the way, no one pointed a gun to your head nor force you to come or go, contribute or not. What each does is to his/her own free will and conscience.

Peace.

reply to post by franspeakfree


No problems, membership and hits are on the rise..

Isn't that all that matters to a web site?

s&f

reply to post by franspeakfree


You'll always get the posters who will deny that things have changed, but they're the members that contribute nothing except to deliberately contradict at every turn. You just know that the person on the other end of the comment is full of wisdom when their opening line is "lol!"

Back when me and you were a lot more active on this web site was when it was in it's prime. Then we got to see the inevitable downfall as Robbie Williams got bored and typed the website into Google. He's bored of this now and has since effed off again. From then on it's been a playground.

Gone are the days of reasonable discussions, balanced arguments and respect for one another. All you get now is the same old crap, same old people posting argumentative comments that do nothing except to get a rise out of the OP in the false pretence that it makes them look "witty".

Is Internos still around?

reply to post by franspeakfree


I perhaps joined at the "downfall" if you will because i definatly recall when i joined more in depth discussions. Some of the analysis into current events were astonishingly deep, fact driven pieces. Members like that started to dissappear once their research wasnt being read and cast off as hokum because it didnt fit a 3 second retoric of "your wrong ..." the only real reason the information seemed to be falling on deaf ears as it was to long or complicated to understand, so it was ridiculed, or taken back stage to constant fear mongering.
i use to come on here to escape and learn more about the world now i check in occcasionally can stand it for about 15 minutes then have to go cheer myself up before the world ends, which by this place standard is continually 12 hours away.

reply to post by franspeakfree

Its a problem that needs to be addressed.

problem?

its no problem that needs an answer, the fact is 'Water seeks its own level" and that is the principle at work

5 years??

Is that a clue to the September ATS conspiracy game??

Hey Fran, I've enjoyed watching you change over your time as a registered member here too. From someone who took potential 'alien' or 'UFO' stories at face value to someone who now errs on the side of caution and scepticism when presented with claims.

It doesn't detract from your wonder of the unexplained it just shows that we all get burned and alter due to it.

Perhaps these members that you are referring to have just been burned out by the experience?

I'm on no side here regarding what's true or false I'm just putting forward an idea based on observations.

The old stories have been analysed to a nth and there are so few modern stories and the ones there are get eaten up by rationale.

At least on the UFO and ET front.

I'd like to hear other peoples thoughts on this too!

-m0r

You're asking the question, "Why are they leaving?"

Simple answer - Real life trumps internet life. Did you consider that the more educated members became educated in the first place because they have high work ethics, and hence may have busy personal schedules?

I guess to some people this may be a social network pivotal to their lives, but to most people, it's an anonymous internet forum for discussing conspiracies - a good one, one of the best, but still just an internet forum.

I've only been a member since February but I've seen a rather consistent introduction of threads - 10% are absolutely worthless, 5% are absolutely brilliant, and the rest fall somewhere in between.

You know things have really gone down hill when the first thing you see is "OMFG it's conspiracy chicks!! ". That kind of stuff wouldn't have passed the crap'o'meter test a few years ago, but I guess the members have changed so the level of tripe that seeps through has too.

(oooh controversial!)

Thus the reason to have a way to let the cream rise to the top.

I think the SO was working on it, but so far nada.

Hope he finds an answer because that is one reason why I stopped posting and taking time to contribute. Yes I go way back, and some mods abuse their powers and ban people for nothing other than someones opinion.

In my opinion, voting on the threads and responses in such a way that it can be ordered (viewed) by popular vote is the only way to quell this problem.

There is comfort and a sense of accomplishment in group acceptance.

Hey SO... when are you going to roll out the new design you were bragging about a few months back?

[edit on 1-9-2010 by joe7pack]

Originally posted by Son of Will
You're asking the question, "Why are they leaving?"

I've only been a member since February but I've seen a rather consistent introduction of threads - 10% are absolutely worthless, 5% are absolutely brilliant, and the rest fall somewhere in between.

I don't want to sound patronising but as you have just joined this site, I do not believe you are in a position to begin to understand just how much time and effort these people put in to the their threads. It is not a question of real life trumps internet life, these people are still on the net just not here at ATS



[edit on 1-9-2010 by franspeakfree]

There are a lot of people here that I don't agree with...but proper respect is always in order on my behalf, so a good discussion or argument...I enjoy.... usually early in the morning or late in the evening... and usually over a cup of coffee.

However...as with most rooms...be they internet, real life, or restuarants and cafes....the children are always louder than the adults.

Sometimes, ATS is like trying to read a History of the World in a Chuck-E-Cheese.

reply to post by dodgygeeza


OMFG, a 3 year member..
Can I call you grandad?

Seriously mate, I think the OP is talking about before you joined and I could see how things may have changed..

I wasn't on ATS but I was a very early user of comps and the internet..

Sheesh, my first online comp was a very expensive P133.
It cost 3 times more than my current comp and that was the early 90's..

new news new people!!!!!


who cares , this is what happens when people start to wake up and start to ask questions..


P.s i still think we need a NWO




Nephi

I find myself checking this site less and less with each passing day. The top topics take days to cycle out now and I cant remember the last one that genuinly intrigued me.

I came for the ufo and nwo stuff a few years ago and now I enjoy philosophy and metaphysics but it feels like a ghost town now. I try to start my own but the conversation doesnt go far. Can someone tell me where everyone is going? Maybe a new philosophical forum devoid of hate speak and glen beck?

reply to post by franspeakfree


While not certain whether old members are leaving or not (I haven't paid attention to that), I'd imagine few reason why this might be.

1) There is nothing more to say nor hear that you cannot say or hear elsewhere.

2) The repetative nature of post (basically related to reason 1.).

3) The invasion of narrow-viewed, ideologically charged nutcases (which you already mentioned)

4) The fantastic nature of the board ('fantastic' in the real meaning of the word).

Personally I've thought leaving many times. But theres a hope living within me that perhaps, just maybe, there will be flashes of light, that can illuminate people on real issues.

-v

I guess each individual would have there own reasons, you would have to ask them. Without knowing who you are meaning specifically then we can't really give a specific answer. I'd imagine there are a whole host of differing reasons.
I don't see it as a problem though, sometimes it is positive to move on.

[edit on 1-9-2010 by pazcat]

Originally posted by m0r1arty
Perhaps these members that you are referring to have just been burned out by the experience?

I do not believe so, some of these members are carrying on with their work just not here. Yes my views have changed in regards to ET and The supernatural in general but this is because of the knowledge that I aquired from these very members that we are speaking about.

Thanks to these people I am speaking of I have become to understsand that the subject in general cannot be contained and labelled as one entity, by doing so slows down the rate of conscious learning and therefore hampers the very things that we are all trying to uncover


[edit on 1-9-2010 by franspeakfree]

reply to post by franspeakfree
Very good observation and I believe you are right.

And as this is a conspiracy site I believe that in the past, many of the indebt posts and posters have come too close to "the truths" of what is going on in this matrix and TPTB have sent out, set up and put into place, various people who knowingly or even unknowingly, are disinformation agents or "debunkers", "trolls", the "shut down people".

It is a conspiracy on the highest level....................

There are becoming many more frivolous posts here.

Don't get me wrong, after the little girl tossing those six / seven poor little puppies in the river - I needed a little lightness and visited a couple lighter threads.

Personally, I'm so tired of the right wing fundamentalists shoveling their god this and Jesus that down everyone's throat and there seems to be more of this instead of real meaningful dialogue.

I want to get back to Peter Sterling's interview concerning the Galactic Pulse Wave headed our wave (Project Camelot) so I'll make this short.

Something is up and something has been up for a long time. I can't figure even some of it out; forget most or all of it.

And something is headed our way, planet wise and if we don't all put our heads together and figure something out we all are going to be toast.

So many of the posts are getting just plain juvenile, childish, self-centered, non-thinking and uninteresting.

Between that and the constant trolling, like Chad and Grant completely ridiculing rajaten's thread, which I thought was interesting.

This is a conspiracy site and if my understanding is correct, so many people now are blasting away, not intelligently but bashing the people who open these insightful threads and try to have meaningful discussions.

I've notice in people that have gained power, the way they gain power, at least in a corporate office and political environment is to first discredit your opponent............big first step and that is possibly what TPTB are trying to do.

Second, introduce the stupid; my god is bigger than your god threads.

Third, maybe certain threads shouldn't be allowed.

This after all is a conspiracy site.

I do like when despondent people come aboard for a verbal hug, we all need hugs and ATS is a place where many come just to find that they are not alone and can make friends of sorts here, that's important.

But I too have noticed, more ignorant, hateful and downright mean bullies taking over the forums, particularly the forums on aliens and ufos.

Concerning the ufo and alien forums there is some pretty heavy bullying going on there.................and personally, I believe we're getting too close to the truth and too many of us are waking up and it's scaring TPTB that have sold their fellow man for profit............sorry that's another thread.

Good post, thank you for bringing it up.

We don't always see eye to eye Frans but your post are always insightful and give one something to think about.





[edit on 1-9-2010 by ofhumandescent]

The site has gone down hill for a while... There really isn't much that hasn't been seen already..

A lot of good in depth talks used to go down now most people rather bash other rather than back up a position..

There are a few good post which is why i stick around, typically I don't post a lot this is the 1st post i made in a couple weeks i think..

Anyway old school member here.. reg 7.04..