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

reply to post by Big Raging Loner


Of course some of the newer members are massive assets to the site and will go on to be well regarded and respected members themselves.

But it is only natural to miss absent friends, especially when one has no idea why they are missing.

I think it's also natural at times ti look at things through rose tinted glasses and miss 'the good ol' days'.

you can still see them now & again ....

now as to having a decent debate...

that's a different story...

Iwould like to add that in my short time here i have learned alot and
what this site does not need is narrow minded and overly opinionated
loud mouths. I know because i was one and i would like to take this
opportunity to appolagise to any i have offended. Iwould also like to
thank those that have enlightened me and thanks ATS. Even today i
learned the difference between a Jew and a zionist Jew. My great
grandfather once told me "any day that you learn even one thing is
a good day".

Originally posted by kyle43
Discussion should still be encouraged rather than just disregarding all the information because people don't agree with it

I agree with eveything you have said, I have cut short your quote as people skim and I want them to read this post.

It would be nice to have a discussion with people about said topics instead of all this constant bickerings and smart alec remarking. Perhaps one suggestion to the owners would be to include some form of coffee shop forum where anything goes and informal arguing is not permitted i.e people only take part in the discussion if they are interested in it, not to cause any unecessary friction between the members in the particular topic forum.





[edit on 1-9-2010 by franspeakfree]

reply to post by franspeakfree


My stepson is a member here and quite a few
of you know him.He writes interesting threads
and is very intelligent.BUT,he does have a life
and a family that comes first.
This could be one of many reasons why members
leave or stop posting.Jobs,family,spouses,illness...
I know that there has been a lot of bickering about
the quality of threads lately.Skeptic Overlord has
said this many times.."you want quality threads,then
start writing them instead of complaining."

reply to post by franspeakfree
I am sorry but I don't have time to read the whole thread this morning.

Did anyone mention a three year member, gold contributor, Doc Velocity?

You know why he is missing, right? If not check his status.

Originally posted by franspeakfree

Originally posted by kyle43
Discussion should still be encouraged rather than just disregarding all the information because people don't agree with it

I agree with eveything you have said, I have cut short your quote as people skim and I want them to read this post.

It would be nice to have a discussion with people about said topics instead of all this constant bickerings and smart alec remarking. Perhaps one suggestion to the owners would be to include some form of coffee shop forum where anything goes and informal arguing is not permitted i.e people only take part in the discussion if they are interested in it, not to cause any unecessary friction between the members in the particular topic forum.





[edit on 1-9-2010 by franspeakfree]

But that would cut the trolls out of the loop.

What, with the trolls disenfranchised, who would be left?

Oh, that's right, all the nice people.

Good question,
I consider myself a noob and I'm approaching the one year mark,
I guess we could speculate all day and night as to why people migrate from site to site,
but I dont think its a conspiracy in and of itself.
People either like or dislike something, it either is an experience of pleasure and ease or discomfort and difficulty.
I dont have a half dozen years to draw samples from, but I can offer some input.
Perception of association with content and self.
The "feel" changed on the home page twice since I've been here,
It went from conspiratorial and obscure,(the feel of shared secrets and released hidden information, non msm, a questioning research vibe)
to conspiratorial and embracing, (the feel of a news site with johnny anon videos and editorials and a huge surge in political bar room battles with a more mainstream / altnews topic menu)
to upstart msm fringe contender, (specific reporting, revenue courting, emotional presentations as the dominant site introduction, the feel of contribution and interest became less accessible, somewhat uninvited)
But life is change isnt it, there's alot of intelligence here, at times, and no doubt alot more to sift through is on its way.
Lets see how the next year goes.

Originally posted by mamabeth
reply to post by franspeakfree

 

My stepson is a member here and quite a few
of you know him.He writes interesting threads
and is very intelligent.BUT,he does have a life
and a family that comes first.
This could be one of many reasons why members
leave or stop posting.Jobs,family,spouses,illness...
I know that there has been a lot of bickering about
the quality of threads lately.Skeptic Overlord has
said this many times.."you want quality threads,then
start writing them instead of complaining."

For a start family doesn't come first ATS should be all that each member thinks about

In all seriousness though, I have already said in the previous posts, these members have left here and set up shop around the internet still carrying on with their work just not here.

In regards to the comment "you want quality threads,then start writing them instead of complaining." one needs to know and understand the knowledge first of all before trying to pass it on to others. This is the problem.


[edit on 1-9-2010 by franspeakfree]

reply to post by franspeakfree

Coffee shop section?
Isn't that the whole idea of skunkworks to begin with?


The mods do a good job of keeping the arguments in control, you can't really keep a section free of people wanting deconstruct silly ideas.
I think some of those who left just got fed up with the bickering, but then again they could of provided a more valid point.
Tbh there is only one former user (who I won't name) I know of that fits every category you have mentioned, and yes they did leave and start up shop somewhere else, a somewhere else where you can't question the validity of the points made. Although I miss that user It is purely for the entertainment value.

You mention you find it ludicrous that skeptics sign up here but in another post you say you don't want teenagers hoxers overrunning the place.
Well I just think it's all part of any community, people of all types come and go for various reasons.
But I think you already have some ideas on why these people are leaving.

reply to post by franspeakfree


Ok, I have no way of knowing why folks choose to come and go and trying to guess is rather futile. But, I will tell you one reason so named 'distinguished' or high profile members decide to leave ...

It is precisely because they see themselves as 'distinguished' and/or high profile.

This site only works as it should when all members are treated on equal terms (and conditions), from the member who joined five minutes ago to a member that's been here since 2002.

Why?

Because the only way to have proper discourse is to focus on post substance (if any) and not the poster. Otherwise people start acting like seniority or any other metric (flags, post counts, whatever) gives them special entitlements over others.

But what happens unfortunately is that a lot of folks cannot contribute without having expectations of getting something in return ... even if that something is ego currency. When they do not get special treatment because of their self perceived greatness they are severely vexed and decide to pick up their ball and go play somewhere else.

It's simply an ego thing ... I can't tell you how many times I have seen the 'do you know who I am and how much I contribute?' scenario play out simply because they got OTed and it always ends up the same way with them making a dramatic exit. Thankfully many come back after a while. Others start their own website to "show" ATS and within 5 minutes have exactly the same T&C in place.

Like I said, this obviously isn't the whole reason folks choose to leave but merely one reason. Seeing one's self as special, worthy of recognition, entitled, superior, and indeed 'distinguished' is really the beginning of the end, acting as such is the actual end.


[edit on 1 Sep 2010 by schrodingers dog]

Originally posted by pazcat
Coffee shop section?
Isn't that the whole idea of skunkworks to begin with?

Even there you get arguing and people who just want to troll looking for such friction.

You mention you find it ludicrous that skeptics sign up here but in another post you say you don't want teenagers hoxers overrunning the place.

I agree that skeptical minded people provide balance to such discussion. But when these people have no intention of trying to ascertain factual information and disregard everything that is being said because the information doen't fit in to their way of thinking. This is what I find ludicrous, why be here in the first place?

Another one of these threads?

Perhaps the mass exodus has a lot to do with the huge influx of site-crisis threads lately. Every time I log on there's yet another thread of some member crying about ATS being about "hate", or "anti-muslim", or something other than their sense of nostalgia tells them this site should be.

And then there's the fact that Google picks up more and more of these threads. There are more skeptics here because more people become aware of ATS and probably feel a need to chime in on many of the tabloid type threads involving, say, Obama meeting with aliens or maybe OMG real footage of goblins!

I know what you mean, im finding this site increasingly laborious as more and more irrelevant or completely made-up / irrational topics crop up, along with the facebook connection being made recently, there's not much for me to come here anymore, while back it was really really interesting, though i still check like a routine for good information.

For example, Im obviously on a warn right now which I received when a newcomer entered a thread and started calling us all nutjobs and other fairly offensive names, I simply told him to screw himself and 'get of our website' for saying such nasty thing's in reference to all of us, and er..

look what happened

Originally posted by butcherguy
reply to post by franspeakfree

 

I am sorry but I don't have time to read the whole thread this morning.

Did anyone mention a three year member, gold contributor, Doc Velocity?

You know why he is missing, right? If not check his status.

DOC? banned?
aw man that's just not right, really makes you wonder.

reply to post by franspeakfree
Hiya Fran. I'm mainly posting to register my disappointment that IRM has been banned. He's been one of my favourite ATS guys since I joined up and has a lot of character.

Some stand-out members have left in the past few years...walked or banned. I guess they had their reasons. One or two are no longer here because ego got in the way of their posts. One in particular threw their toys from the pram...you know who.

I guess if you're gonna be a big presence on a big board, you have to accept that people will pull your posts apart whenever they get a chance.

The skeptics have it easier because they (we?) are far more focused on facts and critical thinking. I can think of a handful who have a queue of members waiting for their occasional mistakes. I had the same thing from time to time on the ancient civs boards. One guy wet his pants after I described a mainland country as an island. Comedy!

The opposite side of the coin (*believers*) are more focused on speculation and the dark art of 'joining the dots.' Naturally, this leaves them wide open to attack from some of the more hostile skeptics. They've posted creative threads that generate a lot of replies. The downside is it must be demoralising to constantly have your threads picked apart. Maybe eventually it leads to ATS-fatigue?

The underlying theme usually comes to centre around mods and management. I've only had a positive experience, so from my point of view, managing to live with the T&Cs isn't hard. Maybe a member with 100s of friends and 1000s of flags gets to the point where they overstep the mark? Instead of accepting the post-removal or warning, they can react like, "Do you know who I am? You can't do that to me! I AM ATS!" They get resentful.

I sometimes miss the guys who've gone and I'm glad to see Zorgon banging around the threads again. I'll certainly miss IRM's posts. At the end of the day, we're on a forum in internetland. None of it's that real and we'll all be forgotten tomorrow...

reply to post by franspeakfree


While I agree with what you are getting at and really it does run both ways I think a seperate board of the like you have mentioned would need to be intensely modded and be near impossible to control, but I do see the idea in it.

I blame myself for this downturn. I always have this effect on any forum that I eventually join. I show up and everything's great, but then as soon as I register, the whole place jumps into the woodchipper. And then it's off to find another site to crater.

I'm like the terminator of messageboard forums.

Sorry about that.

reply to post by franspeakfree


When I posted my reply I had only
read the opening post.I haven't read
the entire thread as of yet!

reply to post by CynicalM


I joined before he did Get your facts straight please. Thanks for proving my point