Get out of my thread!

Hi ATS,

I have noticed a trend that is starting with newer members that seem to think that if they start a thread, it is now "theirs" and they can dictate who discusses in it and what is discussed. Now don't get me wrong, if I start a thread about what flowers I like, and people start talking about Pro Wrestling I am going to try and steer things towards my intentions etc. I don't have to explain this I hope.

But telling me to get out of your thread because I don't agree with your premise or because I feel a different way about a topic? Assuming I am being cordial and not abusive, do you all want/expect this to be a place where you can dictate who discussed things in "your" threads? I have never ever been one to throw around the "deny ignorance" slogan, but I believe statements like "Those of you that don't agree with me, get out of here" is as ignorant as you can possibly get.

I know it is impossible to put an end to all of this forever, but I feel like there needs to be an attempt to re-establish the credibility that I felt this site had. I don't know exactly what the answer is but it just seems that we have people joining us that really have no clue what the goal is here and treat this as just another candy land forum where anything goes.

Don't even get me started with the "r u srs" text typing that is not supposed to be here but is constantly ignored.

Now you tell me ATS, if I am wrong about this and you all feel that dictating who contributes to your threads is proper then I will retract my statement and find a new website to view. I am pretty sure that is not the objective though. I don't want any stars or flags or any crap points I just want people to be more respectful and quit acting like you own something you don't.

reply to post by sputniksteve


They may want to dictate what goes on in the thread but they have no power to actually do so, you can make whatever points you wish, unless it's against the T&C's of course

I don't really see a problem

Try not to let 'em get you down. Remain firm in your principles, lead by example, and try to let it just roll on down your back.
Those kind of folks are everywhere, I suppose it was just a matter of time before they ended up here too. Nothing is sacred as they say.

reply to post by davespanners


Yes I know my man, that is the point. The problem is that people are on the board thinking that they have the right to tell others what they can and can't do. This is supposed to be a discussion board but instead it is used as a circle jerk. The problem is people that are not mature or intelligent enough to have a civil discussion starting threads that show their lack of maturity and intelligence and then getting all pissed off when people call them on their B.S..

Like I said, if I am the only one that notices or sees a problem with this then I will find a new place or quit posting or something. I don't expect super mods to go around looking for it, but it would certainly help some new comers if they knew off the bat that this type of behavior was unacceptable.

Not just new people. I've been here since 05 and tell people to get out of my thread if I think they're trolling.
No rules against it.

reply to post by sputniksteve


In time , many of them will be socialised into ATS` general mode of operation, those that don`t more often than not get banned. There often is a rather adversarial vibe from newer members most likely cultivated on other forums with less stringent T & C`s.

Though many of the ATS members that I enjoy sharing the thoughts of, had a rather rambunctious beginning on ATS. They eventually mellowed somewhat ..

And if I am to be honest , I had a bit of adjusting to make myself , but I think my overall online experience is the better for it ......

Everyone needs to google "Dialectics", at least once.
Also, the use of "caps" unnecessarily grids my gears

reply to post by UmbraSumus


That is a very good point. I admit when I first started posting here I also made some mistakes, and I was embarrassed by them later. To be honest Blaine45367 or whatever his actual name is was my example for the type of user I wanted to be. I noticed the way he/she was patient and always polite even when drilling their point home and I decided that was a good model. In any case I know I am not perfect by any means I just feel anyone coming in here with that type of "this is mine" attitude is going to have serious problems adjusting here.

To the person that is above and been here since '05, might I suggest instead of telling people to leave your thread you could use the Alert key. I use it all the dang time, I even used it on myself tonight =)

reply to post by sputniksteve


If it is a C.J, consider him the pivot-man in that C.J. We can deny ignorance but we don't have to deny ignore.


Peace..........yak055h

Fencing Off The Digital Frontier

Ah yes, thread ownership. You start a thread, why, that's your thread, and people best keep off the grass in your thread!

A sense of possession is understandable, especially if someone puts a lot of effort into that all-important opening post. And let's face it: if you write your magnum opus and unleash it on the world, it can be more than a little aggravating when the second post of the thread consists of "ha ha i lol'd" or something similar.

Expecting better is not unreasonable.

But it can go further than that, and that's where it can start to get dicey. Specifically, when a "thread owner" becomes more of a "mother hen" and seeks to discourage other members from posting different or dissenting points of view. Taken to extremes, it can sometimes become "mini-modding", where a member wears the invisible badge of the new sheriff in this one-horse town, and tells everyone else how things are going to be around these here parts.

Of course the reality is that all ATSers are welcome to post in any thread in any forum they have access to, and even real moderators don't have any business telling anyone not to post in a particular thread.

However, members are free to express their opinions on the topics, and that can include the behavior of other members in the thread (although personal commentary is never appropriate).

But no one should presume to tell any member of ATS where to post, or not to post. :shk:

If there is a dispute about that, the best thing to do is let us full-size mods know what's up, and we'll try to sort things out.

That said, it pays to be careful, because some people take their mini-modding duties very seriously, and you never know when something like this might happen...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b04d1f76a9de.png[/atsimg]

reply to post by Majic

But it can go further than that, and that's where it can start to get dicey. Specifically, when a "thread owner" becomes more of a "mother hen" and seeks to discourage other members from posting different or dissenting points of view. Taken to extremes, it can sometimes become "mini-modding", where a member wears the invisible badge of the new sheriff in this one-horse town, and tells everyone else how things are going to be around these here parts.

I resemble that remark!

reply to post by sputniksteve

I know it is impossible to put an end to all of this forever, but I feel like there needs to be an attempt to re-establish the credibility that I felt this site had. I don't know exactly what the answer is but it just seems that we have people joining us that really have no clue what the goal is here and treat this as just another candy land forum where anything goes

I gently remind the new members who routinely step way over the line, to consider reading the Terms and Conditions and suggest that their time on ATS will be short lived if they keep posting in the abusive manner that they are.

This is like the kiss of death, as not a one of them ever has taken that advice and every last person I have ever felt compelled to say that too, eventually did get banned within a month or two.

They really can distrupt a topic and the flow of conversation, but for the most part it's best just not to feed them by responding to them.

reply to post by davespanners

They may want to dictate what goes on in the thread but they have no power to actually do so, you can make whatever points you wish, unless it's against the T&C's of course

This is not actually true, your kitty in your avatar didn't used to be cross eyed until proto zapped it with his mind ray!

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


I agree with all you said except,
his Kitty is NOT crosseyed..

So since I didn't start this topic

I clam this thread in the name of my cat hammy

all he says right now is really if its on topic its on topic
you can't really clam anything ( except what he just did )

he also says no need for stars and flags unless its good

reply to post by Majic


Your post make me laugh a few times, 'specially that "these here parts" part. Seriously though, I've noticed that some "thread owners", as you put it, take things waaaaay too far considering what they are defending so vehemently. It is just a thread, after all. I don't see anything wrong with steering a conversation back to an OP, but cutting someone down just because they think differently is just plain wrong. One of the great things about ATS is the wide variance of opinion, so to limit the freedom of expressing yours would be a travesty in mine.

Being kicked out of a thread is more reason to keep posting in it! Like Umbra Sums pointed out, we get mellowed out over time, but the early months of annoying people with your perspective is a lotta fun too.

It's because ATS is a cross-section of humanity in a virtual petrie dish that we see all types of poster. Remember those weird kids back in school? The ones who'd squint their eyes and make snide remarks about everyone else? Well, some of them have come here and use the 'Playground Model' of intimidation to have their own way. Well it didn't work in school and it isn't working here either! Some of our more 'transcendental' posters are also operating on a 'higher vibrational frequency' and all but need to get their quick tempers out of the lower densities.

The worst offender in the UFO forum all about peace n love and 'why can't we just get along?'

As soon as someone makes a good point they disagree with, it's Cartman-time with 'Get the hell outta my thread or I'm going home!!'

reply to post by sputniksteve

Not sure that I will find anyone around here who will agree with me. But, for me, there are a number of issues involved here having to do with courtesy and a serious attempt to diminish conflict.

Let's say that there is someone who has one particular perspective on an issue while I have a completely different perspective; our perspectives are not merely trivially, but absolutely incommensurable. I disagree with virtually everything he says about the subject and he disagrees with virtually everything that I say on the subject.

And he has created numerous threads conveying his perspective.

What do I do? Do I get on each and every one of this threads and say "No, you are wrong, because..."?

Or do I just allow him to express his ideas that I firmly disagree with...

And, instead, convey my perspective on similar issues on the threads that I start?

My choice has been to simply ignore whatever he says and not express my disagreements at all; not merely as a matter of courtesy, but as an attempt to diminish conflict on this site.

So, how am I to respond when he challenges what I say on my threads on the basis of his perspective?

My response has been to say that he is being rude--because I am not jumping on his threads and challenging what he says--and that he is not showing me a courtesy similar to what I am showing him.

Now, the vast majority of people are going to agree with his perspective anyway. As far as I can tell, he always gets both more flags and more responses to his threads than I ever get to my threads. My perspective is a very minority perspective. Very few people agree with my perspective. But I consider it a matter of courtesy to allow the few people who do agree with my perspective to ask their questions or provide information from a similar perspective without fear of being viciously and personally attacked by the vast majority of people who do not have that perspective.

Now, this may be considered a matter of "ownership"; but, from my perspective, it is a matter of courtesy rather than ownership.

Not only that. It is an attempt to diminish conflict; conflict being a very fundamental problem in society at large.

Mi cha el

When I first saw this thread, I followed the example of "Tom the cabin boy" (for anyone who remembers Captain Pugwash). That is,I smiled quietly to myself and said nothing.

Now that Michael Cecil has posted, I need to say something, because the gentleman means me.
I'm not here to pursue the main argument; I just want to correct a couple of minor misrepresentations.

Firstly, near the end of his post, he remarks that he wants people to be able to ask questions on his threads without fear of being viciously and personally attacked. Fair enough, but, when given as a reason for asking me to keep off his threads, it implies that I have been viciously and personally attacking himself and the people who agree with him. That is not the case.

Secondly, he claims that he has been staying out of my Revelation threads as an act of courtesy. Now that claim is being a little disingenuous. His abstention has been, in part, a simple change of tactics.
I could set a link to the post in which Michael proclaims that he is posting on my thread in the hope of destroying it, and possibly ending the whole series. I could set a link to the post in which I explain to him that bumping a thread repeatedly has the opposite effect. (I know I should have kept quiet and let him continue, but I'm the son of two schoolteachers, and the didactic streak in me won out over the macchiavellian streak). I've always assumed that he now stays away because he saw my point.

As far as I can tell, he always gets both more flags and more responses to his threads than I ever get to my threads. My perspective is a very minority perspective.

Oh dear, are we now getting to the heart of the matter? Look, if it's any comfort, Michael, neither of us gets as many flags and responses as, say, "Rapture next week", or anything else sensational. We're both minorities. I've always thought that my loyal band of followers loomed somewhat larger in your own resentful imagination than it did in reality. I'm realistic enough to accept that and live with it.

reply to post by DISRAELI

Supplemental comment.
To be honest, I half agree with Michael's viewpoint, to the extent that I have not, in practice, made much of a habit of posting on his threads. I don't recall that I have launched any attacks there on his fundamental philosophy. But if a discussion is being opened up on the meaning of Biblical texts, I may feel that I've got something to contribute. I promise to do so without launching any vicious personal attacks or threatening him with the "second death".

5,156 new posts in the past 24 hours

We're not monitoring them in anything close to real time, and some we won't see at all.

(1) Please use the ALERT feature
(2) Posting a comment in a thread like, "Mods? Are you going to do anything?" isn't appropriate, adds to the problem, and is off-topic to the thread.

Just sayin'.

ATS is not some personal soapbox that one can climb up on and spout off without being subjected to responses from others, and moderation from those in charge. If you want to be immune from criticism, post someplace that you own and control, but the price that you "pay" for the eyeballs that you get through ATS is the interaction that others will have with your ideas.

If what one says cannot stand up to reasonable criticism, perhaps one should rethink what they are saying.

The motto of this site is "Deny ignorance", not "you ignore my ignorance and I'll ignore what I consider to be yours."