Explain why the Short Stories forum isn't in the BTS area....

I love a short story, and this complaint is minor, but the short stories thread should not be in the ATS area.....it makes no sense.

Breaking news, japan, aliens...then short stories? What? It just doesn't seem right.

Petition to move it off the main area......please.

reply to post by amongus


want a great short story?

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by amongus


Lol.... There have been a few times a short story popped up, and I didnt realize it was a short story until after I was done reading it thinking WTF is this? So I kind of agree with you, I don't really come here for fiction, allthough fiction creeps into ATS either way I guess

reply to post by darrman


While I think your avatar is awesome, no....I don't come to this site to wade through peoples ideas of fiction....I come for news, info and discussion of alternative topics. So, thanks but no thanks.

Your avatar is still sweet tho

reply to post by TKDRL


we need the fiction.. here... just so we can judge how "stranger then" the TRUTH is..as a comparison

No we don't. If CNN had a short stories section, would you click on the link? Nope...I don't go to CNN.com for stories......

Totally agree, fiction should be BTS.

Personaly speaking, I like being able to access short stories from the same page as I access the Breaking News, Aliens and UFO , and other forums. I dont think I would be able to do that as easily (unless I miss my mark) if the Short Stories part were removed to the BTS section.
With regard to the value of Short Stories , and its presence in ATS, I believe that the intent of the section, and its connection with ATS is to provide an outlet for the thoughts and works inspired by the quest for information which flows and ebbs within this site on a daily basis. To seperate ATS from Short Stories would cause no massive problem, but in terms of the organic nature of the sharing of information , it would be somewhat like seperating a mans logical capacity from his imagination.
Bare in mind also , that while Short Stories is an unashamed place of fiction, there are plenty of threads in the factual sections of ATS which are entitled along the lines of :

If aliens come to our planet, what will you do?

If the world is thrown into nuclear oblivion, what shall we do?

The end is nigh, where do you go , who do you save, what do you take to your eternal grave?

It is obvious to me that without a certain level of imagination, ATS could not exist in the vibrant and energetic manner which it exists today. For that reason I belive there is a justification for putting the fictional and artistic contributions to the site alongside , and accessible from the same place as, the factual and logical side of the content provided by members.
Just a small aside to my main point:
I have learned more of science, and been more fired to discover truth for myself by the works of Arthur C Clarke, than I have learned from, or been inspired by teachers and text books. It takes vision and understanding to have that effect , and there are a fair few members who have that relatively rare mix of wisdom and artistry , which combines fact and fiction in a way which quietly educates as well as entertaining. It is surely worth keeping the Short Stories section here at ATS, for that reason alone.

The Moral Of The Story

Originally posted by amongus
Explain why the Short Stories forum isn't in the BTS area....

Well, it's a long story...

*rimshot*

Actually, I think it may be because the Short Stories forum existed before BTS did, or something like that, although frankly I'm not sure, because they were both here before I was.

There may be some other reasons, like wanting the forum to automatically award ATS points back when BTS did not (before the ATS/BTS/PTS point split and subsequent reunification). In retrospect, considering how the forum was set up, I think points are probably the main reason it's on ATS.

As to whether the forum will be moved to BTS, only the Overlord knows for sure.





Edit to add: Heck, come to think of it, the whole ATS/BTS dichotomy has become somewhat moot after the ATS 2010 transition, since everything is now consolidated under the AboveTopSecret.com domain name. How much so? Just check out what happens when you go to the BelowTopSecret.com domain these days. So whether a forum is on "ATS" versus "BTS" is really more a question of where a forum is categorized on ATS now. Sorry, probably a bit trivial of a point, but I couldn't resist mentioning it anyway.

Before there was an Internet there was the Readers Digest, a monthly periodical of all kinds of news, ideas, and helpful articles that always included a 'condensed story' at the end.

Many people who bought or read the Readers Digest did so because of the 'condensed story' at the end!

Some might argue reading works of fiction help you to become well read, and better understand non-fiction by first learning of something similiar through a fictional account.

Read the short stories, stop complaining, violators will be crucified!

Though I enjoy BTS (or Off-Topic Posts) and contribute regularly to it, BTS seems to be an abyss or graveyard for most threads. I imagine that the ATS owners want the Short Stories category to obtain a higher level of visibility; thus, they keep it in the higher visibility location.

My 2-cents

I couldn't care less if Short Stories/Collaborative Writing was in ATS or BTS.

Not a whit.

As long as there's a place to use the creative side of writing, I'm happy as a fly who found a fresh cowpatty.

reply to post by amongus


The reason for this is simple. Fiction parallels reality and much can be gleaned from the writings. Take Jules Vern's fictional stories or the works of H.G. Wells. They were very much ahead of their time and seem to have predicted the future. The short story forum is very much in its rightful place. There is some dangerous stuff there.