Embracing Ignorance Here At ATS

Too many NOOBS posting like they've been here for a long time!

From someone who's been around for nearly 4 years, I too HAVE noticed changes. Real changes that started with the big ATS takeover that saw the creator of the site dissappear and a new commercial drive enter the arena. More advertising on here and promotion for the site elsewhere, many, many interface changes, the advent of "ATSmedia", "ATSLive" etc etc etc, the list goes on. Membership has grown considerably but unfortunately most of the GREAT ATS members had had enough and have long departed to places where they won't have to suffer the crap that goes on round here.

Things get worse after an influx of new members coming, to deny this is plain wrong. Events and important stories bring people here from various locations around the web, often we get people from a very different kind of web based experience. Social sites like facebook or sites that don't moderate their content as well as things are here have brought a wealth of spam, nonsense, rudeness, juvenility and just plain dumbness.

"Fail" is all part of ATS these days.

It isn't going to get better regarding new members but it COULD get better regarding what WE do with them when they arrive.

I've been alerting like mad in the last few months and YOU should be doing the same.

One liners, all CAPS headings, duplicate threads, minimal threads and anything else that goes against the T&C deserves a quick alert so mods deal with it. If they get more alerts they must get more mods, if they get more mods we will streamline the site to make our time here better and not feel the need to start these complaining threads.

I understand how you feel OP and I DO sympathise but unless we are part of the solution we are just part of the problem.

Intelligence is our only weapon, I like to use hollowpoints not blanks. While I don't start threads like I used to or post long replies full of wisdom and information, I still stick around in the event something interesting pops up, untill then I still consider myself an active participant of something unique and still visit daily just in case I get the chance to turn on a light or have one turned on for me....for that opportunity I am grateful.

Don't give up.....cheers, nerb

reply to post by nerbot

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/8e3112d00650.jpeg[/atsimg]

Originally posted by Nosred
reply to post by nerbot

 

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/8e3112d00650.jpeg[/atsimg]

edit on 13-4-2011 by Nosred because: (no reason given)

Like I said, intelligence is our only weapon.

The guy in your pic will have a very big target on him and people with that many guns will get shot at if TSHTF....a lot.

My weapons are metaphorical and I will always live to fight another day.

reply to post by Nosred


The person who made that image made a slight mistake.

The flag.

I'd have expected a Confederate flag, in that display.....oh, well....

reply to post by weedwhacker


But then he'd be Anti-'Merican.

reply to post by Elostone


I just read the first two comments. They prove your point in spades.
Between the truly ignorant, the non-thinkers and those that obviously are knowingly producing BS threads, ATS is in decline in quality even if the members are increasing drastically.

Perhaps Denying Ignorance should start at home base and not be allowed to parade itself for all to see and to nauseate

reply to post by Elostone


Any examples of quality threads you yourself have contributed?

reply to post by hotbakedtater

First of all, that is not the point. What threads I have contributed were and are based on facts and are properly documented as well.
Second, you've been here long enough, you should know how to check what threads I have created, which makes me wonder, Why the veiled hostility toward me and this thread?



BTW, your post is a bit off topic, not to mention that 1 line posts are frowned upon around here.
Just sayin'...

Peace

Originally posted by Elostone
reply to post by hotbakedtater

 

First of all, that is not the point. What threads I have contributed were and are based on facts and are properly documented as well.
Second, you've been here long enough, you should know how to check what threads I have created, which makes me wonder, Why the veiled hostility toward me and this thread?

BTW, your post is a bit off topic, not to mention that 1 line posts are frowned upon around here.
Just sayin'...

Peace

edit on 13-4-2011 by Elostone because: (no reason given)

It was a succint point and on topic. Where are you getting hostility? If you think this place sucks, contribute what you want to see here. I make threads all the time, on topics I enjoy and want to share. I hope people will come discuss the topics. I was trying to give you a suggestion for a possible solution to your rant, thats all. No ill meant!~!

reply to post by Elostone

I fear our sincere efforts to Deny Ignorance are being compromised by a slew of paid disinfo agents, deliberately trying to destroy one of the best internet websites of it's kind, and if something isn't done soon, this website will pass away into history along with all the other "Tin-Foil Hat" nut-case websites.

Of course, not forgetting the influx of younger posters (be that mentally or physically) brought by search engines, blogs and even now some media outlets, due to ATS having become more popular recently.

Sadly, it does seem like a very real danger is developing of the site changing for the worse if the apparent trend cannot be countered.

reply to post by Elostone


i have read many of the older threads from the past ats forums. they are amazing! i wish i came across ats back in the mid 2000's. may i suggest to the ats members, who have not, to do some back researching on these older forums. it woud be worth! i can appreciate your rant. keep in mind however as brilliant and unique as ats once was the times they are a changing...i do find pearls of wisdom on a daily basis from this site, that i appreciate as well!

reply to post by Elostone


I usually don't post in rant threads about the quality of ATS,i will now because i have to get it off my chest

I'm newer than you here and i registered almost after a month or two after i discovered the site,so i cannot tell how ATS was back in the glorious days.

I come here everyday.There are days that i find nothing interesting and days that all the good posts come out from their "hiding place" and there are days that i find more interesting posts in BTS.

Well in the beggining i used to fall for troll threads and answered,but it's not happening anymore.I ignore them.I don't understand why the 100 answers in a thread that lacks intelligence.If we all ignore such posts they will soon fall into oblivion.It is the members who keep the threads alive.

The alert button is also a friend of yours.The Mods are doing the best they can,but compared to the number of active members in here they need 3 sets of eyes and 24-7 in front of their PC screen.I bet they have lives outside ATS.

If you care that much about the forum stop ranting and do something about it.
Ignore or alert the threads you think are "embracing ignorance"

Also i don't think that is nice to attack all the new members,because we were new once as well.Give them some time to adapt.I have seen threads by older members that makes me wonder how many braincells are missing from that person.

Regards

blah. if you make threads like these, your spending too much time here....not trying to be mean.

Its not too many noobs, its not the fact there arnt enough moderators.




There was a thread stating that ATS had tripled in daily visits in the last 2 years.

If that isnt proof that this site is not only being monitored, toyed with, used by "elite", i dont know what is.

It is now more commercial than ever. It is now more ignorant than ever.

It is just a way for them to gauge how people respond to specific things, what the general feel of a certain situation is, and a way to spread some major disinformation.

Anyone with a shred of evidence to support their claims is completely harassed here.
cough dr. lier - john lear cough

I think that the problem is all the newest members. They think that they have discovered the latest conspiracy when the rest of us have known about it for some time. I think that some of them are very young as they clearly can't handle the english language, nor can they spell. Many of them don't know how to use search or how to google anything. They don't understand what it means to provide support for an argument. They have invalid positions on so many topics and if you disagree with them they attack you with insults , because they can't support their untenable position.

I think that the mods are overwhelmed by the shear volumn of threads and posts here. I think that perhaps the new members should be more limited in the length of time before they are allowed to post. They need to read more and see more of how the older members post and support opinions and beliefs in threads.

reply to post by Elostone


I wouldn't call my self an ATS veteran, actually I wouldn't even say contribute that much to the site. But I whole heatedly agree with you and I've actually posted a similar rant myself. Maybe a small percentage of it is a concerted effort to taint the pot, fill the board with so much nonsense that any real material is negated. Much like Alex Jones presents a bunch of useful info, but coats it with fear mongering and gold sales and rediculous conspiracies, that anything he says is worthless even if it is true.

But sadly, for the most of it, I think it's just people, some of them young kids, some of them adults, looking for a place to mess with people. Half of these people are doing it because they get kicks from wasting your time, and making you believe something they made up. The other half are just trying to make a space for themselves here.

The problem isn't the people posting this crap. the problem is the mods not deleting dupe threads fast enough and not holding the standards up for posts. I'm not saying they are slacking, oh boy no they aren't, there's just too much and maybe all of us aren't sending enough 'alerts'.

The REAL problem is the uninformed that feed into these delusions.

"My ear hurts, is it HAARP?"
"Yes, HAARP causes earthquakes cause it's a magical weapon and it is hurting your ears."

"Here's 100% proof that HAARP caused the Japan Quake!!!!"
"Wait, where's your proof?"
"Shutup you closed minded government disinfo agent shill"

If you are going to post stuff here there are some expectations. If you have a theory, it better be thought out. You must provide sources for information you post, you are not allowed to source something then just flat out make crap up the source never said (daily occurrence now). We're not all here to hug and kiss you, if you say you have proof of something, we want it. We aren't just gonna believe anything you post. some people will, and they are half the problem because the dedicated time wasters NEED someone to believe them, that's why they are doing it.

The quality of content is lacking. The layout is horrible with duplicate threads, threads in wrong sections, threads with misleading titles, EMPTY THREADS WITH 50 FLAGS.........

I'm here to KNOW. Not believe. If you already believe then fine, your mind is closed and you are NOT helping the search for truth.

sorry, kinda stole your rant there.

I wouldn't reply here if I didn't care. I liked this site. I used to read through way before I finally decided to open an account. What you guys are talking about is a combo of factors:

1. A commercial site has its revenues driven by advertising money. That means traffic is good. ANY kind of traffic. This could reflect the strategy of the site owners - I have seen this before, and finally left.

2. The most important factor is not the number of new people, nor is it the mods. The really important thing we should be looking at is the level of education that is built-in the newer generations. It can be seen everywhere, with Facebook royally at the top of the chart.

Even a commercial site can attract and sustain a pool of quality content and people, IF there are quality people around. I am not saying that the young people lack quality, by no means. I am saying that if they had the courage and guts to claim this world, they would first have to recognize that their thinking is now fragmented, that more often than not they cannot maintain focus, that generally they limit research to a simple google search, etc, etc.

In the end, small steps of progress will take place, but yes, I have noticed an overwhelming increase of mental noise - not just here on ATS, but everywhere.

I have only one suggestion to make to the young ones (young as in age, not as in new to the site):

Consider the possibility that all this noise surrounding each one of us, and noise that sometimes you may contribute to, is in fact the most powerful way to neutralize your ability to think clearly, to have a focused creative drive, to communicate with others on more complex ways than abbreviations, and to actually have a real life.

When I work with musicians, I always find it amazing as they tune in. The level of noise increases tremendously, only to come to complete silence, just before the music begins. We are now living an era of noise, that is an undeniable fact. How long will it last is unknown. The problem is that the old folks die, so it is imperative that a transfer of knowledge and common sense takes place - from one generation to another.

Otherwise, the noise will slowly deafen each and every one of us. There will be nothing left of our dreams.

Ive seen this rant about 3 times in the last 7 months.

Stop duplicating threads.



Also, if a similar thread was done in 2004, then I think its ok to do another one with your own words and spin on things. Maybe some new information has come to light over the SEVEN DAMN YEARS it was hidden away in the back of the vault. No need to have a cry over that one.

And nerbot...

I really cant stand "tell tales" like some little kid telling the teacher someone fired a spitball out the window.

Do you honestly alert mods to one liners and little things like that constantly every day?

Holy S$#%!

I feel so.....I don't know, amused and appalled or something.

An observation-

FNG here and I'm sorry that the site may be taking a turn for the worse according to the grizzled veterans, but it's not the only one. I've seen the same with a couple of other sites I've been a long term member of. While I'm accustomed to some rancorous debate, what I'm not used to is no debate. Statements like "you're just a disinfo agent" are pathetic replies to pointed questions, and seem to be something of a reply norm. What happened to: "you present your facts and I'll present mine" as the standard method of debate? For that matter, what happened to real debate? There seems to be a disturbing trend that is growing on the web that entails people wanting to believe something so badly, they will dismiss out of hand what would be considered a "fact" by any rational thread reader. Or, that when evidence is presented, it will only be accepted if held to a completely unrealistic set of criteria that the critic would never dare set for themselves.

Meanwhile, shows like Conspiracy Theory, Ghost Hunters, Ancient Aliens, MonsterQuest, etc maintain a significant audience - regardless of how cheesy or ill-researched the content appears to be.

Maybe we are becoming mindless, (although I'm sure some will argue that we're just starting to become "aware") - I don't know.

Well, I'm off to stock up for 12/21/2012

reply to post by Elostone


I think you have too much confidence in people, ATS has always been like this to be fair, but your correct about the recent increase in stupidity from 2011 join date members.

They seem keen to jump all over every single video on Youtube and declare it evidence of Alien invasions, chemtrails, government conspiracies, HAARP, reptilians etc.

ATS is slowly becoming a laughing stock, why? because people approach threads as believers and not skeptics.