Embracing Ignorance Here At ATS

reply to post by Crutchley29


Repeated for emphasis, because this is succinct, and seems exactly spot on:

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

(My emphasis in bold....)

Originally posted by weedwhacker
reply to post by Crutchley29

 

Repeated for emphasis, because this is succinct, and seems exactly spot on:

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

(My emphasis in bold....)

Despite our occasional run-ins on certain threads, that's what I appreciate about this site is that there are both. In my opinion some of the believers are too open minded and some of the skeptics are not open minded enough, but I think it is important to have that balance. Too far on either side isn't good for anybody.

I love this site. It's part of the sad little hour I take for myself at the end of the night to get all of the work out of my head before I attempt to sleep. I discovered it several years back when I was searching for information on a quirky topic I wanted to use in a short story. What drew me to the site was the mixture of people who were thoughtful, to the people I would rudely call retarded (backwards) and all the people in-between, weighing in on all kinds of less than standard topics. I'm by no means a noob, as you put it, because I have been reading for awhile and know a ridiculous amount of you by your handles and site personalities. However, this is my second post on the site and I only actually joined it a few weeks back so I guess I am just a newbie to you. I like to read and just read because honestly I'm a rabid debater and if I started weighing in all the time my quiet little end of the night read would turn into some three hour "but I have to prove my point!" activity that simply wouldn't be relaxing to me. So take my opinion however you like.

The site might be taking in a plethora of new members, but to be fair the times we're in presently are a little on the tense side. There are always dates of doom and gloom looming, always people predicting when the planet will blow up. However, we're coming upon one of the big ones that people have been making their money off of for books for decades now. That great 2012 approaches. And one thing I've found from net surfing years ago to currently is that there are just so many more sites predicting the ultimate decline of the world. It's like the whole world is just nervous -between all the natural disasters letting us know the world is a bit unsettled right now- a sun going into its own hyper time- and whatever else you want to throw into that --It's like the whole world is a bit anxious at the moment and it's best observed online where people let their paranoid and crazy hang out. It also brings everyone out of the wood works for good or bad. This site has seen an influx of people coming to toss their doom and gloom or alien conspiracies into the pot no matter how little support they have for them other than "a feeling". Then you've had a good share of people finding their way to sites like this hoping that people who seem to know these things will ease their mind and tell them it's silly to think a giant planet is about to smack into the planet on it's stupid huge orbital path.

Perhaps if more people here stopped feeding the trolls, flagging posts that are so ridiculous or just allowing themselves to be baited by people who obviously get off on jerking people around, that might help a bit too. A legion of new people aren't completely responsible for a few things that have been going on in this site (as well as most net sites given that trolls, asshats and idiots are a standard of all internet traveling to some degree) for years now. It probably just looks that much worse because the site is growing so now there's more of them to deal with. Moderation could be better in a few places too.

For the record I hope I'm not coming across hostile, that's not my intention. Just offering the suggestion that the site isn't going to hell in quick order just because all the new people suck. I'm still a happy reader of ATS. I get out of it what I want to get out of it. I typically skip a lot of the front page topics and root around for the things that appeal to me. When I see topics where something alerts me to the state of mind of the original poster (like say, claiming there is no ice in space ever and sticking their fingers in their ears and lalalaing while people try to enlighten them) I close that thread and move on. If it warrants being noted I do so. I wish I could ease your fears of where the site is heading. Sorry, I get wordy too.

I completely agree with the OP, but with a bit of a twist.

I have been on ATS a long time, and I have rarely posted my own threads, not for lack of evidence or want to contribute, it's just that there are already tens of hundreds of threads that duplicate my thoughts so simliarly that I feel there is no need to re-state the questions just to satisfy my own curiosity. In most cases the things I want to know about some new member hastily posts as a single paragraph of four or less sentences without presenting any case whatsoever or any opinion in either direction on the subject. This usually results in a long drawn out argument among members that can diverge into a variety of different directions and in the end most of the posts don't end up addressing the original statement at all.

I post when I feel something is relavent. I also post when I think I have a good idea worth talking about. I admit I could spend weeks researching certain topics and post a six part initial OP with pictures, links and all sorts of technical data that ATS is famous for doing, but in the end someone has usually already done it.

Instead I post my questions in the most relavent thread available where I feel educated members will give me the best response; the rest of the duplicate threads on the same subject I simply ignore. I may read a good portion of them, but lacking substance isn't worth replying too.

You are right when you state that many people post duplicate threads that either have misleading or sensational titles, and that is usually because they are looking to get S&F. I don't care if people S&F my posts, I only care to initiate honest discussions, constructive critisicm and ethical debates among my fellow ATS members.

I don't have an agenda, a vendetta, a chip on my shoulder and I'm not bias towards one decision or the other. If someone could scientifically prove that the collor yellow was really red then guess what, I'd believe them. Until then I'm just going to post when I feel I can contribute and leave all of the new members to repeatedly re-hash old UFO topics until someone has something important to say.

Good post OP.

King