ATS Reality: CoIntelPro, Shills, Freemasons, and Socks: The Definitive Guide

So let me get this straight skeptic.

Your site has filled with so many misinformed, negligent and egotistical numbskulls that you were forced to make a long-winded post basically reminding people that rationality and discernment are valuable and respected traits?

Narrow-minded, short-sighted and downright ignorant individuals populating a website? Well I never...

Hmmmm I am still on the fence, simply because ATS can and will always be vulnerable to infiltration. I hate to play the devils advocate here but there has lately quite a bit of censorship here that has caused me to lose trust in ATS. This is the several threads that have been 404'ed or deleted when certain subjects came up. Before this ATS would just send these threads to the hoax bin after a bit of investigation by members and staff. I witnessed it myself, and so some members would make a new thread questioning the moderators agenda. Then said threads would be closed without a explanation. This is unlike the fair ATS i have known for years.

I do not mean to stir the pot of paranoia here but...

Lets say ATS is not cointelpro and it is not funded by some alphabet agency. It does not matter, I mean does forum owners like Skeptic know these moderators personally? To my knowledge moderators are selected usually because of being popular positive contributors or in some cases friends of site owners. So how easy would it be for ohh say a CIA agent, a MOSSAD agent to get in good graces with the Owners "unknown" to the owners and seize some control? Because i fully expect that to always be a issue and relevant of concern.

So here lies the issue, disinformation is abundant on ATS on behalf of the lunatic fringe without being funded a red cent, deny ignorance? Yes, but deny freedom of speech ? I mean I am disappointed with how certain threads were trashed almost instantly like i said without a logical explanation. Threads i felt said 404'ed threads were most likely a hoax even. However it should be important to be made known to members and lurkers in the hoax and disinformation section. But these threads were never resolved and given a chance? This is counter productive.

Yet the "tin foil hat" people are the problem? And to be as fair and neutral as I can be I give ATS benefit of the doubt. However conintelpro or not you have maybe one or two crooked mod at least and that is to be expected. I have graced countless forums over several years on some horrible boards and this is very common. And usually said mods are corrupt and use the buddy system with certain users. they do not follow the rules and in a way are trolls. Some just power mad with Napoleon complex. I have moderated myself and this went on among my own peers and i even quit modding over what was going on. Just look at Washington and see a few bad apples can spoil a bunch. Just like there is always a few bad cops on every force. Just like the Chief of police always sides with the officer on his force when there is a shooting or beating of a civilian "he was doing his job" when obviously abusing his rights.

Be honest with yourselves ATS Owners and Staff, everyone makes mistakes and you put your trust in people you do not know to carry our your policy here. If you don't take what I am saying in to consideration then I don't know what to tell you. It is not my job to tell you what to do with your web site but the quality of ATS will always be determined by how receptive it's ownership and staff are to the users.

TL;DR

ATS part of CIA?
Psh, slim chance.
I'm sure there is a far larger chance of this site being monitored and bothered than this site itself being 'an inside job.'
Come on guys.
Have some fun, whether or not it is COINTELPRO, it doesn't really matter when 'tshtf', right?
Move along :3

Originally posted by SyphonX
I'm sorry, but while there may not be a "conspiracy" that all the moderators are CoIntelPro, CIA, secret alien agents with intent to disrupt people's thoughts, etc., it is still pretty obvious that some bungling of moderator powers does go on.

ATS is a site that, in my experience, uses total post deletions quite frequently, and where people have more incentive to "team up" as it were, to aid discussions in their favor; more common than some sites. I've seen it a lot, and so have others. It happens, as it's too easy to abuse moderator powers on this site. I've seen stuff like "Extreme T&C Violations" handed out for things that were clearly not, and a simple pattern could be measured in any given thread where the removals were all of the same opinion, i.e., an opinion abrasive to the moderator's own.

It's not a conspiracy to me, it's rather just disappointing, and a bit childish at times. Some days are better, some days make me want to stop coming to ATS. ATS has the pros of being more civil and professional than others, such as GLP, which I haven't touched because sociopaths and craziness run amok there, but it also has the con of being too far on the "control" spectrum.

I walk into some threads where I have no idea what is being discussed because there are tens to hundreds of post-deletions. It is a bit childish at times, because we all agree to be adults to enter this site, and I don't feel like an adult when I'm led to feel as if a "select few peers" decide what I should or should not see. It's very easy for moderators or simple 'collaborators' (it happens, people do it whether you like to think so or not) to manipulate threads in their favor. It starts with a perfectly-timed disruption, and ends in a total post-deletion minefield and the thread is over.

EXACTLY!

I think ATS has the best staff on the internet however i know a few mods "wont say who" that do this all the time. There is no oversight to what the moderators do imho. I even had a few pick on me an others that I am guessing brushed them the wrong way or simply did not like what we said. Like getting hit with several warnings at once bang, bang, bang with a the deck stacked against me. They were looking for a reason to ban im sure. Lie getting pulled over my the police and writing you tickets for everything they could find kind of thing. They would try real hard like "you avatar is too big" and yet this was not being enforced on other users here they had animated gifs that was in violation of rules.. like what is going on here?

Oh i see what you did there

Originally posted by Unknown Soldier

I think ATS has the best staff on the internet however i know a few mods "wont say who" that do this all the time. There is no oversight to what the moderators do imho. I even had a few pick on me an others that im guessing brushed them the wrong way or simply did not like what we said. Like getting his with several warnings at once bang, bang, bang with a the deck stacked against me. They were looking for a reason to ban im sure. Lie getting pulled over my the police and writing you tickets for everything they could find kind of thing. They would try real hard like "you avatar is too big" and yet this was not being enforced on other users here they had animated gifs that was in violation of rules.. like what is going on here?

Oh i see what you did there

Your avatar is kind of big. Thankfully I've only been scolded once and it was for being "off topic" which I was. So far, so good.

reply to post by maybee


Yeah it meets the regulation though, must save as much bandwidth as we can here. Waste not want not.


food for thought: what if just one moderator was a CIA conintelpro agent? If they were then they could "sanitize" any threat to the agenda on ATS with the click of a button. Depending how much time they spend on ATS... some people i noticed will post here around the clock and i wonder if they ever sleep or work? Could it also be some accounts or even a moderator account is shared with outside interests? What if someone hacked a moderators PW or figured it out? What if they were "agents" and sock puppets? It is all quite possible.

If the CIA or what have you has no assets and pawns on this site they still have systems that monitor every word spoken here and have the ability to influence discussion here with a bot I am sure. That patriot act is a mutha F@#&$! Never under estimate modern day technology and the systems they have.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord

Originally posted by Unknown Soldier
I mean I am disappointed with how certain threads were trashed almost instantly like i said without a logical explanation. Threads i felt said 404'ed threads were most likely a hoax even. However it should be important to be made known to members and lurkers in the hoax and disinformation section. But these threads were never resolved and given a chance? This is counter productive.

I think a policy change is in order here too. If you don't want people to be suspicious the best thing to do is lock the thread and post an explanation as to why. If it's a T&C issue then does it really need to be kept from members?

If it's a false accusation then refute it and close the thread but don't remove it. If it's a hoax, then place it in hoax - especially ones regarding banned members... Surely it would help?

What do you think SkepticOverlord? Isn't it counter-productive to remove threads, even if you need to edit out personal data or whatever?

I notice someone else got a ban. I feel guilty for encouraging them now. I did try to suggest we all stick to the facts but it doesn't seem to work out that way. I might have to take a sabbatical from trouble causing for a bit.

I really find all of this quite amusing...

Thanks to the staff for running an entertaining and stimulating site. Being a manager and business person myself, I can appreciate all the difficulties of balancing books with balancing working with the public. Thank You.

Further,it strikes me as just plain assinine of some mebers to complain about the openess and content and management of threads and wanting more "freedoms" here, whining about moderators playing favorites, etc...if you don't like it...Go Some Place Else.

It's a free country and a free world where you have a choice to go to ATS or not... The owners and operators of this site are here to make money doing something they enjoy,,,A-Make Money...B-Interest in Conspiracies... C-Do so by way of computers and the Net

I'll use the phrase that has inspired me and motivated me and challenged me over the years..."If you don't like it here, go start your own business."

So...for all the techno-savy folks that want to exclude all the CIA/FBI/NSA agents on the net...go start your own network or site...if it's really that easy...go do it....go ahead...no really, just go and do it...seriously...

I can say that because I have been intersted in conspiracies going back a couple of decades.... When keith Richards was asked how long he had known Mick jagger, he replied..." I knew Mick before there was Rock and Roll."

To play on that statement..."I knew Conspiracy Theories" before there was an internet.

As such, I am toying with an idea to start a business dealing with Conspiracy Theories...I am just afrais some of my most frequent customers will be undercover agents buying up all my stuff before i can get it to the public.

reply to post by Pimander


Well im referring to threads where lets say I remember some guy claims he has a free energy device and he plans to reveal it. He claims ATS has been censoring him ect. And there is no T&C violation and there is no personal information posted and the thread is 404'ed without explanation. Heck i cant remember all the threads that were wiped but most of the people were raising the same questions i did when they were deleted. Then every thread that claims ATS is some government funded operation getting wiped of course.

But yeah I agree ATS's should rectify this problem maybe keep certain mods of concern on a shorter leash and watch them, baby sit them.

reply to post by ateuprto


There is so much irony in that post that the wrinkles on my shirt just disappeared reading it. (I bet your reply will ask me why )


Also, this thread is WEIRD. Like, really weird. I'll be quitting this site soon, it's being overrun with too many religious shills and government trolls(who are just trying to push peoples buttons). Racists are popping up in numerous threads and their underhand comments are hardly ever removed. The UFO thing is not being reeled in at all, which pretty much comes down to condemning people to a fairytale world. And besides this all, the people who are trying to deny ignorance end up arguing with each other because of the trolls who incite(think about posters as fooks, kro32, etc).

Not to forget the ever growing apocalypse crowd who'll kill themselves in 2012.

Have a good one.

I'm going to inject a point of view here to back up some of what members have/are saying...

Originally posted by TheBorg
As a Moderator here, I can personally attest to the way we do things. I've always advocated for us, as a staff, being as transparent as we can be when doing what it is we do.

Yet so many times we read a new thread asking what happened to a deleted thread only to be told the O.P. has been notified of the reason and no explanation is offered to anyone else who asks. This is not transparency but cloaking. I understand the reasoning behind these actions but it would save so many unneeded threads of questioning by those who all too frequently encounter "404's" and need some kind of closure to the frustration. Contacting the O.P. is not always an option if the thread is gone.

.....I, being a Freemason, have been a Moderator here longer than I've been a Freemason, and have moderated no differently since becoming one. Some of the responses in this thread have me wondering. What has Freemasonry ever done to anyone to merit such vile hatred?

Some here would then say you became a freemason because of your status as a moderator and a possible recruit to a cause.

Works both ways.

It's funny actually because being here on ATS helped in my decision to become a Freemason.

There ya go.

I'll leave here with one final thought... Have questions? One answer:

Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you

Matthew 7

Except if someone would like to know why a thread was deleted.

The time and respect to give a brief explanation to a member/s concerning a dissappeared thread must surely outway the time taken to moderate, close and delete an enquiring thread concerning a "404"?

As far as freemasons and this site goes, I would only be concerned if the percentage of mods who were became an obvious factor. What is the percentage BTW? .... RSVP

In this place, clarity is sometimes like a diamond in the sand. Great to see but hard to find.

Originally posted by AlreadyGone
As such, I am toying with an idea to start a business dealing with Conspiracy Theories...I am just afrais some of my most frequent customers will be undercover agents buying up all my stuff before i can get it to the public

U2U me if you're serious. I have quite a bit of material.

Thanks for the very humorous OP.

It seems that it all comes down to two factions:

1. Those who appreciate the vast diversity of every view being posted and examined (including those posts critical of ATS of which there are thousands publicly viewable).

2. Those who do not want certain views to be posted. These folks will always have a difficult time here.

What I appreciate about this website is that its Administration steadfastly maintains its course of allowing all views to be expressed (with the exception of rudeness and posts that break the T&C) and does not bow down to the endless attempts for certain views not to be expressed.

It is a real problem with our society that we believe disagreement with our views to be something "bad". Oftentimes it is the only way to learn. If there is any "shill" operating in any thread, he cant do more than express his version of events. And anyone can post a well-thoughout rebuttal to that. And the readers then get to decide for themselves which side to believe, based on the data provided. There is nothing wrong with letting readers decide for themselves. The more information is present, the more sophisticated readers become in sifting through the information and being able to ascertain what is likely and what is not.

I personally see the cause of most of the "problems" here (if they even are - I think the Cointelpro-Accusiations are just part of the whole fascinating ATS-Mystique), folks who think they need to control what others post.
As long as what is posted is legal and within the T&C there is no need to control what others post.

Good Luck to the Future of this exciting website.

Originally posted by Unknown Soldier
reply to post by Pimander

 

Well im referring to threads where lets say I remember some guy claims he has a free energy device and he plans to reveal it. He claims ATS has been censoring him ect. And there is no T&C violation and there is no personal information posted and the thread is 404'ed without explanation.

I'm not sure about the rules on that? Is it a T&C violation or not to accuse ATS of something? Maybe a mod can put us straight on that?

Perhaps the reason I have not had a ban or any 404s is down to the fact that I have not posted accusations about the ATS staff. For me it looks like that is one of the few things on ATS where speculation has to be clearly presented as speculation and even then it can be taken the wrong way.

reply to post by ateuprto

quote] So let me get this straight skeptic. Your site has filled with so many misinformed, negligent and egotistical numbskulls that you were forced to make a long-winded post basically reminding people that rationality and discernment are valuable and respected traits? Narrow-minded, short-sighted and downright ignorant individuals populating a website? Well I never...

Doesn't matter how many time Skeptic or any of the other Amigos, Mods,Super-Mods or any member claims that ATS isn't COINTELPRO, CIA or Alphabet Soup Agencies

We can never know for sure unless we were actually the owners of the site.(All we can do is take their word for it)

Anyone who denies the possibility of ATS being COINTELPRO etc is just being short-sighted and ignorant.

I know people love to brown-nose and garner brownie points from all the people harping about the site being untainted by government control and/or censorship.

But we can never truly know unless we were in the mind of the Founder(s) of the Site.

And i don't think the T and C states says we aren't allowed to bring into question the validity/agenda/etc of the site.

So i'm going to keep an open-mind about it and leave the possibility of it being plausible.

reply to post by Unknown Soldier


What you have failed to understand in your posts is that ATS has moderating staff from all over the world, covering Australian, Asian, European and American Time Zones.

You also seem to have ignored the concept that different people have different lifestyle and work patterns, and may be on the boards at times that some people don't consider to be "normal"

You should also note that every moderator action can be seen by every other moderator.

It is not possible for a moderator to "go rogue", because the other board staff will challenge the decisions made by them, and if need be they will be removed from the staff.

The checks and balances that are in place to ensure that moderator actions are carried out as fairly as possible are astounding.

Originally posted by Pimander

Perhaps the reason I have not had a ban or any 404s is down to the fact that I have not posted accusations about the ATS staff. For me it looks like that is one of the few things on ATS where speculation has to be clearly presented as speculation and even then it can be taken the wrong way.

As Mods we can view a Forum called "The Trash Bin". You see the 404, we see the thread in that Forum. In my half a decade here neither me nor any of the numerous other Mods have ever seen a thread removed that was not some T&C Violation. There are no thread-removals without the consensus of several Mods.

Someone might be posting advertising-spam, duplicate-threads, threads proposing illegal activity, porn-threads, obvious hoax threads or threads personally calling out certain members. All of these things violate ATS Policy. Sadly, when we remove them, its easy to say "You are suppressing the truth!"

The evidence against this accusiation? You can post ANYTHING as long as it adheres to th T&C. If someone thinks for example we are "suppressing information on Free Energy", then have him post that thread on the free energy, have the OP adhere to the T&C,and you will see that it stays up. Thats the best evidence that nothing is "suppressed".

The key question: Why dont they just post the information they think is being suppressed? Then they could see for themselves that it is not. But no, rather than just revealing that oh so very secret information that is supposedly being suppressed, they will come out with a bunch of accusations.

For example, the ATS-Cointelpro Accusation can be found with a simple use of the search tool. Its all there, for public viewing. In fact, almost ANY sort of accusation, suspicion and conspiracy can be found by using the search tool. Its all in the open.

Originally posted by Skyfloating
What I appreciate about this website is that its Administration steadfastly maintains its course of allowing all views to be expressed (with the exception of rudeness and posts that break the T&C) and does not bow down to the endless attempts for certain views not to be expressed.

Unless your name is Steven Greer?

I'm not defending him. However sometimes strange things can happen on here - moving everything by a person to hoax is one. Some things they say might be true after all which means that some non-hoaxes can end up in hoax. That is not denying ignorance it is promoting it. Just saying...

Originally posted by Skyfloating
For example, the ATS-Cointelpro Accusation can be found with a simple use of the search tool. Its all there, for public viewing. In fact, almost ANY sort of accusation, suspicion and conspiracy can be found by using the search tool. Its all in the open.

My suggestion is more in line with trying to be more open about why a thread is removed. Leave the thread there and remove anything that may cause serious violations. Close the thread and post a proper explanation and people don't have to get paranoid about what happened. I know sometimes it might involve a bit of editing by the mods but don't you think it would be worth it?

Originally posted by BanMePlz
Are there any moderators here that arent associated with freemasons, and are there any moderators here who arent skeptics? Who actually embrace Conspiracy culture?

Are you saying you have to blindly believe everything in order to embrace conspiracy? If so you are dead wrong and need to look again at S.O's link showing the definition of the word 'sceptic'.

Scepticism is the cornerstone of conspiracy and certainly belongs in the conspiracy arena infinitely more than blind belief does.