Hi all,

I have been reading ATS for a while now, a few years to be exact. First as a guest, then as a member, lately as a contributory member. Yesterday I made comments on the UK riots (being a resident I felt uber qualified to comment and expect that my views would be listened to and accepted), and got into what could have been a nasty argument with a US resident over the nature of said riots.

Thas was wrong. I apologise.

Unfortunately, I see this happening all too often on ATS. Members have a good, valid opinion, get shot down by a different valid opinion, bickering ensues, thread is ruined and we have 30 pages of anger and distrust, ego and pettiness.

Why? Well, mainly because of our intrinsic nature, our ego, which insists that "I" must have the correct opinion. No matter what anyone else says. Take my comments yesterday, insisting that it was not revolution in the UK, but a criminal spree by idiots. Another ATS'er commented (a little harshly) that it was a revolution of sorts. I was actually angry! How dare this user comment on my opinion! I am here! I am RIGHT!

How sad.

So, I implore you, fellow ATS'ers, fellow theorists, fellow commentators of society, please, please, please, do not get angry with each other. Debate is great, if it is in the correct spirit and frame of mind, when anger creeps in (and we have all been there) it all goes belly up. Lets renew our self respect, and our respect for others by using restraint and tact, by being respectful that no matter how "right" we feel we are, we could be wrong. Be open. If you have a particular bug bear, for example Elenin, or prophecy, or NWO or crop circles (or ANYTHING!), please don't enter that forum or thread! For example, if you are certain that Elenin is not going to pose any danger, whatsoever, to either our planet or our conciousness, don't go into thread just to flame everyone in it. Why? Well:

1) It is rude to others and their opinions, got an opinion? Start your own counter thread.
2) It puts people off commenting, the more input we get, the better for us all
3) You are not going to be 100% right everytime
4) You are ruining someone elses day, making them unhappy. Show some compassion!

By all means, express your opinion, give evidence for your opinion just dont throw comments like:

"OMG! Not another Elenin, fear monger thread! *snip*ing hell man, this is tedious, what has ATS become?"

This is counter productive for all of us.

Basically, what I'm trying to say to everyone is, be nice to each other. Show each other respect. We are a unique, vibrant and eclectic society here at ATS, lets keep it a happy one. Hell, we need at least one happy society in our lives!

Peace,

CC

well, you sir, seem to be the better man. A thread to apologize for a past thread gone haywire.

We might just have a chance if more people (and yes ATS members too) could bite back some of their programmed responses.

Keep it going, and be safe in your country

Sometimes we have to cross the line before we know it was there. At least you are smart and decent enough to acknowledge your mistakes. You will go far with that attitude.

I wanted to get enough posts so that I could start a thread like this lol. I've seen the ridiculous arguements that people have and even cringe at some of the comments I've witnessed. Maybe we all have a bit of narcisim in us and dont like it when our views are different from others. I've always belived that believing in a conspiracy is much like a religion and look at the wars that religion can start.

Great post.

I am sometimes guilty of losing my temper, becoming frustrated and angry when people disagree with my opinions both here and in real world interactions.

All I would add is that we all need to understand that this can and will happen when discussing such important topics - and we need to be prepared to apologize when we've crossed a line.

You said it. There are so many people on here who think of themselves as "deep thinkers" and what not when in reality they are just as blind as the "sheep" they refer to. I don't consider myself a deep thinker but I know that I am blind to some things.

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle

Originally posted by CrazyCloud
I have been reading ATS for a while now, a few years to be exact.
CC

how exact is that?

Debating brings out the ugly in people thats what i always like to say ...


I would rather call it a discussion then a debate and i like to add smiley faces to keep the mood light and happy in my posts


yes it does get ugly and hairy at times but hey that just shows you how passionte people are about their views ...

the reason it gets so ugly is because someone showing you that your wrong hurts and you want to fight it but thats just part of the healing process to the truth ?

its the casuality in the war of debates if you will...

sometimes you just have to drive the point home so people snap out of their ignorance . Im no differernt . We all get angry , make mistakes , lash out , etc but its just the beauty of thinking and expressing your opinion with other people who clash naturally it will get ugly lol


if you can't handle the heat get outta the kitchen ! lol

yes we should be nicer and have more patience but the amount of threads that pop up with ignorance hate spew its hard too.


But i pledge to be nicer and more patient inspired by this thread

.

The best way is to post your views as completely as you think possible and to never followup with additional or suplimental posts. Basically, you get one chance to make your case. If your case is solid, it will withstand contrary views and your supporters will get your point. If it is faulty, you'll get shot down. If the counter argument(s) are worthy, let it go. No clear winner(s) there. The first results speak enough for themselves. Too many times the arguments gets silly, side-tracked, wastes everybody's time and solve nothing (except add to the post counts).

Certainly, some will complain if you posted only once and didn't respond to their criticism. So? Such responses tell more about their egos not being recognized and legitimized rather than what you said. Most arguments are eventually left hanging out of boredom or exhaustion anyway, so leaving early without a defensive word is quite respectable. (BTW the term "troll" is misused way too much on ATS.)

I agree with all you stated OP.

Personally, when I see the bickering start up, or someone attacking my post, I just bow out with out a word. And typically don't even go back to read the remaining quarrels. There is so much to read, and learn, on ATS I don't have time for the non-sense.

I applaud you for being the bigger person here! S & F for you.

Now if others will follow suit......

great post there OP. God knows I'm guilty of letting my anger get the best of me (as do the mods & my warnings bear testament). for me, it's hard to control my anger when I'm passionate about something or an issue. and when I'm trying to defend those who can't defend themselves all that well, well, I tend to get twice as angry. I guess in my mind it's justified but many times I regret it. actually I hate anger and confrontation; it throws off my rythym for the day. many times when I go to sign on here I think to myself, you're gonna get angry / think twice and I do and I don't sign on. but I'm working on it. as someone said, you can not change what you don't acknowledge.