New member, dipping my toes in.

Hello Ats
I have been a lurker on this site for quite a while. But with all the world events, and the general atmosphere of somthing big is going to happen that I have been feelin, and the many, many dots that seem to be connecting, I have been lurking quite a bit. I guess you could say I have almost become a stalker, lol. I have decided to make an honest person of myself and become a member. I hope I can make a contribution to this site, as a lurker I have already gotten a lot from it, but to be honest I am feeling a little bit intimidated, and I am not overly computer literate, I would love to get a super cool avatar, I wasn't aware you had those until after joining but not sure how and don't want to make any mistakes til I know what I am doing. Any advice from seasoned members or in the know newbies would be greatly appreciated,.

My interests in the topics here are almost as varied as the topics themselves. I try to keep an open mind, and find that a lot of things that do not seem to be connected just seem that way because we do not realize the path that connects them is there. One of my favorite quotes since pre-teen years MANY years ago was "there are more things in heaven and on earth . . . than are dreamed of in your philosophys. Well I guess that is enough for my first post (probably too much) Thanks for reading.

reply to post by gypsycat


Welcome gypsycat...




Any advice from seasoned members or in the know newbies would be greatly appreciated,.


Do research before you throw your opinion out there, drink on occasion before posting, watch your 6, and most of all - don't take it too seriously.


Cya in the trenches...

reply to post by gypsycat

Hey hey gypsycat, welcome aboard
Our hood here is awesome, and being able to chime in and correspond makes it even better. Tis a good idea to thicken one's skin a bit, cuz not everyone agrees, and humble pie is sometimes served as we learn or unlearn truths about so many fascinating subjects.
If ya need any help navigating around let me know, and a Mod will be along shortly with some guidelines.
Happy truth pursuits...

Peace,
spec

Originally posted by gypsycat
Hello Ats
I have been a lurker on this site for quite a while. But with all the world events, and the general atmosphere of somthing big is going to happen that I have been feelin, and the many, many dots that seem to be connecting, I have been lurking quite a bit. I guess you could say I have almost become a stalker, lol. I have decided to make an honest person of myself and become a member. I hope I can make a contribution to this site, as a lurker I have already gotten a lot from it, but to be honest I am feeling a little bit intimidated, and I am not overly computer literate, I would love to get a super cool avatar, I wasn't aware you had those until after joining but not sure how and don't want to make any mistakes til I know what I am doing. Any advice from seasoned members or in the know newbies would be greatly appreciated,.

My interests in the topics here are almost as varied as the topics themselves. I try to keep an open mind, and find that a lot of things that do not seem to be connected just seem that way because we do not realize the path that connects them is there. One of my favorite quotes since pre-teen years MANY years ago was "there are more things in heaven and on earth . . . than are dreamed of in your philosophys. Well I guess that is enough for my first post (probably too much) Thanks for reading.

This sounds a bit like how I have started too, varied views on beliefs and the topics themselves, leaning slightly towards the believer, lurking for ages! But now that I've joined I seem to have jumped into the deep end quite quickly

Climb on it, the pools' deep and wide. Use the search feature before posting or the ATS fans will do a roasting. That is my only advice-beside don't take criticism to heart on here.

reply to post by samlf3rd


Yeah, I've asked for a link that people obviously know and just been told 'search is your friend'... Why not just tell me it Serious much??
That and dont post old stuff

reply to post by gypsycat


Nice little intro Gypsycat !

Welcome to ATS where a lot of us have a feeling that something wicked this way comes, the world will most certainly end tomorrow and then we laugh about it the day after...

There is a thread where there are a lot of good old seasoned members ready to give a hand to newcomers:

Adopt a New Member !

You might want to leave a note there...

Hope you have fun and first and foremost, enjoy !!!

reply to post by gypsycat


So glad you could join us! You are most welcome here.

Since you say you've been lurking for a while, I suppose you are aware of our Terms & Conditions.... ( www.abovetopsecret.com... ) but don't be daunted it's size; for the most part, it's all common sense, be respectful, speak your mind, and give any Moderator a holler if you need any help, or run into something you think we should know about.

I'll be looking forward to seeing your comments, and contributions; but most importantly have fun - some folks get so passionate about their topics of interest that they sometimes might seem cranky or quirky (it passes) - most of us simply enjoy a good debate, and a well-thought out point of view.

Remember, we're an international community, so you may learn much about people from other places, and you may teach a thing or two along the way.

Be well. and once again, thanks for joining!

Maxmars

reply to post by facelift


Love the picture of the cat, if it is an avatar offer i will use it., and yes I realsize I will probably need to be careful about impulsive replies, because I do tend to jump in with my opinion if it is pretty strong. Thank you for the advice and feel free to offer more if you see me messing up

Welcome, I've been lurking too. It's finally nice to come out the shadow and converse with other members.

reply to post by gypsycat


Please do use it - I find the picture to be rather koolio...


If you are having issues sizing it up, let me know - there are quite a few members here well versed in avatar-onics...be happy to link you up with them.

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


Thank you for your welcome, Taking so long to reply because I am slow and trying to figure things out.I hate to sound stupid. On the navigating around I am not real clear on what it means when you flag a post, think I know how to do it and it seems like a positive, but would like to know what it means exactly, or even approximately, been looking bout have not found the meaning for this. Peace to you.

you totally need to make that your avatar gypsycat, the pic at the top.

reply to post by gypsycat



You Flag a post to either give cred, add it to your profile subscriptions, or a both...or you may Flag a post because it fits your agenda.








As you can see, you can Un-Flag a post too...

reply to post by gypsycat


Flagging a thread means you think it is an important/interesting/ well put together thread that you think others would be interested in seeing. It also helps the site to 'bump' topics receiving high interest to the homepage. It also means you can register your interest without making a post in the topic which says something like: 'great thread!'and just creates chaff in threads, although we don't all always remember a flag is sufficient (guilty here too)

Welcome to the gang.

reply to post by Maxmars

I have been lurking from the outside, so did not come across terms and conditions until last night when I finally decided to join, (then I clicked off a couple of times before finally diving in) I guess that is why I am getting confused here because it is a different place from the inside. I kind like it but I do miss the little sidebar that has the new posts that are updated every time you click on a new page. I look forward to learning new things about people that live lives different from mine. I can tell there is a much deeper level of involvement and learning associated with being a member as opposed to being a visitor. I do appreciate the warm welcome I have been given so far

reply to post by gypsycat

P= number of posts
F= number of flags gained from your threads
S= number of stars

To star or flag, pass cursor over either and click. Below our avatars you can click on 'member' and the scroll down menu appears. Here you can go to a members profile, send message, add as friend and alert is for notifying the mods about any issues.

The 'search' button(upper right) is important to find topics for interest and to know if a topic has already been done, this helps the boards from becoming cluttered when considering creating a thread.

Karma is influenced most by a stars-to-post ratio, with a minor influence from flags.

WATS is influenced most by a flag-to-post ratio, with a minor influence from stars and post-count.

Long term members with a high number of well-flagged threads will achieve a high WATS number -- or -- mid-term members with highly-flagged threads will also receive a high WATS number. It reflects a ranking of those who start quality threads (mostly).

Short term members who create replies that earn stars may achieve a high KARMA number -- or -- those long term members who focus more on adding to existing threads and are starred as a result, will also achieve a high KARMA number. It reflects a ranking of those who add quality to existing threads.

Hope this helps

reply to post by facelift


I know that it has taken me a while to post again and reply. I have mainly been reading post by other on some of my areas of interest ( There are many since I do TRY to keep an open mind.)and trying to find out what has been beat to death and I do want to thank you again for the wonderful avatar. The main reason that I am posting on this thread again is to ask what you mean by watching my 6? I have seen this in at least one other place on here.

reply to post by gypsycat


Hi , and welcome to the Introductions Forum of the ATS community. For now you can reply to any thread in any member forum you wish, as well as send & receive (PM's) Private Messages to Staff only. Once you have achieved 20 posts, you will then be able to start your own threads and additionally send & receive messages to and from fellow ATS members.

General ATS Discussion Etiquette.

Index of Important ATS Related Threads

New Rules for Avatars and Mini-ProfileBackgrounds

Hey new members!! Come here if you need advice

Starting a New Thread ?... Look Here First

ATS Video Tutorials

Signature Guidelines

Terms & Conditions

Take some time to look around and orient yourself.

~Keeper
ATS Moderator