Are the hoax threads worth it?

Personally I think they are. Aside from the obvious hilarity that ensues, I think they are a necessary evil. At ATS we truth seekers come here hoping to catch a thread that really does educate the ignorant (we all are to some extent). A thread that may truly show proof of the ever fleeting UFO or what not. But it seems that of those interesting threads that may provide some truth, the majority are hoaxes. I personally dont mind the hoaxes... If it wasnt for them, then perhaps that 1 in a 100 threads might never see the light of day.

Today for instance, despite what you may think, you cant handle the truth thread is a necessary evil. IMO, it was obvious hogwash. Some may think differently, but can we all agree that without the openness to accepting the fact that there will be hoaxes, we wont get the real gems.

Thoughts? Do you guys hate the large amount of hoaxes we are getting? Is it getting old? Are they worth it?

reply to post by bknapple32



I have no problem with them. Sometimes they really make my day. I almost pissed my pants last month reading one. LOL.. My hair hurt it was sooooo good.

They are fine, as long as they are treated as what they are, if not they run the risk of making people who come here to inform themselves and learn, accidentally to disseminate a whole lot of crapola.

That is not why places like ATS exist. You should be able to search through them and the good ones and differentiate the two.

We come to learn laugh and live. not believe lies in good faith.

I must say, I get a little irked when I read a post that is an obvious hoax, or bs thread and people will still give the troll/poster the benefit of the doubt. That risk of putting a hoax at the same level as a thread of substance worries me. But that begs the question, who really can determine the difference. No one... Even when PROVEN to be a hoax, there will still be a free thinker coming to defend it. Crazy world we live in huh

Originally posted by bknapple32
I must say, I get a little irked when I read a post that is an obvious hoax, or bs thread and people will still give the troll/poster the benefit of the doubt. That risk of putting a hoax at the same level as a thread of substance worries me. But that begs the question, who really can determine the difference. No one... Even when PROVEN to be a hoax, there will still be a free thinker coming to defend it. Crazy world we live in huh

Im not saying this towards anyone but its good to make the point.

How do you definitively know that you are right and that the others are wrong?

reply to post by bknapple32


I realize that "necessary evil" is but a turn of phrase, however I don't see a problem with the thread you referenced -- I think it is an opinion piece and there are certain "truths" in there that resonate with my own 'truths'. Truth, after all, is an elusive concept, because it alludes toward 'fact', however it is far and away from 'fact'. Truth is subjective; truth is what we belive.

More on topic, I think the hoax threads serve a defininate purpose; They are the standard against which we measure our beliefs. It is also entirely possible that hoaxes contain an element of the truth, because they are almost always spawned from urban legends, myths, or other cultural beliefs. Sure, there are intentional hoxes that are purely for the lols, but even those seem to often parrot other historical works.

Take, for example, an intentional UFO hoax, an established, vetted hoax. It might well contain elements of the truth, inasmuch as the creator was just in it for the 15 seconds (the world ain't slowin' down) of fame.

I am a skeptic. That doesn't mean that I don't believe. It means that I long for proof, and separating the rare good stuff from the common fodder is a means to an end. I think hoax threads help us all to measure the variables that make up our understanding of various phenomena.

reply to post by strangedays


Yea and thats why I brought it up in that post.

Its frustrating to feel so correct about something because in the end no one really has 100% truth except for 2 plus 2. Even then I bet you can find a physicist who will argue it

My personal opinion is that we need the hoax threads presented so that we can weed out hoaxes for the poor few that actually believe the threads that the OP started (whether the OP knows it's nothing but a hoax or not) . The devious few who propogate a lot of hoaxes are fear mongerers and it's good to see them be put to shame and their "research" stripped to the bone.


There IS an evil downside to the hoax threads though and that is the fact of quantity. It's NOT okay for there to be 10+ hoax threads on one topic. I'm mostly referencing the sounds in the sky threads and the massive collection of Nibiru threads that occupy this board as well. (Which was the main reason i started coming here, so that I could laugh at the Nibiru theory threads after seeing the ridiculous videos plastering youtube )

There is also the hilarity factor to hoaxes which I have to agree with OP on. It's a nice stress reducer to come around here every so often to see a complete out front hoax thread of the OP ranting on about endtimes or that he is in fact a highly sophisticated extra terrestrial being warning the masses of a coming event. (Remember our space troops that were going to go on that trippy interdimensional fight? ) Things like that brighten my day and make me forget that I have a pile of work that I must complete which is a real stress reducer. Now, if you excuse me, I am going to go have my evening meal. Kudos to OP for starting this topic.

Why in the world would you single out a thread BY NAME and go on about it being obvious hogwash? Shouldn't this thread be in the rant section?

What really irks me about some of the people on this site is their imagined superiority, as if only THEY can determine was is truth and what is not. If a thread is a hoax or a troll thread, let each member determine its worth on their own, we don't need a couple of self-righteous blowhards deciding it for us. If you think it is hogwash, why don't you lay out your reasons why, instead of going on the attack and making fun?

I know quite a few on here have no life and need to put others down in order to get a laugh and feel important, but to me, it is the thing I find quite insufferable about this site. If you don't agree with something, feel free to say so, but why be an a-hole about it? I don't need you to tell me what to think or what to believe.

Denying ignorance is one thing, but denying posters their dignity because you have a burr up your butt is something else entirely.

Originally posted by FissionSurplus
Why in the world would you single out a thread BY NAME and go on about it being obvious hogwash? Shouldn't this thread be in the rant section?

What really irks me about some of the people on this site is their imagined superiority, as if only THEY can determine was is truth and what is not. If a thread is a hoax or a troll thread, let each member determine its worth on their own, we don't need a couple of self-righteous blowhards deciding it for us. If you think it is hogwash, why don't you lay out your reasons why, instead of going on the attack and making fun?

I know quite a few on here have no life and need to put others down in order to get a laugh and feel important, but to me, it is the thing I find quite insufferable about this site. If you don't agree with something, feel free to say so, but why be an a-hole about it? I don't need you to tell me what to think or what to believe.

Denying ignorance is one thing, but denying posters their dignity because you have a burr up your butt is something else entirely.

I think you need to actually read what I wrote on this thread before going on the attack. Numerous times on this thread I have mentioned how I cant determine what is right and truth for you or anyone else.

Personally like to know when someone has just offloaded a whole heap of BS. It saves me wasting my time looking at it even though some of the issues are certainly speculative.

reply to post by bknapple32


How does the old saying go? "Even a broken clock can be right twice a day." Just because something is a hoax, does not mean that there was not a merit of truth to some of the things they were saying. Use your instincts and if something sounds funny, research that part of the story, if you look hard enough you will find one of two things. A rabbit hole with no end in site, or a dead end of the same information spewed across a few pages all with pretty much the same story verbatim ( 99% of the times these are the ugliest sites you have ever seen, and I had a myspace account)

I like reading the hoaxes because I have a pretty good "compass" that helps steer me away from obvious BS (that or it is the smell).

And then there are some things that I think people just post for people to laugh at. Some of these are entertaining if you need a good laugh (The ones that are obviously fake). I don't know. I like the ocasional hoax, it is almost like an ATS fairytale!

reply to post by bknapple32


I want to believe that most posters on ATS put up a post in good faith, and are not intentionally trying to pull a fast one on us. Some videos and/or pics are, for some of us, so fake that they are moved quickly to the HOAX bin. Others are only moved after careful scrutiny by other members. We have some members whom believe that all Pic and Vids are real, and other members that believe they are fake depending on a particular persons belief and frame of reference. I think that those picture and videos that wind up in the hoax bin, that are not deliberately posted as a hoax, are important only if they show us members that are not knowledgeable in photography how to differentiate between real and fake. When I first joined ATS I automatically assumed that most if not all were real. Now I have learned to demand a little more proof. I try to look at all sides of the coin before I make a determination. So I say that all pictures, videos, ect.. should be posted if they are done in good faith.

Categorizing them to the hoax bin can help us learn how to spot them more efficiently. But always look beyond that more info the better as to why they were put into there. Also, I keep in mind that not every member's thread that ends up in that bin is guilty of trying to trick people, some just make simple mistakes and are learning to post a thread, such as not enough search or info before hand, confusion included.