There has been a great deal of discussion about this thread,
Q&A With John Lear,
especially what transpired on
page11. I and the senior staff want to express our
apologies for a bumbled handling of this event on ATS.
We bumbled it. Plain and simple.
1- We should have confirmed our satisfaction with his identity before making this thread "seem" like it was a sanctioned ATS interview.
2- We should have expressed our doubts about his ideas more clearly, more sooner, and in a less confrontational tone.
3- We should have communicated the need to be careful of big-quotes and one-line responses sooner (though we would have offered leniency upon
confirmed identity).
4- We should have taken a more leadership role in controlling the participation of a potential guest speaker (not from a debunking or content
standpoint, but in helping him to better deal with the volume of questions and efficient responses).
You should know we realize it turned bad, and we recognize that it did so, and are sincerely sorry that it occurred the way it did.
A few senior staff members have some direct and first-hand experience with the subject matter. Unfortunately, due to busy schedules, we were not able
to be active in confirming Mr. Lear's identity, helping manage the thread flow, helping Mr. Lear cope with his participation, and participating in
questions in a timely way as the thread first began. With such a potentially important figure to the UFO/ET community, we should have either made the
time, or postponed his involvement until we could devote the time.
Our goal has been, and always will be the relentless search for the truth, no matter what form it takes. While you may disagree with what we say, or
the way we say it, I hope that the mere fact that this situation has not been "brushed under the carpet" shows our sincerity in that search.
From this, we have learned, and In the future things will be different...
Senior staff will moderate the flow,
not the subject matter of guest speakers. This is what should have happened, and this is what will happen.
If a senior ATS staff member has prior "issues" with a given guest speaker, they will participate in the guest discussion as a regular member.
We've learned from this, and have taken policy steps to ensure that any future events with a guest speaker will be different. There are several ways
we can assist a guest speaker's participation, and the appropriate methods should be established before the thread begins.
Thank you. The admin and super-mods of ATS.
(typo edit)
[edit on 20-9-2004 by SkepticOverlord]