ATS is now virtually indistinguishable from MSM

Asides from open discussion on aliens, conspiracies, etc - but here's the catch.

Nearly every thread that is posted now with controversial information is derailed by a never ending plethora of people(disinformation agents, sometimes blatantly apparent) who purposefully attack others to take the original post way off track. It happens in virtually every thread.

And to add the icing to the cake, there's now THREE TO FIVE threads about this Trayvon person.

You know what I see on MSM? I see nothing but negativity - so and so is missing, so and so murder case, this and that this and that.

Well, let's take a big great gander at ATS!



Honestly, what the hell is this? And I'm not just pointing out the moderation(who should so kindly PLEASE bring back the ignore function), I'm pointing out to you participating as well. Stop flagging this Trayvon non-sense, sure, it's a sad incident, there's plenty of obfuscation occurring - but aren't we supposed to be discussing more fringe topics here?

If I wanted to debate, discuss or hear about Trayvon, there's 5000 other places to do it. This is absolutely RIDICULOUS. It is almost completely irrelevant to the aim of ATS, and it is most DEFINITELY not what I amongst MANY other long-term(ignore the join date) users come here for.

To make things worse - I remember coming here 4 years ago, and yeah - people would debate threads that are generally of good quality and don't necessarily NEED debating, but now people are fighting over which letter is better, or how you should mow your lawn.

This is absurd. If this Trayvon crap continues, I will most definitely resign from ATS completely.

And for the love of ALL MANKIND, PLEASE bring back the ignore function.



And edit to add: I don't even know anything about this Trayvon situation, because - it has NOTHING to do with me and it will never affect me and it is not relevant information.

The only reason this CONSPIRACY THEORY website enjoys all the racial/political/religious bickering and mud slinging is because it creates traffic. People sign up, get in heated discussions, get off on receiving stars and flags, and come back daily for a wash, rinse and repeat.



90% of the threads on this CONSPIRACY THEORY site have nothing to do with conspiracies of any kind.

reply to post by b3l13v3


I gotta say i agree that especially of late, the news and information posted and started here on ATS is of pretty poor quality. But if you are looking for the most replied to topics, you will always get the news headlines that msm cover, because the media itself is designed to create such intense discussion and division among the people.

I love ATS but it's hard for people to ignore all the crap msm produces, and even harder for them to focus on the real issues. You will hear for days and weeks, if not months, about a small scandal between sports or movie players, but you will get maybe half a day of discussion if a politician was found to be stealing millions of dollars of tax payers money.

reply to post by b3l13v3


Another problem is that New Topics has gotten very short lately, only eight new topics on the main board which acts to sink some real winners out of sight and out of site. The ads on top are pretty new, and where they were was, up until a few weeks ago, used for new threads. When this racism-or-not wave hit this last week, driven by MSM, it too has pushed many topics down the list and lost.

The best way to change this is extend the New Topics page down so it carries 20 or more new topics at once and not just eight.

reply to post by BeforeTheHangmansNoose


Well, that's kinda my point. I should see people of like-minded nature, and most of the time I do!

I go to the new topics section, and I usually see a bunch of people flagging important information. How people decided this Trayvon situation had anything to do with anything relevant to real life, the real circumstances of the situation this species is living in, is beyond me.

It's sensationalism at it's WORST, I'd rather hear about Alex Jones having another nervous breakdown. I swear, this site needs to be like what it used to be.... the quality has decreased monumentally, and now there's god damn disinfo agents EVERYWHERE. I mean, I see people trying to justify crap the government does that is just BLATANTLY evil, and it's sickening. I wouldn't mind if it happened here and there, but there is a massive force of people trying to justify in some twisted sense that everything is OK and normal.

I don't come to this damn site because I think everything is OK and normal, I come to this site because I am convinced everything is NOT OK.

I don't want to hear about how great the world is and how everything is exactly how it should be, and I sure as the hell don't want to hear about ONE PERSON who got KILLED.

People get killed everyday. God damn, I don't even see this much sensationalism over the cruel acts the US military has committed and gets exposed for. This is ridiculous.

reply to post by BeforeTheHangmansNoose


Omg you could never be more right with your last paragraph. Star for you.
2

This happens every time a major(ly fabricated) story takes over the MSM and public opinion shows interest. I used to get myself in a knot over it but in a week or so it will subside and we will be back to people being abducted by aliens, ufos covered up by NASA and of course a bunch of sounds in the sky obviously caused by HAARP, ooooh, I forgot earthquakes.

And then someone will make a rant thread about how stupid the conspiracies are becoming.

It's a give and take relationship with ATS.

reply to post by boncho


I honestly don't even know the story behind it, because I have completely ceased watching MSM in a whole. A long, long, long time ago for that matter.

Ugh.

Bring back the old days ATS.

reply to post by b3l13v3


I guess it depends how controversial you want to get. Pretty much you notice that if someone posts something along the lines of a conspiracy it's looked upon "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence", when personally it should be something like "hmm okay thats interesting, what if..".

The problem is everyone is so opinionated and convinced they are right. They see both sides of a story, then get stuck on a side. People find it so very, very hard to leave opinion behind and keep some kind of logically plausible rational framework.

Personally i don't believe anything anymore, even the most basic of accepted theories or ideas, because there is so much deception and lies, we really don't have many truths to look at these days. But when people get convinced they know the truth, or think they "know" something is impossible, it creates ignorance and greatly hinders discussion.

It's sad, i love speaking of the most ridiculous of topics; ie "what if all politicians are aliens", not that i'd believe such a notion, but that doesn't mean i won't exercise my brain and consider the notion.

When did hypothetical information and discussion become so frowned upon?

Originally posted by b3l13v3
reply to post by boncho

 

I honestly don't even know the story behind it, because I have completely ceased watching MSM in a whole. A long, long, long time ago for that matter.

Ugh.

Bring back the old days ATS.

I had a similar rant like this a few months ago. What I suggested, was give people the option to filter out the breaking news from new topics.

A simple "new forum topics" button that omits anything "breaking" would do the trick, IMO.

But alas, Boncho's words go unheeded.

reply to post by b3l13v3


I S@F and definately agree with you.
On one of my last threads all the Americans began saying sh1t about my country, saying how we couldn't exist without them and stuff.
Very arrogant.

Originally posted by BeforeTheHangmansNoose
Pretty much you notice that if someone posts something along the lines of a conspiracy it's looked upon "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence", when personally it should be something like "hmm okay thats interesting, what if..".

Bingo. Couldn't of said it better myself.

The problem is everyone is so opinionated and convinced they are right. They see both sides of a story, then get stuck on a side. People find it so very, very hard to leave opinion behind and keep some kind of logically plausible rational framework.

Exactly. We all do it from time to time, but I go into threads now and within 5 posts of the OP it's a debate. It's sickening.

Personally i don't believe anything anymore, even the most basic of accepted theories or ideas, because there is so much deception and lies, we really don't have many truths to look at these days. But when people get convinced they know the truth, or think they "know" something is impossible, it creates ignorance and greatly hinders discussion.

Amen, brother. I don't believe much either now these days.

When did hypothetical information and discussion become so frowned upon?

In my opinion? When we we're stripped of our right to ignore people we found irrelevant to our own positive information intake. If I see some stupid troll who does the same thing over and over again, I want to not be forced to view the content of his post, because while I can skim past it, I still see catch words and it angers me.

The trolls and disinfo agents have infested this place and it's sickening.

reply to post by BeforeTheHangmansNoose

When did hypothetical information and discussion become so frowned upon?

Since everything became "popular". Now, throwing out a hypothetical is on par with lending support to all the people out their making money off "illuminati, ufo, alex jones, new world order" ideas.

I feel my responses are pretty short on the boards, in real life I'm actually the one that throws some 'out there' ideas on subjects while I enjoy people looking for faults in the premise.

The monetizing of alternative ideas and topics has drawn a line in the sand if you ask me.

reply to post by Jace26


That's god damn sickening. That would have NEVER happened a few years ago here. 09 was when this place REALLY started going down hill....

Originally posted by Jace26
reply to post by b3l13v3

 

I S@F and definately agree with you.
On one of my last threads all the Americans began saying sh1t about my country, saying how we couldn't exist without them and stuff.
Very arrogant.

Well you couldn't...

Originally posted by b3l13v3
reply to post by Jace26

 

That's god damn sickening. That would have NEVER happened a few years ago here. 09 was when this place REALLY started going down hill....

Hey, yeah it was quite annoying. It was the thread about North Korea directing its missiles towards Australia (mycountry). Then about half way through Americans began saying we couldn't exist without them and other crap like that.
I first registered in 2010, then left for bit, then made a new account early this year, but I have definately noticed a vast difference in ATSers attitude since 2010.

Originally posted by boncho

Originally posted by Jace26
reply to post by b3l13v3

 

I S@F and definately agree with you.
On one of my last threads all the Americans began saying sh1t about my country, saying how we couldn't exist without them and stuff.
Very arrogant.

Well you couldn't...

YOU SEE, THIS IS WHAT THE GUY IS TALKING ABOUT.

Stop with the stupid smart arse remarks.

Originally posted by Jace26

Originally posted by boncho

Originally posted by Jace26
reply to post by b3l13v3

 

I S@F and definately agree with you.
On one of my last threads all the Americans began saying sh1t about my country, saying how we couldn't exist without them and stuff.
Very arrogant.

Well you couldn't...

YOU SEE, THIS IS WHAT THE GUY IS TALKING ABOUT.

Stop with the stupid smart arse remarks.

Being a smart ass is fine, you just gotta know when it's not appropriate.

reply to post by Jace26

YOU SEE, THIS IS WHAT THE GUY IS TALKING ABOUT.

Stop with the stupid smart arse remarks.

Tell me, who was I poking fun at, the person who said your country can't survive without the United States, or you for posting about the person that said your country can't exist without them?



I'll give you a hint, it wasn't you...

One of the keys to making ATS resemble its former glory, is in how we handle those "trolls and disinfo agents" you're talking about. Too many of us feed them. We make ATS conducive to their existence.

If we would learn to ignore them, and/or use the ALERT button. They would soon learn the membership at ATS won't feed them, and they would start going other places that will feed them. We have some members here who are exemplary at handling true trolls. But might I remind everyone that just because someone disagrees with us does not make them a troll or a disinfo agent. It makes them an individual. It makes them human.

As to the rash of "MSM" threads. The analysis of mainstream (and alternative) disinformation is part and parcel of this website. It can be helpful to strip down semi-fabricated stories such as the one you're speaking of, because it consistently shows the lengths to which the media will go to twist your mind like a pretzel. This kind of thing should always be exposed. Does it go a bit overboard at times on ATS. Yes! Definitely. But the road to perfection is long and arduous, and none of us have arrived yet.