Troll Threads

i remember a time on ats when you could have a polite and enlightening discussion with people you didnt agree with.
now it just seems like people are here to argue, push buttons, or troll.
since ive been messing around on ats again i have noticed one thing. you dont just find trolls in threads, you find threads that are trolling themselves.

why people?

Be the change you wish to see.

Be the example.

It's what I TRY to do.

For what that is worth.

reply to post by gimme_some_truth


and i come here to find the change i seek and want to be.

i remember years ago i would totally disagree with someone and we were totally civil about it. some members and i would even exchange private messages to really get a chance to understand each others point of view and it always helped to evolve my mind.

i guess you would have to have been around ats when civility was part of the norm. now it seems everyone has an agenda which is mostly a distraction for everyone else.

I once imagined how in the midst of the most Facist attacks, we could all retain our freedom ..of soul movement.. by not conforming with the brainwashed masses, who spittle out their deranged hateful attitudes ... against the trolls ,of multi dimensional origins...who broadcast truth, whilst being judged as ofusicating agitators.

reply to post by elitegamer23


Some of the trolls may be professionals.

If you read these posts, that defy logic, there are three possibilities.

Either the person does not think logically and can not understand the arguments, or

They simply did not read what you wrote and are robotically responding with opinions from some other source (talk radio, new york times) or

They are paid to post a certain point of view, and your arguments will not change them.

In any case, never argue with an idiot applies.

ATS is going mainstream.

Mainstream means a higher percentage of people you describe.

It's always the same. First you have a selected few with a "crazy idea", and the public smiles at them.

Then more like minded people join in, you have small selected community functioning perfectly for a while.

When you reach the critical mass of enough people though, the cause won't matter any longer, it's more important to be part of the movement in order not to be an outsider, and that's when the mob and the shills comes storming in

reply to post by H1ght3chHippie


sadly it does seem like people are being paid to push propaganda on ats.
when Wbush was in office ats started to see a major influx of anti bush posters.
when obama was elected that died instantly and the anti obama postehs took their place.

i just wish people would learn to not be so biased or closed minded.
you can even read a threads title now and know the only purpose is to cause a school yard fight.

There are still good people and good threads opening, if you look hard, and are patient.

reply to post by elitegamer23


That's why I rarely engage in discussions, other than stating my opinion on a certain issue in a thread once.

Nothing fruitful will come from it in most instances because most people don't come here to change their opinion or learn new things about issues they think they know everything about already.

What motivates me to come back are the few exceptions, and because this is one of the few places on the net you read about stuff you never heard before on a daily base

The Interent has always been 80-plus percent troll, I think.

If you are seeing changes on this board it can only be regression to the mean.

Be the change, as the other poster said.