A Decade on ATS.

Today I have been here 10 years. Love me, hate me, indifferent this is the member you've got to blame for my being here. He was a coworker into SETI. He showed me ATS and the politics here sold me. Bush's reelection year. Man you thought Obama's was nasty, you should have seen that. And yes, I got my fair share of warns.

Back then ATS had less than 4000 members. We applauded each other with every 100,000 posts. We are SO much bigger now. The site back then was Mickey Mouse. SkepticOverlord really worked it, the Nov. 5th Revolution, Dark Matter, etc. MUCH, much better. Even the last remake, 5.3, had improvements that I LOVE. Need the old smileys back though.

There are folks back then that aren't around anymore. Members dreamlandmafia was a kid(he'd be mid-20's now) that helped an old dude "get" computer stuff. Agent47 was an interesting guy. Deusex, thedemonhunter, Pisky,etc were amazing in the writing forums. Many staffers then that were mentors too. Kano, Banshee, Zedd. WOS died.

Members still here I won't mention as I might miss someone and Ly will call me on it.

It's been informative, formative, enlightening, aggravating, exasperating, etc BUT:

Congratulations ! A decade is a long time.

reply to post by intrepid


Grats! Nearly there myself.

Was and still is a great place to be.

In truth, it's hard to believe so much time has passed. Doesn't feel like ten years, but there it is.

Thanks for making this place such a wonderful, educating, (sometime infuriating) place to be!!!

Well done.

reply to post by intrepid


A decade, huh?

Well celebrate when it's been ten years, then that'll be something!

In ten years have you ever just had to take a break?

I can all get a little overwhelming.

Just wondering...10 years....You should get a pin or something. 😯

intrepid
There are folks back then that aren't around anymore.

Folks come and go. I remember when RANT gave me my first applause ....
Happy anniversary.

I have always wondered what ATS was like on the day of 9/11

Any of you old timers know anything about that because i would love to see some posts from that day and so on.

sorry interpid, I know thats off-topic, but just seeing your thread got me thinking about that.

10 years, long time.

dont honestly know if i will make the 10 year mark i must say.

EDIT:

how come the guy that introduced to to ATS doesn't seem to use the site?

whyamIhere
In ten years have you ever just had to take a break?

I can all get a little overwhelming.

Just wondering...10 years....You should get a pin or something. 😯

Heavy medication. lol.

@Intrepid: Congrats, and for what it's worth. You're one of my faves.

reply to post by intrepid


10 years wow, over 55 thousand posts...

What else can I say ??





I don't buy the 17 million stars though...
(That's gotta be a conspiracy or some sort of cover-up or sumtin')


Congratulations Intrepid !! And to many more... !!!

well done for staying here 10 year I hope I'm still here after that long.

reply to post by intrepid


Congrats.

Got to say it, I've always found you fair and even handed and unafraid to voice your opinion in a reasoned and respectful manner.

Seen many changes myself, nowhere near as many as you must have.
When I first joined it was possible to view ATS as it used to be, pretty basic stuff if I remember correctly.

I wish a lot of the older members were still around, have to say there was far more a feeling of community even back when I joined.

But ATS is still the best of its type, by far, with some remarkable members, (and yes, that includes some of the staff!).

I'll raise a glass to another 10 years mate.

reply to post by intrepid


Congrats intrepid.

10 years is quite the milestone. So are those stars!

Grats on that. I'm getting up there but feels like only yesterday when I was lurking. Indeed on the smilies and thanks for the recap. :

To me you are one of the pillars that holds this place up. I cannot imagine ATS without you. Congrats on the milestone. Now get back to work!

Whatever side of a discussion, argument or debate I've read you on you've always showed dignity and a level head and a great example for other members.



Congrats and I'm looking forward to another ten...

reply to post by intrepid


Congratulations!!! I see the traditional gift for the 10th is Aluminum or Tin, so tip your favorite cold one in a can.

yeap 10 years in March for me and a handful full of computer later.

reply to post by intrepid


You son of a....oops wrong thread.
Cheers....make it another 10 and its a miracle.
I'm surprised I made it 5 years.

reply to post by intrepid


Well done on your 10 years service.

This is a new account for me, just started today, as my old account was apparently blocked or cancelled due to calling someone a shill which was only based on their own actions and comments. I was unaware that calling someone out for their own words wouldn't be in breach of the T&C. I was on here for several years and only ever had 2 clashes with another user. The first clash was with someone that was just big noting themselves, so I basically put that user back in their place but lost 1000+ points for doing so, despite years have having no problems with any other user. The second clash was the earlier example I gave about calling someone clearly acting in shill like behaviour a shill. Well I didn't even actually accuse them, I merely said that if that was their opinion, then they are either very ignorant, or have just outed themselves as a shill. No direct accusation, no direct breach of the T&C, yet my account gets blocked with no explanation or justification. Several years of input, questions and sometimes answers have all been flushed down the drain for suggesting, not accusing, but SUGGESTING that someone else's behaviour and comments could easily lead them to being shill.

The reason I'm replying is that I would like to hear from the more experienced people on ATS that have seen the changes over the years. And when I say changes, I don't necessarily mean only the good changes. Now, I'm not implying that ATS is now a Government owned and controlled website, but I have seen what I believe to be a dramatic increase in what appears to be Government agents trying every trick in the book to derail a thread that is hitting a little too close to home. Again, I am not saying ATS is government owned and controlled, but going by how many shills appear to be on ATS these days, it would appear that they actually have a lot more control of this site then they are being given credit for. When you can keep coming in and derailing a thread from reaching its true potential, then can anyone really argue that they don't have a controlling stake at least ? Not forgetting many of the alphabet agencies have admitted to sending in "employees" onto sites like this.

On my time on ATS I have come across some of the greatest bits of information from some of the smartest minds I have ever come across. To be fair, I have also come across some of the most dim-witted people on here that I have every come across as well. But when you cause no issues or dramas for years, but then have your account blocked or cancelled for SUGGESTING that ONE person may be a shill, which was based on their own words and argument, then you know something must be wrong on ATS, or..............one of the ATS mods was having a bad day and couldn't even be bothered reading the ENTIRE conversation and has done a knee-jerk re-action to ONE complaint.

I'm not really bothered by having my old account blocked, because a new email address will always beat that problem. What really ticks me off is how many comments I've read from the same users that do nothing but derail, ridicule and insult, ALL breaches of the T&C's, yet they are allowed to continue operating at their own free will. I suggest that a shill may be a shill, and its all systems shutdown ?

But just like with real life, the repeat offenders get minimum to no punishment, yet those that SUGGEST that someone else could be a fraud, then its account blocked, no questions asked, no explanation, and nothing to see here.

I have seen ATS go from mainly a site for like minded people, to turning into a site that now reflects Facebook, where everyone wants to be a smart-ass rather then do or say something productive. But having stars was always going to be a bad idea as all it does is give people a confidence boost just like they get when 20 people hit the "like" button on Facebook. And we now seem to live in a computer world where it you get a minimum amount of stars or "likes" then it somehow verifies and justifies their stance or opinion. But as that saying goes......"no one is ever wrong on Facebook". Well that saying can now also include ATS as well as far as I'm concerned, based on results that I have seen.

You would hope that a site like this would lead people to put their bias aside and discuss issues that may reveal information they hadn't heard before, which could affect their decision making and possibly change their original stance. But what do we have most of the time now.................and look no further than a political thread for proof of this, but now all we have are people already going on to a thread with a pre-set way of thinking and a blinded, one-eyed, biased view on things. But isn't going into a thread with a pre-set opinion actually falling under the very thing that ATS says not to do........Deny Ignorance ?

Show me ONE political thread from either the US, England or Australia that hasn't turned into a tit-for-tat petty debate about who's football team is better. Show me ONE thread that's doesn't do this ?

I don't know who "owns" ATS, but the results have shown that the ignorant and the shills now "control" it. ATS and its users have the ability to expose the lies, and the liars. But when the liars have control it's not as easy as it seems. I didn't say that the liars own it, but they do control it. We the people OWN our government, yet who controls who. Ownership means nothing in todays world, its all about who has the CONTROL. You don't have to own something to be able to control it, and no one knows this better than the agents and shills. But just don't suggest that they may be a shill for their shill-like behaviour and comments because you might get your account blocked too, without explanation !

**[I'm aware some people may question why I would say this but then open another account, well the answer is because I'm not going to run away and hide because I may of been hitting too close to home for others liking, and I also still enjoy taking part in many discussions, but the key these days is to get in quick before the thread derails into yet another pissing contest, and get out long before the shills and ignorant arrive on masse].**