Shills....I ask myself, is this me?

I see this word thrown around a lot here on ATS, both by new users and old.

Shill.

But we may ask, “What is the definition of shill?”
Or “Am I a shill?”
I am sure there are people here who have thought that about themselves, and there are probably many more who have probably thought that about me or you…I just think we are sensible though. Anyway, when I do a Google search this is what I find:

shill
SHil/
North Americaninformal
noun
noun: shill; plural noun: shills
1. 1.
an accomplice of a hawker, gambler, or swindler who acts as an enthusiastic customer to entice or encourage others.
o a person who pretends to give an impartial endorsement of something in which they themselves have an interest.
"a megamillionaire who makes more money as a shill for corporate products than he does for playing basketball"
verb
verb: shill; 3rd person present: shills; past tense: shilled; past participle: shilled; gerund or present participle: shilling
1. 1.
act or work as a shill.

Ok so now we have a definition. So, I ask myself, am I a shill? Am I an accomplice of a hawker? Do I pretend to be impartial on a subject because I have some sort of an interest? Do I make money being paid this way?

I think I can answer of that with an unequivocal NO. I am no one's accomplice. I do not pretend to have an opinion of feign impartiality on any subjects for any reason. I

I look at this definition and how it is used here on these boards, and it seems like being sensible is being a shill. Someone posts a video of a moth by a candle claiming its Nibiru, or the mothership coming to reclaim her children from inside the hollow earth. But if I sawit and said, “Hey yo, that’s just a moth by a candle…” then I am all of a sudden a shill… Seeing something for what it is, and being sensible and rational....

So for all of my fellow brethren here on AboveTopSecret, who have sense, who look at things rationally, who accept the truth for the truth and aren’t afraid to say it.

To me, you are not a shill.
There, I’ve said it.

Until next time ATS,
continue to deny ignorance,
And remember,
Youdidntseeme


(p.s. I only wish I made money for my “shill-iness” )

I always say the same thing. If you back up your opinion with decent information and don't call anyone names, you are very probably not a shill but a person with an opinion. I find that those that are getting out the insults [Tinfoil hats, nuts, idiots, crackpots, to list a few of my 'favourites'] are either young ones who haven't learned that an argument can be won by civiliy, or stirrers...or shills that want to make inquisitive people look like loonies. The best is to call them out with educated facts, they stand no chance.

The real question to ask yourself is this:

Whose interests are you primarily serving?

If the answer is an industry, company, political party, political movement, or politician, then you're a shill.

The term "unpaid shill" is one you also see bandied about a lot. A lot of people on the Internet fall into that category. And, of course, there's a fair number who are actually paid as well.

Gentler words for "shill" include advocate, enthusiast, supporter, fan, etc.. But shill is generally used to denote the crudest version of all those things.

If you are truly a person who "lets the chips fall where they may" you'll never be considered a shill. But you truly have to let those chips fall. Even if they go bouncing off your favorite products, people, movement ... or even yourself.

However, if your advocacy in something is more important to you than anything else, you will get called a shill by some people. And you're going to have to learn to live with that.

There are lots of shills out there. MSNBC and Fox are full of them. Most of the tech press are shills. As are lots of YouTubers and bloggers.

..at least shills get paid & know what they're doing

there's a term known as "embrace & expand"
it works like a chinese whisper
or even the common cold
we transmit all that for free
and sometimes we don't even know we're infected

One of my biggest issues with this site is that the word shill gets thrown around way too often. On some threads it seems that if you have a different opinion you are a shill, dis info agent or a sheeple. I hate the word sheeple. It's like the last word in an ignorant mans argument. "You don't agree with me therefore you're obviously part of the sheeple and need to wake up!" Or you may just have enough reasoning to research and find evidence as a counter point to whatever weirdness you've dreamt up. Sorry, it really bugs me and makes me reluctant to respond to certain threads.
So...yeah...

a reply to: christmaspig

I have no problem responding in those threads. I know what the reaction I am going to get is, but I feel that my opinion is valid no matter what. Especially here on ATS (perhaps not on some of the similar boards elsewhere...). Recently I responded to a certain thread with what I knew was going to be far from a popular opinion, but I was feeling rather feisty at the moment. I received my anticipated flaming responses, but I also received a fair share of support for that opinion as well, which was nice and surprising. So don't be afraid to respond with your opinion, it is just as valid ( and probably more valid!) that the next.

Oh and to add to the list of pet peeves, you have your sheeple. Mine is the response that goes something like this (slight exaggeration, but very close to the original): "But you are on a conspiracy site! How dare you use logic and reason as a way to support your opinion!"

Hahaha, love it. It's as if you have to throw out all common sense and reasoning in order to be part of this site. I believe in keeping an open mind but if it's blatantly a button on a string and it's being touted as a ufo I'm going to say it's a button on a string. It's the same with people who claim something to be fact without providing evidence and then throwing a strop when you ask for some. Anything really. Especially when they then say if you do your research you will find it. How about no. You claimed to have evidence for it, at least supply a link. I'm not spending hours searching for something that may not even exist except in your head! Don't get me wrong I don't mind looking up facts and doing my own research, but I kind of like having a lead on what I'm looking for other than a vague theory or hint. Maybe I just don't have any patience
a reply to: youdidntseeme