ATS- Am I actually getting anything out of this?

Right I am not saying i am about to hang up my tin foil hat or anything but recently i have been doing a lot of thinking about my life in general and how i am spending my time. Basically the deep question of "what the hell am i doing with my life?!?!?!) that I am sure we have all asked ourselves at one point or another.

This trail of thought was interrupted when i clicked the refresh button on my browser to see if the "MyATS" page had up dated, if anyone had replied to any of my threads. I was just about to click to find out who was going to violently disagree with me or praise one of my points when i thought struck me.

"why do i care and what am i actually getting out of this site?"

I have been hear over 4 years now, I average at least 4 posts a day, I would hate to tally up all the hours I have spent on this site, researching posts or waiting for a response in a intellectual debate and now after all these years and writing what will now be my 278th thread and 6538th post I ask myself;

"What the hell am i thinking!

I get nothing out of this, not a thing, I don't even learn, at least I think I don't learn any more. Put it this way it has been months since i have read a thread and thought "wow i did not know that" and nothing I have ever learnt on ATS has ever been of any use in my day to day life. If i want to learn about something i pick up a book and learn about it, I don't turn to ATS, I only ever use ATS as a means to present my findings to a bunch of people who I don't know and don't care about and who are probably going to tell me my hours of research and writing time where pointless because i neglected to mention the Aliens, Illuminati, false flag or that it was all Obama's fault.

So I dont learn anything and now feel that using ATS as a platform to present my findings on is kind of pointless.

Ahhh but ATS is a community i here you cry.

No its not.

I don't even get any stimulating debate these days because its usually just me and a few others arguing with a guy who is quite obviously a paranoid racist who thinks ISIS are going to steal his guns then teach his sons its "ok to be gay" or some other crap that is all the fault of that Kenyan called Obama and that I am wrong to think that anything matters outside of 'merica.

This leads me now to a really uncomfortable question.

What am i actually getting out of this?

I will tell you the answer, nothing and that's almost terrifying, I have invested so much of my valuable time on this site and gotten nothing out of it. Just think about how fit i could have became if instead of 4 posts a day i was hitting the gym in the time it took me to write them up, or how freakishly braining i would be if i spent time reading rather than writing gibberish like i am right now.

I think i just blew my own mind.

So with that i will waist yet more of my time now browsing the comments section because for some reason i actually want to know if any of you feel the same about this or am i just needing to step away from the keyboard for a few weeks.

pft, you know what am off to the gym, I will address any comments upon my return.

a reply to: OtherSideOfTheCoin

OtherSideOfTheCoin is feeling disillusioned...


...thanks Obama!!!

Dont sweat it, you wont remember any of this when you're dead.

a reply to: OtherSideOfTheCoin

I ask myself the same question sometimes.

Personally I come here to read and learn mostly, once in a while I post. I usually post to those I disagree with who are IMO purposely spreading misinformation whether it's due to their ignorance or something more sinister I care not the reason either way.

I don't even get any stimulating debate these days because its usually just me and a few others arguing with a guy who is quite obviously a paranoid racist who thinks ISIS are going to steal his guns then teach his sons its "ok to be gay" or some other crap.

IS this any different than you and the same group doing everything in your power to support the official state sponsored story of every current event?

Maybe if you stopped pretending to be an expert on things that you are definitely not and spent your time on here seeking the truth instead of trying to ignore it then your time here might be more productive.

Patiently waiting your next 9/11 thread which supports the OS....

a reply to: OtherSideOfTheCoin

I enjoy your contributions, some I agree with, others not so much. But, and this is just me, I came here to learn whether other folks around the world share similar views on a variety of subjects as me. I have learned a lot by being pwned every now and again - it's good for my ego.

BUT, I am not here to convince folks of anything, I am here to merely comment, share my thoughts, perhaps explain them (my opinions) in subsequent posts, then move on to the next subject.

So, my mental state about why I am here could be construed as totally selfish because I am here for my own betterment in gaining knowledge and you are the vessel(s) to be extracted of the information I constantly seek.

I have also observed something else - members who reach 6000+ posts tend to express the same thing....questioning themselves are their time here. Charlie shared a similar story and concluded he should just log off for a while - and now he's back and appears more comfortable too. There is logic in seeing the positives in taking a break from ATS - after all, I call it "Facebook for freaks" and it can be overwhelming at times.

Good rant

a reply to: OtherSideOfTheCoin

Agreed, used to love coming here and learning about all sorts of strange things. Now it seems a lot of the more sci fi stuff is immediately relegated to skunk works and the only threads that survive are just left v right baiting which just turns into each side spewing its talking points and then sputtering out until the next thread on the same topic is made.

Hope the gym went well. Dying to get off work and hit it up myself.

a reply to: OtherSideOfTheCoin

I find myself feeling that way more and more. I still come here and spend far too much time looking for some kind of entertainment, but rarely find what I am looking for anymore. I don't blame the site or the members, I think mostly it's because I have read about so many topics on here that it's really hard to find anything new. Anything that you haven't read about before. I don't waste much time posting, I really feel that for me it would be a waste of time and energy. I only come here when it's not possible for me to be doing something more productive, like sitting at my desk at work...

ATS- Am I actually getting anything out of this?

You can gets stars and flags

(not from me of course)

a reply to: OtherSideOfTheCoin

I get nothing out of this, not a thing, I don't even learn, at least I think I don't learn any more. Put it this way it has been months since i have read a thread and thought "wow i did not know that" and nothing I have ever learnt on ATS has ever been of any use in my day to day life.

See ya, wouldn't want to be ya.

originally posted by: real_one

ATS- Am I actually getting anything out of this?

You can gets stars and flags

(not from me of course)

Which I also do not care about or get anything from

I agree somewhat and have lately tried to stay away a little more as it can distract from the real world a little much.

One thing I have decided to do is to only participate in threads that I genuinley have an opinion on as opposed to getting caught up in any old junk as it's a slow period.

We have some interesting times approaching here in the UK and will be getting stuck in like a trooper.

Until then I will be lurking unless I feel the need to waste a few hours banging my head gainst the proverbial brick wall.

Take a back seat and let the idiots burn themselves out.

a reply to: OtherSideOfTheCoin

Oh, I did want to say that you are one of those that I come here to read though, so not a total waste of time.

a reply to: OtherSideOfTheCoin

OSOTC....

I am very sorry to hear that you are in the midst of such an unpleasant self examination. I have to say though, that I believe you are incorrect in your assertion that ATS is not a community, as much as it is anything else. I have received an awful lot of warmth, compassion, love, and respect from the membership here, something that I seek to offer back to the community whenever I can.

Some parts of it may be dysfunctional, and God knows we all have our moments, but there are friendships I have made here, which will remain with me until I am older and greyer than I am today, by a hefty margin. Furthermore, I am always learning something new here on ATS, whether it is something about a member that I never realised before, or some new data made available to us as a contribution from a member on a given topic.

That said, if you really are not feeling it, just take a break for a couple of days, or a week, or whatever. Just step back, and see where life takes you!

I've had thoughts like that once in a while.

For me, I think it is because like most of the people on this site, I don't really have much a platform to speak. That is, I'm not a politician, I don't have a television show or a radio call-in show. Other than my immediate friends/coworkers/family, I don't have much of an outlet. I have no allusions that what I put up here does anything to change the hearts/minds/opinions of anyone else, it does allow me to vent a little bit. So I guess that's what I get out of it.

"Yeh, I'm an ATS member."
Doe's not work as a pickup line.
You will die a virgin, just sayin....

a reply to: OtherSideOfTheCoin

You wouldn't do it if you didn't get anything out of it. If you want others to tell you why you do it and what you get out of it, you likely won't find any answers.

a reply to: OtherSideOfTheCoin

ATS- Am I actually getting anything out of this?

It's a fantastic resource for fashion tips and amusing pet videos!

Skeptic Overlord once made a post about the phases ATS members often go through. Maybe one of the mods or old-timers remembers it, and can post it. I have learned a hell of a lot here, myself. I value the input from those I agree and disagree with. Log off for a while, or permanently, if it's not serving you in any way in your daily life. No one is going to fault you for moving on if that's what you need to do. Not that it should matter if they did.

I use ATS because most of the stories on the news have some type of twist to the story to grab views. So I come here to get to the bottom of things and don't have to do all the research myself.

Then while I'm on I look for that guy that's trolling ATS and take out some frustration. All of this takes place at work. Never once have I logged onto ATS during my freetime.