How long.....

I couldn't keep my mouth shut long enough to lurk. When I saw all the fascinating and varied topics, I jumped right in. That was 11 years ago.

a reply to: MisterSpock

Interesting question!

I don't know how long it was exactly, but over a year or so. It's kind of funny actually, I actually went through about three stages before I finally pressed the "Join" button. ...

1. I started seeing ATS show up in search results of topics I would search on. Initially, I discounted those because I thought they were a forum rather than a source. But then ATS started showing up more frequently so I would glance at what was actually posted.

2. Next I looked into ATS a little more closely. I wanted to understand what it was about. The name threw me off a little. Was it really "above" TS? I wasn't sure what ATS was about, and if it was for real. Or, was it just a bunch of nutty conspiracy theories?

3. Then, one day, I saw a poster get totally roasted (just absolutely shredded) for not sourcing something properly or accurately. Wow, that was an eye opener (a positive one). Maybe there's really something to this ATS thing! There was balance, and I like that. (and contrary to what some allege, I believe there still is). Then I had a topic which was burning a hole in my brain, and the only place I could figure to post it was here on ATS. So after my introduction period I posted my topic and it received a stunning response, better than I could have imagined. I was hooked and the rest is history.

At the time I was a member of only one other website, and I'd been there for a very long time. Now, 99.9% of my posts are only on ATS. I don't do social media of any kind really (i.e. Twitterbook, Snapgram or Instachat, Faceplant, etc.), so you're stuck with me, ATS!

I probably lurked on and of for a couple of years before joining.

To be honest, I was a bit of a Johnny-come-lately to the internet, I was computer illiterate until music and therefore DJing went digital - it was sink or swim.

I think the reason that it took me so long to sign-up to the boards was because, initially, I found it all quite intimidating, now I just find it all hilarious (if not a little odd and interesting too).

ATS is my sort of 'digital mancave', and I enjoy the company 🙂 👌

🍻

a reply to: MisterSpock

Almost right away.

I read a book by the Disinfo publishers "everything you know is wrong" or something like that. It had information about the Columbine Massacre that I had never heard anywhere before.

Through that or similar inquiries online, I came across this site once but I never navigated away from the thread I was reading. I only spent maybe 5 minutes here. I came across it again a couple days later and this time I paid a little more attention and once I realized this was a user based content forum, with a theme of conspiracies and other mysterious topics, and saw the "Firehose" of tons of new and interesting topics of things I hadn't even ever heard of before, I made an account.

After about a year, maybe two, I had matured enough and gotten used to forum etiquette that I decided to create a new, more mature account, mainly in order to shed the more aggressive, argumentative and muckraking posts I made when I first discovered pseudoskeptics, and, I've been here ever since. At Least 7 or 8 out of every 10 days, on average, I've been here. It used to be more like 9 or 10, but its petered out in the last couple years due to:

1) I'm not a conspiracy newb, I've heard of most of the things people talk about so I'm not voraciously absorbing new information like I was before

2) ATS has changed. It's slowed down a bit. It used to be that the threads at the Bottom of the Flagged threads on the LIVE page would have around 20 stars. Now it's common to see threads make the list with only 8 stars. It's also common for me to see incredible stories elsewhere, and Never see them show up anywhere on ATS, which would've been unheard of before. ATS was a one stop shop for all your news needs related to your interests of "conspiracies and other mysterious topics". I don't just mean because ATS turned to politics. Theres political stuff, very germane to the discussions we have here, that never makes it to ATS. AND "woo stuff".

This place doesnt work without users who are motivated to do the work. I think, for various reasons, we have lost some of our best members. Things just turn out one way or another and sometimes that's just the way it goes.

I first started on a site called Area 51 which I believe became ATS eventually although it was years ago so could be wrong.
Found this place back in 2007 was amazed at the intelligent debate and clever people and joined up couple of years later....then lost me password when I got a new pc and had to rejoin grrr!

Think it might have been the thread All Roads Lead To Rome that made me join

A few years at least, maybe more.

This place was magic when I first found it!

originally posted by: MisterSpock
did you lurk for on ATS before joining?

Just an interesting thought. I'm sure most of the members here, that actually got dragged in by the mystique and not by more "recent' events, lurked for a while and read all the older fascinating stuff that finally lead them to think.

"WOW, this place is nuts, these people are crazy......I've read enough, I have to join this sideshow!"

I lurked about a year before creating an account, while I've contributed about nothing, I'm sure others where drawn in in similar fashion.

Pretty sure I lurked maybe six months before joining. I think I found ATS looking for conspiracy, prepper, cryptozoology, and mysterious type stuff. Now I am addicted to the conversation.

6 years! I was fascinated by the 2012 talk so started lurking around 2010. Joined 2016 when nobody had posted anything about the fusion reactor in Germany, W7-X.

Never thought an "on-line community" would mean anything but after interacting with some of ya'll (and marking the passing of a few ), I couldn't think of better way to spend some time and sharing thoughts!