Important ATS Threads of 2005

Important ATS Threads of 2005
The important threads of 2005 that marked some of our more significant events.
Ranked and researched by ATS member, Valhall.

Following up on our Top Threads of 2005 summary, sometimes
the most replied and most view threads don't properly show some of the more important or interesting events of the year within our digital community.
Valhall has again taken the time to sift through the thousands of threads of 2005 to pull out the interesting, important, funny, and outright bizarre events
of the Internet's most popular conspiracy theory discussion board community. Enjoy.


North Korea Raises Threats Of Nuclear War
As 2005 got under way the talk between the U.S. and North Korea became more and more rancorous. ATS member Nerdling brought news out of North Korea of the increasing talk of nuclear exchange with the U.S. The discussion that ensued over his ATSNN article would become the third most active thread in 2005.

Three Major Storms To Converge At Once On US This Weekend

TrueAmerican reported on three major storms converging on the U.S. in January. The discussion would become the fourth most active thread for 2005. But little did we know in January that in the world of extreme weather, we hadn't seen nothing yet! The 2005 hurricane season would turn out to be the most active and costly in recorded history.

FredT has almost a half-million points!

Call him Scoop, the "News Machine"...just don't call him late for dinner. FredT was a powerhouse of ATSNN news articles in 2004, and in January a heads up to the inevitable was issued by ATS member AceOfBase - FredT would become the first ATS member to break the half-million mark in points.

Big changes coming for ATSNN...

In February the next step in the evolution of ATSNN took place with the announcement there would be no dedicated reporting staff, but a member-driven voting system to upgrade submitted articles. The change brought a greater variety of articles from our awesome members.

The American Civil War of 2005 as predicted by John Titor

In March member Simulacra started a thread that would become the fifth most active thread for 2005 and eventually turn into the "countdown" thread for John Titor's 2005 civil war prediction. As 2005 came to a close, the board would incoporate a "Countdown to Titor's American Civil War (or not)" clock on its forum home page.

We're back online again.

ATS members around the globe went into panic attacks and withdrawals when ATS was taken down by a multi-pronged attack in April. But the SkepticOverlord's kung fu is very strong, and the community was reunited in short order.

Prophet Yahweh Maybe Real UFO?? Footage. View now!!!

ATS member Lanotom created quite a buzz on the board when he started a discussion thread, which would eventually become the second most active thread of 2005, about Prophet Yahweh a self-proclaimed holy man and UFO conjurer. Lanotom went so far as to bring us interviews with the Prophet which won him the WATS for the month with a record breaking 163 member votes.

Time for the next step in the evolution of this online community.

...and that next step was the announcement of the ATS Member Council. A body of ATS members, elected by the ATS membership, with the mandate to "manage the needs and desires of membership". Since this announcement two Council elections have taken place and the council continues to mature and develop its path to true member representation.

FIRST ATS PODCAST: Conversation with Prophet Yahweh

Little did he know at the time, but Lanotom's interview with Prophet Yahweh would become legendary in ATS history when SkepticOverlord converted it to the first official ATS Podcast.

The Future ATS/PTS/BTS Voluntary Taxation System!

No one should be surprised to learn that shortly after creating a representative government for the membership the first ever "ATS Tax" was imposed! Council Member Lysergic announced the first project proposal vote. The project was voted up by members applying their "point funds" to the project.

ATS is forming into a Limited Liability Partnership

SimonGray announced the creation of AboveTopSecret.com Limited Liability Partnership between himself, SkepticOverlord and Springer in July 2005. With it came the nickname 3 Amigos for the owners, and a series of ever-increasingly exciting announcements.

The PODcasts are coming, the PODcasts are coming!

But Lanotom's interview was only the beginning for podcasting on ATS. The second half of 2005 would have ATS moving to the forefront in internet podcasting activity. ATS members showed their diversity, talents and affinity to all that is new and techy by not only embracing podcasting, but excelling in it.

I just got back from a FEMA Detainment Camp

The ATS community watched in horror as Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans. ATS members, like the entire world, stepped up to assist the victims of this natural tragedy in whatever means they could. And it was in one of these efforts to assist that ATS member Valhall found more than she had expected. Her account of what she saw and was told at a FEMA "evacuee camp" in Oklahoma would become the most active thread in 2005 and generate the single most active day in ATS history.

AboveTopSecret.com, the TV show...

Did I hear you right, Springer??? Did you say TV show??? As stated earlier, the announcement of AboveTopSecret.com LLP was only the beginning of exciting news at ATS. 2006 sure is looking to be interesting! Stay Tuned!

We're back online, Friday @ 12:07 PM EST

For the second time in 2005 ATS members had a jones for their beloved board. This time it wasn't any tricksy hacksters though, it was a resnarfulated database server. The SkepticOverlord came to the rescue again.

Back To Basics: The ATS Skunk Works Forum!

The end of October saw ATS get "back to its roots" with the creation and announcement of the ATS Skunk Works Forum; a place where ATS members could discuss their own personal conspiracy theories and fellow members could help to flesh those theories out.

Please welcome our Newest "Administrator"

At the beginning of November Springer announced the newest ATS Administrator - our own beloved Thomas Crowne...

Some unexpectedly banned members...

...and then right after that something weird happened. And, yes, there is a connection. Word has it some buttons had to be locked away out of reach of the TC.

Content Tagging is Here!

Why is ATS the best conspiracy and alternative topic discussion board on the internet? The number one reason is our membership...but that membership is brought here and kept here because of the constant improvements and added capabilities that SkepticOverlord brings to the community. In December the latest bell and whistle was Content Tagging.

One of our own will be having a very stressful holiday season...

The ATS community winds down 2005 showing its endless support and love for ATS Administrator and Editor-in-Chief, William One Sac. As ATS moderator Nygdan's signature states "Judge a Man by his Friends and Supporters". 2006 will begin with the ATS community's thoughts and prayers lifting this beloved member up for healing and strength.



For some additional looks at the history of ATS posts and activity, visit these links:
ATS Graphs (beta)
Compare 2003, 2004, and 2005 numbers with five important side-by-side graphs.
ATS Post History Graph (beta)
View a graphic display of daily post count from January 1st, 2004.
ATS Post History Review
View the top viewed and replied threads of each month, beginning in January of 2003.