why does ATS allow images of alcohol as avatars?

The 'conspiracy' I'm posing here is that I think ATS is just like any other mainstream media source when it comes to favoring the alcohol companies and disallowing anything but negative or strictly scientific talk about cannabis...

Springer said it himself when he was on coast to coast, that ats is THE biggest 'alternative information' social forum on the internet, and the internet is arguably on par with tv when it comes to media.

This isn't a thread about cannabis. I'm not discussing the topic we aren't allowed to discuss. I'm trying to figure out exactly why we aren't allowed to discuss it.
What are ATS' motives?

I started this thread before and the reason given for closing it was that we can't discuss illegal stuff here...

Well it's not illegal everywhere, and there are much worse illegal things that get discussed on here, like oh... say, murder? Murder is illegal in way more places than there are regulations on cannabis, but murder is a subject talked about on here daily.

What's the real reason for all this censorship? They can't say they're trying to protect children if they're allowing images of bottles of vodka or wine, or cups of whiskey and the like as peoples' avatars where everyone can see them, because alcohol literally KILLS over a hundred thousand americans a year, whether it's legal or not.

After the other thread was locked, ats member Nutter pm'd me a message including this bit...

I wanted to say to that mod that showing women's faces in a Muslim country is also illegal. Should we ban avatars of women too?

It's also illegal to drink alcohol in many muslim countries.

Who's "laws" do we go by?

"Who's 'laws' do we go by?" is a great point.

Why is ats, the biggest social forum for alternative information, selectively enforcing arbitrary laws? The same arbitrary laws that the much-hated-on-here mainstream media has been enforcing for decades?

What kind of repercussions do the people that run this site really have to fear by allowing people to talk about something? It's not illegal to discuss something. The something I'm talking about isn't even illegal everywhere. And people talk about much more detrimental things here on a daily basis both illegal and legal.

Do they get any kickbacks for the free advertising the alcohol companies get by having images of their products shown to hundreds/thousands of people every single time someone with an image of a bottle/brand as their avatar posts?

What will be the excuse (not explanation, excuse) if this thread gets closed/deleted?

Are you in support of censorship? Alcohol is everywhere. TV commercials show them all the time, you can find commercials on the youtube, which is a pretty popular site too. You can even find Alcohol in teenage parties all across the states, despite statistics. Kids know what it is, they know what it does. Its accepted, and its sad Marijuana doesn't get the same treatment. ATS is one of the pioneers of free speech here in the World Wide Web.

Edit: Another thing, ATS is purely user generated news linked from other news websites. Its just a giant message board.



[edit on 20-6-2010 by drkid]

Originally posted by drkid
ATS is one of the pioneers of free speech here in the World Wide Web.

Which is why I'm curious why they're being such sticklers over something that needs to be more widely understood.

Originally posted by drkid
Alcohol is everywhere. TV commercials show them all the time, you can find commercials on the youtube, which is a pretty popular site too. You can even find Alcohol in teenage parties all across the states, despite statistics. Kids know what it is, they know what it does. Its accepted, and its sad Marijuana doesn't get the same treatment.

Alcohol isn't the only thing that's everywhere, including youtube and teenage parties across the country... And I can guarantee you teens have a better understanding of the effects of cannabis on their body than they do alcohol...

Originally posted by drkid
Are you in support of censorship?

Maybe you didn't read my post? People are being censored and I'm asking why.

[edit on 20-6-2010 by alaskan]

I think you may be on to something. there is a forum here on the main board, that unlike the others, does not have a title.

It is the Alt. Substances Board. And is a place where all the "drug" related stuff goes

I saw a post just today saying that Sarah Palin says smoking pot is no big deal.

Well would you know it, within hours of this post appearing it got moved to the secret Alt Substances Forum.

So yeah OK drugs are not great especially the man made ones.But noone ever od'd from marijuana!!! so whats the big deal.

if this ia truly a world wide forum with free speech at it heart, that I am sorry mods that also includes some issues which you may find wrong within you own beliefs and jurisdictions.

What about the Dutch here????

Liberty for the dutch hash smokers I say!!

I was not aware there was a secret forum for drugs, thats cool. Thats how it is on another forum Im a member of, but they allow discussion of weed in the normal forums and you can only talk about "other drugs" in the secret forum. Thats the best policy IMO, but as long as there is a secret forum, then I am happy.

this is an extremely popular place.........Google will direct people here for certain key words in their search results.

I'm sure the mods and the sponsors don't want ATS to be known as a drug forum.

But they do want to be known as an alcoholic hangout?

Simply allowing discussion about a topic doesn't make a huge forum central to that topic.

reply to post by alaskan


true...but its not illegal....and doesn't have a large underground culture.

If I was in-charge...I wouldn't give a crap either way...people take things too seriously.

But ATS is a business and I don't blame them.

The thing is, every single thread that gets put out about marijuana ends up with a million posts saying Legalize it Dude! You can have a serious discussion on here about it but it is illegal in some places. Alcohol isn't illegal so why ban its use as an avatar? Rape is illegal, hence the reason you don't see .gifs of rape in peoples avatar.

Originally posted by wrathchild
But ATS is a business and I don't blame them.

I think that's kind of the point of this thread.

Mainstream media is a business, and they're censoring something that doesn't deserve to be censored any more than any other subject on here...

Originally posted by ventian
Rape is illegal, hence the reason you don't see .gifs of rape in peoples avatar.

Originally posted by alaskan
... ats member Nutter pm'd me a message including this bit...

I wanted to say to that mod that showing women's faces in a Muslim country is also illegal. Should we ban avatars of women too?

It's also illegal to drink alcohol in many muslim countries.

Who's "laws" do we go by?

"Who's 'laws' do we go by?" is a great point.

...

reply to post by alaskan


Ironic that you're making a big deal out of avatars that reference alcohol and yet I haven't seen a single post in your thread represented by an alcoholic avatar...

I've got a wonderful Guiness one saved if it makes you feel any better

Originally posted by Legion2112
Ironic that you're making a big deal out of avatars that reference alcohol and yet I haven't seen a single post in your thread represented by an alcoholic avatar...

I've got a wonderful Guiness one saved if it makes you feel any better

The thread is only an hour old with only a handful of replies. Look up the definition of irony, smart guy.

If you went to the other thread I linked to you'd see the part where I said...

I just posted in a thread where the two posters above me had these images as their avatars...



...

[edit on 20-6-2010 by alaskan]

reply to post by alaskan


without the advertising...

there would be no ATS.

Don Imus didn't get fired because NBC thought what he said was offensive..Reverend Al did..they didn't want to risk the lost of revenue.
That's how the world works...it sucks.

Originally posted by wrathchild
without the advertising...

there would be no ATS

You're implying that ATS is allowing someone to dictate what can and can't be said on ATS' forums due to money flow?

Is that not what I've been postulating?

Thanks for starting this again.

I want to know what the legalitites are on where everyone lives on owning a bong.
A clean, never been used one?

In Australia you are allowed to own one for decorative purposes only.

What about where you live?

MM

I'm assuming the owners don't want this place turned into a "free for all"
They have to make rules..

most... everybody can agree on..some hit closer to "home" for some and they don't like them.

Can't keep everybody happy.

BTW...i'm just speculating....Not speaking for ATS.

edited for being a little tipsy...

[edit on 20-6-2010 by wrathchild]

Originally posted by MissMegs
What about where you live?

MM

No offense, but this is the kind of talk that'll be used as reason to get the thread closed, for whatever reason... So please don't take this any further.

Originally posted by wrathchild

edited for being a little tipsy...

Take note, Legion2112, this being an "acceptable" thing to say on ats, no less in a thread like this... is what's ironic.




[edit on 20-6-2010 by alaskan]

I don't know.
But it's a good question like
why has there been a photo of
a man wearing the Jewish hat, being
led away in handcuffs, on the front page
of ATS for the last year and a half? Nothing anti-
Semitic here. And certainly, there have been no threads
flaming Israel either. So may be the alcohol avatar or
the anti-Christian avatars, are something that is tolerated here.
If you don't like it, you can go to a different forum, just don't go away
thinking that there is a conspiracy going on.