An open message to you all "Since when did this website become.....

I used to log on to ATS multiple times a day, this place was like a second home to me (even if I didn't post all of the time). Now, I log on maybe once every three to four days.

Part of that (the biggest part) is how hateful and full of trolls this place has become. There are still many wonderful posters who contribute great threads/topics, but for the most part, they are hard to find. The other part is that I'm just not as interested in this place as I used to be (most of that I would contribute to me just changing/growing up, not really anything to do with the site or the content of the site).

It isn't just ATS, though. Most websites seem to be filled with hatred nowadays. Its like everyone is sitting on edge and the only way that they can cope is by blowing off a lot of steam online.

Originally posted by OzWeatherman
an outlet for hate"

Since when did people think that using one of the worlds most frequented conspiracy websites, was a good tool to spew forth hatred, racism, religious intolerance, attacks on religion and sexual preference?

Ive had enough of this crap, and I dont understand why when I log into ATS, I should see dozens of threads which include:

100% proof of why god does or doesnt exist (does NOT belong in the conspiracies in religion forum, period)
100% proof that atheists or "insert religious sect" are stupid, wrong, ignorant etc etc
Anything that condones the horrific crimes against humans or animals. For example, people believing Hitler was a saint, or claiming that animals have no rights and/or feel pain
Anything that claims that one sex is superior to the opposite one
Anything that claims homsexuals are evil, abnormal humans or any other homophobic or religious based homophobic comment
Any complete trash talking about muslims....especially when most of us know absolutely nothing about them
Any thread that claims one country is better than another for whatever reason
Any thread that claims caucasians are more advanced than other races, and afro-american people are sub human, or any other racial remark against them. And that goes both ways
Any thread that attacks communism, or any other political sect, which again most of you either use disinfo from unreliable, or propoganda websites or even blogs
Anything that attacks Israel and the Jews, where some comments have been down right ridiculous and disrespecftul
Anyone thats not a medical proffesional that pushes people to not take their medication, especially when it could cause harm. (Opinion is fine but dont try and force someone of them)
The blatant attack on Law enforcement officals, and hiding behind the NWO conspiracy, to justify your hate for them, or using any possible source to justify an attack

Free speech fine....but using it to spread hate...is not

I strongly disagree.

Many of above when connected to a legit conspiracy does rightfully belong on ATS.

Some factions deserve to be Hated. (corrupt cops fo example) Some of the things you mention above do have very legit reasons. You simply disagree with them, but you have no right to tell others they cannot discuss those things and even express hatred if they so choose.

If I came up with a scientific peer reviewed study that actually goes and proves black people are subhuman (just an example, don't blast me for that) would you think I was trying to spread hate?

I will happily trash talk about Muslim extremists who spread death and destruction.. and you know what.. the good Muslims will do the same !

ATS has rules and Mods. You know yourself the Mods are very good about pulling posts that are against the rules. The fact that you still see all the things you list above is proof they do not break the TOS.

The solution for you is clear. if you disagree with a post because you think someone is spreading hate, just ignore it and do not contribute to that thread.

Hotbakedtater said it best

Originally posted by hotbakedtater
My thoughts on this subject are short and sweet.
Be the change you want to see.
Do not feed the trolls.

I think this is the most fantastic time to be alive. There is so much information coming through right now, so much change in the air.

It is easy to forget who we are and what we want, when we are in a state of conscious dis-ease.

If you ask me, this was a creation that recognises the lower vibratory conscious fields of awareness "negativity" Negativity can not destroy negativity, and only serves to perpetuate the problem through sympathetic resonance.

Its not a question of what we shouldnt do in order to feel a certain way, but what we should do in order to feel that way. In a dimension of perfect duality "shouldnt" is destructive as it does not attract and allow for the manifestation of positive creation.

Originally posted by IntastellaBurst


Well done OZ, ...

Hating the Haters ....

It is only a matter of time, untill someone makes a thread about Hater Hating, will this cycle of hatred and madness continue forever ??

I must say I was intrigued by the title but you soon lost me with your rules about what topics and opinions should be tolerated.

Intrastella nailed the irony of the OP's intollerance for intollerant posts

I too have been here for 3 years and have agreed many times that ATS has evolved in a direction that I find less enjoyable.

The thing is, the # of subscribers has tripled and continues to grow. The group has become less homogenous. There is nothing we can do about that.

I also believe there are professional bloggers paid to derail threads. Their tactics have even become increasingly sophisticated.

There is much we can do to bring back decorum and to raise the caliber of the discourse

ATS has given us the tools to ignore or mark individuals as foes. I have noticed after marking someone a foe, I have found it easier to identify what I consider trends in their posting.

If I think somebody is truly a disinfo agent, I name them so that others may recognize trends.

I have actually been wrong on a couple of ocassions and must remove certain people from my list

Don't allow yourself to be pulled down to a base level. Politely disagreeing with a hater often brings the discussion back on track

We still have the free will to ignore negative posts and flag positive posts. The mods are trying to elevate positive meassages. This post was elevated to the front in short order. Give them credit for that

I recently started a thread asking people to pray for my sick child and though it was moved to BTS, the responses changed my outlook all together. I was overwhelmed with the kindness directed towards me and my family. It has helped me get through the most difficult challenge of my 1/2 a century on Earth (this time at least).

Here is to tollerance and love to my ATS brothers and sisters, even the ones I marked as foes!!!

I think this is a very good post. If anything it does bring attention to the fine line between a good debate and flat out hate. I have always been a believer in the fact of Its not so much what you say, but how you say it. The problem with that though is, I think sometimes things get lost in the translation in print, even though you would think that is where is should be it's clearest.

Yes, some are definitely and most blatently hateful. For those I say yea for the ignore button, a wonderful wonderful tool. On the other hand, sad to say, these haters do give you a taste of how some of this world really thinks and how much work we really need to do.

I think sometimes there is a lot of ego and just plain ol posturing going on as well. It is so obvious some people wont follow through the whole thread before they post, just to get their two cents in. They miss so much and repeat the same questions or opinions when they have clearly all ready been discussed and covered. Frustrating really for those that have been following along from the beginning. Sometimes it strikes me like a Jerry Springer show, everyone hollering and no one Listening. For that matter I see that as well in my daily life too out in the 3d world.

I have seen quite a few threads were people attempt to bring something nice to the boards, or something of beauty, and either the thread barely gets off the ground, or it fizzles quickly.

Perhaps, because it is a Conspiracy forum, people will automatically look for the negative. After all, what kind of conspiracy's do you find with positive things? Nothing here to see folks, no doom and gloom

I myself am also for the be the change idea. The mods do a good job, but my goodness, this site overwhelms in just simple reading. I can just imagine what they have to keep up with.

Be the change by example I guess, and use that ignore feature! You'll feel much better. Negativity, out of site, out of mind, the day is much brighter!

reply to post by OzWeatherman


I think the Mods do a good job filtering out the muck (threads & posts) so I partly dont understand your rant.

Yes there are some threads I dont like the title of, and guess what, I don't look at them.

I note in your list of "bad topics" you left out Chemtrails...Obviously a topic you like to get involved with and debunk as many people's opinions as possible. Why not add it to your list?

reply to post by OzWeatherman

An open message to you all "Since when did this website become.....

an outlet for hate"

I have to admit, that I have never been so surprised, baffled and at the same time disgusted by some of the messages that have been conveyed in many of the threads on the boards recently. When I first came to this website, three years ago, I was simply blown away by the in depth discussion, high quality of threads posted, and the heated yet, challenging debates of various view points on a great range of topics.

Hi Oz.
I find this thread timely, though it has been noted in various forms and ways in the past, as well. It seems that you are not the first nor will you be the last (in all liklihood) to notice this issue arising more and more.

Though I'm not a long timer, I have spent a lot of time perusing older threads (especially before I registered) and I would agree with you that quality content and the tone has changed or is changing, dramatically and not for the better.

I wonder, if many of the content contributors, old timers and those who now are very busy with mod duties, would have a higher presence on the board as members (both contributing to threads of others and creating their own) if this direction of anger, low quality thread and general malise going about, would change?

It is up to all of us to take ATS the way we want and if this trend is not it, than an increased effort needs to be made to have a presence on the forums that are examples of what we wish to see.

The problem i have are the people that seem to be seeking war, the middle east is not the world. It is really irritating that those creating the problems seem to have mounted an assault on ATS. Insulting any nation or religion is wrong, the majority of people are good. In fact we are more alike than we are different. Religion is a personal thing, pushing your religious beliefs and claiming your system of government is better isn't.

I've been here on ATS for about 3 years now and I can honestly say that I've seen no real change in the type of topics/threads that come up.

What I have noticed is that there are very few around here who can express disagreement with a topic or idea without at least some degree of vitriol or sarcasm. If anything makes ATS unpleasant, it is the fact that most people feel the need to make some kind of sarcastic remark while expressing their disagreement with something.

I too have been guilty of this, I must confess.

I have to agree with all points stated. You pretty much covered all the bases. I remember there was a time when I didn't even feel that my research was up to par, before I began posting.

I still love this place, but am sometimes reluctant to post a thread, when at another time I would have had a very well put discussion with others, and now most people wont even read the thread before replying, or just "have a right to debate", and thats there cause for disrupting an otherwise good going thread.

Since Ive been "openly" threading here, I have seen some or the good and some of the bad, but I will continue to post here as long as some members like yourself, can bring out into the open the sometimes thoughts that we have, but may not always say.

Thank you.

Peace to you...

Originally posted by LadySkadi
I wonder, if many of the content contributors, old timers and those who now are very busy with mod duties, would have a higher presence on the board as members (both contributing to threads of others and creating their own) if this direction of anger, low quality thread and general malise going about, would change?

I think that's a contributing factor to what's happened to ATS. A lot of the posters who made the most informative and thought provoking threads (to me anyway) turned into mods and stopped posting as much. It's great they got spots as mods, but it's not so great that we don't get to see their threads as often. Instead threads that would have fallen to the depths of the site a few years ago now stay on the Recent Posts list, and sometimes the front page, for a few days. Where there use to be long posts stuffed to the gills with information, now there is a paragraph or two that usually equates to "The people who believe differently than I do suck chicken eggs."

Come on mods, start posting threads again.

I have also seen a big change in this site. You are correct. I wish somenone would show me how I can delete some of these forums from showing up on the recent post page because I would rather not look at them. For examp. Breaking Alt News, Us Political Madness, Breaking Political News and the Middle East Forums.

Ive gotta admit, ive been seeing more and more racism type posts crop up along with attacks on other people and their beliefs here.

That is a surefire way of running posters off of this website.

This is not a rant.....


Sure had me fooled!

Seems ATS has evolved! That's understandable, IMO, in this 2010 world.

Originally posted by OzWeatherman
Free speech fine....but using it to spread hate...is not

It all comes down to this point. Is it really "free speech" if you can't use it in whatever manner you see fit? Frankly, I'm fine with idiots advertising their lack of intellect; it gives me something to laugh at.

Not that I entirely disagree with the OP, please don't misunderstand; this should be a place to discuss conspiracies, not a virtual soapbox. However, as previously stated, if the intellectually challenged want to display their idiocy in all its glory, go for it. I can ignore it, and what should and shouldn't be allowed really isn't my call.

In short, I prefer to err on the side of Free Speech, even if it means dealing with a few jackasses.


TheAssoc.

a huge contributor would be the right wing media pandering/exaggerating/lying to fringe conspiracy theorists in an attempt to make a large group of people who already don't trust the gov't people who will vote republican. They present "ideas" that they want to hear, and the dumbest ones will always follow it.


honestly, I love this forum, the discussion, the awesome posters, hell, even the mods here are always within reason but some of you are the dumbest pieces of crap to ever type on a keyboard.

I think this is the kind of thread the OP is talking about...

A thread with no base in reality, no facts and no links.
A question put forward with the sole purpose of inspiring hateful comment.


Could the US successfully invade Canada?
www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by OzWeatherman

when did this website become.....

an outlet for hate"

Right about the same time people started babbling politically correct rhetoric and calling people ignorant every third sentence.

100% proof of
100% proof that
Anything that condones
Anything that claims
Any complete
Any thread that
Anything that attacks
Anyone thats not

Free speech fine....but using it to spread hate...is not

...I see. So then, rather than give us a list of things we're "not supposed to" talk about, how about give us a list of things that we're allowed to talk about.

It might be a shorter list.

I will be interested to see why you think my entire message is wrong.

Your message is the establishment message. Your message is what people have been receiving training to believe for the past few decades.

Why do you believe it?

There's a not-so-fine line between "hatred" and "it's all good," sort of like there's a not-so-fine line between genocide and cuddling with bunny rabbits. If you're going to freak out just because people are talking about race, sex and religion...maybe you're the one who doesn't belong here.

While I can't disagree with the OP, especially since there were no specific examples given, I have noticed something else.

It seems over the last year or two people have been using, more and more, the accusation of racism and hate to try to silence people and topics they disagree with.

Someone criticizing something you believe in does not equal hate.
Someone criticizing someone or a group for their actions does not equal racism.

Political correctness and excessive tolerance ruins any meaningful discussion. Pretending something doesn't exist out of fear of offending someone does no one any good.

So Oz, while I do see what you are speaking of on occasion, I see much more of people making unfounded accusations as a means of debate in order to silence an opponent in so they can ignore the initial points made.

amen! so much criticism on here