ATS is not that much different from the MSM:

I always here about how bad the MSM is and how they are only in it to make a profit. However, I never hear about ATS outside the internet. I always hear about Fox News, or NBC, or a stupid speech Obama made, or how he made new laws to screw this country.

ATS & Freedom: While the myth around here is that you can go around and post whatever you want. It is not the case. You cannot post ANYTHING you want, otherwise then it would become an alien hub for people who got kicked out of 4chan! Sure some of these topics may not be the ones that the MSM are talking about, like the Earthquakes, or the aliens but for the most part it reads exactly like any other news source. And some of the MSM do even have a weird news section.

"Deny Ignorance": There's something I never really got about that slogan. How is posting a news article that you got from the MSM aka "credible sources", and talking about them Denying Ignorance? Sure it brings up the issue, but if you only talk about conspiracies or aliens to others who generally believe in that sort of thing, than it's not really bringing the topics mainstream is it? And if they DO get mainstream, isn't that what some of you people apparently hate? So what do you mean by Deny Ignorance and bring it to the masses? Seems to me like some people might be jealous of the news agencies because they can pick and choose which topics to talk about to Billions of people and the topics you want to talk about are not being reported on simply because only ATS cares about them for the most part.

MSM is only in it for the money: I hear this excuse a lot, but did you know that ATS is run by an organization called the Above Network which does advertising? They are too a Multi-Million dollar corporation!!!! And we are all helping them earn money with every post we make

Propaganda: Ah, my favorite word in the universe (Sarcasm). It seems that on here, if you don't agree with someone's opinion on something especially if it's political, then you have the right to call their opinion propaganda, a paid government shill, or any other name calling. When someone else sometime later calls that person a paid government shill, they deny it and cry verbal abuse! This is very immature and also quite ignorant and does not further whatever the cause of this website may be since that cause is also, hypocritical in a sense.

Now, I am not bashing ATS here, I do not feel this is a rant. I am just spreading information and helping some ignorant people out when they claim that independent sources are just as reliable if not more reliable than the MSM.

One last time I ask, how does posting topics of news stories from anywhere else on the internet, TV, radio, magazines etc...make this website anything different than mainstream sources? Especially when you claw through all the BS. Which I am sure I have a much more skeptical view of what to call BS, than some of the more fanatic conspiracy theorists on this site. (Fanatic was not meant to be an insult-- the definition of fanatic is someone that is passionate about a subject.)

As always it is up to you to make up your own mind, even if people call you a paid government shill for not agreeing with their opinion, because insults are usually the last leg of a debate. So you see, there really is nothing wrong with watching the MSM.

I sort of agree with you but then i read this thread and it all sorta makes sense now.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by redbarron626
I sort of agree with you but then i read this thread and it all sorta makes sense now.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

It must have been a paid Above Network Staff member!!!!! (Sarcasm)

Fair enough question.

Some years ago, I believe in the '80s, some poor guy lost both his legs protesting by sitting on the railroad tracks at the Concord Naval Station, in Concord, CA. The protest was about trains on the Concord naval base carrying nuclear materials. This time, though, the engineers, either under orders or upon their own discretion, decided to keep going through the protestors. He wasn't able to get off the tracks in time and was run over by the train.

As it happens the protest was recorded on videotape. The mainstream news must have shown that damn tape a million times. Responsible organizations would have taken up the question of why the trains were carrying nuclear materials through public corridors. But no, the mainstream media decided that the story was about that poor guy who'd lost his legs--because there they had sensation and bathos and a tool for ratings. The only "analysis" they ever did, in the end, had nothing to do with the core story of what the protest was about, but an analysis of how the poor guy's friends climbed over him to save themselves and in doing so held him down just long enough for the accident to happen. Which, of course, gave them an excuse to show the tape another million times.

There's some of that sort of stuff on ATS. But you can't say that, on the whole, there's no deeper analysis of events than the MSM provides....

ETA: As for the owners getting rich. Ehhh.... Maybe. Maybe not. I really don't care. At least they provide a venue for the other side to vent. And of course you can't just post anything that enters your mind. The place would be a madhouse. Even those of us who question authority at every opportunity understand that there have to be _some_ rules....

Some of the MOST interesting threads I've seen here were VERY short lived. IDK why they got taken down and the members booted - since they looked very credible - perhaps it was TOO CREDIBLE (as compared to the standard alien and conspiracy stuff here).

Some people need reminding that ATS is just entertainment . A way of killing an hour or two while pandering to our need to believe that there is something covert and underhand going on the world around us.

If you want to reach , educate & inform the masses , you won't be doing it on ATS .

Originally posted by jjf3rd77
ATS & Freedom: While the myth around here is that you can go around and post whatever you want.

It's not a myth, it's reality... with the caveat that those participating must be civil and within the very-narrow limitations as defined by our terms and conditions. Is that so hard?

"Deny Ignorance": There's something I never really got about that slogan. How is posting a news article that you got from the MSM aka "credible sources", and talking about them Denying Ignorance?

The anticipation being that here, on ATS, such references to same-stream media are discussion starters to a meaningful examination of the events/issues from multiple vantage points so that readers may gain a broader sense of reality.

but did you know that ATS is run by an organization called the Above Network which does advertising?

We don't "do" advertising, we integrate advertising so that we can pay the substantial bills associated with keeping a site such as this up and running as efficiently as possible.

They are too a Multi-Million dollar corporation!

I wish.

And we are all helping them earn money with every post we make

If you're concerned that your contributions are padding someone else's wallet... I can assure you the wallet is thin.

One last time I ask, how does posting topics of news stories from anywhere else on the internet, TV, radio, magazines etc...make this website anything different than mainstream sources?

As alluded to above, the intention is that here -- on ATS -- current events as feed to us as mental pabulum by same-stream media are subjected to a more intense analysis and critical skepticism than anywhere else. It may not always work out that way... but I believe it does often enough such that I continue to work hard every day making sure this site remains viable and growing.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord

If you're concerned that your contributions are padding someone else's wallet... I can assure you the wallet is thin.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Our traffic and statistics page provides an overview of monthly traffic numbers and unique users. We regularly encounter over 2.5 million monthly absolute uniques and more than 30 million monthly page views.

If your site has 100,000 visitors a day and they read 5 pages per visit, you get 500,000 page impressions a day and make about $43,500 per month.

webkew.blogspot.com...

That´s 40 g a month for 15 million page views. Almost 90 g a month for 30 million page views. With the amount of ads here, I´d say it´s even more.

Now I don´t know how much it costs to maintain and improve the servers, but I can imagine that with this kind of money, a few people can make a very decent living of this site, and ultimately off of the content that is provided by the members.

Oh, and to adress an analogy I have been seeing thrown around a lot here lately. If I have guests in my house, they are free to discuss any subject they would like. I would frown upon profanity, but what kind of host would throw people out of his house for talking about certain subjects?

A bad one. Especially if the mortgage of his house is paid for by the guests.

Hmmm, I would like to trust SkepticOverlord's assurances but when their very own website posts this information on a memo for the world to see. It's still very skeptical that they are not making the kind of money that we think they are.

The undisclosed six-figure funding amount was provided by a private investment group attracted by the user-centric ideals of The Above Network and free expression advocacy of AboveTopSecret.com (ATS), the arm of the conglomerate where the expansion effort is targeted.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I'm in the computer science and internet markets as well, and I understand how all this works, but don't patronize us with low funds when you secure venture capital rounds like this. I applaud ATS for being very successful in what they do, they found a niche market and capitalized on it very well! There's nothing to be ashamed of in that. I'm just pointing out information that users should be aware of!

Originally posted by dawnprince
Some people need reminding that ATS is just entertainment . A way of killing an hour or two while pandering to our need to believe that there is something covert and underhand going on the world around us.

If you want to reach , educate & inform the masses , you won't be doing it on ATS .

Couldn't have said it better myself! Seems to me some people are emotionally involved in this website.

Originally posted by RandomEsotericScreenname

If your site has 100,000 visitors a day and they read 5 pages per visit, you get 500,000 page impressions a day and make about $43,500 per month.

webkew.blogspot.com...

A great deal has changed in online advertising since that seven-year old blog post was created. Hell, I was still working in advertising at the time.

Ad exchanges and an abundance of inventory has greatly reduced the average CPM of online ads.

With the amount of ads here, I´d say it´s even more.

The ads are here, on ATS, a site that cannot demand the same rates as even lesser-traffic sites with more mainstream topics.

Now I don´t know how much it costs to maintain and improve the servers,

It's not hard to estimate the total cost of three highest end custom leased servers, four mid-range servers, and one low-end server... along with a CDN that delivers slightly more than 50 terabytes a month.

If I have guests in my house, they are free to discuss any subject they would like. I would frown upon profanity, but what kind of host would throw people out of his house for talking about certain subjects?

A poor analogy since the entire world can't eavesdrop on the conversations being had at your house party.

reply to post by jjf3rd77

SO already answered some of your comments but i would like to contribute as a member from my point of view.

ATS & Freedom: While the myth around here is that you can go around and post whatever you want. It is not the case. You cannot post ANYTHING you want

We have enough troll-hoax posts as it is.If there were no limitations,the entire site would be floading with them.It's really annoying how people around here first rant about how the quality of the ATS threads have gone down the drain and them come back to complain that there is censorship.Do you see my point?
In my two years here anything that i have posted,NEVER been removed,because i try(sometimes too hard )not to break the rules.

"Deny Ignorance": There's something I never really got about that slogan. How is posting a news article that you got from the MSM aka "credible sources", and talking about them Denying Ignorance?

When people around here discuss MSM news you will read opinions that you would never hear on fox,cnn etc.Some people might even debunk the entire news story with alternate sources.At the end of the day maybe some us might have learnt something.

MSM is only in it for the money: I hear this excuse a lot, but did you know that ATS is run by an organization called the Above Network which does advertising? They are too a Multi-Million dollar corporation!!!! And we are all helping them earn money with every post we make

So?I don't know or care about the economic details of the above network because in here i have found a place to share,learn and have a good time.So if you think that they make all that money,create a forum/site and become rich yourself.

Originally posted by Phantom traveller
reply to post by jjf3rd77

 

We have enough troll-hoax posts as it is.If there were no limitations,the entire site would be floading with them.It's really annoying how people around here first rant about how the quality of the ATS threads have gone down the drain and them come back to complain that there is censorship.Do you see my point?
In my two years here anything that i have posted,NEVER been removed,because i try(sometimes too hard

)not to break the rules.

Some members are unhappy with this method. I am not. I don't care weather they regulate very little or very much. They own the site, if people don't like it they can leave.

When people around here discuss MSM news you will read opinions that you would never hear on fox,cnn etc.Some people might even debunk the entire news story with alternate sources.At the end of the day maybe some us might have learnt something.

I don't feel like I've woken up from this website, in any event its made me more of a critic thanks to all of the propaganda, BS, and silly topics I see on this website. Some of the information is really really good. Even in my book. I am not advocating ATS to change their ways at all. I am not complaining about the content, I am just voicing my opinion as are you. You say you learn things. I say it could be propaganda. And there we go again... It's all opinions mostly. Just like how the news is mostly opinionated

So?I don't know or care about the economic details of the above network because in here i have found a place to share,learn and have a good time.So if you think that they make all that money,create a forum/site and become rich yourself.

Obviously you don't care. I don't care either. Just some people are too quick to point fingers at w/e organization or politics they do not like and say that they are the cause of said problem.