More Glitches in the ATS Matrix

[KKLoco]

Maybe there is an active admin on the background.
I find it difficult to believe the timing where the email function has been corrupted
coincides with the coming elections in November and the various
war in the globe that are not going well for the establishment. I ve mentioned
it a few times but I think when nobody is allowed to create
a new account ATS is becoming a real echo chamber with the prospect that
one day you will wake up being unable to login into your account. Mods don't have any power to revive an account and one by one member is deleted conveniently.

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Hi purplemer,

Are you locked out of the system on ATS?
I didn't understand which part of the message you quoted was yours, if any (because the whole text is quoted)

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Allow me to have a laugh too. It's early in the morning and it will lift my spirit a lot.

The mix was healthy and the platform was much more fair to everyone many years ago. That period has long gone.

A lot of genuine and quality members have left or mysteriously disappeared which means they have been banned or shadowbanned and all we are left are Trump supporters and zionists with very little antilogue and challenges of the propaganda pushed.

A real echo chamber which is described with a simple Google search stating that ATS is a right wing conspiracy theory website

It used to be a site where the paranormal and conspiracy theories were discussed. Now it's all about trumpism, extreme right wing nonsense, and zionism.

I’m confused. If it’s a right wing echo chamber, and anyone that disagrees gets banned — how is it that you still have an account there?

[l0st]

It seems clear to me that members of ATS were of a certain kind... the kind that saw value in the community itself.  Emotionally, it is insulting and outrageous how the platform has deteriorated, and the community is such that it well knows it wasn't the staff that brought it this far into disarray. In fact, I feel it's safe to day to state firmly, ATS would already be gone if it weren't for what appears to me stands as a singular example of devotion to protect and nurture the site.

The steadfast affection for the site is evident in the community, it's potential 'soft value' (meaning everything not relevant to profit) is enormous... especially to the community itself.

A certain dispassion tells me that who is at 'fault' is not going to lead to a solution.  ATS is in need of a solution.  The only true obstacle is the need for profit growth.  If I told you that ATS could exist as a non-profit... would you believe it?  I know that is anathema to most, but assuming it can't; these dramatic moments of people shuffling, people seizing it so as to change it's nature, engaging in activism of whatever flavor... I could go on, but you probably get the point.  These things will happen again and again.  It's the ecosystem of commerce.

I don't "blame" anyone for anything.  The effect is already here, the antecedents are all 'noise.'  Fixing it means "work."  The pool of those willing to do the work appears limited to those who can't do the work.  And those who can, don't want to.

In all of this I would openly lament the loss of the labors of thousands of informal researchers and thinkers... you know... real people... might evaporate or be held hostage for exploitation.  As sad as watching a library of unique works burn down in slow motion.  Or your favorite old photograph fading over the years into a ghost of a memory.

To me it is very much like burning down a library.

I think the fact of the matter is that sites like this are operated as a community service and not as a profit seeking venture. I think this has pretty much always been the case. I had my hands in BBSes back in the 90s and it was the same then, too. A couple of them did charge for porn or slip dial-up access but in reality this never really paid the bills for these sites although they weren't prohibitively expensive to operate, either.

I think the problem with profit motive and these types of sites if that they main draw is mostly user generated content and it seems that the general public will not pay to access such content (and arguably, they shouldn't). That means the site needs to offer something else people will pay for - like scripted content, or sell ads. We already know the story behind Google essentially de-funding the CT community by denying them ad and listing space. This practice is no doubt illegal, but remains nonetheless.

[ArMaP]

Maybe there is an active admin on the background.

Maybe.

I find it difficult to believe the timing where the email function has been corrupted
coincides with the coming elections in November and the various
war in the globe that are not going well for the establishment.

I don't. If, as suspected, there was a change on the email servers that, without an admin, cannot be applied to ATS, it will keep on trying to use the wrong server configuration and no emails will be sent.

I ve mentioned
it a few times but I think when nobody is allowed to create
a new account ATS is becoming a real echo chamber with the prospect that
one day you will wake up being unable to login into your account. Mods don't have any power to revive an account and one by one member is deleted conveniently.

But mods have the power to ban members, so not letting new members on purpose could backfire, as those that the hypothetical hidden admin wanted to keep on posting could be banned.
For a hidden admin with an agenda it would be better to allow new members and to post ban the members with the opposing point of view. That way ATS would become a controlled echo chamber instead of a possible echo chamber.

[l0st]

Maybe there is an active admin on the background.
I find it difficult to believe the timing where the email function has been corrupted
coincides with the coming elections in November and the various
war in the globe that are not going well for the establishment. I ve mentioned
it a few times but I think when nobody is allowed to create
a new account ATS is becoming a real echo chamber with the prospect that
one day you will wake up being unable to login into your account. Mods don't have any power to revive an account and one by one member is deleted conveniently.

---

Hi purplemer,

Are you locked out of the system on ATS?
I didn't understand which part of the message you quoted was yours, if any (because the whole text is quoted)

---

Allow me to have a laugh too. It's early in the morning and it will lift my spirit a lot.

The mix was healthy and the platform was much more fair to everyone many years ago. That period has long gone.

A lot of genuine and quality members have left or mysteriously disappeared which means they have been banned or shadowbanned and all we are left are Trump supporters and zionists with very little antilogue and challenges of the propaganda pushed.

A real echo chamber which is described with a simple Google search stating that ATS is a right wing conspiracy theory website

It used to be a site where the paranormal and conspiracy theories were discussed. Now it's all about trumpism, extreme right wing nonsense, and zionism.

I'm sorry, but that description of ATS is simply ridiculous.

The site, just like ALL the other CT sites, was flooded by DNC backed shills as soon as Donny announced he was running for President. It couldn't have been more obvious. The "extreme right wing zionists" are also paid shills by the DNC who are there pretending to be right wingers who make loads of outrageous statements to make the entire community look like a basket of crazed loonies.

Take a good honest look at the post history and I think you'll find that 95% of the "people" on both "sides" of the extremism only showed up around 2015 or so. Do a little more digging around on places like Reddit, 4Chan, and Kiwi farms(if it's still up) and you'll find that these are ongoing, coordinated attacks organized by loosely known 3rd parties (George Soros anyone?) who are obviously being paid to push certain propaganda talking points and keep negative news content about Donald Trump perpetually in the news cycle while systematically burying negative content about Joe Biden until just recently since he has now fucked up so badly his idiocy can't even be denied by the national media.

I guess I can counter your "right wing extremist" statements with the literal thousands of left wing extremist threads about forcing experimental medical treatments onto the general populace in flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and direct violation of the US's own laws like HIPAA. This same group went on ad-nsuseum for YEARS pushing data that we now know is either completely made up or based on bad information, false, studies, or simply "made up on the spot". Post after post from tabloids and lefty news media pushing "vaccines"(they are NOT vaccines and the courts now agree on this). And, if you DARED point any of this out you are labeled as a "right wing extremist conspiracy theorist" and then systematically banned or shadow -banned. Talk about extremism? That's a page right out of the NAZI - NATIONAL SOCIALISM (a far left ideal) playbook.

It's the left who wants an echo chamber. They ban anyone who disagrees with them on every site they infest and immediately begin character assassinations on their targets.

I'm one of the posters who "mostly" left CT sites. I got tired of arguing with obviously paid shills who weren't there to have any kind of real argument or discourse but to proselytize their own personal viewpoints, moderators who've decided their place on these boards is to push their own political agenda, and ownership that does nothing to remedy the situation. Just take a look at the shill magnet thread I posted on here about trannyism and the repeated questions that go unanswered by the opposing parties with this same talking points pushed over and over and being responded to by nothing but ad-hominem attacks. These people are not here to participate. They're paid shills pushing an agenda. You want your community back? Take the trash out.

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I’m confused. If it’s a right wing echo chamber, and anyone that disagrees gets banned — how is it that you still have an account there?

I've been pointing out stuff like this for years. These people are either paid or have serious psychological problems. No normal person goes on ad-nausem about a former President for years on end. It's definitely some sort of diagnosable disorder. I'd ask more "telling questions" of these folks but I know they will ignore them and it's a waste of time.

The projection in statements like this is just mind blowing.

[SomeStupidName]

The invasion of political propaganda and fear pushers is what made the place toxic. It was so bad that at any hour of they day I could get them spout off the canned socialist narratives that it almost felt like AI bots. That's a level of propaganda pushing that should have given pause to anyone conspiracy minded individual regardless of political leaning.

[l0st]

The invasion of political propaganda and fear pushers is what made the place toxic. It was so bad that at any hour of they day I could get them spout off the canned socialist narratives that it almost felt like AI bots. That's a level of propaganda pushing that should have given pause to anyone conspiracy minded individual regardless of political leaning.

They're using AI bots in conjunction with "persona management" software which allows a single user to keep track of numerous sock accounts simultaneously. What you are seeing is a combination of what the AI has posted and when the AI gets "stuck" a real human steps in on the persona to additionally "concensus manage" their opponent in the thread. You'll know it's them because if you really pin them down on something they always stop responding and abandon the thread. Their talking points are inorganic and repetitive. They also use every method in the trolling playbook - concern trolling, gish galloping, projection(this is one of their favorites - accuse the opponent of what you are doing to try to force them into a defensive position), not directly answering questions or answering tangential questions that seem in conversation to be an answer but in fact answer nothing, wrap-up smears, ad-hominem attacks, character assassinations, repeated attempts to pivot a topic onto a less "sensitive" subject, etc.

I think your statement dovetails nicely into what I said previously - no question this was an "invasion" or coordinated attack on CT sites. Demonetization through ad revenue, delisting from public directories on the basis of "misinformation", summary cancellation of merchant accounts over "content violations", paying off of owners/mods, flooding of sites with propaganda bots and paid/volunteer "concensus managers", systematic banning/shadow banning of those who poke holes in obviously fake stories, fake news, removal of propaganda laws during the Obama administration, direct government intervention in the posting of content submitted by private citizens, and the list goes on.

All of that was happening on ATS and mysteriously, the ownership didn't step in to stop it, even with declining revenue, then the site was "sold" to parties with an obvious agenda to derail the site.

Hmmmmmm where there's smoke, there's fire. Some people were obviously paid to make this all happen, that's for sure.

[Nerb]

All of that was happening on ATS and mysteriously, the ownership didn't step in to stop it, even with declining revenue, then the site was "sold" to parties with an obvious agenda to derail the site.

Hmmmmmm where there's smoke, there's fire. Some people were obviously paid to make this all happen, that's for sure.

I absolutely agree.

I would personally point at a single person who orchestrated things into oblivion but won't do it here or anywhere else that could be read by all.

Some here already know the button that was pushed that kneejerked the offender into a surprising verbal outburst.

I think we should move on knowing it is all in the lap of the gods but have another countdown at the bottom of the screen each year for the ATS plughole.

[ArMaP]

Since I joined ATS, 20 years ago, people have been complaining that ATS is an echo chamber of those with ideas opposite to theirs.

Politics only made it worse.

[l0st]

Since I joined ATS, 20 years ago, people have been complaining that ATS is an echo chamber of those with ideas opposite to theirs.

Politics only made it worse.

That's a fact, jack.

I really just wish that in the end of this all, someone with a heart and a brain can see the damage they've done to the community with all this and at least allows the scraping of the original posts so that the research involved can be saved for future use.

I've taken a bit of a look at the legality of scraping and I'm reading mixed messages on the issue. On one hand, at least by US law and section 230, public comments aren't copy written - that is, if you post it publicly, you have no expectation that it will not be shared with others. On the other hand, there are already lawsuits flying around the scraping of public data for AI. Not sure where this leaves us.

I'm willing to resurrect my search engine for the purposes of scraping the message history for future search. It is unclear if to me if this stands on solid legal ground. I'll do what I can (say, scrape and provide copy of said DB and search function to access it to a site like this) but I don't want to be sued doing it. I think doing this for personal use is likey legal, but not sure sure about republication. Anyone with a law degree care to chime in?

[FlyingClayDisk]

Since I joined ATS, 20 years ago, people have been complaining that ATS is an echo chamber of those with ideas opposite to theirs.

Politics only made it worse.

"Worse" and "Better" are subjective in this context.  I disagree that politics made ATS worse.  I personally think it made ATS even more relevant.  Worser or better-er.  Politics made ATS worse for some people today, and better for the same people tomorrow (on a different subject).  It depended on the day. 

How many times can Roswell be discussed, or Area 51, or Bigfoot, or some blurry picture?  Politics are the new conspiracy du jour. 

What made politics 'worse' for some people was when their own personal political ideology got challenged.  This wasn't some distant blurry picture which was taken thousands of miles from their back yard, it was something real, and something right on their front doorstep.  It affected them personally.  It was reality, sometimes going upside their head with an opposing and equally credible viewpoint.

Politics may have made ATS 'worse' for the moderators, because it required much more 'work' to moderate fairly (and some were not able to do this).  Discussions were much more passionate and filled with emotion because they were closer to people's hearts, they had an actual and real effect on their lives...today.  Politics wasn't some distant concept, or some fantastical thing, it was real and it was in their face. 

Politics was one of the things I loved most about ATS.  Just about every discussion on any topic can be distilled down to politics...even Roswell, Area 51 and Bigfoot.  With politics included ATS rose to the highest levels it ever got to prior to that.  Oh sure, some old-time members got disgusted because their favorite topics were getting squashed by all the other noise, but then 'mud pit' was created to contain that.  With politics included at ATS, people could discuss anything at all; there were no limits to discussions.  When I first joined ATS in 2013 the ATS stats were still climbing, and 'mud pit' had long been established by then.  ATS was a bastion of free speech, something few other websites can achieve.

The mantra of this website is "Deny Ignorance", and one would be doing the exact opposite of this by denying that politics have a very real impact on people's lives today.  It would be denying reality, which is the antithesis of denying ignorance.