More Glitches in the ATS Matrix

[FlyingClayDisk]

I feel that I am on the same page with you with nearly all of this, but I'll disagree with ruining ATS. The discussions had there and the stellar moderation that allowed them to happen IMHO have not existed on any other CT sites anywhere on the Internet and the loss of this forum of discussion is almost the "silver spike" that will kill the community entirely if it has not already.

I agree that it's nearly impossible to talk CT without politics. They are, on many levels, intertwined. The issues arise with HOW these discussions are handled, in my opinion. Making a statement about how one disagrees with a premise is one thing, personally ttacking and even sometimes stalking and harassing other users both online and IRL draws a line in my book.

I agree with the stellar moderation.  No argument there...for the most part.  BUT, there were 'some' moderators who were not able to do this objectively.  Fortunately, they were the exception and not the rule.

I also agree with you on the decorum issue, or more specifically the lack thereof.  However, this is a symptom of all social media, not just ATS.  I personally trace this deteriorating decorum back to the use of the smartphone, and social media's growing dependence on it.  If you look across all social media you will see a direct correlation between the emergence of the cell phone and text based messaging (where everything is compressed down to 280 characters or less), and the rapid decline in mature personal behavior and decorum.  People cut out the decorum in favor of insults to get their point across in less space.

So, while I agree with your points, I don't agree with ATS and/or politics on ATS as being the root cause for the negative elements you correctly point out.