More Glitches in the ATS Matrix

[l0st]

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, with the rapid decline in mature personal behavior and decorum.  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).  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.

I agree that smartphones made it worse. Perhaps the availability to post anytime or also the availability to a clientele that is perhaps "of lesser caliber" who cannot separate their personal beliefs from critical thinking.

To me, sites like ATS were designed for thinkers and to make other people think critically about what has been posed to them.

However, trolling goes all the way back to Usenet, IRC, and BBSes and while those elements have always existed, they were not always as forcefully placed into the "town square" so to speak.

I know things maybe got out of control in the later years. I also think a lot of the "better" posters stopped responding with measured, researched responses and just started trolling back, I know I did, and I admit that. I know of numerous people who were banned from ATS and similar sites for posting personal viewpoints who felt slighted and later "returned" (under new account) with the explicit intent to troll the trolls out of business. I know I am not alone on this. At some point you have to play the game the same way it is being played to you and I don't think anyone can be faulted for that except ownership who probably should've 86'd the political forums as soon as revenues declined. Water under the bridge.