Moderation at ATS

[Phalenx5]

Hi I'm new here. I'm not going to reveal my username on ATS unless I am specifically asked to do so by a mod or an admin because for privacy reasons. I want to talk about the modding practices here. Sometimes I think the mods just moderate messages they disagree with. Other than that I ignore the disinfo posted on the site. I'm getting tired of this 2012 crap, this reptillian crap, and this Obama antichrist crap. I think other people can relate to this. I like ATS for its specialized forums. But I just wish they'd do away with the crap and I'd wish they would have better mods.

[You Can Call Me Ray]

But you must not forget the equation:

Crap generates interest, interest generates hits, hits generate revenue, revenue encourages moderators to leave crap alone.

Closed-loop.
Ray

[Access Denied]

Hi I'm new here. I'm not going to reveal my username on ATS unless I am specifically asked to do so by a mod or an admin because for privacy reasons.

Hi P5, welcome to RU. Your ATS username doesn’t matter… unless you’re a double agent.

[we seem to get a lot of those here]

I want to talk about the modding practices here. Sometimes I think the mods just moderate messages they disagree with.

Go ahead and start a new thread called “Moderation on ATS” or something if you want… could be an interesting discussion.

Other than that I ignore the disinfo posted on the site. I'm getting tired of this 2012 crap, this reptillian crap, and this Obama antichrist crap. I think other people can relate to this. I like ATS for its specialized forums. But I just wish they'd do away with the crap and I'd wish they would have better mods.

Welcome to the club.

Take away all the crap and what do you have left? RU!

[shameless plug, you’ll have to make up your own mind whether we have better mods though… since I’m pretty much it at the moment… and I’m still learning]

Tom

[Phalenx5]

Thanks for the welcome. I feel like the mods on ATS moderate messages based on their ideology and they don't moderate the posts they agree with/don't care about hence all the crap posts allowed on the site.

[Access Denied]

I agree... the problem though as Ray pointed out is it's the crap that pays the bills. Regular members are trained (conditioned) to embrace ignorance… and then picked to be mods based on a demonstrated ability to do so over time.


P.S. I moved this to a new thread.

[Phalenx5]

I agree... the problem though as Ray pointed out is it's the crap that pays the bills. Regular members are trained (conditioned) to embrace ignorance… and then picked to be mods based on a demonstrated ability to do so over time.


P.S. I moved this to a new thread.

I agree. There needs to be a crap filter on ATS so they can filter out certain words like reptillians, Niburu, Planet X, 2012, so they can keep the crap off the site. Is that all they care about? It seems like all they care about sometimes is generating site traffic so they keep the crap on. It's sad isn't it?

[Jack'sDead]

I really never had a problem with the more bizarre material discussed over at ATS. If I wasn't interested in a thread, I wouldn't post in it or bother to read it. My problems with ATS were far more serious and unnerving. Somethin' ain't right over there. I was one of the most active members there for over a year, and was suddenly banned without any explanation whatsoever, though I have my suspicions that their decision was multi-layered to provide for plauseable deniability of bias, censorship, or worse.

[AgitatedBrain]

Hello everyone. I've been lurking for awhile and had registered sometime last month, but I was having problems logging in. Anway, now that I'm able to long in I can speak my piece about the ats mods (btw, I won't be revealing what my username was over there)

I know first hand that one mod is crooked. The infamous MirthfulMe obviously had some kind of issue with me from day one. And seemed to try and test me to see if I'd ever smart off to him in hopes of him banning me. However, I don't think I'm the only one he had an issue with, due to the fact that damn near everybody around there knows that guy is a total prick. IMO, he'll get banned himself one day when enough people get fed up with his BS.

I had gotten a post ban notice for a foul comment I had mode in the joke forum. The post ban notice came from a mod beside mirth. Then an hour later I got ANOTHER damn post ban notice for the same offense from (you guessed it) mirth. I had filed a complaint saying how giving me another damn notice was a little bit of an overkill, and how several other members always talk about him being a bully. It seemed to me that he was rubbing it in by giving me another post ban notice. He knows good and damn well that another post ban notice was not necessary.

Anyway, it's very very fishy to me that I got banned the day after I filed a complaint. But oh well.

Other than him though, I've never had an issue with any of the mods.

Thanks.

edit to add that I just now realized it wasn't last month that I had resgitered lol. that's irrelevant but I just wanted to correct it.

[Access Denied]

Welcome AB, sorry about the login problems. I was going through the new user registrations the other day (we’ve being having a problem with a particularly persistent spammer from China) and I noticed you and a couple of others didn’t get added to the right user group. Emails were sent to those affected and hopefully everything’s straightened out now.

Anyway, I have a theory having read a number of different people’s stories about being banned at ATS. One thing in common seems to stand out to me in most of these accounts… the feeling of being blind-sided by what doesn’t seem to you (and by “you” I don’t mean anyone in particular) to be a particularly “bad” offense… or least not one that others don’t seem to get away with.

I suspect (as SO has indicated here) this may be because unbeknownst to you, other users are complaining to the staff about something (who knows what) they don’t like about you, perhaps to mods they’ve befriended or these “offended” users are considered “valued” members for whatever reason by certain staff/management. Then over time maybe the mods start to get “tired” of dealing with it (mediating conflict as they should be) and all it takes is one complaint about the system or certain staff and wham… out comes the ban hammer.

Now if ATS really enforced the TAC as written there would be no place for favoritism… everyone, no matter how “popular” or “loyal” they are, would be held to the same standards of conduct… but we all know that’s not how it is.

ATS has a very narrow-minded viewpoint… everything is a conspiracy… and exactly what that conspiracy is for any given subject is determined by peer pressure, reinforced by the management, and changing all the time. You’re either with the “leading theory” (herd) or you’re in the way.

"We are Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile."

Does that sound about right to you all?

I have a couple of ideas that might help improve the system like requiring the “accused” to be automatically notified of who’s making the complaint and who’s been assigned to “handle” the case but ATS has been carefully organized to avoid any accountability to their membership at large so they’re free to push whatever agenda, scheme, or scam they please… transparency is not an option.

In my experience the current staff lacks the maturity and the management lacks the discipline to evolve beyond mediocrity and rise above the absurdity…

This Is ATS

[ryguy]

In my experience the current staff lacks the maturity and the management lacks the discipline to evolve beyond mediocrity and rise above the absurdity…

omg...that's a brilliant quote. Can I use that one? I promise to give you full credit, it's just pure poetry... lol

[Access Denied]

Thanks Ryan, a brief moment of lucidity to be sure but by all means feel free!

[personally I thought the Spinal Tap reference was pure genius but on second thought maybe a little obscure]

[Jack'sDead]

Hello everyone. I've been lurking for awhile and had registered sometime last month, but I was having problems logging in. Anway, now that I'm able to long in I can speak my piece about the ats mods (btw, I won't be revealing what my username was over there)

I know first hand that one mod is crooked. The infamous MirthfulMe obviously had some kind of issue with me from day one. And seemed to try and test me to see if I'd ever smart off to him in hopes of him banning me. However, I don't think I'm the only one he had an issue with, due to the fact that damn near everybody around there knows that guy is a total prick. IMO, he'll get banned himself one day when enough people get fed up with his BS.

I had gotten a post ban notice for a foul comment I had mode in the joke forum. The post ban notice came from a mod beside mirth. Then an hour later I got ANOTHER damn post ban notice for the same offense from (you guessed it) mirth. I had filed a complaint saying how giving me another damn notice was a little bit of an overkill, and how several other members always talk about him being a bully. It seemed to me that he was rubbing it in by giving me another post ban notice. He knows good and damn well that another post ban notice was not necessary.

Anyway, it's very very fishy to me that I got banned the day after I filed a complaint. But oh well.

Other than him though, I've never had an issue with any of the mods.

Thanks.

edit to add that I just now realized it wasn't last month that I had resgitered lol. that's irrelevant but I just wanted to correct it.

I picture Mirth to be some grumpy, crusty old man who has no idea what ATS is even about. But you can forget about him being banned or stripped of his title. There's a deliberate reason that ATS has some like him on staff. I have had some scrapes with him as well. I don't remember ever getting banned because of him, but he was responsible for deleting a few of my threads, and moving others to places where no one would see them. His excuse on one ocassion was that it was "off-topic" when in fact it was directly on-topic.

You will also find in time that there are other mods who act in a belligerent manner, wether it is their own personal biases, or orders being passed down from on high. I never really had any problems with mods for a long time, and even had several in my friend column. But in the last month I was there, many became my enemy.

[Jack'sDead]

...Anyway, I have a theory having read a number of different people’s stories about being banned at ATS. One thing in common seems to stand out to me in most of these accounts… the feeling of being blind-sided by what doesn’t seem to you (and by “you” I don’t mean anyone in particular) to be a particularly “bad” offense… or least not one that others don’t seem to get away with.

I suspect (as SO has indicated here) this may be because unbeknownst to you, other users are complaining to the staff about something (who knows what) they don’t like about you, perhaps to mods they’ve befriended or these “offended” users are considered “valued” members for whatever reason by certain staff/management. Then over time maybe the mods start to get “tired” of dealing with it (mediating conflict as they should be) and all it takes is one complaint about the system or certain staff and wham… out comes the ban hammer...

First off, classic piece in that link there! Nice find.

I can say I was certainly blindsided in the extreme, as I layed out in another thread here when I first joined RU, and then again after my second banning. To this day, I have never received any explanation or response to any of my email to SO, or ATS.

There was one member over there that I had some serious problems with, and I happen to believe that he was in fact a compensated disinformation agent who targeted me specifically, but a few others as well along with me. He was banned several times for serious infractions and unethical behavior. He also came back several times under different names, but I was able to spot him through certain details and use of language. In fact, he was banned for creating new accounts after he had already been banned. But he is still posting over there as far as I know, with the full knowledge of ATS staff. In short, I think it goes a level deeper than them getting tired of doing their job moderating disputes. I think they are biasd toward certain agendas, but try to cover up that fact under a blanket of plauseable deniability.

[Phalenx5]

There was one member over there that I had some serious problems with, and I happen to believe that he was in fact a compensated disinformation agent who targeted me specifically, but a few others as well along with me. He was banned several times for serious infractions and unethical behavior. He also came back several times under different names, but I was able to spot him through certain details and use of language. In fact, he was banned for creating new accounts after he had already been banned. But he is still posting over there as far as I know, with the full knowledge of ATS staff. In short, I think it goes a level deeper than them getting tired of doing their job moderating disputes. I think they are biasd toward certain agendas, but try to cover up that fact under a blanket of plauseable deniability.

I feel sympathy towards you. I have often felt like I was the target of some users who have come into my topics and made the most irrelevant post in my topic because they thought that what I was saying was silly. I don't think these members are disinformation agents as you say but rather they are members that don't understand what ATS is meant for. ATS is meant for a place to deny ignorance. I've ran into a few idiots who didn't deny ignorance and I got a post-ban for a few days and it was around that time that I joined this forum. I got a post-ban because I called someone who believed that Obama's birth certificate was a fake a "moron". I think that it was unfair... I think the person that didn't deny ignorance should have gotten the post-ban. But, anyhow, I was almost banned and a few mods have told me that because of my behavior that they might have to ban me if I persisted with my behavior and they would have severed my relationship with the website. I almost got banned because I was arguing with some people who weren't successfully denying ignorance and they were being ignorant and not checking the sources they were using... and they were trolling the boards. I still wonder why they weren't handed all these punishments. I've tried alerting their posts and I've sent complaints about them to the complaints forums and the moderators have told me that these complaints are nonsensical. I didn't get banned... but I can see based on the situation that I was what the mods would have done with you and they probably banned you unfairly for a silly post which you meant with no harm, much like, I did with my idiot comment towards the user that believed that Obama's birth certificate was fake.


[Mod Edit: trimmed quote]

[Jack'sDead]

I feel sympathy towards you. I have often felt like I was the target of some users who have come into my topics and made the most irrelevant post in my topic because they thought that what I was saying was silly. I don't think these members are disinformation agents as you say but rather they are members that don't understand what ATS is meant for. ATS is meant for a place to deny ignorance. I've ran into a few idiots who didn't deny ignorance and I got a post-ban for a few days and it was around that time that I joined this forum. I got a post-ban because I called someone who believed that Obama's birth certificate was a fake a "moron". I think that it was unfair... I think the person that didn't deny ignorance should have gotten the post-ban. But, anyhow, I was almost banned and a few mods have told me that because of my behavior that they might have to ban me if I persisted with my behavior and they would have severed my relationship with the website. I almost got banned because I was arguing with some people who weren't successfully denying ignorance and they were being ignorant and not checking the sources they were using... and they were trolling the boards. I still wonder why they weren't handed all these punishments. I've tried alerting their posts and I've sent complaints about them to the complaints forums and the moderators have told me that these complaints are nonsensical. I didn't get banned... but I can see based on the situation that I was what the mods would have done with you and they probably banned you unfairly for a silly post which you meant with no harm, much like, I did with my idiot comment towards the user that believed that Obama's birth certificate was fake.

My problems over there ran quite a bit deeper, though I do know what you are talking about. I came across plenty of morons who were in fact ignorant trolls. But I also came across at least two, possibly three genuine article disinfo agents over there. One of which was actively engaging me when I was banned permanently with no notice or explanation whatsoever. If you are posting the truth over there, and argue it well, it is only a matter of time before you are attacked by a real agent, ganged up on, and banned. I had many fans over there who saw what happened to me, and have held ATS in dubious regard ever since.