Conspiracy Theories

What are your thoughts on introducing a dedicated subforum for "conspiracy theory" discussions?

we've got plenty of jokes for that

Honestly, this forum is just a joke with its measly 504 posts.

Benjamin King17 said:What are your thoughts on introducing a dedicated subforum for "conspiracy theory" discussions?

I'm down. Let's do it! 👋

Where on earth would we even put him when every single corner of this forum already has its own dedicated group of conspiracy theorists breathing down everyone's necks?

loneraven25 said:Where on earth would we even put him when every single corner of this forum already has its own dedicated group of conspiracy theorists breathing down everyone's necks?

Exactly. 👍
Take a scenario where some high-profile figure vanishes, and suddenly her supporters are flooding the boards with hundreds of posts blaming the government, the FBI, old-school communists, the CIA... you name it. Naturally, those claims belong in a conspiracy theory PDF, yet their followers would be absolutely mortified if they were actually categorized that way. Of course, by the time the truth finally comes out—say, it turns out she just went on a long trip to a small town in rural Montana—it's already too late.

Therefore, most topics could only be moved to such a PDF once it’s proven there was actually a conspiracy at play; an ex-post PDF is essentially meaningless.

William Bennett53 said:Exactly. 👍
Take a scenario where some high-profile figure vanishes, and suddenly her supporters are flooding the boards with hundreds of posts blaming the government, the FBI, old-school communists, the CIA... you name it. Naturally, those claims belong in a conspiracy theory PDF, yet their followers would be absolutely mortified if they were actually categorized that way. Of course, by the time the truth finally comes out—say, it turns out she just went on a long trip to a small town in rural Montana—it's already too late.

Therefore, most topics could only be moved to such a PDF once it’s proven there was actually a conspiracy at play; an ex-post PDF is essentially meaningless.

I mean, it’s pretty obvious what constitutes a conspiracy theory if you just take a quick look at some of the major online forums dedicated to them (like GLP or ATS, for instance). If we can't have a standalone PDF, then maybe we could just add it as another section on Alternative.

*Look, your example isn't even a conspiracy theory; it's just standard American politics. I mean, whether we're talking about corporate greed or old-school FBI surveillance, those aren't conspiracies—they're just facts. 😬Beyond that, any subject can be viewed from multiple perspectives. Take the debate over same-sex marriage, for example; there's hardly an American forum out there where that hasn't been a topic of discussion... and so on.

But you definitely won't find conspiracy theories being opened up in Politics. I don't see them there, which is why I'm suggesting you check the web to get a better sense of what actually qualifies.

Brenda Cook4 said:I mean, it’s pretty obvious what constitutes a conspiracy theory if you just take a quick look at some of the major online forums dedicated to them (like GLP or ATS, for instance). If we can't have a standalone PDF, then maybe we could just add it as another section on Alternative.

*Look, your example isn't even a conspiracy theory; it's just standard American politics. I mean, whether we're talking about corporate greed or old-school FBI surveillance, those aren't conspiracies—they're just facts. 😬Beyond that, any subject can be viewed from multiple perspectives. Take the debate over same-sex marriage, for example; there's hardly an American forum out there where that hasn't been a topic of discussion... and so on.

But you definitely won't find conspiracy theories being opened up in Politics. I don't see them there, which is why I'm suggesting you check the web to get a better sense of what actually qualifies.

Just the other day, I stumbled upon a thread where the author was asking forum members—though he specifically targeted Americans rather than those he deemed "outsiders," implying only certain people were patriotic enough for their opinions to matter—whether people are afraid of former CIA assassins walking among us today. Is it a paranoid question? Yes. Do we actually know if anyone from the old agency or its members are committing murders today? We don't. So how can such a question not be classified as a conspiracy theory?

William Bennett53 said:Just the other day, I stumbled upon a thread where the author was asking forum members—though he specifically targeted Americans rather than those he deemed "outsiders," implying only certain people were patriotic enough for their opinions to matter—whether people are afraid of former CIA assassins walking among us today. Is it a paranoid question? Yes. Do we actually know if anyone from the old agency or its members are committing murders today? We don't. So how can such a question not be classified as a conspiracy theory?

Oh, come on, you’re missing the point entirely. It’s all just noise at this point. Take the latest craze, for instance—people are obsessing over whether some kind of messiah will arrive now that Ariela Sharon has passed, following those claims made by the late Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri. Or look at the wild theories about smart meters turning everyone into mindless zombies, or the fear that some rogue asteroid like 2013 YP139 is going to slam right into us. It's all part of the same frantic pattern.

Do those hitmen walking among us actually feel any fear? Is asking that question purely paranoid? Yeah, probably.

I see you aren't afraid.😁

I honestly don't know if anyone here would actually be interested—or even how many people might want this—and I'm not entirely sure if it even fits the vibe of this forum. But look, I’m just checking in as a regular member to say that I’d personally love to see a PDF like that. To keep things from getting too dry, you know? After all, everyone has their own little way of finding joy in the small things. 😬

Just a quick follow-up using Wikipedia's own definition of a conspiracy theory:

A conspiracy theory is an explanatory proposition that accuses two or more people, a group, or an organization of having caused or covered up, through deliberate collusion, an event or phenomenon of great social, political, or economic impact. In recent decades the term has acquired a derogatory meaning, and a careful distinction must be made between the derisive use of the term and reference to actual, proven conspiracies.

Based on this specific definition, the massive amount of noise coming from radical right-wing circles regarding the disappearance of that headless chicken—claiming it vanished simply because it was an obstacle to certain political opponents—is a textbook conspiracy theory. The only difference is that we all know the truth now, whereas just a few days ago, many people were treating those theories with absolute seriousness.

To be perfectly clear, I am not against the PDF; I simply believe its scope should encompass far more topics than what might be preferred by the users of this forum.

No, we aren't just talking about minor topics here—that’s stuff for Politics. This? This is... ugh, it’s much bigger than that. We’re looking at something of global importance, believe me.😁

I’m hardly an expert on what qualifies as a conspiracy theory, though I do happen to have a rather substantial volume sitting on my shelf—a gift I actually sat down and finished reading: http://www.amazon.com/The-Invisible-Hand/b?node=123456

My point is simply this: at its core, a conspiracy theory isn't necessarily tied to those massive, sweeping narratives. Rather, it encompasses any theory that fits the broad definition, or, to put it more bluntly, anything that fails to meet the standard of Occam’s razor.

Actually, perhaps it’s best if we both just stay quiet. We might end up getting moderated the moment they open that PDF. 🤣

Brenda Cook4 said:I mean, it’s pretty obvious what constitutes a conspiracy theory if you just take a quick look at some of the major online forums dedicated to them (like GLP or ATS, for instance). If we can't have a standalone PDF, then maybe we could just add it as another section on Alternative.

*Look, your example isn't even a conspiracy theory; it's just standard American politics. I mean, whether we're talking about corporate greed or old-school FBI surveillance, those aren't conspiracies—they're just facts. 😬Beyond that, any subject can be viewed from multiple perspectives. Take the debate over same-sex marriage, for example; there's hardly an American forum out there where that hasn't been a topic of discussion... and so on.

But you definitely won't find conspiracy theories being opened up in Politics. I don't see them there, which is why I'm suggesting you check the web to get a better sense of what actually qualifies.

No thanks. Around here, every other topic turns into a conspiracy theory anyway.

I'm down. But what kind of conspiracy theory are we even talking about here? Are we diving into global stuff, or just those wild theories about Slavko and Mirko?

LG L5

@Imran, we can just use the main alternative subforum. If we made a dedicated one, we’d run out of stuff to talk about for alternative topics and fringe science pretty fast.

Benjamin King17 said:What are your thoughts on introducing a dedicated subforum for "conspiracy theory" discussions?

🙂
That way I can constantly read about all those Masonic-liberal conspiracies against God and humanity!🙂

Richard Nelson84 said:🙂
That way I can constantly read about all those Masonic-liberal conspiracies against God and humanity!🙂

Seriously, who is actually forcing you to read this stuff if you don't want to!?