117 replies to this topic

[Xiorc]

I became member of the TAPS forum just after their 2nd episode and my membership is still active there but I have not contributed for over a year because of several reasons.
First off, I still hold the TAPS folks (Jason, Grant, Donna, ect..) with the highest regards and I love the show and will continue to watch. I think that even though some find them a little unprofessional and/or simple I found it and still do find it refreshing and I hope they never change that part of their investigational approach. It was because of this that I joined their little community and soon became smitten with it all and how Jason and Grant (J&G) would contribute to the forum and even IM you about a question or quandary that you may have had. Also the community was a great place were people had an open and honest place were they could debate and discuss any issue they wanted to. but then things soon began to change and change fast!

First, J & G's contributions became less and less. Not a big deal figuring that their schedule was probably full because of the show but then new moderators were assigned and rules and terms of service were amended. Next, J&G were almost nonexistent and even more moderators were added and the ToS and rules were amended even further and the mandate of posts became quite harsh..IE were/what you can post, how you can post it...ect. Then J&G became ghosts themselves and any post that a power hungry Mod did not like was deleted and a warning was issued or the person was banned out right. The ToS (Terms of Service) were amended every other week and the swelled ranks of the populous were either banned or just quit.

What finally did it for me was when I was "warned" for using a profanity...I used the word HELL in on of my replies. I IM the mod and she replied that "its their responsibility to protect their younger members from predators"....WTF! Who made it their responsibility??? Not to mention...WTF! Then a few months later a received a SPAM message in my TAPS message box from one of the Mods about joining a health club witch totally breaks the golden rule of no spamming. I was a bit drunk when I read it so I replied back to her quite sternly and n turn she replied and said J&G gave her permission to do it witch was BS because J&G had not been around for over 2 years...

That was about a year ago and there is no telling what the forum is like now. All's I know is that when I left it was a ghost town with only newbies and moderators...not a positive environment for a free flowing discussion. It was a close as a website could get to a fascist Nazi Ghetto. Thats sad because once its was one of the hottest forums going and you could actually converse with the guys in the show.

[TheresaRHPS]

Hehehe, this is just getting too confusing to follow anymore. We've got support and criticism on three separate entities here (TAPS main board, TAPS+18 board, and the TAPS crew themselves). Be mindful that all are separate and one doesn't necessarily speak for or is representative of all....just the same as a few members' actions are not representative of the whole.

I've been on several boards and have seen both the good and the bad. Get over the bad and nourish the good.

[Corey]

Considering the subject matter here and on the TAPS board, its to be expected that you will get your share of, how shall I put this, wacky folk. Not to sound like I'm picking on anyone thats involved in such undertakings though. I'm sure if you went to a woodworking board you'd get the same thing, maybe just not as many. I've posted on a wide variety of boards over the years and have seen my share or folks with some strange ideas. It's what keeps things interesting. I've also found that if you don't feed these folks, they will eventually go away and find a place that suits them better.
Even though this is the internet, its not so different from the real world, you have your reasonable people, and your not-so-reasonable people. No harm really.

[Grim Undertakings]

I don't know anything about the TAPS forum, but I really do like the show "Ghosthunters".

[THE DARK RAVEN]

I love the show-We love how they run and yell like girls.I went to taps forum it was ok to me. WE can't wait till JUNE.

[just another girl]

Chuck58, on Apr 25 2006, 09:38 PM, said:

chrissybot, on Jan 8 2005, 01:48 AM, said:

[B][FONT=Optima][FONT=Times][COLOR=purple]Hi guys. New here & very much enjoying this site. I just had to comment on the show "TAPS'.In my area, we have the south jersey ghost researchers who do exactly what TAPS does, but professionally. These guys on TAPS need to be more professional. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the show because I am interested in the paranormal, but, well my hubby & I had the SJGR team come out to investigate our home twice after much activity that could not be explained, & they seemed more professional. Remember the episode when taps went to the prison & the guys were running out of the area they were supposed to be investigating, well, we did not have anyone running out of any rooms. I thought that episode was a joke & not at all professional. This is just my opinion. All & all, it is an interesting show. Just thought I would put in my 2 cents. Have a good day!

Well, in fairness to TAPS, the leader, Jason(?) did warn the two idiots that running away was unprofessional and not to do it again. As for their investigations, they can't honestly spend a few hours at a place and declare it haunted or not. That's what they were doing the first season.

Now, they're saying that during the time they were there, they found nothing, but that it doesn't mean the place isn't haunted. Ghosts don't appear on cue. I think they show up when they want, or when atmospheric conditions are right, or any number of other reasons. This is one of the weaknesses in the show, along with too much time spent Roto Rootering. That, though, is because Roto Rooter is giving them time off in trade for the free advertising.

AMEN!

[ParaJs]

I know this is kind of an old thread but want to add my 2 cents.

I know that when you get a group of thousands of people in one place there obviously will be differences of opinion and even personality conflicts.

I enjoy GH and have been regularly going to the TAPS forum since 2007 and have literally spent hours there looking at different posts and replying to some of them trying to learn as much as I can about the paranormal. I've never really had a problem with anyone there and still haven't....but.....I have noticed a trend...especially with evidence submitted for evaluation.

It seems that a lot of people don't' hesitate to insult the person that submits something...it can even border on calling that person a liar. I've even seen folks on the boards get into such a heated argument, slinging insults back and forth at each other to the point that the MOD has threatened to lock the thread.

While I know that any evidence that is submitted to ANY forum will come under very intense scrutiny, and it should....that's what we're here for...to find some truth, but, there's no room for personal attacks, even if the evidence is clearly manufactured.

As we all should know, paranormal research is not an exact science...if it was, we'd have the proof we all want. For anyone to come off like they're an expert and everyone else is a fool, just doesn't fit into what I'm into the field for.

I'm sure I'll continue to visit the TAPS forums and reply from time to time, but I think if I'm going to submitted any evidence, it will be on this board instead of TAPS.

Thank you for your time

[OMPRDave]

I wanted to get banned for the simple reason I had bit my tongue (or held back my fingers, to be technical) over TONS of silly and dramatic antics by moderators and members there, most of who are the most staunch fans of GH ever assembled. I learned early on if you question TAPS integrity in the "field" of paranormal research, you are in for a bumpy ride there. I tried the ambiguous approach and just kept things low key, but after the Halloween live episode and the obviously staged incidents that came from that to sell a seven hour snoozefest, I decided I was going to put my principles and my personality on the line.

After criticizing the footage of the infamous collar pull and that blatantly obvious piped in EVP (which came through all their earpieces, and was much louder in the live episode than in the rebroadcast, hinting at the fact they had the sound leveled down because it was so obvious it was piped in), I was called names, told I was jealous of TAPS fame, told I had know idea what I was talking about, and even had my sexuality questioned (why I have no idea...do I come across as gay when I type?). The kicker was when Lini the monster-mod started in on me. I don't remember the specifics of what I wrote (I used to post under mysoberjourney and it was in the live episode thread if you are interested) but I let her have it, and within minutes was escorted back to teh relative safety of the rest of the web, banned from participating in that drivel forever.

But over the last couple of years I figured out a few things:

1.) Most of the forums tied into these tv shows are another tool to see exactly what kind of crap that can be sold in the next episodes by gauging the gullibility of the members.
2.) To see how well their target audience is still responding to said crap and if they are buying it.
3.) These forums are polluted with some of the most vile, wretched Nazi-fans around. Question something, and pay the price.

The entire field has become overrun with charlatans and money hungry individuals hoping people will stay two steps behind the actual science of things. Now, if you like the paranormal for entertainment value and enjoy these conferences and overcrowded ghost hunts and the chance to hob knob with celebrities, I say enjoy every minute of it. We all have our lies and dislikes, and who am I to judge what others should enjoy? Unfortunately I've come to understand how marketing and money work when it comes to being successful in bringing this entertainment to the masses, and a good portion of those who do don't care about real science or how the sideshow ties itself to the real world. No wonder science doesn't take us seriously. And pretty soon, something is going to give.

Ok, I've gone off on a tangent, but it was because of the TAPS forum that I began to wake up and see alot of things for what they really are. I also learned to not be afraid of adding my two cents in forums, and keeping real with my beliefs and observations.

Edited by kats_god, 12 January 2009 - 10:29 PM.

[brucekp]

I also post on the TAPS board, but the signal-to-noise ratio is getting worse all the time. There are some really good posters that I like what they have to say, but many just have nothing to do with the paranormal. This board is better, but would still like less games, jokes, etc. Nothing against those who do, but I come for the paranormal discussions.

Bruce

[Moregan]

I haven’t been much around the TAPS forum, but I do know this kind of forum too well. It’s not good when moderators are too strict and ban everybody with a different opinion than their own. Besides, sometimes the community itself is very aggressive and people constantly keep picking on each other.
I’ve witnessed stuff like that on 2 German message boards (one was a DSLR forum, the other a paranormal forum), so it’s an international problem...
I really like this forum here pretty much. People are on the whole very friendly and reasonably polite.

Quote

After criticizing the footage of the infamous collar pull and that blatantly obvious piped in EVP

I also thought this footage a bit fishy. I’m glad I’m not the only one.

[Grim Undertakings]

Grim Undertakings, on May 24 2007, 01:30 AM, said:

I don't know anything about the TAPS forum, but I really do like the show "Ghosthunters".

I thought I'd quote my own previous post since I feel differently now ever since last Halloween's live episode. Even though it was a TV show, and I understood that, I always felt that it was legit. Not so much now after the collar tug incidents, and to be honest, I feel a little let down.

The only two boards I continue to participate in are this one and IPI because there is intelligent conversations, debates, and information provided. I have no time for name calling and other immature activities that seem to go on at a lot of other boards. I take ghost research very seriously and I have no time to argue orb pictures with someone who is only going to insult me.

So I'll probably continue to watch Ghost Hunters on YouTube for the entertainment value. I can't watch the other shows because let's just say there's too much entertainment value. Well, I do like the re-enactment shows.

[dannyau]

mattsin30, on Apr 25 2006, 01:05 AM, said:

I too have had some problems with the TAPS forum. It is not TAPS themselves but some of the people that use thier forum are really disrespectful They seem to spend more time bashing peoples evidence than asking questions about it. I personally have had to report to one of thier moderators about someone taking one of my photos and adding something in it then reposting it as thier own. However the TAPS group themselves I like the show Ghost Hunters and have met Keith, Carl Johnson the demonologists for Ghost Hunters. It is just the people who use thier forum I have a problem with.

Hi everyone
i thought that it was just me i posted two photo`s on there and had one of the moderators tell me that i had faked the photo because ghost`s arnt real and this guy was suposed to be an investegator
he didnt ask anything about the photo`s just said na there not real and when i stood up for myself and said this guy knocks every post put on here they closed down the thread i think TAPS stands for
toerags and Paranormal Skeptics

[Axman]

I'm glad to see my nearly 5 year old thread still gathers attention once and again. It's been almost as long since I visited the TAPS forum but figured out way back then that it's just a fan sight. A bunch of fans who only wish to discuss the show in general and nothing about the scientific aspect of the show. On several occasions I have had posts disappear after posting. Those posts went into technical detail regarding photographs and EVP's. I tried to help people understand that camera straps and lens flares do not equal vortices and audio feedback does not equal disembodied voices. The posts disappeared after a few hours with no explanation. I just stopped going there.

I have since found a forum for an Arizona group who are in the TAPS "family". I don't get the whole TAPS family thing but I have found that their forum is full of informative and respectful people. If you question something the discussions stay civil. But of course it really isn't a fan site either.

Take care!

[dannyau]

dannyau, on Dec 20 2009, 07:19 PM, said:

mattsin30, on Apr 25 2006, 01:05 AM, said:

I too have had some problems with the TAPS forum. It is not TAPS themselves but some of the people that use thier forum are really disrespectful They seem to spend more time bashing peoples evidence than asking questions about it. I personally have had to report to one of thier moderators about someone taking one of my photos and adding something in it then reposting it as thier own. However the TAPS group themselves I like the show Ghost Hunters and have met Keith, Carl Johnson the demonologists for Ghost Hunters. It is just the people who use thier forum I have a problem with.

Hi everyone
i thought that it was just me i posted two photo`s on there and had one of the moderators tell me that i had faked the photo because ghost`s arnt real and this guy was suposed to be an investegator
he didnt ask anything about the photo`s just said na there not real and when i stood up for myself and said this guy knocks every post put on here they closed down the thread i think TAPS stands for
toerags and Paranormal Skeptics

yeh i know what you mean i got told that the mist in my Photo was caused by the guy walking through the photo when i said no it wasnt and that the guy was standing still i was told that this was a way that people faked photo`s so when i said that i had checked all this guys post`s and they were all negative and rude and he hadn`t even checked any of the facts the thread got closed down
by another one of his freinds i dont think any of them are there for the right reasons this guy got really defensive when i pointed out that he never got any info of anyone just blew everyone off anyway i think this forum is great and it has the right balance of skeptics and people who beleave in the paranormal

[Axman]

The nice thing about GV is there are also a few people who don't have a big interest in the paranormal but still like to contribute.