It's not about any right of passage that has been mentioned in the past...
For me, it is simpler than that...one serves my purposes, one serves the applicant.
For me, I don't want to repost all the important stuff...
For you, the applicant, if you can get even a small morsel or three by reading the entire, long thread, then you have just spent your time wisely...
Atlas (and others like it) is likely a different beast than you are used to (unless you come from the ACMI world)...so, I'm hoping to steer you to the long thread.
But it is of course, up to you...I think it may be worth your time...you make the choice.
Good luck.