If Web Admins were Governments...
Let us compare and contrast, good friends, between the Progressive, Liberal version of government, as represented by our esteemed Admins here at DU; and the Libertarian/Conservative, er, "Paradise" at F***R******* (henceforward F***R.)
Progressive Liberals believe that the role of Government is to safeguard the benefits of civilization; strive continually to improve and increase those benefits; and ensure that they are equitably distributed. We try hard to meet everyone's needs.
Libertarian Conservatives believe, first and foremost, in individual liberties. In the freedom of each individual to fully take advantage of everything s/he can conceivably take advantage of, by right of his/her determination, strength of character, and caliber of firearms.
Here at Progressive Liberal Democratic Underground, we have Admins who care, deeply, about the infrastructure that enables all of us to realize our online participatory citizenship as fully as possible. Much time, energy, and thought is devoted to ensuring that our infrastructure is functional, modern, and confers the blessings of online civilization to all.
It is costly, certainly. No one actually ENJOYS our quarterly fund drives, and no one exactly LOVES our little bits of advertising, but these are sacrifices we make, because we Liberal Progressives understand the relationship between those sacrifices and our quality of online life.
And, being progressive liberals, the Admins of Democratic Underground are always willing to look forward, to try new things, strive to continually expand and improve the functioning of our infrastructure, even while the pace of change may not be comfortable to all. Mistakes are occasionally made, true-- but our Admins are willing to admit mistakes, go back to the drawing board, and try again. And we as progressive liberals support this! Of course, we reserve to ourselves the freedom to kvetch, backseat drive, snipe, complain, suggest, grouch, compare, wheedle, protest, and Monday morning quarterback every innovation, every fine tuning. But as a whole, we are generally willing to adjust and adapt to new innovations made for the benefit of all.
I think, too, that it is noteworthy that the progressive liberal model of website "government" functions well in another sense: Our public servants, er, Admins, are well- but not lavishly-compensated for their work on our behalf. We understand that public service SHOULD be well- but not lavishly-compensated. We are proud that our contributions and our tolerance of advertisements means that our site can be efficiently and effectively operated, AND the operation thereof can provide a decent living for our Admins, none of whom is contemplating retirement in a trailer any time soon.
Yes, we are a "nanny state." We have RULES. The rules are clearly stated. We have moderators that enforce those rules. We toss people out, sometimes with glee, but more often with soul-searching reluctance, when their behavior clearly indicates that they are unwilling to abide by the standards designed to enable vigorous discourse among a community that embraces a broad spectrum of liberal progressive opinions and much disagreement thereabout.
We "pander to special interest groups." Oh, MY, do we pander to special interest groups!! Dozens of them! We accommodate their needs, we protect their diversity. We give them both a safe haven for their unique communities-within-the-community and regard them as valuable, important, contributing members of the larger community.
Oh, true, true... there is controversy here. There are mean-spirited little vendettas and cliques. We have an "ignore" function. Our moderators sometimes interpret the rules with too much or too little latitude for the tastes of many. Public foofooraws raise hackles and create vast billows of smoke and occasionally render the commons an unpleasant environment for days on end. (Fortunately, our Admins have provided so many and varied places where we can take refuge that it is possible to avoid the most contentious meeting places when needed, for those conflict-avoidant among us...)
Are we a "Democracy?" Well, neither DU nor F***R is truly a "democracy," in that our Admins, while fulfilling the role of "government," also have the absolute power of ownership vested in them. But let us note that the Admins of DU take conscientious pains to govern with the consent of the governed, in spite of this absolute power. They listen. The actively solicit the opinions and feelings of the membership. And they do more than just listen--they frequently act upon what they hear.
Now, let us look at the Libertarian Conservative "paradise" of F***R.
They despise change, obviously. Infrastructure maintenance? Hardly. A bare minimum. Every man for himself, basically. Oh, they try to keep crashes from being too frequent and too lengthy. With much bitter complaining about the difficulty and expense of doing so, because the antiquated platform upon which their infrastructure rests is about as reliable as a poorly-maintained 1950s "muscle car." It might have been "powerful" once. It has all the studly pretension of an ancient V-8, and is just about as costly to run. But they'd never DREAM of making a major investment in one of the efficient, clean-running modern "wimpy" vehicles.
Loudly they trumpet having as few "rules" as possible, for of course they idolize and idealize "freedom of expression." No nanny state there! You can do whatever you want!
At least, until you offend one of the Wrong People and get the bum's rush.
No "pandering to special interest groups." If you can't fit in with the mainstream, tough noogies. Don't like it? Don't bother posting there.
Well, really. It depresses me to even think about it, living one's online life in such an environment. Life there, for all but the elite central ideologues and their sycophants, appears generally nasty, brutish and short.
I'll take our liberal progressive community any day!
hmmmm... we need a national anthem, don't we?
provocatively,
Bright
= new reply since forum marked as read
