The tone certainly seems to have changed around here, hasn't it?

[senseandsensibility]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by BooScout (a host of the 2016 Postmortem forum).

I wonder why. It certainly is a mystery. But something tells me this is the future on DU. That's cool. I've only been here for twelve years with never a post hidden. The newly reinstated posters (all on one side) will put me in my place. And they will really make me want to vote for Hillary. So... yay?

[bravenak]

1. It is much nicer around here now.

[CoffeeCat]

3. What has changed? (nt)

[bravenak]

5. More people are allowed to speak without being silenced by the majority

Us minorities have a bit of our freedom back, we are no longer forced into silence while being abused and trashed by any old body

[Joe the Revelator]

17. But the victim mentality that DU is out to get you remains.

[bravenak]

18. In you it does

[Joe the Revelator]

25. No it doesn't.

[bravenak]

26. Seem to be lashing out like my presense victimizes you

[Joe the Revelator]

30. You presence doesn't bother me in the slightest

You're a good writer, I like your online persona, you make me laugh (in the good way, not the condescending way) a lot of the time. Any beef I have with you is that I think you REALLY like attention, and you view this as more of a game/popularity contest. You like to stir the pot, and I respect that, and I disagree with you a lot of the time. However, that doesn't mean that I'm lashing out because you're back. I'm happy you're back.

[bravenak]

31. Honestly I'd prefer LESS attention

Real shit. Having my own nsa is stressful.

[ljm2002]

38. "Us minorities"? Jews are a smaller minority in the US than black people...

...and they have certainly endured their share of persecution, and then some. Yet here is a statement you made on 3/11/2016 at Frontpage Mag about Bernie's supporters who, apparently, you think are all Jewish and hang out at Frontpage Mag:

I cannot stand him. His fans are racists who run around calling blacks racist and wonder why we hate him and them. I don't even LIKE Hillary but I will vote for her just so his fans can feel the sne BERN that they have been passing out.
Look at the racist comments here. I did not know jews hated us blacks so much. Good to know. I will return it in kind. There are so few of them It's a wonder they have the gall to think about being racist against blacks.

Bravenak, Frontpage Mag 6 Comments [3/11/2016 4:32:30 AM]
Fundie Index: 10

http://www.fstdt.com/QuoteComment.aspx?QID=117360 (*)

Jews like Bernie Sanders were on the front lines of the civil rights movement. And Frontpage Mag is an outlet for the extremely vile, extremely rightwing David Horowitz, whose views are about as far from those of Bernie Sanders as it is possible to be. Equating things said there with the views of most Jews, not to mention Bernie's supporters, is both dishonest and despicable.

Please remind us again, how you are qualified in any way, shape or form to call other people racist?

(*) What is fstdt? " An archive of the most hilarious, bizarre, ignorant, bigoted, and terrifying quotes from fundies all over the internet! The FSTDT archive is the largest collection of fundie quotes on the planet." And YOUR quote made it to their site, quote #117360, with a Fundie index of 10! Congratulations!! You have outdone yourself!

[kath]

40. Thank you for this.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

[villager]

45. Holy shit. But then, anti-Semitism has never mattered too much here at the "Underground." nt

[Waiting For Everyman]

57. That's gross.

Credibility shot by a mile on that one. There's the real reason for all the venom against Sanders. It was transparent anyway but the more so to see it admitted.

Some people who want to make others over need to look to themselves first.

Thanks for explaining what that link was too.

[Lazy Daisy]

59. This from a "respected" poster here

Not a very "respectable" post at that other site. Thanks for bringing that to light.

[HERVEPA]

54. Free for your antisemitism (see post below)

[Logical]

8. Because Hillary posters no longer have to play nice! Hides don't matter! Nt

[bravenak]

9. And Bernie's supporters never did have to play nice!!! So they did not need to ever!!! So now this..

[Logical]

10. They change the rules to help Hillary fans, plain and simple! Nt

[bravenak]

11. The writing is on the wall, yo

Time to look to the General

[Logical]

15. Yes, when there is a nominee. Which there is not! And the Hillary supporters.....

Remind us all the time how stupid Bernie supporters are, so they don't need us.

[bravenak]

19. And his remind us that we are the confederacy or somesuch

[Logical]

23. Bullshit! But keep whining! Nt

[bravenak]

27. You need a few links to how the south dont count or the confederacy op?

[Logical]

28. Yes, send me some racist posts from Bernie supporters! Nt

[bravenak]

29. No. I think most feel bad.nt

[BeanMusical]

24. +1000

[Fantastic Anarchist]

47. So, I'm Jewish. Do you hate me "in kind?"

[HerbChestnut]

2. It's a brave new world...

I recently utilized the ignore function. Been resisting for months because I don't like silencing other viewpoints, but there's a difference between constructive conversation and downright antagonizing.

[JDPriestly]

14. I put two people on ignore yesterday.

If the Admins thought they were going to help Hillary with this change on DU, they are terribly wrong.

[Myrina]

43. Only 2?

I average about 5 per GD: P thread. Some threads make it really easy to find the most rabid solders & weather-vaners.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

58. I never put anyone on ignore.

Could use some sort of implied accusation, and if you don't respond, you're guilty by not providing a response. Yes, I know it's absurd and bullshit, but I've seen that happen on another board. Some poor poster was relegated to child-molester status simply because he did not deny an accusation that someone had leveled against him because he had them on ignore. This was about 12 to 15 years ago.

[djean111]

51. I have a really really lengthy list of people on full ignore, created in the last couple of days.

I am not missing "viewpoints", I am missing oddly authoritarian smears and directives. There is no way to explain Hillary's positions that would make her palatable, and that really is all that counts.

[Broward]

4. Get with the program. You too can become a right winger.

Just compromise all your principles.

[RobertEarl]

6. That's the ticket

Sell out to the high and mighty. Bow to their magnificence and dare not question their plans. Gosh, now I don't even have to think.

Yes, master, what do you want me to do?

[Broward]

7. If you're one of us, you'll blindly follow your betters.

[Autumn]

12. Found that ignore button did you?

[Fairgo]

13. I started working the ignore button

It's a temporary relief. Someday, will need to confront the underlying problem though.

[vdogg]

16. Of course it's changed.

You guys no longer have the ability to silence Hillary supporters. Until 2 days ago I thought this site was all Bernie supporters, I never realized the sheer number of people you were able to alert stalk into hiding. It is ridiculous that this was allowed to go on. What is the point of a discussion forum if you guys go out of your way to silence dissent?

[bravenak]

21. I see people I have not seen since SUMMER

[CBGLuthier]

20. I think it is all part of a devious plan

DU prospers more under Republican presidents. The great thing is Hillary or Trump either way you got a republican.

[artislife]

36. That's true. But in a race between those two, say hello President Trump.

I think as much will get done if either is in the White House.

[synergie]

22. No, the same level of hate and anti-Clinton hysteria still abounds, the difference is that

you're now not able to silence dissent, and it seems to be angering many who were benefiting from the mob mentality and the alert stalking into silence that has been running rampant. You're now dealing with resistance to the group think mentality and it's really upsetting many of the BS supporters who had taken over and were running amok.

It's no longer an echo chamber and many folks seem to be having some trouble dealing with not being able to say whatever they wish without being challenged, and when they act out, they're feeling the consequences. It's quite a change to be held accountable, I guess.

Yes, one side was unfairly abused, attacked and silenced, and we're voicing our objections to the sheer nastiness after being forced to hold our tongues for so long.

If you were saying things that required people to push back, perhaps that's commentary on the nature of what you were saying? I mean if your notions can only survive in an echo chamber where any and all opposition is systematically silenced, perhaps that means that that they deserve some re-evaluation.

I'm not sure what you're saying here, that unless Hillary supporters subject themselves to abuse, lies and propaganda, that somehow you won't want to vote for the Democratic nominee?

The tone here has improved, and the anger at being thwarted is certainly evident, but it's no mystery why so many were silenced or who did the silencing, and who is very very angry about it.

[Surya Gayatri]

44. Well said...

[Warren DeMontague]

48. You know what? You're right, it's no mystery. Every person brought out of time out early still has

Their transparency page visible.



So people can look and judge for themselves exactly how "unfair" or not those hides were.

(Some, I think, were not fair, by the way. But some of the people in GDP the past few days who have been going on about being "silenced" have tranparency pages that are long lists of continual insults and nasty ad hominem attacks on other DU members)

[Fumesucker]

50. A desperation move on the part of the admins I think

This place really is in need of a name change, I nominate Democratic Establishment as the new moniker.

[uponit7771]

49. +1

[Squinch]

63. I agree with you, but this change probably won't keep me here. Personal insults against

Hillary supporters still aren't being hidden, and Bernie Bros still like to swarm anyone who doesn't worship Bernie. The changes weren't enough to bring the site back to being Democratic.

But most of all, Bernie is just done and all this sturm and drang has no purpose. His most rabid supporters will continue to nastily fight anyone who dares to point out that obvious fact, but really what's the point?

I think I'll probably go back to Hillary Clinton Supporters and discuss the reality of the way forward, rather than continue to try to yank heads out of the sand here, all the while having disgusting and nasty insults thrown at me.

Also, all the propaganda ("I stand with the 99%!" "You're a corporatist!" "Benghazi!" "Email!&quot at this point is not just stupid, it's unutterably dull.

[Fozzledick]

32. Who could have guessed that giving free rein to the most obnoxious trolls

and tampering with the jury system to immunize them from all accountability would fail to raise the level of civility and intelligent discourse?

[kerry-is-my-prez]

34. I truthfully do no see how one side is more obnoxious than the other here. Some jerks on both sides

Some pleasant people on both sides. Many on both sides seem to feel that they have been victimized.

[Major Hogwash]

33. The primaries aren't over yet.

I'm hoping that this primary season will be the last one that has such a polarizing figure involved with it.
I'm not talking about Trump, either.

[randome]

62. Oh, you better not mention the candidate I think you're talking about.

Or I'll alert on you and get you banned. Is that really what you think is going on around here?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Birds are territorial creatures.
The lyrics to the songbird's melodious trill go something like this:
"Stay out of my territory or I'll PECK YOUR GODDAMNED EYES OUT!"[/center][/font][hr]

[Rebkeh]

35. They are trying to co-opt DU

Or maybe the admins want them to, I dunno.

I don't get it though, the way I understand it, most DUers are Bernie supporters. As far as I know we outnumber them by a lot. I don't understand what they think they will accomplish, driving most of us out. The people that stay aren't likely to switch if they are stubborrn enough to hold out that long.

It doesn't make any sense, unless there's money involved someehow. It's the only thing I can think of.

[Fumesucker]

41. Of course there's money involved, the clicks on this site just soared

I'm only checking in once a day or so now instead of the several times a day I used to but it's clear that traffic has gotten heavier.

I used to come to DU to hear lies debunked, now I come to hear lies catapulted.

[kath]

42. "I used to come to DU to hear lies debunked, now I come to hear lies catapulted."

Bingo.

[villager]

46. That is sadly well-put, Fumesucker. This is like the "mirror universe" version of DU now.

[ananda]

52. I know.

It's as though up is down and right is left.

[randome]

61. Who is picking on the poor Sanders supporters?

Are you angry that a couple of posters got booted for racist posts or for violating the TOS? Victimhood does not look good on the Revolution. Maybe, just maybe, those posters were legitimately booted. It's at least something to consider objectively, isn't it?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Birds are territorial creatures.
The lyrics to the songbird's melodious trill go something like this:
"Stay out of my territory or I'll PECK YOUR GODDAMNED EYES OUT!"[/center][/font][hr]

[Squinch]

65. As they run up the hill to take the fortress, bayonets fixed, their battle cry is, "Waaaaaaaahhhh!"

[PufPuf23]

37. There are folks that rightfully should be ashamed of themselves.

Bullies gone wild.

The end justifies the means.

Lies are virtue.

Mock me please.

[Kip Humphrey]

39. I have so many on full block, DU is all rosy... except for the casualties.

[dinkytron]

53. Man, I feel ya. It's like invasion of the body snatchers around here. Been here since 01.

[Waiting For Everyman]

55. My favorite feature is "Trash Thread"

I've never used ignore, so far. We'll see if that changes. This is my 2 cents on what I do to cope with the most aggravating stuff, and it has been working pretty well for me...

I throw all the junk threads that come to the top of the forum page in the Trash Can (I have some set to go there by keyword). That way, I don't keep seeing it re-kicked over and over again, and more of the interesting threads fit on the forum page. Sometimes I'll open the thread just to see what it's about, and then bang in the can it goes.

Certain posters' OPs never have anything to say except flame bait and fly paper. Ideally it would be cool if bs was debunked, and then one person posted LIS (let it sink) and we all let it do that. Replying just keeps it alive, and there's no point in it.

If it's a contentious thread but still something I want to know about, I'll very often only read the replies to the original post -- I'll skip past the deep subthreads. I'll only look at those if they come from a first reply that I was interested in or if they're by posters I respect. Troll's subthreads, I never read. I notice that very often they like to create those very near the beginning of the thread, so there's a long line of diversionary crap at the top.

My own replies -- I'll usually only reply direct to the OP. If known harassers reply to something I post, I almost never reply back. They don't exist to me.

Basically my m.o., for what it's worth, with this kind of climate is: keep the garbage out of my view, and don't engage with known shir stirrers. Every once in a while I'll make an exception, but not often.

Heck I very often don't reply to people I like a lot too, but that doesn't mean anything. Just means I don't have anything to add, usually, or I wasn't online for a while.

The last few years I have been donating a good bit more than usual to DU during the Valentine's Day heart week, but I might not do that again if the current problems get much worse. I know there are other options.

[sufrommich]

56. There's a simple reason why Skinner reinstated those who had

five hides,he looked at their transparency pages and saw a lot of bogus hides. That's the reason he's cracking down on jurors who vote to hide those bogus hides too.

Here's a bogus hide as an example from today:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=1529201


There's no logical explanation for this hide other than Sanders supporters didn't like it.It certainly doesn't break any DU rules and yet it got a hide. Every time this happens I'm going to alert on the bogus hide and hope Skinner keeps his word about revoking jury rights when this is done,I hope other will too.

[Squinch]

60. Don't worry. The bros are wiley, and in a great majority. And so, so unpleasant that soon

you'll have your echo chamber back.

But whatever.

Lashing out at anyone who doesn't worship Bernie and living in a fantasy world hasn't done your candidate much good so far.

[seaglass]

64. Yes! The air is fresh this morning! Let's see how long it lasts. n/t

[Squinch]

66. They're still too nasty and deluded for me. And their cause is finished so I see no reason to

continue to fight them for it.

We need to defeat Trump. I'm going back to Hillary Clinton Supporters.

[99Forever]

67. The only thing you hear in an echo chamber...

...is your own voice.

I prefer freedom of speech and thought. I am a liberal.