Reply #43: I was having a chat with my mom tonight

[XemaSab]

about the difference between the freep site and DU, and I think the biggest difference is that freep doesn't really allow people to make OP's with their own opinions, or if you do it's generally labelled "vanity post" (whatever that means!), while at DU we're all allowed to post whatever we want. Some OP's are lame, and some are brilliant, but we're encouraged to give our ideas wing, and let them sink or swim on their own merits.

The way posts are sorted at DU is conducive to fruitful discussion and debate, and not the endless fawning "pings" and "hoo yeahs" that the other site considers constructive and meaningful posts.

I think it's a symptom of the conservative wish to stifle individual expression, and I think the OP here is a good example of this.

Reagan's an asshat, but if I saw a waiter wearing a Reagan watch, I'd either assume it was irony or roll my eyes once and think nothing more about it. But either way, the dude can wear whatever he wants, and it's not really my business in that situation to question that.

The siimilarity between the troll barf and the freep mentality is in questioning someone else's RIGHT to self-expression.

And that's the giveaway.