why did you join DU and what keeps you here

[dajoki]

i came to vent my political frustration and i stay because of the people, political debate, humor and it's fun laughing at the pukes.

[underpants]

1. two words:honor and dignity

[Fenris]

26. I believe that's spelled "dignitude"

[havocmom]

2. Altruism

and masochism, in that order

[teach1st]

3. I came for the news...

..I stayed for the views.

[I Know How To Do it]

4. I came for the garlic sauce

but I stayed for the Mango Chutney!

[Lorien]

5. LBN, networking and political activism

though the constant petty flame wars and proliferation hostile/baiting/incoherent posts are forcing me to reevaluate my participation here.

[dajoki]

6. why?

everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if some think it is stupid.

[Lorien]

8. Because too many here seem hellbent on demonstrating

their intellectual and moral superiority-or simply come here itching for a fight-and they always manage to suck many hours of time and energy away from issues that really need our attention and activism. I'm exhausted from it all. It's really amazingly difficult to get a few dozen letters or phone calls out of 70,000+ Duers, and that fact alone is very disheartening.

[Child_Of_Isis]

10. That's why I am here.

I can voice my opinion and no one calls me stupid. And I have some thoughts that are waaay out in left field... Usually some old hippie will come along and understand exactly what I am talking about. Even when I am unsure myself.

[dajoki]

14. amen, brother

[jedicord]

7. That's one of the reasons I like it here...

After the end of the day, we all agree. Our arguments, while sometimes nasty, at least allow us to see another point of view from someone whose views we normally would respect.

Unlike arguing with a Freeper.

[dajoki]

11. exactly!!

you can disagree about the way certain issues should be handled, but in the end we basically have the same goal.

[Debi]

34. Don't let the door hit you.....

[Lorien]

55. Gee, thanks

[NoSheep]

92. Found it. Jeeeeze.

[Greyhound]

66. Oh no it's all just fun. Remember it only a message board, it's only a...

[Lorien]

78. DU can do amazing things when most of us get involved

sure, there's the entertainment aspect. But given the times, it's now or never for progressive activism. The nastiness of late (somehow brought about by the Roberts nomination-though I'm not sure why)is very counter productive. I see nothing wrong for wishing for fewer flames and more positive action.

[Greyhound]

80. nothing wrong at all. For myself however,

this is about the only outlet I have as I am a small business owner in a very conservative (read fascist) area of a very conservative state. Any overt indications of my political philosophy would result in my being forced out of business, probably within a few weeks.

[Lorien]

81. Most political action on the web can be done semi-anonymously

I'm also a small business owner, but my clientele is very mixed politically. Unlike marches or other "open" forms of political activism, the internet allows us all to take action away from the eyes of our neighbors and community. www.moveon.org and www.progressivemajority.org are two great places to start.

[Greyhound]

84. Oh of course, I do that all the time

already a member of move on. Looking @ progressive majority.
But if the price wasn't so high, I'd really like to spread some truth around these parts, but until my lottery comes through, or I'm finally able to emmigrate...

[dajoki]

90. boy, that really sucks

it's a shame people have to hide their true beliefs in a "free country" for fear of retribution. but that is the reality of living under an oppressive regime

[dean_dem]

9. I heard there was pie.

Has anyone heard about when the pie is coming?

[Debi]

35. Here ya go

[FloridaPat]

12. Cheaper and more fun than a psycologist. I've been having reality

problems the lat 5 years.

[dajoki]

53. join the club

[Divameow77]

13. It keeps me informed

My mom is here so that's why I came in the first place, but I stay for the news and different points of view that aren't so different from my own.

[Shell Beau]

15. To hang out (in a sense) with people

of like mind. I lurked here (like many others) for a while before I joined. I mostly liked what I saw and finally decided to join. I stay b/c I can have conversations about things that I know at least some people will agree with and b/c I usually have fun.

[Left_Winger]

17. Same here

and I hope your birthday is going well. Lots of presents, cards and such...

[Shell Beau]

19. Aw thanks!

[dajoki]

20. is it your birthday?

well, let me wish you a great one.

[Shell Beau]

22. It is. I am the ripe old age of 27.

Thanks!!!!

[dajoki]

24. best years of your life...

still ahead, ENJOY!!

[Shell Beau]

25. I will definitely try hard! Thanks again!

[Debi]

37. You are ten years younger than me....

for that reason alone, go get drunk cuz I just can't do it anymore.

[dajoki]

39. and you are 13 years younger than me

and when i TRY to drink OMG

[Debi]

42. And you are twelve years younger than my husband

needless to say, he doesn't drink

[dajoki]

46. drinking isn't everything...

if you know what i mean.

[Debi]

51. Heh Heh

[DS1]

16. A woman.

A different woman, and sometimes it's an amusing place to be.

[Initech]

18. I originally came for the Conservative Idiots!

I mean really, I have read every list multiple times. And I stay because this is a good place to vent my frustrations at what's left of our democracy.

[ghostsofgiants]

30. I came because of the Top 10 as well

I stuck around because of the free continental breakfast.

[Midlodemocrat]

61. LBN and the Top 10 conservative idiots

plus I loved the Hate Mailbag back in the day. I lurked for a while and then joined. I stayed for the hot tub and top shelf booze in the mod forum.

[Initech]

68. I wondered what happened to the Hate Mailbag!

Maybe the Rethugs stopped e-mailing!

[dajoki]

94. what's that?

the hate mailbag. must have been before i joined.

[sakabatou]

21. I came here...

Because I was tired of hearing the spew on RW talk shows. That and Dubya's dumb as a rock.

[Democracy White]

23. I like the news, the humor and some of the funny shit that

be happening here.

Dee

[GreenPartyVoter]

27. Came to hook up with other progressives who want to fix this country

I stay because a) it's working and b) hanging with other progressives keeps me sane.

[bicentennial_baby]

28. joined for the politics...

stay for the community, many of whom i now count as dear friends.

[semillama]

29. I too came for conservative idiots

stayed for the late breaking news, then got into the non-political groups as well.

I don't tend to post as much as others. If all I am going to add is "I agree!" or "yeah!" then it's not worth the post.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

31. I came for the politics, but stay for the love.

[Hosnon]

32. Election 2004 - And I was sick of always fighting off repugs on

conservative message boards. It's nice to find people who agree with you

[Debi]

33. I came for politics

I stay for Matcom

[WCGreen]

36. The Chicks Man, It's all about the chicks.....

Naw, it's the good humor, the sense of comraderie and a general place to vent where people will actually listen to what it is you have to say......

[Greyhound]

38. I came because my Love has been here for years, and...

in the (so far) vein hope that we could actually help take the party back from the corporate shills and behavior fascists that have made our only real alternative to the totalitarians, irrelevant.

[WeRQ4U]

40. The guys on JeepsUnlimited.com said you were all crazy.

And since all the people on that site are as crazy as shit-house rats, I thought that the people on DU would be more my speed.

I was right. I haven't gone back since.

[northzax]

41. skinner dognapped my Chihuahua

when I get to 50,000 posts I get it back.

[Debi]

43. Skinner is lying to you

He sold the dog to pay for this site.

It's true.

[northzax]

49. stop saying that!

he's living on a farm in West Virginia, chasing bunny rabbits.

[Debi]

52. If you say so....

[TK421]

44. Basically to vent, but the humor here keeps me going

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

45. All of the above.

I came for the steak; I stay for the sizzle.

[Mz Pip]

47. I joined in the spring of 2001

back when there were 12 of us. I like having all the news I can get in one easy place. It's alos interesting to see how people are doing in other parts of the country.

The debates are good but I rarely contribute to the flame wars.

I really like having easy access to information to debunk those stupid RW chain e-mails that fly around. I know I have pissed off quite a few RWers with my responses.

Mz Pip

[dajoki]

50. that's the fun part...

pissing those bastards off. don't you love it when they get all tongue tied and start making those faces? they all look constipated.

[youspeakmylanguage]

48. I came because I heard Limbaugh trashing it on his show...

...I stay because the rules keep it halfway civil, unlike 99.9% of the political message boards on the Internet.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

54. I came to DU because of a personal loss and I stayed because

I'm so fucking addicted! I've laughed, cried, blushed on numerous occasions, been insulted rarely, complimented, challenged and generally found that this website is unlike any other...IT'S ALL GOOD! DU is my home, and I expect to be posting well into the last stages of my life...

[Crazy Guggenheim]

56. And we wub CAPeggy!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

69. My dear Crazy Guggenheim!

And I wub you too! And your wonderful posts and thoughts...you are one of the reasons I stick around!

[Crazy Guggenheim]

70. Awwwww. Thanks!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

72. You are so very welcome, my dear Crazy Guggenheim!

[dajoki]

58. well said

[CaliforniaPeggy]

71. Thank you, dajoki...

I appreciate your input a whole lot...

back atcha!

[dajoki]

89. that is very nice of you to say

thank you

[JimmyJazz]

57. I'm here for the cocktail weenies and the drinks with the umbrellas.

Oh and the political discussions and the witty repertoire.

[Lilyhoney]

59. My husband encouraged me to read, then join.

And I stay because of my addictive personality.

This is my first and only chat room/message board that I have ever been involved in.

[dajoki]

62. i also belong to a gardening one...

but since i came here i've almost totaly forgotten about it.

[Lilyhoney]

76. By replying to my posts,

you are guilty of feeding my addiction. Thank you.

[dajoki]

88. well, then i must feed your habit

there could be worse ones you know.

[pdx_prog]

60. I have no idea how I stumbled across DU....

I found it, loved the fact I could come to one place for the news I was looking for....stayed for Conservative Idiots, Bob Boudelang, and others. After the 2002 and 2004 elections the emotions here seemed to change hourly. It was a good place to heal...

It's kind of like school.....there's the jocks, the stoners, the beauty queens, the perverts, and the geeks, dweebs and spazzes. It's a place to rant, argue, learn and laugh...

Hell of a place if I do say so....

[Not_Giving_Up]

63. I came because I live in Texas and was looking for a way to get involved

I stay because I've found it. I'm going to a Helping Democrats Get Elected Meetup and a DSM Meeting this weekend!

[Cerridwen]

64. I tripped over the "Hate Mail Bag" when I was googling

something - found the "conservative idiots" stuff - lurked off and on for a couple of years before finally joining.

I joined to keep up with all the news the corporate media hides from us and to check out what the progessive people of the world have to say.

Sometimes I even post.

[Lilith Velkor]

65. There was a coup d'etat. I'm not over it.

[shugh514]

67. It's educational

"we're not just kids, to say the least
we got ideas to us that's dear
like capitalist, like communist
like lots of things you've heard about
and redneckers they get us pissed
and stupid stuff it makes us shout
oh dance with me oh don't be shy
oh kissme c**t and kiss me c**k
oh kiss the world oh kiss the sky
oh kiss my ass oh let it rock
of the april birds and the may bee
oh baby......
it's educational
it's educational
it's educational
it's educational
it's educational."
UMASS - The Pixies

[samdogmom]

73. Because Nov. 3, 2004 was too hard to handle!

I couldn't believe there was a "moral" element that re-"elected" **! I was sure something dastardly happened and I came here to get answers. I'm glad I found this site--it's where I get the "real" news of the day.

[electron_blue]

74. I wanted to have intelligent conversation for a change

[bertha katzenengel]

75. because I needed a message board/virtual community where I could

be myself, also one where I wouldn't get completely out-of-control angry or hurt all the time. I have very thin skin.

Now I am only hurt or angry part of the time, and I can control it better. Better living through chemistry, and through posting where there are like minds only. Call me isolated; I don't care. I need to survive.

[Trigger Hippie]

77. I lurked for a long time, sometimes obsessively

sometimes not. I was too shy to speak up, but when I moved to the Boston area, I realized there were a lotta people on DU from here. I thought I'd be able to make some new friends here in the Lounge. I don't post much in GD or anything.

[dajoki]

91. same here

i lurked around for awhile before i joined

[Catbird]

79. Concern about election fraud in 2004

Not only did I find lots of information (and pointers to more) on black box voting machines and other election problems, I found a well-designed website, interesting discussions, humor, and lots of pictures of cats.

DU could use more chocolate, however.

[swag]

82. I don't even remember how I got here.

I can't remember whether I first saw the site shortly after the Supreme Court appointed Bush, or whether it was in the run-up to the Iraq War - both were such distressing periods, when it seemed as though all of America had gone mad and that there was no rationality left.

I think I probably "discovered" DU a few times through Googling key words related to my concerns over the election and later over Bush's pre-Iraq war-mongering. I do distinctly recall getting some critical information via DU that I used in letters of August 2002 to my Senators and Representative, attempting to encourage them to halt Bush's march to disaster in Iraq. One Senator and my Congressman did the right thing in that regard. US Senator Gordon "Hairboy" Smith did not listen to me.

I'm sure there's a place on DU where I can find my exact join date, but I don't know where it is. I generally only posted in GD, LBN, and other political forums until a few months ago when I really started hitting the Lounge hard.

I stay at DU for the information, the news, the analysis, and the insights of others on the political and news forums. And I enjoy the general hilarity, insanity, and camaraderie of the Lounge.

Oh, one more note: if you don't regularly read the articles in the articles section, please remind yourself to do so. There is some great analysis and writing there:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/index.htm...

[Amaya]

83. I joined DU because of politics

and what keeps me here is the same.
But...
I've made some amazing friends here too...

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

85. Al Franken's "Lies & The Lying Liars Who Tell Them."

I wasn't politically aware / active at all before that book came out.

So, thanks to Bill O'Reilly causing such a stink, my curiosity was aroused and I bought it.

When I read it and realized that I didn't know who Karl Rove was...that this pasty worm of a man had been pulling dirty tricks for years...I decided it was time to get educated.

I can't remember EXACTLY how I "found" DU, but it was most likely from Googling and following the paper trail out of Franken's book.

[DemGirl7]

86. I just came upon the DU one day while exploring the internet

for pro-democratic party stuff. I came upon this message board, lurked for about 2 months and decided to join. And I stay because like everyone esle here, I hate Republicans, I hate this asshole of a so-called President, and I want to see them go down in flames,to laugh my ass off at them, and because I want my country to be restored to what it was before they came and took over.

[libodem]

87. I heard about DU because some right -wing talkshow host was

trashing it. I didn't even know what a blog was. My son built me a computer and I hooked up to the DSL I've been paying for, for years and went straight to DU. It took several days to be able to log in because I have hotmail and I had to be cleared. It took me several months to reach 1,000 posts because I usually comment and move along. I was very pleased to find so many like minded folks here. The lounge is funny as hell. DU gives me a place to vent my frustrations. I like the exchange of information and learn a lot every day. Although I don't have any 'buddies' I feel close to may of the unique 'personalities' especially in the lounge. They seem like friends even though they probably don't have a clue who I am. I really do love you guys.

[NoSheep]

93. Frustration. A desire to learn more so I could make a maximum

impact on the politics that were frustrating me. The reason I stay, the same.