I just want to say thank you

[hyphenate]

to DU. Sometimes, the board here gets taken for granted, or sometimes we don't even think about what other boards elsewhere are like, and since I've had experience with other boards, I thought I would say thank you.

One board in particular, whose name I won't mention (not only because I don't want to offend anyone about, but also because no one would know what the hell I was talking about anyhow!) is a good case in point. Their political forum can be brutal, with several freepers who support this illegal regime blindly, and who tend to flame the liberals there to no end, even though there is a strong majority of liberals. For people with thick skins, it's one thing, to someone like myself who has gone through some personal hells in the last two and a half years, it was not okay. Some people take your personal information and use it against you, so that you can't even feel safe. I've gotten to the point where I don't tell anything anymore to anyone, and that is not right. I do more here, because I feel more at home, but passing on jokes and water cooler stuff is now the extent to my participation at some places.

I've been online now for 16 years. In all that time, there have been very few times that I've wanted to choke someone, but the fact is, more and more assholes are getting online or are simply getting nastier all the time. It's really a pleasure to come to a place where even if not everyone agrees with you totally on every issue, they are big enough to let you have your own opinion, even if they are against it. And they are big enough to not flame you, or use your words against you. It's because liberals really DO have a different attitude toward life and other people. They can let bygones be bygones, simply because they understand the need to be doing something of your own free will.

And while I have started some threads that got nowhere, and while I sometimes think I'm a threadkiller, and while I am not really so well known that people can kid me about much, I feel respected by some who have PM'ed me over time, and who have been wonderful and gracious. It's a feeling of inclusion here, of camaraderie, of similar goals and aspirations, and it's filled with people who really DO give a damn. And that's why I'm grateful to be part of it.

Thank you, one and all.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear hyphenate.....

You are beloved here by me at least...we have had some very good chats recently......

You are an intelligent and lovely person...

A real plus for DU........

[hyphenate]

4. Thanks, Peggy!

I appreciate it. Part of the joy of being here is getting to know others along the way. The more people here I get to know makes me remember that the destination is not the only part of the journey!

[Az]

2. We are all in this boat together

It works better if we get to know each other.

[hyphenate]

7. Definitely

And it's a lot better to get to our goal when we can trust each other more!

[SeattleGirl]

3. Hey hyphenate

I thought I was the threadkiller! Actually, sometimes there is so much going on that threads can drop like a stone before you know it.

Anyway, I feel the same about DU, and have been hanging in the lounge more and more over the past week.

[hyphenate]

9. Me, too

For the first two years of this illegal regime, I spent a large part of it at other boards. I suffered permanent burnout from dealing with assholes and trying to keep my head above water. At least now, I can come here, vent, and actually get responses from people which make me feel better. It's a good feeling.

[knowbody0]

5. it's a really big a kool kinda family

[hyphenate]

10. It certainly is that! :-)

[Tafiti]

6. Even though this is the only...

...message board I go to, I feel the same way, and you said it very, very well.

[hyphenate]

8. Thanks

As I said, I've been to the dark side, and survived. But without DU, I wonder how many of us would have been able to deal with it all?

[Crazy Guggenheim]

11. Thank you! And I feel the same about this board.

Edited for spelling.

[hyphenate]

15. It is definitely a good place to be

and for some people, including me, it is an affirmation that we are doing something, regardless of how small or large our contribution is.

[Misunderestimator]

12. That's a very sweet post.

I thank DU with you.

[hyphenate]

16. Thanks

I still go to a couple of other boards, including a new one of my own that I'm working on, but there is no way I would leave DU unless for some reason I couldn't stay. That is unlikely to happen as far as I'm concerned.

[I Have A Dream]

13. Thank you to you as well, hyphenate. I have seen your...

posts here, and I've found them to be valuable additions to this board.

By the way, most of us would probably say that we're the number one thread killer at DU! (I make that claim myself!)

[hyphenate]

17. Thanks!

It does seem to happen to a lot of us, huh? I post, and poof! Some thread needs a funeral!

[khashka]

14. It's one of the great things about this place

People do care. And people do try to get to know each other. And we don't always have to agree on everything - we can still see the humanity in each other and respect and appreciate it.

Which is why I'm glad to have found a home here and have people like you here with me.

Khash.

[hyphenate]

18. Thanks to you too!

I do tend to see how nutso some other people at other boards are after I've been here awhile. All I can do is shake my head and wonder why some of the liberals I know put up with some of the bullshit they are subjected to. Some of them are definitely masochists!

[hyphenate]

19. BTW

If anyone posts to this thread and I don't answer it, it's because I'm going away today through Monday. I just want to thank anyone who does contribute to the thread, and no, you are not a threadkiller!

I have bookmarked it, though, and when I get home, I'll check it and answer anyone who posts.

[Parrcrow]

20. The degeneration of political discourse in this country

has reached the level of sophistication found in professional wrestling. The politics of personal destruction, begun and continued by those who vilified the Clintons, goes back to a time before 90% of us were online. Most sites reflect this, while DU is a haven. It is an extraordinarily well run site. It is a liberal site and does not claims to be anything other than that. It will continue to be a invaluable option for the dissemination of ideas until the utter corruption of the system has been rectified and returned to one of true democracy.

By the way, hyphenate, I recognize your name and when I'm reading the boards I always know that I am going to see something interesting and stimulating from you.

You are DU, so thank you too.