GOOD BYE. I'm tombstoning myself, before the moderators do it.

[arendt]

I am leaving this board because, very recently, far too many of my posts are being locked by moderators who shoot first and ask questions later.

I have been at this board for over six years; I have many popular threads. But only in the last month have I had MANY posts locked for nit-picking and inconsistent reasons.

The final straw for me was being locked for saying that (gasp) there ARE concern trolls at DU. (I did not name any topic or any person in particular.) I removed the offending terminology and reposted, mentioning the demanded edit and apologizing for my mistake. For the offense of mentioning that an edit was demanded, I was locked again for "complaining about the moderators". (Oh, right, I was given a whole eight minutes to notice the new warning and remove the "offensive language". Too bad I was doing something else in that window.)

Well, even someone as stubborn as me gets a message like that. Goodbye, Skinner. I used to like you. Now, I'm just sad I spent so much time here for nothing. This place isn't what it used to be.

Good luck to the Democratic Party.

--------

If the moderators have any decency they will let this post stay unlocked, as it is my last one here.

arendt

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Leave the door open, in case you want to come back.

[hlthe2b]

23. Yup... no shame in that.... Many of our most "senior" DUers have

left angry, taken time, and come back to be welcomed once again. These things tend to pass.

[Matariki]

2. don't go. maybe take a break.

[sharp_stick]

3. Was it one mod?

I've had that happen where I've pissed off one of them but eventually even they go away.

[Cleita]

4. Oh dear arendt.

I certainly will miss you. I hope the Draconian steps taken by the mods are only because of the imminent election.

[LaurenG]

5. Just edit your thread and post something else, then just take a break.

You can't call out the mods -

[Prefer]

6. Don't GO!

We need you!

[no limit]

7. The only thing I dont like about this place are people that constantly whine

dont let the door hit you on your way out.

[kath]

20. arendt is in the very top of the short list of informed, intelligent DUers.

He brings VERY, VERY, much sense and knowledge to DU. Posts of his often generate discussions that are ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE more intelligent and informed than what usually occurs here.

you know not of what you speak.

To lose his voice and wealth of knowledge would be a huge loss to DU.

[Moochy]

28. And what a fine way for him to show that by posting a GBCW thread!

give it a rest.

[no limit]

42. Cry me a river

some people need to grow up. If you have a problem with a mod pm one of the admins. No need to make a spectacle out of it.

[lonestarnot]

8. Arendt! Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Don't! IBL

[merh]

9. Oh grow up - just edit your thread and take a break

we all get our threads locked and posts deleted.

It isn't personal and the mods have a tough job - follow the rules, when they are too strict for you, take a break but the duicide "final straw, I give up cruel DU" threads are childish and defeatist (you have given up and the fight has just begun).

Leave and stop posting if it's too much but taking the extreme measure of silencing yourself does what for progress and what you want for the board and/or the good of the nation?

Good luck to you, DU is not the Democratic Party and all the voices on DU are not progressive and liberal or lefties - that is life.

Edited for spelling and to add: editing is easy and helpful in situations such as this.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

10. Skinner: Tombstone me RIGHT FUCKING NOW?

[underseasurveyor]

11. Aww MAN!

Just take a break and come back later....

[L. Coyote]

12. Become a moderator and work on the graveyard shift, erecting tombstones!

You picked the wrong door considering your "concern"

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

13. I, for one, am sorry to see you go. And, I hope you'll return.

[Matariki]

14. Don't go. Your posts are valued.

[L0oniX]

15. Locking

Are there concern troll moderators too?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

16. Wait, before we lock.....

What is a "concern troll"?

[sharesunited]

24. Posting discouraging, demoralizing ideas dressed up as only wanting to be helpful.

[intheflow]

31. A "concern troll" is someone

whose posts are interpreted by others on the board as being conservative apologists. So some people might interpret defense of Bristol Palin's privacy a concern troll post, when it could in fact legitimately be a leftist concern about a person's right to privacy (especially if that person was ambushed into becoming a public figure, like Bristol Pailin was). A better example might be the people who worry that when the left attacks Sarah Palin on policy it will backfire on the left because she's so pretty and people want to have a beer with her.

[MrCoffee]

38. "interpreted by others" - don't you mean interpreted by a select group of attack dogs?

[Jax]

17. Please don't go

DU will be less of a Democratic forum without you.

Alyce

[AllieB]

18. We need your voice. Please don't go.

[Moochy]

19. Goodbye loser

[kath]

22. dumbass.

[Moochy]

27. Oh you are right I should be kissing the OP's ass to stay

I forget how these dumbass Goodbye Cruel World posts go..

fluff up that ego!

[roguevalley]

30. agreed, Kath. What a remark. I hope arendt comes back.

[Moochy]

33. Yeah because only fawning syncophants need post in GBCW threads

I forgot how this bullshit psychodrama works, please forgive me!

[riverwalker]

21. come on back- we need you

don't go

[snooper2]

25. Did you hear?

Rush Limbaugh is a pill popping pedophile junkie?

[GodlessBiker]

26. What's a "concern troll"?

[sharesunited]

29. After 4300 posts you're walking away? Geesh. All that wasted time. Wasted.

[carolinayellowdog]

34. Not wasted for those of us who read them

why should bailing now on a very different DU invalidate one's contributions in its heyday?

[emilyg]

32. Please don't go.

[SidDithers]

35. ...

Sid

[Shakespeare]

36. Oh, for fuck's sake.

GET OVER YOURSELF.

[SteppingStone]

37. I haven't been here long but very sad to see you go...

I'm for free speech! I don't know whether you and I disagree on the issues or not. If we agree, great. If we disagree, let the debates begin.

[jobycom]

39. If I ever flamed out in a vanity post, I'd at least make it over ideological differences

Rather than self-absorbed paranoia about moderators out to get me. And even if I did flame out, I wouldn't claim my previous time here was wasted--that would just reflect badly on me for wasting my time.

But that's me. Light your own fire, baby.

[Truth2Tell]

40. arendt, thanks for keepin' it real. Keep up the fight! And do what ya gotta do. nt

[PeaceNikki]

41. If you're gonna "tombstone yourself", I expect a blaze of glory!

Come on, humor us!

[krispos42]

43. Locking

From the DU rules:

Treat the moderators and administrators with respect.

Do not post messages attacking the moderators or administrators.

Do not publicly accuse the moderators or administrators of bias.

Do not send rude messages to the moderators or administrators, by email, by private message, by use of the "Alert" function, or by any other means.

Do not publicly post correspondence you receive from moderators and administrators, and do not share it with other members of this message board.

If you have any questions about the rules of this message board, please contact the website administrators by sending an email. The administrators of this website are Skinner, EarlG, and Elad.

Questions about Democratic Underground policies should be emailed to the administrators. Discussion topics pertaining to specific enforcement actions by the moderators are categorically forbidden. Discussion topics relating to Democratic Underground policies, procedures, enforcement, etc., are sometimes permitted if they are respectful and not disruptive to the administration of the website. We reserve the right to lock or delete any such topics for any reason.

Thank you,
Krispos42, DU moderator