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I've taken my share of DU vacations in my nearly 5 years playing around this place...and now can pretty much anticipate the shitstorms as they precipitate.
My cardinal rule here is to count to 10 before I post...make sure I really want to post before I do. It's easy to get caught up into a flame war and many times it's jumping to reply...where a couple seconds of "hey what am I doing" can come in handy.
Also, in my too many years on the "internets", and the many message boards I've learned there are a percentage of people who come out here looking to "vent" in one way or another. Be it a bad day or they just like to fight, people will quickly type things behind the keyboard that they would never say face-to-face. Inversely, you get some incredible insight from people as well. Thus, I only look at the words, never judge the poster or name. If someone wants to pick a fight, let them waste their time and electrons on someone else.
Foremost, one must remember, this is a community. It's loaded with personalities...and DU has had it's share. While I am not into the cliques or see this as a social experience, others see it differently...and thus take things far more personally. I realize people don't care what I really think, thus my thing here is to learn by engaging...and I appreciate those who take the time to enlighten me or share their thoughts.
When I found DU in the dark days of 2002, it was a relief to the wingnut-dominate political message boards I had been on. However, I've found this place, due to its diversity, can be more contentious and this catches many by surprise. You think "how could people I ally with be so cruel". Welcome to human nature.
Cheers...
:hi:
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