A Reminder about GD:P Topics

[MineralMan]

The GD-P forum is for discussion of Democratic Primary topics only. All other topics should be posted in GD, where Democratic Primary posts are not allowed.

The forum hosts are having to lock a number of Donald Trump-related posts this weekend, following last night's events. Post that are only about Donald Trump should be posted in GD.

This is all to keep the forums distinct in their purpose, as explained by DU Admins

Thanks.

[ibegurpard]

1. Are you a forum host?

Or admin?

[MineralMan]

2. I'm one of the 30 forum hosts.

You can see a list of all forum hosts by clicking the About this Forum button on the forum post list. All are volunteers who serve for 90 days. Anyone with 100% jury duty potential can volunteer by clicking the link at the bottom of that list of forum hosts.

Forum Hosts are only tasked with keeping posts in compliance with the Statement of Purpose for each main forum. That's it.

[ibegurpard]

5. Then perhaps

You should confer with your fellow forum hosts about pinning a reminder post to the top instead of taking the responsibility upon yourself.
Thanks!

[MineralMan]

6. Hosts can't pin threads. Only admins can.

I'm just posting a polite reminder and explanation of why posts are being locked. It's not my policy. It's the admins' policy.

[ibegurpard]

8. Then perhaps

You and your fellow forum hosts can petition an admin to pin a reminder post to the top instead of taking the responsibility upon yourself.
Thanks!

[MineralMan]

10. You can suggest that in the Ask the Adminstrator's

forum. It has been asked there before. The answer was a reference to the choices you see after clicking to create a new post. I have nothing to do with setting policy or rules here. Hosts are just volunteers trying to assist the admins in what they decide to do.

[ibegurpard]

17. I'm not the one

Taking it upon myself to lecture my fellow forum - goers about what is or is not appropriate to post. You are. Since you are the one who appears to be having the problem it is therefore incumbent upon you to make the suggestion to the admins.
Thanks!

[mcar]

22. Mineral Man is not lecturing

He is reminding. There is a difference.

[MineralMan]

23. I'm not lecturing. I'm trying to save time for posters.

I don't know any host who enjoys locking threads. I'm trying to help DUers get their posts in the right forums. They're not my rules.

[DrDan]

38. Oh good heavens - use ignore if you are so offended by this

That's what it is there for

[zappaman]

59. +1

[still_one]

71. LOL

[cwydro]

60. What is your problem?

I'm not a host now, but I served previously.

They have a difficult job to do, and people deliberately posting in the wrong forum just adds to the work.

I can't understand, actually, how people miss the GIANT STOP SIGN as they go to post a thread.

Sheesh, why are you giving him a hard time for doing something which seems to be (sadly) necessary.

[fun n serious]

11. I don't mind keeping Donald Trump out of here and neither should you. Enough posturing dumb

[MrMickeysMom]

14. Now, now, now, ibegurpard...

Mineral Man is only fulfilling his station duties where he find a good opportunity for his voice to be heard...

Let's give him a nice round of applause!

[SheenaR]

18. This reference may be LOST on some

but i envision them all taking turns pressing 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 execute at the station

[ibegurpard]

21. Indeed

Polonius would be proud...

[CincyDem]

53. Here Here.

I got locked today in GD/P by MM for misposting a Trump story. My first reaction was "WTF???". Then, I went back and looked and it's pretty clear as day and I posted in the wrong place.

So I file this one in the "things I know today that I didn't know yesterday" file and happily move on.

Thanks for the training block MM.

[notadmblnd]

46. Thank you.

I don't know why I was given such a difficult time by the OP over a simple question.

I did make the request of an admin because it should be pinned to the forum and not just posted in Announcements.

Let's see if it occurs.

[notadmblnd]

3. I don't see anything pinned in the forum stating that it is for Democratic Primary discussion only

Can you point that out to me?

[MineralMan]

4. When you click to create a new post

in a GD or GD-P, you'll see two choices. The limitations are explained there. To post, you have to click again on one of the forums. These restrictions have been in place for months.

You can also read the pinned post in GD, which explains it further.

[notadmblnd]

7. No where does it say that GD-P is strictly for Democratic Primary posts only.

New discussion threads about the Democratic primaries must be posted in the General Discussion: Primaries forum. All other threads may be posted in the General Discussion forum (please be aware that there are certain other restrictions on what can be posted in the General Discussion forum).

The statement says that posts about Democratic primaries must be posted in GDP but nowhere does does it restrict discussion in regards to Republican primary posts. GD has restrictions, but I'm not seeing them for GD-P

[MineralMan]

15. You can ask questions about policy in the Ask the Adminstrators

forum. I'm not an administrator. I can explain what hosts have been instructed to do, but not how those decisions have been made. Hosts are just DUers who have volunteered to assist the admins.

[notadmblnd]

20. Perhaps you should?

I'm not the one expounding on the rules. Perhaps if you asked the admins before presuming you know it all- others wouldn't be asking you to clarify.

[cwydro]

62. You seem to be acting in a deliberately obtuse way.

It's crystal clear when you go to post a thread as to where the thread should be posted.

But I think you know that.

[notadmblnd]

64. Thanks for your concern

[noamnety]

25. It's in "about this forum"

"A forum for general discussion of the Democratic presidential primaries."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=about&forum=1251

It doesn't explicitly list all the things that are excluded - like the Drumpf, trucknuts, athlete's foot, or any number of other things. But it does say it's for the democratic primaries specifically.

It could be more visible though - and putting it in that popup screen when you start a discussion would be helpful.

[notadmblnd]

29. What you directed me to is for General Discussion, not GD-P

I am aware of what can and can not be discussed in GD. However, I am not seeing where GDP is restricted to discussion of Democratic Primaries only- as the OP stated.

[noamnety]

31. Weird, my link takes me straight to GD- P

I just clicked it twice straight from my post above, and that's where it goes for me.

tinfoil hat time?

Maybe try clicking on the GD- P forum name, then hit the about this forum tab.

[notadmblnd]

36. Perhaps I responded to the wrong person?

Still- in your link I only see that meta discussion is restricted. Nowhere do I see that only posts about democratic primaries can be posted.

Wait- shouldn't this thread be in meta and not GDP?

[noamnety]

45. Do you need someone to post a screen shot for you?

1. At the top of your web page right now, right under the tabs for Home, Latest Threads, Greatest Threads, etc, click on the phrase General Discussion: Primaries (Forum).

2. You'll see a blue button that says Start a Discussion. To the right of that are more buttons. Click on the one that says About this Forum.

3. Then you'll see a heading that says Statement of Purpose.

4. That says: "A forum for general discussion of the Democratic presidential primaries. Disruptive meta-discussion is forbidden."

[notadmblnd]

49. No there is no restriction in what you posted

One of the admins kindly pointed out to me where the restriction is posted- way back in June of 2015. In my opinion, this needs to be pinned to the top of GD-P forum along with announcements group where is is currently and have requested the Admins pin it there.

I don't know why the OP could not just answer my question without giving me the run around that he did.

[MineralMan]

56. Maybe this will help:

When you click to start a new post, you are sent to this link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=post&forum=1251&stop=1

There, you'll see this (much better formatted of course):

STOP!
Are you posting something about the Democratic presidential primaries?

New discussion threads about the Democratic primaries must be posted in the General Discussion: Primaries forum. All other threads may be posted in the General Discussion forum (please be aware that there are certain other restrictions on what can be posted in the General Discussion forum).

My post is related to the Democratic primaries. Post in:
General Discussion: Primaries
{Button}

My post is about something else. Post in:
General Discussion
{Button}

Before you can create a post, you have to click one of those buttons. It seems fairly clear to me that if what you plan to post isn't about the Democratic primaries, you should click the General Discussion button. If it is about the Democratic primaries, you should click the General Discusson: Primaries button. I hope that clarifies things. I certainly was not trying to give anyone the runaround in any way.

[notadmblnd]

58. It just says that discussion about Democratic Primaries must be posted in GD-P not GD

It also says all others may be posted in GD, but it does not say they must be.

Do you see what I'm saying? It is information that people can understandably misinterpret- as obviously some have or you would not have taken it upon yourself to provide us all with this teaching moment.

People's threads are being locked because of this, and I think people should have fair warning.

Now I have learned, as you will see down thread that there is a place where what I requested of you is actually posted. It was posted there back in June or July of 2015.

All the you had to do is point that out to me and all this back and forth could have been avoided.

I have requested of the admin to pin it to the top of the GD-P forum.

[tammywammy]

26. From the GDP SOP

A forum for general discussion of the Democratic presidential primaries. Disruptive meta-discussion is forbidden.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=about&forum=1251

GDP is for discussing the democratic primaries.

[notadmblnd]

32. A post about one of the contenders for republican primary is not meta

Meta discussion is the only restriction that I see.

[tammywammy]

37. If it's about a republican contender it's not about the DEMOCRATIC primaries. n/t

[notadmblnd]

39. show me where GDP is restricted to discussion of Democratic primaries only

I'm not interested what you and others interpret the rule to be- I'm asking for the OP to show me where the restriction is posted.

[tammywammy]

42. The restriction is in the Statment of Purpose

If the forum was set up to discuss teapots and you wanted to discuss sledgehammers, you'd be off topic and directed to the sledgehammer forum.

GDP was set up to discuss the democratic primaries, if it's not about the democratic primaries it's off topic.

If you require further clarification you may want to try ATA.

[treestar]

73. poster seems to be taking the position

that the term "may" for GD and "must" for GDP indicates that while posts about the primary must be in GDP, everything may be anywhere else. Rather lawyer like. I think we all consider that non-Primary posts do not go in GDP but the poster/lawyer is arguing that you can discuss sledgehammers in GDP because the reading of the instructions is that while primary posts must go in GDP, there is no other restrictions, so everything else can be discussed in GDP too.

The reason for engaging in this hilarious legal-like argument is hard to fathom.

[mcar]

27. It most certainly does

This is the Statement of Purpose for the GDP forum:

A forum for general discussion of the Democratic presidential primaries.

[notadmblnd]

30. Where is the word only. Where does it say that nothing else can be posted there?

[tammywammy]

34. If something is posted that's not about the democratic presidential primaries then it's off topic

Also from the announcement thread:

The Politics 2015 forum has been renamed General Discussion: Primaries and is now for exclusive discussion of the Democratic presidential primaries. Any new threads about the Democratic primaries MUST be posted in this forum. (Note: threads about the Republican presidential primaries are still permitted in General Discussion.)

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/10134641

[noamnety]

35. I don't understand your point.

The forum SOP states it's for discussing the democratic primary.

You seem to be arguing that it's for its stated purpose, plus it's a good spot for all other topics that are outside its stated purpose. No. It's for the purpose it was set up for - discussing the democratic primary.

[cyberswede]

54. It doesn't have to say "only"

"A forum for general discussion of the Democratic presidential primaries."

By definition, that excludes all things that are not "general discussion of the Democratic presidential primaries." Easy peasy.

[cyberswede]

55. Posters get a handy reminder EVERY TIME they go to post in GD or GDP

That's even better than a pinned post, which may or may not be read.

[notadmblnd]

57. And it still doesn't say it is restricted to Democratic Primary only

It just says that discussion about Democratic Primaries must be posted in GD-P not GD. It also says all others may be posted in GD, but it does not say they must be.

Do you see what I'm saying? It is information that people can understandably misinterpret- as obviously some have or the OP wouldn't taken it upon himself to provide us all with his teaching moment.

People's threads are being locked because of this, and I think people should have fair warning.

Now I have learned, as you will see down thread that there is a place where what I requested of the OP is actually posted. It was posted there back in June or July of 2015.

All the OP had to do is point that out to me and all this back and forth could have been avoided. I have requested of the admin to pin it to the top of the GD-P forum.

[Wilms]

9. What happens when a post about Trump...

...reasonably brings up discussion about which Dem candidate consistently polls better (Sanders) against ANY repub hopeful?

[MineralMan]

12. Hosts only look at original posts that start threads.

That has always been the case.

[Wilms]

13. Thanks for the reply.

Actually, I just did that in a GD reply

[MineralMan]

16. You're welcome. Hosts don't do anything

about replies. Just original posts.

[mcar]

19. K&R

[still_one]

24. I can't believe this shit. Someone posts some general suggestions and some folks get all bent out

Shape over it

WTF is wrong with people

If I post it is a nice day where I am, I wonder if that will upset some folks

[quickesst]

40. There are people here now...

.... that would look at a post with pictures of cute puppies with suspicion, depending on who posted them. Yep, that's how bad it's gotten.

[still_one]

43. It sure seems that way. Sorry but I saw nothing nefarious in the OP. Of course maybe that is just

me

[quickesst]

48. No....

,.. it's not just you. It's anyone who has the ability to apply logic and common sense to a to a helpful, but neutral statement.

[JohnnyLib2]

41. What, no sympathy for the flooded folks?

[still_one]

44. ...

[BlueMTexpat]

28. Thanks for explaining this. eom

[MineralMan]

33. I hope it helps.

[noamnety]

47. So if I am understand this correctly

this would be the proper forum to discuss Bernie or Hillary?

Also, though, I'm not really sure why the right brake on my bicycle seems a bit tight, like I have to squeeze it the wrong amount to come to a full stop. I didn't see anything in the SOP that says I CAN'T ask for help on that in this forum. So ... can I start a new thread on that here?

(kidding!)

[MineralMan]

50. Yup. Bernie and Hillary are great topics for here.

So are issues about various democratic primary elections and caucuses or anything else having to do with the Democratic primaries. IN fact, any topic relating to the Democratic Primaries is an ideal topic for GD-P. Such posts shouldn't be posted in GD, though, or they're likely to be locked.

As for your bike, check the cable adjustment and for bent parts on your brake's caliper or binding of the cable at some point. If that doesn't solve the problem, you could ask on a bicycle forum or take your bike into a shop for diagnosis.

[Bluenorthwest]

51. Just understand that according to some hosts, any discussion of AIDS related history is to be only

in GDP as they lock it in GD. So Trump is one thing but if you folks intend to ban discussion of issues related to not only the Primary but to American life and history by pulling rule parsing in each forum that's not going to go uncontested,

[MineralMan]

52. I didn't see a thread like that, so I didn't vote on it.

If the OP was about, say, Hillary Clinton as it relates to that topic, then it would be a Democratic Primary post, since she is a Democratic Presidential candidate. In that case, it would belong in GD-P, according to the admins' statements. If it didn't mention or discuss any Democratic candidate, it would be a GD topic, as I understand it. As a host, I'd vote accordingly, and without any regard to my opinion about the subject.

But, I didn't participate in a discussion of a thread like that. It must have been when I was offline. I'm only here during the daytime.

[Bluenorthwest]

69. Yeah whatever. You see what I said? Do you understand it?

Do not attempt to censor subject matter using rule parsing fuckery. That's it.

[cwydro]

61. K and r.

It's amazing how many people cannot understand simple, clearly written rules.

[Garrett78]

63. Can something also be done about all of the repeat threads?!? Please. Please. Please.

Seriously, how many different threads do there need to be about a particular poll or about Clinton's Nancy Reagan remark or about this scandal and that scandal???

At other sites, I've seen repeat threads either get deleted or combined. It would make this place much, much cleaner and easier to navigate.

[MineralMan]

65. Except in Late Breaking News, there is no rule about duplicate threads.

I don't think there ever has been such a rule. The forum hosts have no authority to lock duplicate posts, except in LBN, where the rules are different from GD and GD-P.

My understanding is that, since threads scroll down quickly in GD and GD-P, a typical DUer might well not see a thread posted only an hour or two ago on the thread list page. That means that duplicate posts might be the only ones seen on a visit. That's my interpretation of the reason, anyhow.

In any case, hosts do nothing about duplicate threads anywhere except in Late Breaking News, where they are locked according to that forum's Statement of Purpose.

I hope that helps to explain. Remember, though: I'm not an admin here, so I have nothing to do with making any rules at all.

[NurseJackie]

67. Another possible reason: The liberal use of the "ignore" feature may be prevent the ...

... poster from seeing that it's already been posted.

[MineralMan]

68. That too, I suppose.

Anyhow, there's no rule against duplicate or similar posts in those forums. Hosts are not involved.

[Garrett78]

70. A big reason why threads scroll down so quickly is *because* of repeat threads.

I get that some don't realize that a thread about a particular CNN (or whatever) poll has already been posted. That's fine. Just combine the threads into one, or a moderator can redirect the person to the other thread and close that one.

And then there are those topics that *everyone* knows there are already umpteen threads about, yet they start another one.

Clearly what I'm suggesting is not how things are (as you say, there's no "rule" in place), but it is how things *could* be.

[MineralMan]

72. You can bring up such ideas in

the Ask the Administrators forum. Only they can make changes like that.

[Garrett78]

74. Roger that.

Will do.

[Aerows]

66. How Paternal of you. n/t