Well, I just learned a valuable lessson:

[Cynical Sam]

No matter how much I love Bernie and have appreciated all the links and posts in the very short time I've been a member. I will never again feel safe writing a comment or starting a post, so I won't.

Reason: I found a disturbing article online and SIMPLY ASKED WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT and ended up in a fucking JURY situation!!! Why the thin skin on here? I've been observing all the nit-picking and thwarting of input because some poor soul got their toes stepped on or their poor widdle feelings hurt. That isn't open dialog; that is a form of censorship!

Well, I suppose I'll be tossed for this post but, given my first amendment right (right?), I felt compelled to speak my feelings. This is a GREAT place for Bernie news and if you kick me out, well, I'll just go back to the limited stuff I find by searching "BERNIE SANDERS" which, by the way, is where I found that controversial article that I asked ONLY for help to find out if it was for real. THAT was my only motive....

[merrily]

1. Hey, Cynical Sam welcome to DU, to both its positive elements and to its elements that you may not

find so positive. Did the jury vote to leave? If so, then the jury system worked, no?

However, another issue is that the board tends to have a bias against meta that is disruptive and hosts of a group or forum may or may not lock a thread if an OP is meta and deemed disruptive. Your OP may be deemed to fall into that category. Or not. It's not always easy to tell.

In addition to DU, though, you may want to check out jackpineradicals. org a board for supporters of Sanders. I doubt you anything at all will happen if you ask a question there.

[smokey nj]

21. There was no jury, a thread was locked.

Here's a link to the locked thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/128094350

I agree with the lock, that nonsense has no place in this group.

[merrily]

22. Thanks smokey. I had taken the poster at his or her word. After I read replies

on the thread and found the post, I amended my reply 1 with another post I made downthread (Reply 14).

[HerbChestnut]

2. If you just joined recently

Then you've come at a rough time. Hillary and Bernie supporters have been at each other for months now, and it's only gotten worse the closer we get to Iowa. I know I'm biased here, but the Hillary supporters in particular have been awfully trigger happy with the alert buttons. Many Bernie supporters have been banned from the Hillary page, and alerts are becoming more and more common for increasingly minor things.

[rusty quoin]

5. I agree with what you've said.

[retrowire]

3. You're a low count poster

So I'm sure it seemed that you were troll baiting.

Next time, just think deeply before posting something disparaging about a candidate in a candidates safe zone.

Not that you meant anything by it, but if you find something that seems bad about Bernie, there's plenty of ways to figure out why it's bunk. Just do your own research before asking others.

No harm done!

[merrily]

6. I didn't realize that the post was in the Sanders Group.

A post from a supporter of Sanders went to a jury from the Sanders Group? Seems strange as only Hillary Supporters tend to alert on posts in the Sanders Group. I'm going to look for the post right now, or, in the language of DU, "right fucking now."

[Cynical Sam]

8. Thanks but...

...there was harm done. I don't feel safe doing anything but reading after this!

This WAS my research because I trusted this place and expected I was asking among like-minded Bernie supporters a little input on an article that concerned me, nothing more. I didn't WRITE the damned thing!

Anyway, thanks for caring enough to drop a note, retrowire.

[retrowire]

9. I understand.

Forgive your fellow Bernie supporters, these are sensitive times of course. Once you're more established, people will be able to trust your intent. It's only natural. I am sorry that it happened to you.

[Kelvin Mace]

13. What was the nature of the post?

You can tell me by private mail so as not to repeat the experience.

Sorry you feel burned, but I understand.

[smokey nj]

20. Here's a link to the post.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/128094350

The author of this OP would have included it himself if he had any courage.

[Autumn]

24. They were told in the thread that story was garbage. Ops like that will not be tolerated

in out group. Mayhap we need a ladder? lol

[840high]

4. Keep posting. Welcome.

[Cynical Sam]

10. Thanks for the note...

...but the welcome I got with my sincere truth-seeking post kind of put me off.
No more posts after this experience because I got an email from the person who "turned me in" telling me I'd better delete the thing before she does something else; whatever the next nastiness is, I guess. I hope I got it deleted properly.

Thanks again, 840high.

[artislife]

16. I rarely start an OP

This whole site is a tough crowd, if you are going to be sensitive to strangers and what they think, then perhaps not posting too muh is a good choice for you.

I just remember that I don't know any of them, here or in GDP, not really. I just make sure that I post my truth and then I may have agreement or not, but I don't have to have the justification from others.

There are places I don't go on this site because they are incredibly hostile to my truth. That's okay...it doesn't really make a whit of difference to my reality or real life. So ~~ ask yourself if you can post without any likes at all.

[The Wielding Truth]

7. I was blocked from the HRC group for asking for a source, so I get what you are saying.

Hang in there. We need all those who really want to know if things are accurate.

I think we are getting hammered by trolls and it will probably get worse as things lead up to the election.

So dust yourself off and let your voice be heard.

[Kelvin Mace]

12. Yeah, I was banned as well. Apparently

nothing that can be remotely considered criticism was allowed.

[Kelvin Mace]

11. Sad to say, there are "Trigger-Happy" folk ready to take offense

with little provocation.

As a long time member I sit on juries 2-3 times a week and it is mostly silly shit alerted on. The vast majority of the juries overrule the alert.

People claim this is the most divisive it has ever been, but I remember 2008 being just as nasty.

Sorry you had a bad experience, but don't let it stop you from staying or commenting.

[marble falls]

32. Me, too. See? The jury system works.

[merrily]

14. ok now that I have seen the post, I need to amend my Reply 1

The Bernie Sanders Group is for posts supportive of Bernie Sanders. That, combined with the fact that people are not familiar with you yet, resulted in a host locking the thread, which is not a jury situation. Retrowire gave you some good advice for that fact pattern.

[Autumn]

28. I got a very informative message from one of our regular members about that OP

I don't quite understand how it works but I will be happy so send part of the message to anyone.

[2pooped2pop]

15. don't take it too personal

It is a very thin skinned place and some take the political correctness way too far, will argue every sentence and alert on a fart. Getting a post hidden now and then is par for the course and right now the fighting is in overdrive and u can bet that anything u say mentioning Hillary or Bernie will be challenged.

That being said this place does have the most current info u can find. If u do get tossed don't forget that you can still come read. Hell sometimes many of us have to sign out for awhile both for the reasons I mentioned and because knowing everything that is going on in the world can make one angry and depressed.

Anyway welcome and don't let any of us get to ya.

[SheilaT]

17. First off, welcome to DU.

As already noted, you've arrived at a difficult time. Trust me, it was equally bad in 2004, 2008 (REALLY bad then) and 2012. So far this year isn't worse than '08, in my opinion, but it will soon get there.

Some advice: pay careful attention to exactly where you are reading or posting. I've many times made the mistake of not noticing exactly which forum or group I'm in, and it's not always pretty.

Another thing to be very aware of: you may have quite a battle with someone in one place here, and in another the two of you get along just fine. Don't try to analyze that, or the other poster. Just accept it as one of the vagaries of DU.

Also: sad, but true. Time here matters. You may, unfortunately, get dismissed as a newbie, which isn't too nice as we were all newbies once.

I will say that I had a clash with someone here recently, and noticed that person had only joined a month or so ago, and while I didn't directly say anything about it, I'm not paying a lot of attention to that person's posts or opinions at this point. I didn't directly say that to the member, and won't. Nor have I put anyone on IGNORE (a function many here find useful) but I've learned to ignore certain posters on this board.

Please continue to participate.

And once again, welcome to DU.

[LiberalElite]

31. About being a newbie -

I had just joined in Oct. 2012 in the last stage of the presidential election and boy was it tense in here. I remember clearly that someone posted that they only wanted to hear from DUers with more than 10,000 posts. (I don't recall the subject being discussed except it was politics.) As a newbie and unavoidabily low count poster I told them, among other things, that they had to be kidding, because everyone starts at 0, including them.

[MisterP]

18. this is *marvelously* vague

[winter is coming]

19. Looks like the OP dredged up the "Bernie guilty of nepotism" bullshit again.

You know, the one where Bernie paying his wife 30K for two years of working on his campaign shows how corrupt he is. 'Cause when I want to line my pockets, I always insist on minimum wage sinecures.

[leftcoastmountains]

29. Yeah but why not let people know it's out there?

Why not have an opportunity to attack it and discuss it? The author was
originally from the Heritage Foundation. So I guess everybody knows
about them. If not...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heritage_Foundation

[winter is coming]

33. Because it was brought up and shot down earlier this week?

And discussed at greater length and dismissed a month ago?

[Autumn]

23. I sent a message to you asking you to delete that garbage post, You chose not to.

I locked it. Your concern has been noted.

[smokey nj]

26. And you're outta here!

[Autumn]

27. Not that new Sam

[merrily]

30. Got it.

[winter is coming]

34. I am shocked, shocked that that would be the case. n/t

[SandersDem]

35. How come?

A sound somewhat like "badoink" keeps playing in my head?