Chris Bowers (mydd.com) bashes DU

[iconoclastNYC]

In the post "Things I hate about the Progressive Blogosphere" he starts bitching about people who are worried that activism doens't amount to a hill of beans if we can't trust our elections (conspiracty theories!) then moves on to ....sexism (listing a black list of words that you shouldn't use) and then manages to bash Democratic Underground's 50,000 members....

"On a similar note, I lament that comments like "woot!" "yeah!" and "fuck yeah!" have become not just acceptable, but actually the standard form of comment found on many major blogs. It's like Democratic Underground has taken everything over. This was always an issue on blogs, and it might not in fact be any worse now than it was three years ago. Perhaps now that I am a blogger it irritates me more than it did in the past. Still, sometimes I worry that we have reached a size where it is not possible to functionally maintain the cohesion of our community."

You know what I hate about the Progressive Blogospher? The rank elitism endemic among the top bloggers.

He ought to set a better example for Biden, Liberman, DLC, etc by not bashing fellow Democrats!

[NewJeffCT]

1. He said it poorly, but...

I agree that I see way too many 'yeah's and 'fuck yeah's and the like on DU outside the Lounge. I can't count how many times I've seen threads where so-and-so is on the radio or TV and doing either a great or lousy job, and there will be no description, and most of the replies are some form of 'yeah' or similar until 10-20 replies in somebody asks for a description. It is irritating, but I'm sure I'm guilty of it a few times myself...

I'm not a blogger or anything, either. Heck, I barely read blogs...

[iconoclastNYC]

3. Fuck yeah!!! wooot! n/t

[HEyHEY]

10. woot fuck!

[Telly Savalas]

9. Yeah!

[lies and propaganda]

13. Hooray! n/t

[bpilgrim]

2. Democratic Underground has taken everything over

hell, yeah! woot!!! :bounce:

peace

[welshTerrier2]

4. woot ???

is that like i'm wooting for anybody but bush?

if the guy's point is that the quality of discourse is often lacking on public forums, i agree with him ... there's nothing like taking the time to write a detailed analysis on an issue you consider to be critically important only to have someone respond with something like: "that's bullshit" and then they provide absolutely no explanation of their position ...

i do wish posters would take more time developing their arguments and thoughts, so, if that's the guy's point, i agree with him ...

and the discussion he raised about the size of the community making it difficult to maintain cohesion is also valid ... i'm not sure just how cohesive we really are ... i think there are many different agendas floating around even here on DU ...

is it "rank elitism" because the guy made some criticisms?

[DeepModem Mom]

8. I often post only a short reply in lieu of a kick, or...

to support a worthwhile post by upping its responses. We have many thoughtful, informative posts on DU, but they don't all have to, they all can't, meet the highest of standards. This is a forum, not a blog -- some of the discussion here is just that: talking among ourselves.

I agree with you, however, that some criticism is warranted. I think we should, and could, be much better than we sometimes appear on the board, especially to newcomers and visitors, and especially given the importance of our purpose here.

[mr blur]

11. Yeah, but...

say you had some like-minded folks round at your house and you're discussing things, arguing, listening to one another - do you care about what a person standing outside your window with their ear to the glass might think of your ideas or the ways you choose to express them?

[DeepModem Mom]

15. Only if I was interested in the ear-glassed folks joining our cause...

and lending support to it, because we needed all the help we could get!

(But I understand your point, mr blur. :) )

[Skidmore]

5. Who the heck is Chris Bowers?

Never heard of him.

[UdoKier]

6. DU's not a blog anyway, is it?

It's a discussion forum, not a think-tank for rich bastards who just don't quite feel comfortable with full-on fascism.

[lateo]

7. "Things I hate about whiny bloggers"

1. They whine
2. They think we should pay attention when they whine.
3. They let their whining take over the thinking process to the point that they begin creating enemies amoung their audience.
4. They give their blogs dumb names like "mydd"

et hoc genus omne

[Eric J in MN]

12. woot!

nt

[librechik]

14. hmmph

snotty against the grassroots

whatever

I don't see it as the standard, but I miss the "Woot!" when it isn't there.

Takes all kinds to build a blogosphere, Chris!