Is Democratic Underground segregated or just divided?

[flaminbats]

What has happened to the burning discussions on voting machines, debates without hostility, subjects which teach us something new, and many of the missing posters whom I remembered during the primaries?

One can now post an entire weekend on DU and not get one response. I recently received an email from a friend, and fellow Malloy listener, who was frustrated by how few responses she has been receiving. She changed her login name expecting this to help. Things improved briefly, but soon continued as before..she then began posting less often.

The irony is I get more responses at Bartcop and Democrats.com than I do here! But what first interested me in DU was it's far more active than any of these other sites. I believe the administrators do a great job of running this site, and despite these problems I intend to post as long as DU or I exist!

Is my analysis to harsh of DU? Am I being to easy on myself? Or am I not changing quickly enough with the rapidly changing times? Has anyone else encountered these problems?

[loveable liberal]

1. I have, but theres a lot out there to talk about....

so many subjects, so little time....

[flaminbats]

7. indeed..

I've been planning to post this for weeks, but after spending all my spare time at Bartcop, Democrat.com, and reading topics under LBN at DU..who could remember? ;)

[Tsiyu]

2. A lot of hard core folks

are busy working to get Kerry elected.

And there are so many threads to choose from, with dial-up i have to pick and choose. We all have threads that dive, but tell your friend to keep on plugging. And don't take it personally.

[flaminbats]

12. thanks for the post..

this election is getting rough on us all. By the way, she's now active in gotv.

[RandomKoolzip]

3. Here's a tip:

Put any of these words in the thread title:

Abortion
Sexism
Radiohead
Catholic
MIHOP
South Park

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

5. you forgot thong and yak

are you the only one of the bunch that HASN'T changed your name? :-)

[RandomKoolzip]

13. Bunch? Name? The?

I haven't the foggiest here, NSMA.

I hope that isn't some sort of racial smear, goddamnit.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

16. I just meant all your DU buddies had changed their handles

'cept for you and Chavez :)

[RandomKoolzip]

18. Ah.

The only explanation I have for that is that some of us are proud of our sock puppets and some of us think they should be kept in our drawers.

[jdj]

6. or "Kerry should..."

[LDS Jock]

8. or in the lounge, try kittens n/t

[flaminbats]

14. ya' pro-sexism catholic abortionist south parker radiohead..

I knew you MIHOP! :grr:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

4. I think there's so much traffic and the board is moving so fast

that it's hard to keep up and conversation suffers for it. What with the Swifties, the debates and the like...heck...threads were in the archives within two hours last night and every night during the debates....it'll slow back down soon...and hopefully GLEEFULLY because we will have JK's inauguration in January.

[flaminbats]

30. a general topic isn't likely to draw comments this close to an election..

Those seeking to beat Pelops may instead lose their heads.

[salin]

9. So many more people here

and posting goes so much more quickly...

I know the feeling - am a "longtimer" posting here, but haven't been here much for the past several months - now, when I post, it is as if I am a "newbie" - given that there are many more folks here, and they (those most active at the given time) don't necessarily know me from a post in the knot in the table... No complaints, just an observation/explanation.

[flaminbats]

17. I've been guilty not responding enough..

In the past I would only respond if the person literally bashed me across the head with something I disagreed with. But time reveals how easily this excludes allies from the debate, who usually bring more substantive points while making the same argument more effectively.

[The empressof all]

10. Part of the problem here

I think folks here are just way to quick to start new threads. You can look back just a few pages and more often than not there are three or four threads about the same topic. Come on....Just today how many Mary Chaney threads did we have?

As a result of people not responding to threads people feel encouraged to start new ones because I think they are operating under the assumption that no one reads down the threads anyway. I think there may be a rush for some to see their names on the latest page.

I sometimes feel my responses get lost because I haven't responded to the "most recent" thread on any given topic.

Who the hell knows what makes one thread about the same topic any more successful than another.

[flaminbats]

22. the reason for not responding to posts in threads I start..

If I posted only to show someone that I agreed, what point does that make? If I post only in response to those who disagree with me on a thread I started, will others who do agree then feel that I don't find their points interesting?

Or even worse..does responding to every post in a thread I start merely appear to be a form of self promotion and egotism? Or does posting my own conflicting views on such an unimportant topic block out more thoughtful threads?

[HEyHEY]

11. DOn't ask me - I don't want anything to do with your kind

[flaminbats]

20. The Tyger..William Blake

What the hammer? and what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil ? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!
When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

[Starlight]

15. You're being too sensitive.

We're one big, happy family here. :hug:

[flaminbats]

27. how true this is..

one that hates, one that loves, one that spends, and one that saves, one that lives, and one that dies.

Whether we like it or not, we are all in this together! :grouphug:

[Nightowl_2004]

19. I've noticed this too....

I hardly ever get responses and can (IMO) clearly see activity here on DU dwindling down less and less. Like you said, this sucks cause DU used to be just buzzing with posts. You'd post and would get 5 or 10 replies in a couple of hours....On a slow day!

[flaminbats]

23. one other cause could be Air America..

once the main place people could come nationwide to find other liberal opinions was on the INTERNET. But with the advent of Air America and the growing success of liberal talk radio, sites like Bartcop and DU now have something to compete with!

People may be using less of their free time to post opinions on the Internet, and calling or listening to talk radio more often.

[PartyPooper]

21. Just because you don't get a response doesn't mean you're not read!

DU used to have the number of "views" for each thread. Most of the time it was TEN times the number of actual posts. Then the admins had to remove this feature because of glitches. :-(

Most of us here READ much more than we post.

:D

[flaminbats]

25. often I read the posts without posting a word for days..

I have a love for lurking, especially in the Latest Breaking News and General Discussion Campaign 2004 forums. I also love the humor of the lounge, both dark and light..

Although my participation has gone down at DU, my interest in other's posts has increased.

[Still_Notafraid]

24. I don't know about you

But i feel that Democrats are united more then ever,its a good family feeling and i love DU the short time i have been here.

[flaminbats]

29. united by politics divided by love...

I have lived with someone who I agreed on almost every political issue, but we couldn't stand each other in close quarters. We loved doing completely different things. A Republican I knew from High School shared a room with me at Pratt. We got along for two basic reasons, we liked the same types of food, hobbies, and music..both of us knew never to bring up politics.

My roommate and I didn't get along just because we avoided politics, nor did my other roommate and I have fights because we were both Democrats. Once we were apart, we became good friends. Regarding the Republican..we were enemies in High School, but now we're like brothers.

[Kenneth ken]

26. segregated or divided? I think mostly just crowded.

the sheer number of DUers posting now is probably 5 times what it was when I first came here. That menas people are bringing stories from a wider array of sources, and posting them here. A positive thing.

Also, possibly, more people starting threads as a way to get their voice heard, rather than adding to an existing thread, or possibly they don't search enough to see if the particular topic they want to discuss is already under way.

I do kow what you mean about not getting response. I started a thrad today (in GD04 (shameless self-plug) ) and 20 minutes later it had fallen to the middle of the second page with 0 replies. Someone finally rescued it briefly, but then it fell again, heck by now, it's probably in the archives.

Last, and trickiest, is to find a thread title that will grab attention so people want to read it.

[flaminbats]

31. ahhh..the roar of a crowd

can we hear every conversation that takes place in the city street? The larger the city...the louder the roar. The more people who talk..the more incoherent the conversations become. Until every voice blends into another and another, leaving us with nothing..

[Kenneth ken]

34. at least here

the "crowds" are somewhat static, so that one may roam from conversation to conversation and join in at ones leisure. It may be a little difficult to "shoulder your way through" the crowd to find a conversation one wants to enter, but the Admins make it easier to rejoin a conversation once joined. As this post confirms.

[Baja Margie]

28. You know,

We have been so darn busy here, neither of us has had the time in the past month to become invovled with a dialogue. But every night before bed, I turn the DU on and read what you guys are saying, and then come over to the Lounge and get a few chuckles. Mike tunes in in the mornings before he goes off to work. He even will tune in ~gasp~during his breaks at work....uh oh, that's a DHS computer.

[flaminbats]

32. what would we do without DU?

thanks for the thoughtful comments everyone, I enjoyed immensely. :toast:

[jdots]

33. i thought it had to do with seniority or donuts

there is a sounding out stage because freepers pop in.Maybe it has to do with the amount of strain people are going thru,searching for a break from trying to get out the vote ,sitting thru intelligent conferences and watching depressing and true documentarys. I come here because t.v. pisses me off,the art sie i'm on is boring lately and i feel like i'm the cause.......you sound very very intellegent and that ain't easy in todays world.