Dookus is gone.

[Maddy McCall]

:cry:

One of my favorite DUers ever. :cry:

[DrWeird]

1. Say whaaaat?

Shut sho' mouff!

[Shrek]

6. Link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=120x25102

[DrWeird]

11. what the

fuck?

[matcom]

2. WHA????????????

what happened??

[Domitan]

3. what happened?

just wondering

[Maddy McCall]

4. GO TO ATA

[Ima]

36. ATA?

Whats that?

[KamaAina]

43. ATA = Ask the Administrators forum

a useful place to go when you have questions about the inner workings of DU. Another example might be the recent downtime.

[LDS Jock]

5. what happened?

I missed it.. his profile wont come up

[Worst Username Ever]

28. thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=120x25102

[HEyHEY]

7. YEs, I'll miss him very much

Safe journeys el dooko

[Wat_Tyler]

8. This will be locked soon, but it's a sad day.

His clash with the astrology forum was the major factor. I'll miss him.

[Susang]

19. Very sad.

I'm bummed beyond words.

[Wat_Tyler]

27. We should of course make clear he chose to leave.

No-one would kick Dookus out of anything, they wouldn't be able to.

[Susang]

45. I'd like to see them try

That would be entertainment on a grand scale. ;-)

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. Well, drat

-----------------------------------
Would Jesus love a liberal? You bet!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/

[Deja Q]

10. No. But it was his choice and there are other ways of dealing with things

in a non-combattative way. :-(

I shall miss him too. There are better arguments to engage in. :-(

[MrScorpio]

12. Damn, no more "Don'tkus" jokes

He was a regular in my bar too.

Sad to see you go, guy.

Good luck!

[XanaDUer]

13. Shit! Dookus, come back!

n/t

[JohnKleeb]

14. damn quite a shame

[LDS Jock]

15. I'm gonna miss him too

Dookus, if you see this, we love ya!! :grouphug:

[Placebo]

16. OMG...

Why Dookus? :(

[ronnykmarshall]

17. Oh no!

Not the Dook??

[skygazer]

18. No more Tucker pictures!?

Oh, tragedy! :cry: I liked Dookus.

[HEyHEY]

24. Yes, this really sucks

[jukes]

20. 's sad

did like the dook.

[terrya]

21. Damn. That's awful. Dookus was one of my favorites here.

I'm going to miss him.

[sundog]

22. sux

:(

[Lefta Dissenter]

23. Who's going to

threaten me with bodily harm if I don't buy the CD's he is recommending??? :cry:

[DrWeird]

25. I say we start a Bring Back Dookus Group.

And not let certain people participate.

[HEyHEY]

26. Can't he has been de-activated

[Placebo]

33. He wanted to leave.

[ogradda]

29. yeah i saw

*someone* is in a foul mood today :(

[Domitan]

30. Just read the link

Interesting...the admin stance towards Dookus here underlies one reason that some of my hardcore liberal net mates refuse to come to DU. Too much stifling of differing thoughts, even that of non-threatening posts.

[pmbryant]

31. I hope he changes his mind.

I've enjoyed his contributions here.

--Peter

[thedailyshow]

32. that was a really lame way to go---nitpicking on astrology forums?

Man....that's not worth wasting your time arguing on. :shrug:

[HEyHEY]

34. Yeah, but I think it was the principle

[thedailyshow]

37. it seemed that he didn't like astrology

so then why would he join that forum? Why not leave groups like astrology alone? I leave the religious groups alone as well as other groups that I don't agree with. I don't interject my own views by flamebaiting those forums. It sounded like Dookus wanted to do that.

[Wat_Tyler]

40. Here it is in a nutshell.

A few posters including Dookus try to debate whether astrology etc is rational, scientific and real. The posters in those groups do not want to debate whether or not that is the case. The fault does not lie with Dookus, Allen etc alone.

[CO Liberal]

66. We're Not Here to Debate, WT

This is a DISCUSSION forum - not a DEBATE forum. Many people perceive people looking for debates as being disruptive.

Plain and simple.

[redsoxliberal]

68. debate=discussion.

[CO Liberal]

73. Not When....

....someone comes into the discussion with an "I'm right - you're wrong" attitude. Which Dookus did on many occasions.

[Maddy McCall]

81. Ok. You've made it clear that you think it good that he...

left.

Why come to a thread where I am mourning, and "debate" his departure???

[Maddy McCall]

72. Then why did you come to this thread?

Looks like you want to debate Dookus's departure? By your own logic, you shouldn't be doing that here.

[CO Liberal]

78. People Are Acting Like Dookus Got a Raw Deal

He made his bed - now he'll have to lie in it.

[Maddy McCall]

83. No, they aren't.

You have no heart.

[skygazer]

80. Touche n/t

[jpgray]

76. But some will not be allowed to discuss certain subjects

And if that becomes the case, where are we? We have neither discussion nor debate.

[HEyHEY]

90. WHy do you keep talking like he was banned?

[Shrek]

46. He specifically said he wouldn't undermine the mission statement

I think he was offended by the fact that he was being disqualified for who he is rather than for what he posts.

[Wat_Tyler]

35. That whole area of DU is a stranger to reason.

[thedailyshow]

39. so why antagonize that forum with flamebait threads?

[Susang]

48. He didn't feel that any DUers should be excluded from any forum

n/t

[SarahB]

38. That bites!

I'll miss him. :(

[CO Liberal]

41. Moral of the Story

"Never Get Into a Pissing Contest With an Admin"

If you do, you'll earn one of these:



I believe the admins did the right thing, in the interest of DU tranquility.

[Wat_Tyler]

44. Thank you for your kind, sympathetic words. He left of his own accord.

Bugger tranquility.

[XanaDUer]

47. I'm with you, Walt

Dookus was one of my favorites here and DU will suffer from him not being here.

[Wat_Tyler]

49. Thanks. A lot of people agree with you.

[JohnKleeb]

52. Yeah Wat fine point

I didn't agree with Dookus on religion, he was an athiest, I am a Catholic but he was a nice guy with good posts, and really brought a lot to the fourm.

[CO Liberal]

70. I Disagree

When you have a community of 55,000, the departure of one member doesn't make that much of a difference.

Especially when the departed was confrontational.

[Maddy McCall]

74. YES, it does.

[Susang]

84. That's your right

He is my friend and for me, DU will be less interesting without him. No amount of vacuous Lounge vanity threads written by the attention starved of DU will even begin to make up for his wit.

[Maddy McCall]

88. I wholeheartedly agree.

:cry:

[miss_kitty]

91. So. What? Don't dissent?

I thought that was what this site was about.

And this is rather personal on your part. would you be this laissez faire if Dookus had not been fighting with your Mrs? Or if it was a person whose posts you looked forward to reading? Or someone you agreed with mostly?

Not that I disrespect your right to your feelings, or your right to express them.

[tishaLA]

116. To me it does

Dookus consistently posted with intelligence and clarity. He was a wise voice here and I will miss him.

[HEyHEY]

50. And the moral of THAT story? Don't open your mouth till you know the score

knee jerking is the same as whacking off

[CO Liberal]

56. But....

...if he hadn't gotten into that tiff on the ATA board, he might still be here. That's all I'm saying.

[miss_kitty]

57. totally

Bugger tranquility.

[Domitan]

53. Sounds like "you can never fight city hall"

A motto I do not live by.

[asthmaticeog]

62. Tranquilizers, anyone?

You ever lurk on FR and watch those numbnuts post "I agree" at each other all day long? Fuck that shit.

[Kellanved]

75. what?

He asked to have his account suspended.

Having the backbone to draw consequences because of a question about principles doesn't make him any less of a cool guy.

[miss_kitty]

42. COME BACK, LITTLE DOOKUS!

We LOVE YOU!
:loveya:

[FizzFuzz]

51. I often enjoyed reading Dookus, yet I never understood why he couldn't let

the astrology folks do their thing. People need mystery, let them experience it in whatever way they want.

And, you're gonna flame me, but I agreed with Skinner's skepticism...I doubted the sincerity of Dookus's request to hang out in an astrology room, coming from someone who has consistently been so combative and insulting to people who are interested in astrology. Why go there? That would be like me hanging out in the Parenting and Children group. No interest myself, I have no need to prove anything to them. I am happy to stay away and respect their interests. And I would expect the same.

I'm sorry to see a funny, smart guy leave, but I wish he didn't have to continuously needle people who were doing him no harm.

There, I said it. (ducking and covering)

[Beaverhausen]

60. I agree FizzFuzz, I will miss him too but

why go to a topic that you don't belive in seemingly just to pick fights?

I don't know why he couldn't post on other topics in that forum though. That seems a little too strict to me.

[FizzFuzz]

71. I would suppose something to do with the "past history predicts future

behavior" axiom. If I were an admin, I would do the same thing; I would have to consider that I had never seen peaceful dialogue on the subject coming from the person. Its a matter of trust, and sadly, in this case, Dookus had proven that one could trust him to hassle astrology buffs.

[Susang]

98. So you think that some people should be banned from certain groups?

[FizzFuzz]

112. on a general basis, absolutely not. In this case, however,

I was struck by the concerted nastiness displayed by Dookus to the Astrology people. It did not impress me as adult difference of opinion and mature dialogue. It impressed me as someone with an axe to grind looking to show people how stupid they are.

[Susang]

126. Special rules for certain people?

People who's opinions and demeanor you dislike?

A lot of people here have axes to grind and enjoy showing people how stupid they are. They post freely and often, in all forums.

[FizzFuzz]

135. no Susang, that was not my point and you know it. n/t

[Tsiyu]

124. Well, I come to DU because anti-Dem Repukes can't

I can have a discussion without constantly trying to argue points with people who will only disagree. I assume that most members here are on the same page as I am - relatively- which makes the discussion threads more productive. Imagine trying to post a thread about Kerry if the Swiftboat Vets were allowed on here. You'd waste too much time arguing against their lies.

Dookus is a Cool Cat. I like him myself. But if people want to have a peaceful group on their own issues, without constantly having to argue their core positions with others who totally DISAGREE with the premise of their group, I can understand that. The goal is conversation with like-minded folks, not endless pointless arguments where neither side will EVER agree with each other.

Life's too damned short, folks. Pick your battles wisely.

[Susang]

130. That was not my point and you know it.

Last time I looked, belief in astrology was not a requisite to DU membership. Being a progressive is.

[Midlodemocrat]

93. Sometimes people are 'needling'

to get answers. No more than that. I will miss Dookus. I never found him to be confrontational, nor condescending, which is more than I can say about others.

[FizzFuzz]

125. oh...I guess I feel strongly because what I saw impressed me as VERY

condescending. I would definitly not be speaking up this way if it didn't read that way to me.

gee, who knows, maybe its a matter of differences of interpretation?

[jus_the_facts]

54. Maybe THIS will bring him BACK..........

[Beaverhausen]

63. Does he like Johnny D? I can send him a new Charlie & Choc. Factory poster

if it will bring him back.

[supernova]

64. Works for me!

:loveya:

[skygazer]

67. I don't know but it sure got MY attention

*no sex threads, no sex threads..... you're making this tough!

[donheld]

119. No cuz i'm stealing johnny

come back dookus pleeeeeeeeeease.

[supernova]

55. That's not nice!

I liked Dookus. :-(

I'm sorry to see him go. Dookus, come back.

I must admit, however, I've never understood the flamebaiting of the astrology threads. If you don't agree with it, that's OK, but why rag on people for it if they don't want to debate the issue? :shrug:

[MuseRider]

58. Dookus, if you come back

to read at all I hope you see this. I will miss you too. :hug: Take care of yourself and your cute doggie.

[redqueen]

59. Oh heck.

:(

[jpgray]

61. I think herding us into exclusive enclaves is a tragedy

Part of what makes DU great is that someone can always come up to you and challenge your beliefs--I hope the groups don't serve to simply segregate people with differences of opinion from each other.

And Dookus has long been one of my favorites here, of course. I'm sorry he's decided to leave.

[XanaDUer]

69. He was the one who told me about the forums

Forums are fun, but he was not crazy about the idea-that, on a great source of fun and information like DU, there could be areas where no one's ideas or beliefs could be challenged.

Just saying.

DOOKUS PLEASE COME BACK!

[FizzFuzz]

86. I don't think this case means that all groups will now be exclusive

enclaves.

From the times I lurked about at the Astrology place, I noticed Dookus baiting the people there, to the point that it disturbed me. It struck me as rude and uncalled for. If you want debate, debate with someone interested in questioning the subject. Pose your questions respectfully. Admit it if you may be grinding your personal axes. Back off if you're not getting anywhere. Particularly when its not a matter of national policy. Browbeating people with your opinion repeatedly isn't enlightening interchange. Even if you are right.

[jpgray]

89. But that's what ignore is for, isn't it?

If some value his posts on the subject and others don't, with ignore they have a choice of whether to experience them or not. With this method, there is no choice.

[miss_kitty]

97. totally agree on the ignore thing

if everyone in the whatever forum doesn't like a poster, everyone in the forum throw the 'ignore' switch.

[FizzFuzz]

100. well I can't argue with that. Still, something doesn't feel right

about someone who is habitually really nasty to people on one certain subject begging and using all kinds of logical argument to make a case to hang out with the people one enjoys hurting.

Sorry it just feels wrong. Its the habitual nastiness that buzzes my alarm. And the "reasoned argumentation" of why one should be allowed to hang around, like a fox making a case to have visitors rights to the hen house.

[miss_kitty]

121. I understand that

but if someone's on ignore, and gets no response they can't get the satisfaction of the argument. And I've seen some of the posts. Blanket statements of 'that's bunk' which winding up with a 'victim' who starts to lay out a huge argument for, and throws a few insults in, then the response is equally nasty, in an insulting refutation. And I am not necessarily talking about the man of the hour here either. Or the Hot Topic. Even though I have Mars in Scorpio.

Instead of driving that away, there's an opportunity to learn about self-control from the experience. On everyone's part. I don't like being wrapped up in cotton wool.

[FizzFuzz]

132. very true, about learning self-control from experience.

In this case, just from what I saw mind you (so now I am rethinking--I may not have seen enough samples)....but anyway, my point, in this case, it looked to me like there was no desire to learn self control (that judgement made on the basis of seeing repeated action never evolving). I only saw a desire to kick people you think are stupid in the head until they admit they're stupid. Sorry, that's just how what I saw appeared to me.

[jpgray]

134. I'd rather that behavior be pressured out by the community than outlawed

Because if I understand this correctly, what Dookus did wasn't against the rules, but it was considered disruptive by the Group. This behavior can only be disruptive if his posts receive responses--lone replies and empty threads don't disrupt a forum. When confronted with one of Dookus's posts, a group member has to choose whether to ignore or engage, and I don't like the idea that we should deprive people of that choice.

If the behavior of a poster is offensive to a group, I think they would do well to use ignore, or simply not reply to his posts. A few posters may actually enjoy debating the issue with Dookus--the complaints are probably all that the admins will hear, however. And I don't fault the admins for this particular happening at all, though I vehemently disagree with this policy.

[redsoxliberal]

65. that sucks

he was fun to read... :(

[saracat]

77. I will miss Dookus ! But I am uncertain why he left .

:cry: I know that he used to flame the meeting room astro threads, but didn't he just want to post alternative but aligned things in that group? It seems he wasn't trusted to keep his word about hassling the astrology thread because of his past history. I believed him. It is too bad. And he will be missed, but it was his decision. I think he should have taken a bit and not reacted as quickly. Alas! Poor Dookus! May we meet on other boards!

[PartyPooper]

79. This makes me feel very sad.

I'll miss Dookus.

:-(

[MrScorpio]

82. If this thread hits 100, maybe Dooky will come back?

Build it and he will come

[JohnKleeb]

85. it will reach a 100

[DoveTurnedHawk]

87. That's Total Bullshit

I am in shock.

DTH

[Zomby Woof]

92. truth be told

I won't miss him.

[Name removed]

95. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Susang]

96. That's too bad

I'll miss him a lot. :-(

[Zomby Woof]

104. That's all I am saying

I have my reasons, and I will leave it at that.

[Susang]

111. You probably do

He appears to be a polarizing figure.

[Zomby Woof]

117. these threads usually get locked anyway

But as long as it is up, I think it's representative to have some dissent. There is no rule saying that an "I miss..." thread should be an exclusive lovefest.

I am one of the biggest misanthropic assholes on DU, and I know when I was banned, many people celebrated. That is their right, and I applaud it.

[Susang]

122. Understood.

Also, try to remember that there were a lot of people who were bummed that you were banned and posted (granted on threads that got locked way faster than this one) in defense of you. Those people have feelings too.

[Zomby Woof]

127. that is why I am being low-key and non-specific

I am not attacking him, or belittling others' feelings about him. I am simply stating that I do not share those same feelings. I think I am being as diplomatic as is possible for me.

Also, I bet 90% of those people sad about my past banning have changed their minds, espcially since the primaries AND the election. ;-)

On edit: I am actually a hardcore skeptic and agreed with Dookus on many points, in case anyone is wondering. My reasons are completely unrelated to his politics or worldview. That is the kind of asshole I am about people.

[Susang]

128. You're right, you didn't attack him

I apologize if I made it seem that you did.

Unfortunately, you also seem to be one of those polarizing people as well. ;-)

[Zomby Woof]

131. no doubt

I don't suffer fools gladly, and I know fully well how I grate some people. If I go around pretending I am universally loved, you have permission to sic one of Bat Boy's rabid badgers on me. ;-)

[Susang]

133. You got it!

Maybe not the rabid ones. They've been really busy since the election.

[bloodyjack]

99. Thank you for your candor

[Duncan Grant]

101. Some would say the same about you.

Jesus F. Christ. :eyes:

[Zomby Woof]

108. LOL!

Like I don't already know that, or give a shit. ;-)

[HEyHEY]

110. True, but replace "some" with "many"

After-all who would care if our resient "Comic Book Guy" left?

[Magrittes Pipe]

114. True, but replace "many" with "all"

Well.

[Donkeyboy75]

103. Well THAT changes my outlook on the whole thing.

Thanks. :eyes:

[HEyHEY]

113. It's funny, some leave and no one wants them to. Some stay and won't leave

despite popular demand.

[Jack Schitt]

94. With my short time here, I enjoyed reading his posts.

I'll miss him. :(

[ThoughtCriminal]

102. Did any of the astrologers predict that?

nt

[LincolnMcGrath]

106. HAHAHAHAHA

Good one! :yourock:

[Susang]

118. best......post........ever!

I'm sure Dookus is laughing his ass off wherever he's lurking at. :toast:

[tishaLA]

105. Oh damn

I adore Dookus

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

107. I'm bummed he's gone, but I've seen people work it out with Skinner

I love Dookus and I hope he gets it worked out with communication. He can.

A little word about the group forums...One can post about subjects LOTS of places on the boards but the group forums are FOR the groups that sponsor them. People who WISH to debate Astrology VERSUS SKepticism could EASILY ask for a hardcore debate forum in which to do that if that's what they want...this way there could be a group where people live and let live and a group where people roll up their sleeves and duke it out. As far as I can tell...the possibilities are infinite.

[HalfManHalfBiscuit]

120. Mabye he was having a bad day

Everyone gets snippy at times. I for one hope he works it out and comes back.

[coloradodem2005]

109. Dookus.

I sincerely hope that you will come back. I know you are angry. But I still hope you will come back. I hope you read this.

[belladonna]

115. Okay, that just sucks

I knew something like this was bound to happen with all the new "special" groups. Just happened a little faster than expected. Too damn bad, I'll miss him :(

[Duncan Grant]

123. Happy Trails Dookus!

Hope you'll find your way back. I'll miss ya! :hi:

[donheld]

129. I didn't know Dookus as well as some of you

But i had gotten to like him. Do you really think he'll stay gone?

[Ramsey]

136. Good grief

After all the really important issues that have taken shape over the past four years, and all that we have all been through together, and he leaves over a ridiculous reason like whether or not he can post in the Astrology forum?

That's just dumbass. IMHO.

[name not needed]

137. That royally sucks.

Yeah, he was a prick sometimes, but it's a damn shame this happened.

[hunter]

138. I used to be like Dookus...

...only worse. When I was in college, a long time ago, I lived on internet. Whenever I'd find a place I thought was full of gas I'd light a match. I did that off the internet too.

A couple of times I crawled away from the wreckage with some nasty burns.

Now I try to be nice... mostly.

Peace be with you, Dookus.

[Moderator]

139. Locking

People have had their say regarding this issue now. Thank you.