I can tell you right now I'm going to miss DU when 2008 draws near

[Haole Girl]

Already, they have bashed Elizabeth Edwards and Barack Obama in LBN this week.
I can tell I'm probably not going to be able to stomach it
when 2007 arrives...especially during the primaries.

May I scream a bit?...

I HATE IT WHEN DEMS EAT THEIR OWN!

:nuke:

[Ptah]

1. Find a peaceful image, and focus.

[Haole Girl]

4. Thanks..

that really is a peaceful image, too. :hug:

[bridgit]

2. yeah i seen some of that but didn't play, Edwards has survived...

cancer if i recall...girl has reason enough to be happy imo :thumbsup:

[Haole Girl]

5. Yes

And, it's battling cancer that has me most concerned. I know stress is bad..and negatively only worse...when someone is fighting that fight. And, I've heard, sometimes she visits DU. I think this is what upsets me most. :-(

[lildreamer316]

3. Hint: It's not Dems.

I respectfully propose that you really don't have any idea who is actually on the other end of the computer. I think many of us would be suprised.

[Haole Girl]

6. I've wondered that

But many of them have thousands and thousands of posts. Would they really hang out at DU for 4 years and have 10,000 posts if they weren't Democrats? I guess it's possible.

[lildreamer316]

7. I'm not sure..

It'll happen that I don't see someone for awhile and then all of a sudden they have thousand posts or more...and they are posting some nutso stuff. I guess maybe lots of posts on smaller forums, or...?? I've given up trying to figure it out.

[Haole Girl]

8. Check this out...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2574820&mesg_id=2574948

They are just making up lies. And, the sad part? If people didn't read further down the thread, they might believe it. Why don't we have fact-checker-mods who delete lies?! Grrr...

[petronius]

18. A lot of people take the 'internet wars' far too seriously

I've never understood the importance some people place on DUing polls, or tracking down and outing trolls and moles. At the same time, the energy some people will spend moling into a site they disagree with is mind-boggling. I think a lot of people vastly over-estimate the real world importance of these little corners of the internet, and therefore feel like they're doing something productive when they carry their virtual standard into online battle...

Frankly, I think you're in danger of falling into that trap. Edward's health and Obama's election chances are not going to be affected by what gets said in LBN, and you shouldn't allow it to affect your health either. Northzax downthread has it exactly right - this is just a simple conversation between strangers around a virtual water cooler. Bad information can be refuted and bad attitudes can be 'ignored,' and none of it has much effect outside the computer screen.

One of the best definitions of the internet I've heard is that it's 'an infinite ocean of inch-deep luke-warm spit.' Thinking of it that way should give you a pretty good idea of how much importance to assign to offensive LBN or GD (or Lounge) threads...

Just my opinion, of course!

[lildreamer316]

19. Well, yes and no...

I think you are right on principle,but I also believe that after awhile it becomes a self-fufilling prophecy of sorts. Especially since the internet is really the only place for free and equal discussion of ideas and dissemination of information these days, or is becoming increasingly so. What worries me is that these trolls/moles THINK it's that important, and as we discovered earlier this year, some people think it important enough to pay people to do it. It bears watching as a trend that could become a real problem,if it's not already. To those who are experienced here,and who excersise common sense, none of the trolling should be of concern, but to those new to the web or to discussion boards, it can be overwhelming and distracting.
I just think it bears watching. Why do "they" think it IS so important? THAT is what worries me.

[petronius]

21. Well, I haven't made any careful study, but I'm not particularly worried

IMO, people who are inclined to get all their info from anonymous posts on the internet are people who would end up ill-informed no matter what medium they chose. I agree that deliberate disruption can obscure facts for the very casual browser, but I think people learn to separate the signal from the noise pretty quickly. As for people being paid to spread messages on blogs, etc. - it seems to me that businesses and agencies are pretty quick to jump on whatever is trendy, so as online boards became more popular some fool in a power tie said "we need to leverage this next-generation technology to maximize deliverables." :)

All in all, I can imagine that a wide-spread and concerted effort to spread false information could have some effect, if it relied on more than just blogs et al. The solo mole will never be anything other than an irritant (IMO).

[lildreamer316]

22. I think that's possibly what is happening..

" a wide-spread and concerted effort to spread false information"
I just think it's quite possible that's what was in mind, considering the size of this board comparatively. Not that it really is having much effect other than to be more than slighty irritating to those of us who see it for what it is,but it could still be a problem down the road.
I'm just...gonna keep my eyes open.
But I sure as hell am not going to waste a lot of energy worrying about it. I am pro-peace and democracy, instead of being anti-everything, if you know what I mean.
Hence, LOTS of time spent in the lounge....:beer:

[LostinVA]

15. I also agree that most aren't Dems

Although, I think some THINK they are.

[lildreamer316]

20. Wry LOL.

So very true.

[northzax]

9. isn't that our job?

it's basically like opposition research, If Obama can't get through LBN, what the hell is he going to do when Fox gets started on him?

[Haole Girl]

10. Well, I'm sure Obama could "get through LBN"

That really doesn't have much to do with the reason people attack other Dems or lie about their voting records.

[northzax]

11. it's an informal primary, in some ways

if you see a lie, then post evidence refuting it. it's quite simple, really. it's what we do.

[Haole Girl]

12. Ahhhh

If it were only that simple. ;-)

[northzax]

13. actually, it is that simple

this is, among many other things, an educational forum. we have 50,000 researchers and commentators interested in different aspects of the same thing. You catch someone in a lie, post the evidence they are wrong. if they refuse to change their story, I recommend the ignore button. I have had multiple people tell me I am wrong about something, if it is an opinion, i will take that at face value, if they have evidence that I am wrong, I will listen to them. It is the responsibility of all of us to do that.

[Haole Girl]

14. I expected that response

Proving, once again, nothing is that simple.

[northzax]

17. ok then, you run around and panic

have fun with that. me, I like evidence instead of hyperbole. I understand not everyone does, so it's all ok.

[Haole Girl]

16. Update: I'm signing off for awhile....as I now have heartburn.

:hi: