Has Freeperville jumped the shark?....

[Virginia Dare]

why are they all heading over here in droves?

:rofl:

[lonestarnot]

1. I hope they jump the cliff.

as that is what lemmings do best.

[warrens]

3. I hope they jump the Army recruitment center line

Patriots that they are, I hope they push to the front and offer to forgo basic training so they can get to Iraq faster and die for their country quicker.

[Jack Rabbit]

19. They don't die for their country

They die for the Frat Boy.

[KingFlorez]

2. They are so silly

[gratuitous]

4. They've gone insane

Well, maybe insane-er. Their carefully constructed world view is crumbling around them, as the inevitable consequences of the unwise policies they've endorsed so completely are made manifest. They're on an arc from bug-shit crazy to bat-shit insane, and they're lashing out at everything. Some of them will try the relatively harmless expedient of posting here, others will sadly turn to more pugnacious acting out.

[Champion Jack]

23. Well said gratuitous !

[RobertSeattle]

5. FR is one of the finest examples of 1997 web design UI I've ever seen

:evilgrin:

[mrreowwr_kittty]

6. Their site is terrible!

I'm no computer whiz by any means but the main reason I don't like to go there, aside from the hate and bigotry, is that it's so user-unfriendly and disorganized. The difference between them and DU is startling. But I guess that's to be expected. Retro vs. metro, ya know!

[megatherium]

14. But on the plus side for FR:

If you are a member, you can view basically all your old posts and replies to these, no time limit. They don't show the tree structure of a discussion thread, but you can easily view all replies to a given post. You get much more space and latitude as to what you can put on your profile page (some of these are quite interesting). And you don't have to be a donor to use all the features.

The visual design of FR isn't glossy, but it is straightforward to navigate and use, at least in my experience. But you're right, the hate and bigotry is hard to handle on FR. (Particularly the homophobia, there is a contingent of militant anti-gay posters there who constantly post bogus science about gay people. But interestingly, there are a few FR members who will sometimes challenge this.)

[Arkansas Granny]

24. You're right about non-donors being able to use the features.

I sometimes search over there on specific topics just to see what their take is and how they justify their opinions. The only way to form an educated opinion on an issue is to listen to all sides. There are some subjects that I avoid over there, including the pray for George Bush threads, because I know that it would only make me mad, but on occasion, they can be quite comical.

For instance, if you want a good laugh you should read their comments on Bush's speech to NAACP.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1669172/posts?page=15#15

[warrens]

7. Why should RimJob invest a single nickel in upgrading?

His deluded sheep shower him with money for the equivalent of the Pony Express.

[LSK]

8. well, they ARE conservatives....

[megatherium]

9. My impression is that FR has lost a good portion of its

membership. If you go there, there are fewer threads (in breaking news, etc) than there used to be. They've had some fractious disputes (pro/anti immigration being the latest one) that have cost it many members, as the leadership has made it clear that dissent from their party line is not tolerated. (Their party line is pro-Bush and pro-war.) They still have some vigorous debate on certain issues (creation-evolution, where the debate is often surprisingly well-informed). But they also still have an amazing amount of vicious homophobia ...

[ThomWV]

10. What does "Jump the shark" mean?

That phrase has absolutely no meaning for me and I can not glean what it might possibly mean from the words themselves. Could you give me a definition? I see other people use that phrase and I've wondered what they were talking about.

Its difficult to understand what people mean when they use odd phrases like that.

On Edit: Spelling

[Virginia Dare]

12. Why certainly...

my apologies to you ThomWV, here ya go:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark

[ThomWV]

18. Thank you!

First woman-child born in the new world if I remember correctly, and probably one of the first to die as well.

Thank you ever so much for the definition. For those others who never immersed themselves in popular TV culture from the period whenever-in-hell that was:

"Jumping the shark is a metaphor that has been used by US TV critics and fans to denote the tipping point at which a TV series is deemed to have passed its peak. Once a show has "jumped the shark," fans sense a noticeable decline in quality or feel the show has undergone too many changes to retain its original charm.

The phrase specifically arises from a scene in the hit TV comedy series Happy Days in which the central character, Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli, on water skis, literally jumps over a shark. The scene was written into the show at a point when the viewing ratings were beginning to drop, and it is generally regarded as the creative low-point at which the show finally lost all credibility. A show may continue well after the point when fans feel it has "jumped the shark" but will likely decline in popularity."

[Virginia Dare]

22. Well, the first European one anyway...n/t

[Bassic]

11. Heading over here in droves? nt

[QuettaKid]

13. I think you may be on to something.

I have also noticed the HUGE ( or is that HUGH ?) influx in recent days of oh so obvious trolls. They are so subtle.

[Virginia Dare]

15. The ones I've seen yesterday and today...

aren't so subtle.

[megatherium]

16. Lots of trolls. But DU has always had lots of manipulation.

I am convinced there are posters who are being employed by corporations or foreign governments to manipulate DU. There are people here with thousands of posts, always pushing the same line.

I sometimes wish someone would start a progressive board which requires its members to openly identify themselves and their affiliations (if any). I think that would make for a more polite and reasonable discussion, and more trust. I've thought of chucking my screen name (megatherium) and rejoining under my own name (just as Amazon now has reviewers who proudly post under their own name).

[karlrschneider]

21. I've used my real name here and most all discussion boards

on the internets ;-) for years.
:D

[megatherium]

26. Never a problem, I trust?

Once I had a letter to the editor of mine appear in the NY Times, on a rather controversial topic. I feared that I might collect abuse from hotheads or merely the mentally ill. I received no personal response or contacts whatsoever.

[karlrschneider]

32. Not really. One Freeper type found &posted my phone number on Yahoo

a few times after writing crap like "I will beat the shit out of any LIB...here's my phone number..."

I got a few calls - from outraged liberals, obviously, and I explained what happened so no problem
really. They were a hell of a lot nicer than neocons would have been! :D

[ronnykmarshall]

29. Same here ....

I ain't got no shame!

[Posteritatis]

31. I doubt people would believe the IDs and affiliations, though. (nt)

[Catherine Vincent]

17. There was one here today that questioned a poster just for posting a link.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1682541#1682622

They're so jumpy. It was funny!

[Virginia Dare]

20. Truth hurts? Yeah, to those cretins it does....n/t

[Blue_Tires]

25. Freepville IS the shark n/t

[ronnykmarshall]

27. I wish they'd jump ......

in the sharks mouth.

Nawwwww! I don't want to harm the shark.

[porphyrian]

28. You're still talking about them... - n/t

[berni_mccoy]

30. Maybe it's because of this post ===>

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1680245&mesg_id=1680245

[npincus]

33. what makes you say they're heading here?