During the 2004 presidential campaign what percentage of DU posters

[whistle]

...were trolls, freepers, drones and lurkers tossing out their misinformation and disruptive posts into the various forums? Was DU able to quickly ID these frauds and send them packing? Just curious, I sense we have such activity going on currently :shrug:

[elocs]

1. How on earth would anybody know the percentage

as opposed to those who are simply contraries and jerks?

[whistle]

3. Well approximately, say normally it might run 1% to 2% could it be 5%

...as the races heat up? Might it be 10% like one in ten posters? Or do democrats just go into a feeding frenzy on their own without any help from the right?

Look at talk radio, the right dominates not because American audiences love that crap, but because they are part of the right wing propaganda machine designed and hired to shout over all dissenting voices. So why not also hire paid posters to disrupt democratic blogs like DU?

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. How are you defining "disruptive"???

People who don't like your candidate? That is allowed on DU during primary season.

[whistle]

4. The same way it would be defined in any educational setting

...something which the right wing thrives on and our own president failed to grasp in his socialization and civilization processes:

<snip>
Disruptive behaviour in school:

A student who deliberately makes a fuss in class and prevents learning among other students

Disruptive behaviour is when a student is uncooperative and prevents themselves and other students in class from working. A disruptive student also manages to grab a teacher’s attention and prevent the teacher from giving the other students the attention they need.

Behaviour that distracts a teacher and other pupils from learning.

<MORE> http://www.garysturt.free-online.co.uk/Disruptive%20behaviour.htm

[greatauntoftriplets]

5. This is not an educational setting.

We are (mostly) adults in a political forum.

On edit: You cannot put a stop to postings that you do not agree with. You are not our teacher.

[whistle]

7. I'm not attempting to do that, you asked what I meant by disruptive

...and I provided an example.

IMHO disruptive politics is what we have been experiencing from the right and it now appears to be at pandemic levels. Civility is disappearing and with it our civil rights and our freedom to have our voices heard. It would be sad if this forum which I initially come to about 3 1/2 years ago falls prey to these elements. I just hope the moderators know the difference.

[TheFarseer]

6. After Kerry was nominated

I feel like we were all pretty unified, and disrupters were identified quickly and run out of town. I think what we have now is genuine differences of opinion. Democrats come in alot of shapes and sizes.

[whistle]

8. I hope that is the case, as the country falls further into disarray

...because of what BushCo is doing, giving more reasons why these thugs need to be impeached and replaced, here is what our Democratic House Speaker sends in her weekly message:

<snip>
July 6, 2007

Coming Together to Stop Global Warming


"We hold our children's future in our hands – not our grandchildren, or great-grandchildren, but our own children."
- Speaker Pelosi

As people on every continent gather for July 7th's "Live Earth" events, the Democratic-led Congress is delivering on its promise to invest in energy independence and work to reverse global warming. Last week, Speaker Pelosi announced the House's "Energy Independence Day" legislation and signed the "Live Earth Pledge," rededicating herself and Congress to combating global warming. The "Live Earth" pledge includes demanding that the United States "join an international treaty within the next two years that cuts global warming pollution by 90 percent in developed countries and by more than half worldwide," committing to taking "personal action to help solve the climate crisis," and fighting "for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal."

Global warming is one of the most pressing issues of our time. For 12 years, the leadership in the House of Representatives stifled all discussion and debate of global warming. That long rejection of reality is over, to the relief of Members on both sides of the aisle. The climate crisis is as local as our neighborhoods and as global as the planet. The Democratic-led Congress is committed to acting swiftly to protect our earth from dramatic changes that threaten our national security and health, our crops and coastlines, and the very survival of many species on earth. Reducing global warming is also an opportunity to stimulate new and innovative technologies, create new "green" jobs, and reduce pollutants that are harmful to human health.

Bringing Attention and Urgency to the Global Climate Crisis
From the start of the 110th Congress, Democrats have worked to bring attention and resources to combating global warming and achieving energy independence. In January, Speaker Pelosi created the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, a unique policy committee to add resources and urgency to Congress' commitment to addressing climate change and our dependence on foreign oil. The Committee has held hearings on the many impacts of global warming, and in May, Speaker Pelosi and Members of the Committee, traveled to Greenland and Europe to see firsthand the devastating effects of climate change on local communities.

Change Starts at Home
Because change begins at home, Congress has begun to "Green the Capitol," an effort to reduce the environmental impacts of running the Capitol and House office buildings. House buildings will begin reducing the levels of carbon dioxide and dramatically reduce energy consumption – by 50 percent – in just 10 years. This includes shifting to 100 percent renewable electric power, aggressively improving energy efficiency, and offsets to ensure carbon neutral operations. The House's reliance on electricity will be dramatically reduced through the widespread installation of energy efficient lighting, redesigning electronic office equipment, and upgrading heating and cooling mechanisms to meet "green" standards.


The 'Energy Independence Day' Initiative
Beginning this month, the New Direction Congress embarks on an ambitious legislative agenda to achieve energy independence, protect America, grow our economy and create new jobs, lower energy prices, and begin to address global warming. We are investing in new energy technologies and innovation to create new "Green collar" jobs; improving energy efficiency for a wide range of products, lighting, and buildings; making the federal government a leader in reducing energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions; and strengthening research and diplomatic efforts on climate change to protect our planet. Through this legislation we are reducing dependence on foreign oil and creating incentives for hybrids and renewable energy. With 11 House committees bringing wide-ranging solutions to the table, this is a major effort to carry out the Democratic Congress' agenda to achieve energy independence and reverse global warming.

We Will Work Together to Tackle Global Warming
There is a growing chorus of voices in favor of taking serious and sustained action on global warming: from scientists to Fortune 100 CEOs, from evangelical Christians to environmentalists, from farmers to hunters and anglers. We will work together, holding hearings, developing legislation, and tackling one of humanity’s greatest challenges yet - global warming.



Five Things
You Can Do

The average American generates about 15,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year from home energy use and personal transportation and from the energy it takes to produce the products and services we consume. There are steps we can take to reduce our carbon footprint and to keep our earth healthy. But we all must do our part. As people gather across the globe for July 7th's "Live Earth" events, here are 5 steps you can take to help protect the earth and reduce global warming:

1) Replace your light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs produce as much light as regular incandescent light bulbs, but last 10 times as long and use just a quarter of the energy.

2) Turn off lights and appliances when you’re not using them. This not only helps the planet, but will save money on your electric bills

3) Reduce what you consume, reuse what you use, and recycle the rest. Producing new products from recycled materials saves 70 to 90 percent of the energy and pollution that would result if the product came from non-recycled materials. You can save a good-sized tree by recycling a stack of newspapers only 4 feet high!

4) Turn your heat down 2 degrees in the winter and your air conditioning up 2 degrees in the summer. This simple step could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

5) Cut down on the number of miles you drive each day by carpooling, walking, biking, or taking public transportation. Driving just 10 miles less each week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year!


Watch Speaker Pelosi testify before the Science and Technology Committee hearing on global warming>>

[blondeatlast]

9. Exactly. Primary season was brutal, then and due to the length of time now,

it's pretty brutal again.

When we realize what we face if a RRRepublican is returned to the WH, I think we'll see a very, very solid front.

[elocs]

10. A very solid front except for the ones who pout

because their perfect idealogical candidate did not win, never had a chance to win, and/or there are no differences between the Democrats and Republicans (a blast from the past).

[blondeatlast]

11. That is true--plenty on plenty of residual whining,.

But not nearly as brutal as the primes. For now--I stay our of GD/P! (I haven't picked a candidate yet)

[elocs]

12. I haven't pick one yet either.

I hope by the time Wisconsin gets to vote that there isn't already a presumptive nominee.

[AZBlue]

13. I don't know - hope you're right.

But the temper-tantrum-throwing "I won't vote for anyone but my candidate" crowd worries me.

[fed-up]

15. you're worried that we want out of Iraq-worried that we want corporations reigned in-worried we want

Bush impeached

If we can't even stick to our beliefs and morals when voting in the primaries and general election how in the he** can we expect those that we elect to follow the wishes of their voters???

[AZBlue]

16. If you want to get out of Iraq, why would you suppor the GOP then in the General Election?

Because not supporting the Dem nominee = supporting the GOP. There's no way around that fact, no matter how much you try to paint it.

[Maru Kitteh]

14. One of the WORST Clark trolls was outed after he dropped, if I remember right

That asshat was relentless.

[salin]

17. there came a point where trolls weren't needed -

as the diehard fans of one candidate or another threw enough bombs at each other (not just the candidate - but kept attacking all the supporters of other candidates). I think I have already seen this happening more than a year before the convention. That is - I think our own passions and clique group think has already created, at times, as much disruption as any troll could cause. Just my cynical self speaking.