Somebody asked what was DU like back in the day?

[MGKrebs]

THIS is what it was like.

I don't know what has changed in the past couple of days, but it feels different.

We help each other learn, we make each other laugh, we disagree without vicious insults and apocalyptic curses.

We conspire with each other, we challenge our opponents, we find heroic things that people do and not just criticize anyone who is not always a hero.

Enjoy it while it lasts!

[LisaM]

1. Back in THE DAY?

It's only been around for six years, LOL. Though it was a lot chummier at first, I agree with that. And you recognized more of the names.

[Warpy]

2. With the addition of so many new people

the quality of the posts has increased tremendously. I was impressed by the level of thought and the ability to express it in words 6 years ago. I am completely astonished by some of the ideas being exchanged here now.

The volume makes it a little more difficult for the mods, though.

Still, I see this board as improving. Trolls are few and kneejerks are rare enough to be laughed at.

[madokie]

15. I like that and I agree

when I use poor judgement and enter in on a discussion that there is no one answer too no matter how much debate I always wake the next morning feeling a little sad for my lack of self disipline, shouldn't have went there in the first place. threads on the I/P conflict to the immigration problems here to Cindy etc.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I've just been around here for a couple of years, but I've seen

some changes in just that short time. It seems like there are some here now who just enjoy pissing people off. Maybe they were here then also, but the mood seems to have changed.

:shrug:

[tridim]

4. Somebody could write a book about the constantly shifting DU psyche

It certainly ebbs and flows as history rolls on. Overall, I'd say DU is more "up" than "down", except during elections when it goes temporarily insane.

I've been here since the 2000 (s)election and have witnessed it all.

[quinnox]

5. I haven't been here as long as the real old timers but

I have been here since 2003 and DU has a lot more members now and threads really sink fast unless they generate controversy. I think this tends to lead people to post with a little more hyperbole than normal so that they draw more replies. Before it was a more leisurly pace and there wasn't as much flaming going on. Du has more flame fests now and there are more rude people who only seem to post insults and snarky posts on threads. Enough with the negative aspects.

On the other hand at the same time I would say DU is just as if not more entertaining as ever and has a lot of bright and funny people on it who can make you laugh with their witticisms. And they can make you think about things in a different light becuase there are some intelligent people here.

[MGKrebs]

9. That's a good point. A fair amount of attention seeking behavior.

We're probably all guilty of it to some degree. But it is one thing to have your good idea die a quick death for lack of interest, it is quite another to constantly just post mean-spirited comments of dubious value just because you get hits or to retaliate for some other thread.

My current theory is that earlier (I've been here since 2002) members felt more responsible for the place. It was clear that whoever was posting was responsible for pushing the debate forward. Perhaps because there are so many members now, people don't seem as likely to take responsibility for their words. It's a little like being in a public place and littering, i.e. not really your job to clean up.

[SusanaMontana41]

6. Wish I'd discovered DU "back in the day"

Have noticed cyclical nitpicking, sniping and condescension ... but families are allowed that.

:P

[C_U_L8R]

7. Today is the day

always has been here at DU

[monmouth]

8. Today is my birthday and the first present I received was a huge

laugh from DU. I forget the thread but this place has some real wits. Made me smile for the rest of the day, can forget the number on that birthday too.....

[SoCalDem]

11. Happy Birthday to YOUUUUUUU!!

[monmouth]

21. Oooooh, I love it, many thanks....

[jaysunb]

12. Happy Birthday !

I've been here since the " good old days " ( 2/01 ) and have experienced many smiles and belly laughs provided by clever posters. You just never know what you're going to get here, but you can always count on someone pointing out the idiocy of our political life in America.

Again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY :party:

[monmouth]

22. Many thanks, I love it here too....

[EFerrari]

13. Happy Birthday, monmouth!

:party:

[monmouth]

24. Many thanks...

[TahitiNut]

28. Feliz Navidad!

:party:

[monmouth]

33. Thank you..

[TahitiNut]

10. While I repeatedly hear folks (even Skinner) say it hasn't changed ...

... I disagree. What I can point to, as 'proof' that the tone and civility has materially deteriorated, is the lengthy experimentation in rule changes that we went through a couple of years ago (when I moderated for 6 months). Those experiments were clearly motivated by a deterioration in tone and the increased challenge of moderating/administering a site that was both growing and becoming more and more like a mob instead of a town-hall meeting.

In 2002 and 2003 I could literally read/review EVERY thread in GD and LBN ... even though it might require 4-6 hours of my time each day. I used the 'mark' feature to track and monitor threads. Did we have trolls and disruptors? Certainly. Some 'established' DUers were notable for their disruptive influence (e.g. Carlos) - and spamming/filibustering/repetitive behavior. But the mere fact that the handful of such behaviors were identifiable by nearly any DUer who spent as much time as I did on the board - and I'm NOT talking about mere disagreement - speaks to the level.

The tone and civility is currently beyond that which motivated rule change (and enforcement automation) experiments. We get a MULTITUDE of threads on the same subject - many/most in cross-responding to another thread. That was once frowned upon at the very least and prohibited in many cases, not just in LBN. The 'Ignore' "feature" in some degree contributes to this. People with Ignore Lists are ignorant that they're making redundant posts. (Such self-imposed ignorance is, as always, in search of bliss.)

I don't think I had a single post of my own removed prior to about 2005. Even when baited, I'd stay mute and wouldn't respond in kind. Usually, the offending post would be removed in short order. Not any longer. The incivility is beyond what can be effectively moderated ... and it looks like a lot more people are eschewing the 'Alert' in favor of grabbing their verbal weapons.

Even more, however, it seems that some folks just can't distinguish between an attack on WHAT they said and an ATTACK on them personally. The attachment of ego to some post is growing A LOT. Compounding this is the mental incapacity of being able to comprehend that a person CAN disagree without being a sexist/bigot/racist. When we populate our skulls with the syllogism that "I can't see how anyone can disagree with me unless they're a bigot/sexist/whatever" then we should probably stop with the first three words and take the clue - it's about what we don't understand.

But this rant will probably come to naught ... as before ... and the bunny boilers will continue to run amok.

:shrug:

[MGKrebs]

14. Carlos! Yikes! I remember him.

I hadn't thought about the "ignore" function as a contributing cause, but I think you may be right, at least for some of the changes in attitudes.

[EFerrari]

16. What is a "bunny boiler" -- it sounds like a cocktail.

for scantily clad young women. lol

[TahitiNut]

23. Think Glenn Close ...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093010/

[EFerrari]

25. Oh, no!

:rofl:

[jaysunb]

19. Carlos Jacinto....

I haven't thought about that one for a while...( he posts over at KOS now ) but there seems to be hundreds--if not thousands--that have stepped into his and others shoes.

On the other hand, In the last six years, I've had the pleasure of meeting and interacting with some of the nicest, thoughtful & intelligent people I've met in my life, right here at DU.
(that would include you) :rofl:

:hi:

[jus_the_facts]

20. ... and the bunny boilers will continue to run amok.

....sad but true. :yoiks:

[TahitiNut]

27. Yep. I've had two directly, so far. (Maybe I'm just lucky.)

Real psychos who "went off the reservation" and carried their psychotic delusions too far. Dawn B___ and Shirley J______ (IRL) - I won't use their DU Usernames. It has little or nothing to do with gender, though - just mental/emotional imbalance, imho.

[damntexdem]

17. Yessir, sonnie, I can remember DU back in the day of the steam-powered PC.

Dang I was always burning my fingers every time I posted.

And the smell of burning finger food always attracted the dinosaurs.

;-)

[KoKo]

29. People used to be able to read past "Subject Line" before answering a post.

Because DU was smaller....there were fewer posts to try to get through. But,thesedays, it means that we just scroll trough posts until some Subject Line catches our attention and then "let loose" with a comment which might not be appropriate if one had taken time to read the Message Body.

That's the biggest change I see and that folks really don't have time or take time to discuss...but will just post a short cheerleading or negative snark remark when maybe it would be okay just not to reply at all if it doesn't contribute to a dialog between OP and Respondent.

It's the size of DU and the amount of repeat posts that make it less cozy than it might have been in the past. We used to have much worse personal attack flame threads then than we do now, though. Maybe there's less passion amongst us to care that much or people are better at avoiding the posts where attacking is going on.

[MGKrebs]

30. Hell, we had a crank on them to keep the hard drive turning.

And constantly changing the batteries in all the flashlights that lit the screen was a pain in the ass too.

There used to be a hot tub here though. That was nice.

[nini]

18. nah.. there's much more discussion based on emotion instead of reality and facts now

Way too much circular fighting with no resolution now.

Actually, I wonder if we're even reading the same boards.. :shrug:

[JitterbugPerfume]

26. back then,

we kinda knew who was who and although we had Carlos ( and other disruptors) it was more fun then.

BUT I wouldn't trade DU for any other , now or then


we LOVED newbys and greeted them warmly

[Roy]

31. Descriptive subject headers is what I miss the most.

WTF YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS!!!!

READ THIS OR DIE!!!

ANSWER THIS QUESTION!!!!!
Some of the milder drivel type headers

I'm sure I miss good information but, non-nondescript subject headers get no click from me.

[in_cog_ni_to]

32. I'll NEVER forget my very first thread I posted on DU...back in the day . I had my ass chewed out

by a DUer (still here, BTW) for posting an article that had already been posted days before (I didn't know that because I had JUST become a member). :scared: I quickly learned that repeated 'news' was frowned upon here. Now people actually thank you for posting something that may be a repeat, because THEY missed it the first time around.. The spelling police and grammar police were HORRID back then. We still have a few grammar/spelling police, but it's NOTHING like it use to be...back in the day (2001). I especially enjoy the spelling police who correct spelling, yet.... have misspellings in THEIR post about YOUR misspelling!:7 It's more cliquish than it use to be too. Lines have been drawn according to certain 'issues' with some members. The Anti-DLC group, The Pro-DLC group, The radical wacko leftist group (Mr. Benchley...remember him???:crazy:)The 'Moderate' group, The Anti-Israel 'policies' group, The rabid Pro-Israel group, the Pro-Lieberman group, the Anti-Lieberman group, The Anti-Choice group, the Pro-Choice group, The Pro-Impeachment Group, and the Anti-Impeachment group. THEN, we have the elections and all the people who detest certain candidates or like certain candidates. I won't go there! DU is a true adventure...never a dull moment!

[TahitiNut]

35. Well, Mr. Benchley was a Dale Carnegie dropout.

:evilgrin:

[in_cog_ni_to]

36. Obviously. He didn't even attempt to Win Friends and his rabid posts surely didn't

Influence people. ;) Man, he was something else. He lasted quite a while here too.

[catmandu57]

34. Back in the day

DU made me feel safe and accepted, still does actually. It was nice knowing that I could come to where there were like minded people that felt as strongly about these thieving assholes as I did.
I've received one hell of an education also, all for the price of donating periodically, things have become busy and fast paced, but if you want to slow down go down to one of the groups where a post will linger, that reminds me of DU back in the day.
I like swimming in the fast water though, and the current is pretty damn fast here.