Is it just me?

[johnaries]

I used to come to DU as a "Bastion of Truth".

If I had a question, I was met with a barrage of "check it out for yourself" and multiple links to support every position.

Positive or negative, DU'ers advocated "the Truth".

I can remember a time when a friend came to me asking "where do you get your info?" and I simply replied "DU". His response was "Yeah, they supply a lot of links". Conversation over.

That was the "old" DU. Now it seems that you can spread any kind of dissinformation without any kind of link or back-up to whatever wild claim you make.

In fact, I posted a thread a few months ago requesting links and substantioning evidence, and it quickly sank.

It's a sad, sad situation when someone seeking the truth is automatically denied. But those actively seeking the truth will find their end - without learning their lesson.

[bigwillq]

1. Just you.

I think DU is still a great place to come for information.

[LouKneeLib]

6. ......

+1

[Captain Hilts]

2. It's not just you. DU's about personality, not policy. nt

[bbinacan]

3. Excellent point!

If one makes an assertion, they should back it up with supporting documentation. Those who say "check it out for yourself" either have no argument, are just arrogant, or lazy.

[johnaries]

4. Yes! Exactly!

the difference between "rumor" and "fact".

The RW feeds upon rumor, without facts to back them up.

Lately, I've seen too many people here "claiming" to be "Progressive" and spewing RW propaganda.

How about a little backing evidence, huh?

[TheDebbieDee]

5. I noticed that the disinformation started making the rounds

without being refuted in the weeks before the primaries.

It usually involved one of the candidates and spread like wildfire all over the board for hours before someone would challenge, "Hey, provide a link to the source where so and so said such and such."

The thing that always killed me was when someone linked to a source that stated that an unnamed source said so and so said such and such about candidate X. WTF kind of source was that?

[Bjorn Against]

7. What really irks me is the people who claim the left is "repeating RW talking points"

As if support for single payer health care is now a "RW talking point".

[johnaries]

9. Well, no offense, but I see RW talking points repeated here

all the time. If they had some sources, references or links to back up their talking points, then I could take them seriously.

Your post is very simple-minded and disingenuous. It's much more complicated that you describe it. I wish it weren't, but unfortunately it is MUCH more complicated.

[Bjorn Against]

12. I think it is much more complicated than you see it

The reason I bring this up because just minutes before you posted this OP you accused me of using "right-wing talking points" for a post that I don't think you could find a single right-winger that would agree with what I said. When I asked you what part of the post was a right-wing talking point you ignored me and went to post this thread, which I find a bit disingenuous to say the least.

You can use personal attacks to say I am "simple minded", but I don't see things in black and white. I realize that the left opposes this health care bill for very different reasons than the teabaggers do, and if you can find a single right-winger who echoes anything I said in my post please provide the link. If not then you are in no place to talk about other DUers not providing links to back up what they say.

[Selatius]

18. +1 nt

[liberalmuse]

8. Wow, yes. You are exactly right.

I remember that, too, but that sort of faded a couple years ago - sort of after people started jumping the Bush ship and jumping on here to support a certain Dem candidate (whom I have nothing against, BTW - Just sayin'.)

[quiet.american]

10. Yep. nt

[loudsue]

11. Well, I don't do links very often.

What irks me is that so many of the greatest researchers DU has ever seen have been tombstoned and/or hounded out by ignorance. Seemslikeadream comes quickly to mind, Eloriel, and so many others. So often there will be in depth discussions of some topic ad infinitum, and then a few weeks later I'll make a "reply" to a post commenting on one of those thoroughly discussed topics, and I get hit with twenty vicious posts insisting I provide links as if I have no right to live without the linky gene.

I don't have any fucking links. I'm not a good "researcher", and find myself proud to be able to find my ass with both hands. But I normally don't bring something up that hasn't been previously discussed to death at some point in the past.

I appreciate the research more than anyone. And maybe the reason I appreciate the researchers so much is because I have never done that well at it myself. The times I've managed to save a link where I thought I could find it again, the page gets pulled and my link goes nowhere.

[murielm99]

13. I had about twenty five posts here when I posted something

about a story I had read "somewhere."

The first response was a very polite request for a link. I checked all over, found the source and linked it.

That was a good lesson for me. I learned a lot about DU from that incident.

[MadHound]

14. Funny that you posted this

Considering that you're blowing off a ton of hot air in that post on the taxes that people like myself will have to pay on "Cadillac" health insurance plans, yet you're not substantiating it with any sort of factual backing or links.

Meanwhile, in that same thread I posted a link to the Senate version of the bill itself, backing up my position, and suddenly you go all silent.

What's the matter, can't stand the truth?

[Morning Dew]

15. Link, please?

:evilgrin:

[Blue_In_AK]

16. A lot of the people with the info

are still here, you just have to sift through the fluffier stuff.

[Laelth]

17. k&r for the truth. It's still valued by most of us. n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[mmonk]

19. Without specifics, your post doesn't make much sense.

I know when I share information to rightwingers to try and show them they are wrong, they say I'm wrong. They say I offer no proof as well. So are you looking for specific information or are you trying to say "the left" is a problem like politicians do?