I am going to ask question that some won't like, but here it is anyway?

[imanamerican63]

When I first came on to DU, people were more tolerant to mistakes and not reading more into what someone posted. Here lately, people are commenting harsh and unwarranted things to respond a thread. Why, is my question? Has Trump done this us? We have to be better than that and not let him split us up! I like being on this site. I learn a lot and get different perspective on things. I hope we get back to being nice to one another. It is more fun going after the right wing nuts and not beating each up here!

[cynatnite]

1. People are very passionate here...

A lot of us are strongly opinionated and we're very passionate about our beliefs and righting the wrongs in the world.

Plus, watch out around here during primary season. It can get intense.

I just let a lot of it go and try not to take it personally.

[imanamerican63]

3. Thanks!

[msongs]

2. maybe all the posts giving him publicity should go into a trump forum nt

[Dream Girl]

4. Perhaps we are a little smarter or more cynical since we can be 100% sure that

Russian trolls abound.

[Codeine]

5. When people say stupid shit

I will treat them with the contempt they deserve, regardless of party affiliation.

[NightWatcher]

6. And back in the day we were 98% sure we were corresponding with fellow Dems.

Now there are a lot more trolls, Russians, bots, and other unsavory types here.

We're less tolerant because we've been hit before and we're on the defensive.

[peggysue2]

19. Think that is closer to the truth

It's not a matter of being less tolerant but being wary of posts that appear to have an agenda, be it op-eds that provoke, anger or stir stuff up. People are simply more vigilant this time out. Plus, we've been warned more than once that the trolls have again descended onto social media for the very purpose of spreading chaos, confusion and conspiracy theories.The intrusions are likely to multiply as the midterms approach. So any post dedicated to whataboutism or deliberate divisiveness is getting called out.

I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Forewarned, forearmed.

Because we've seen this picture show before.

[Blue_true]

24. That does not justify posts that ridicule a poster, I have seen them.

Instead of giving a reason why a poster may be misinformed, there is nothing but a one or two sentence snapback. I disagree strongly with some things that I read and often call them bullshit, but then I give reasons why I feel that way, the poster than has to option to counter my logic.

[Leith]

43. That's Not the Only Reason

It isn't just a misinformed poster, it is a misinforming poster.

The other thing about possible trolls is that their English is sometimes a little odd. I have studied linguistics and I taught English to people who did not speak it natively. There is a definite difference between mistakes a native speaker makes and mistakes a nonnative speaker makes.

This is precisely the kind of thread that a nonnative English speaker would be veeery interested in and it is not the first of its kind that has been started.

[Blue_true]

48. I have faith in my ability to figure out when I am being bullshitted.

You have a point, there are people here or capabilities here that are trying to turn us against each other, but the solution to that is making more effort to understand the nature of something and shed light on it. I am confident that if I work to expose a human poser, I will, a bot, maybe not as much, but bots are easy to detect because of their inability to follow the contours of a discussion like human beings can.

[Leith]

49. Sorry, I Wasn't Countering Your Post As Much As...

trying to expand on it. I really meant it for general knowledge, not to correct you.

Very sorry that I came across badly.

[Blue_true]

54. No offense taken, you made some very good points. nt

[radical noodle]

51. One can alert on posts

that personally attack another poster. It's against the TOS to do so. MIRT also tries to keep troll traffic down, but can't get them all.

[Blue_true]

56. Determined trolls are hard to stop. They observe, learn, adapt. nt

[dhol82]

7. I think that after the election night disaster we are all a bit more edgy

I know I was devastated by the lack of DU for so long after.
Trolls - such a bane.

[meadowlander]

8. Some people are Russian trolls

and some people are on edge from having to deal with Russian trolls.

I've been on DU since 2001 and there have always been people who jump to the rude and unconstructive response, especially during the primaries. I think part of it is just the nature of an anonymous online forum where people talk about things they are passionate about and part of it is active disruption.

But I agree that we all need a reminder that we are on the same side and want 99% of the same things and that it wouldn't hurt to spend a few more seconds reframing what you want to say in light of that.

[imanamerican63]

9. .....

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

11. Here here.

Cheerios to all.

[Kilgore]

39. да мы мой друг

И наслаждаясь сообщениями!

[angstlessk]

10. Don't take it personally..

There are many opinions here and some are extreme.

Trust me, your intention may be wrapped in wording that is taken differently than you ever expected.

Has happened to me several times.

Just know this is THE forum for liberals and Democrats and even democracy.

[hlthe2b]

12. I have to say there is less benefit-of-the doubt given and yes, I do think that is somewhat

correlated with a Trump effect. Frustration is at high levels and we've learned how easy it is to be "trolled," so many posters' "antennae" are up.

If it is any consolation, I feel like this is happening to long-termers (like myself) as well as newcomers. Hopefully it will pass.

[bdamomma]

13. We are like any family

we do have our spats, but we have each others back. The years spent on this site it's nice to know there are intelligent people out there, plus this site keeps my sanity in check.

Love DU.

[Kaleva]

14. Back in 2008, members with less then 1,000 posts were automatically suspect

DU may well be more harsh now then it was when you joined, but from my perspective, I think it's better.

And with the jury system we have now, I've had 2 posts hidden since the advent of DU3 which I think took place in 2011.

DU is what every individual member wants it to be. It can place a place full of angst and fighting or it can be place of learning and vigorous and interesting debate.

[BigmanPigman]

15. I am relatively new here but I get asked for jury service

about once every two days. Is that normal?

[Kaleva]

16. Seems to indicate that things have calmed down.

Now that you mentioned it, I don't called for juries as much as I used to.

[rzemanfl]

17. Sixteen THOUSAND posts is "relatively new?" Yep, it's normal these days.

I think DU should have a rule that before someone can alert on a poster who has been here over a year and has at least a thousand posts, they should be required to PM the poster and ask why they should not alert, giving them an hour to respond.

I am 100% certain I have been alerted on by Russians for saying someone working their shift in St. Petersburg was a Russian.

[BigmanPigman]

18. That is a good idea...give a person a chance to explain.

During my first 3 months I got several warnings and I know that others said worse stuff than I did. I have been on DU for less than 1 1/2 years since I didn't know about it. I have a tablet now which helps since I am sick in bed a lot and my desktop is in the other room.

[rzemanfl]

59. Sorry about the sick in bed part. n/t

[DFW]

31. An hour?

Isn't that kind of short? Some people don't live inside their computers. I sometimes post when I can from trains, or airports, or the lobbies of offices where I have things to do around the world, but I also go for stretches of hours or days when I don't have time to look in here.

[rzemanfl]

60. I've read your posts for years and don't think you have anything to worry about.

Some DUers lose it now and then. I know I do and need my temper tantrums pointed out to me. I picked a short time because those "losing it" posts don't deserve to be here long.

[DFW]

62. Oh, THAT kind of losing it

Thirty years ago, I did that all the time, but that was pre-internet. These days, I try not to. The few who are on here to jump in waving their daggers and whips over the one issue they either truly care about, or are paid to care about (and I don't really care which, as the difference in their demeanor is negligible) are pretty easy to spot. I rarely try to engage them. Conversation with a pond duck is usually more stimulating, and always more civil.

[dalton99a]

63. Seconded

[Blue_true]

29. I don't know how DU chose a jury, maybe there is an algorithm that identify you as a good juror.

Maybe it is just your turn to be called. I don't think about being called, if I agree to serve on a jury, I focus on the information that is put before me to decide on. Having served of juries, I do think that some people that alert on a post should instead send the poster that they alerted on a DU mail message explaining why they have issues with the post, I have seen some posts up for a decision that were a violation of rules, but the person that got alerted on seemed to have had honest intentions.

I personally have no one on ignore that I know of, I would rather hash out my differences with people via open debate. I, like probably everyone on DU have my favorites in terms of DU members, that is normal, but I also work to avoid purposely shutting others out.

[BigmanPigman]

32. I never, ever say anything that could be considered negative

to another DU personally. I like the old rule "if you can't say something nice..." That and the Golden Rule work for me (and my students when I was a teacher). I even tap the DU REC thingie at the bottom when no one else has, just to support the poster for taking a risk and putting it "out there".

[Blue_true]

34. I don't always agree with your conclusions, but I read most of your posts on the times I am on here.

[BigmanPigman]

37. I have a foul mouth and am too opinionated.

I am surprised anyone reads any of my stuff.

[Blue_true]

44. One of the great things about life is there are always surprises. nt

[DemocratSinceBirth]

20. I got roasted because I used to instead of that.

As in Comey took action to hurt Hillary. I was 'supposed" to have written Comey took action that hurt Hillary.

[mythology]

26. And you snapped at those who pointed it out to you. Can't really claim to be a victim

[DemocratSinceBirth]

30. I defended myself vigorously from what I considered an assault on my sterling character.

A good name is better than fine perfume...

Ecclesiastes 7:1


All the poster had to do was point out my inelegant phrasing nicely but he redressed me like an errant child. It went downhill from that. When a poster here makes a mistake I give him or her the benefit of the doubt and point it out gently. I don't address/redress him or her like an errant child.

[johnp3907]

35. "To" seems correct in that context.

Now if you’d used “to” instead of “too” I’d wish you a slow painful death.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

38. If it was pointed out to me as you did I would have likely changed it.

But the poster impugned my motives by saying I did it intentionally. That frosted me.

[betsuni]

40. Yeah, I can be nitpicky, but that was too nitpicky even for me.

Felt sorry for you.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

41. If it was pointed out to me nicely I might have included the edit in my thread...

It wasn't the picayune point that bothered me. It was the attributing to me malicious motives that I don't harbor. That got my ire up.

[betsuni]

42. A whole conspiracy theory based on the word "to"!

[DemocratSinceBirth]

45. Exactly.

What is odd is I wrote in the body of the original thread starter that I couldn't divine Comey's motives. Why would I attribute nefarious motives in the title to Comey and then write I can't divine his motives in the body of the post ?


How do I feel about Comey's actions ? I don't believe his intention was to undermine Hillary's campaign but undermine it he did. He knew his actions would undermine her campaign but putting himself in what he believed to be a good light was more important than not undermining her campaign.

[Dan]

21. I honestly think

That the nation is under stress. I think that the vast majority of the thinking Americans are feeling like victims of abuse - due to Trump, the GOP, and their supporters. You have to wonder about people that continue to support this excuse of a person - what would they do to us is given the opportunity, would they kill us - if the orange monkey tweeted it was the thing to do?

[cyclonefence]

22. What distresses me is the nasty tone

of many responses. We all know that it's hard to convey a friendly attitude if you're asking a difficult question, or if you disagree strongly with what someone else says; I swore I'd never use emojis, but by god they're a lifesaver.

I'd just like to see us all be a little kinder to each other, even if passions are high.

And can we ban "SMH"?

[WhiteTara]

23. The tension is racheted up expotentially every single day.

Some days it's almost unbearable. So many suicides from the tension and chaos coupled with lack of care from anyone.

And, we've been through a brutal election season that still has us reeling, so don't take it personally and maybe reread your post before hit post. I have to reread some of mine several times to make sure that my point is valid and not intentionally offensive to some truly sensitive soul who's going through their version of hell. But hang in, IF we can clean the cesspool in the WH, we'll breathe more easily and laugh more readily.

[Texasgal]

25. Unfortunately this is what DU has become.

You have to learn how to navigate a bit better than years ago.

People are angry though, so I'll give them that. We are in a really shitty situation right now.

I've learned to pass by posts and threads on opinions that I don't agree with. It makes your experience much better here.

[MaryMagdaline]

27. The Trump effect

[eleny]

28. In my experience replies could be very harsh in the past

I believe that's why a new system of reporting postings was developed. Some of the arguing was epic compared to day. But it's all relative to our experience - how often we visit and how much we read. Just my 2 cents.

[chillfactor]

33. I think part of the problems are trolls....

I serve on many juries and get the opportunity to nix them in the bud. Don't despair

[DFW]

36. I have learned to ignore the one-issue posters

Some show up for one purpose and one purpose only. I have seen one poster who only shows up to defend Monsanto and its products. There is another who only shows up to bash anyone who says Al Franken might not have been guilty of all he was accused of. Another only shows up to post the imminent itinerary of Bernie Sanders and/or to parrot his speeches.

Yes, I suppose it's POSSIBLE that these people have broader interests, and I just miss it when they post about other subjects, but I just don't get that impression. When I disregard posts by posters like that, this place becomes a lot more tolerable.

By the way, I hear the Internet Research Agency in Saint Petersburg has gotten wise to the fact that Russian trolls with poor English are easy to spot, and are schooling the meddlers better. Russian has no articles, so posts that frequently leave out "a" and "the" and "of (Russian has a genitive case instead)" are immediately suspect of having an СПБ mintmark.

[Leith]

46. They Seem to Have Been Working on That

Let's not tell them any more.

[DFW]

47. I think they know

When I see stuff like that, I just reply in Russian. That is usually enough to get them to leave a thread alone.

[Liberal In Texas]

50. There are trolls here...More than that they are Russian professional disrupters.

We (not just DU) are under attack. This is a sophisticated asymmetric warfare campaign. And the current elected majority government doesn't care as long as it furthers their own agendas.



Example of a troll farm

[Exotica]

61. That is actually a Chinese click farm designed to give views to videos.

Trolls are real humans operating in forums and elsewhere on the net. Bots are automated software that amplify tweets and other sorts of posts and give artificially generated replies. I often see the terms bots and trolls used interchangeably and in wrong context.

[mythology]

52. I think a lot of it is because Trump is president

A lot of the acrimony from the 2008 primary got papered over because Obama won and we had a clear external focus on Republican obstruction.

With Clinton losing, some people are upset at what they see as Bernie Sanders undercutting the party, some people think Sanders would have won, but that sort of loosens the focus away from how we can win in the midterms and going forward, partially because there isn't consensus about why Clinton lost, but also how best to proceed in terms of how aggressive to be against Trump.

The Russian stuff in terms of posting here, I think is highly overstated. Mostly it seems to be used to unilaterally dismiss somebody instead of discussing with them.

[Polly Hennessey]

53. I was called a troll

because I think Katy Tur is a lightweight and her program and delivery are boring. Whaaaat? I have been here since 2001 and never been called a troll simply because I have an opinion about a news personality. I agree it is different than it was in the beginning. Thin skinned comes to mind.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

55. In the early years this was far more accomodating of

differences. Or maybe it was that discussions didn't get ratcheted up to such a high level of vitriol. As angry as we were about Bush becoming President, there was also a lot of humor involved. I was around in the early days. I've been here under three different screen names, the changes for various reasons. I miss the Good Old Days. I miss specific people and specific conversations.

I think there are a lot more trolls, and folks who aren't trolls but who are very quick to alert on someone for the slightest of reasons. One very unfortunate aspect of the change in the jury system is that you no longer get to see the original post and don't know how the jurors voted. That's a shame, in my opinion. The jurors were never identified, as well they should not be. But seeing what jurors said was highly informative.

I have learned that there are certain things I cannot say here, certain sacred cows I cannot make the slightest hint of criticism of. It seems as though there used to be a more lively and free debate than currently exists.

Oh, there were the occasional trolls in the early years, but they stood out so obviously that they were tombstoned rather quickly. I don't think tombstoning exists any more. Someone simply disappears, and you never know why.

[Polly Hennessey]

57. Because there are still

members like you is one reason that I stay. The other reason is that I do add to my understanding about many things from some posters. I try to stay away from arguments/aggressive threads. Amazing how quickly a discussion devolves into pettiness.

[Raine]

58. Yes there's been a big change on tolerance here since the early days

no one is given the benefit of a doubt, right away you can end up with posters jumping down your throat. I read over and over again anything I post before actually posting it but still sometimes it's taken wrong. It's not as much fun as it used to be when a different opinion lead to an interesting discussion now it leads to anything but that. It started before Trump though, IMO it started in the primaries and still continues.