Are there any other sites like DU?

[nolabear]

I know, JPR and the freepers but I mean actually like DU, where people more or less congregate in one ongoing conversation about politics for years at a time?

I know I love being able to dip in and out as news breaks and know someone else is paying attention and can add to what I know.

And argue. I have been so mad at some of you people I could spit. And then the same damn person will post something brilliant, or funny, or sane, and I’m reeled right back in again.

Maybe I’m waxing philosophical in the face of need for unity, but here I am sticking my head up out of the fray and saying “Hey, DU I see you.

And thanks.

[pat_k]

1. This has been the only place for me...

... on and off since 2004.



The only other place like this I frequented way back then was Salon's Table Talk, which went through some changes (not for the good as I recall) and eventually closed quite a few years ago.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I've never seen any, my dear nolabear...

Wait, maybe DailyKos? I can't even remember if it's one word or two!

It's a little bit like DU. Slightly different format, I think.

We are pretty much one of a kind!

[nolabear]

14. And I think if you and some others as real friends.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. Back atcha, dear girl..........most def!

[uponit7771]

3. No, DU was one of the highest hit politics only sites in 2016. Hannity.com, politicaljack.com, and

... reddit forums are mixed aisle and heavily modded but not fact based modded like DU.

That's what makes DU different, come bash a dem here you have to have facts to back it up or mirt comes to mind

[SCantiGOP]

4. DU does help keep me sane

Been here almost 20 years.
I’ve told my wife, if I die first, clear my browser history and tell DU I’ve logged off.

[nolabear]

13. Awwww...that's sad but sweet. I have a FB friend I still post to

He died a couple of years ago. I only saw him irl once but we were real friends on various sites over the years. He greeted every month with “Rabbit rabbit” and some of us carry that on for him still.

DU is like that.

[Renew Deal]

5. None as efficient

That's what I always loved about DU. Lots of opinions that are easy to find. I've found out about many news events on DU.

[lunatica]

6. I think there are no other sites like DU

And I agree with you about this place. Over the years DU has helped me make some serious decisions. It expands your life in the sense that you become part of a very large community of people you can trust for the most part. It’s a go to site for just about everything under the sun.

Everyone fits in, no matter what they do in life. Nowhere else can I listen to veterans, doctors, professors and professionals of every kind and feel like I’m treated like an equal. As an artist it is the one place in my life where I can share my art and have it appreciated by thousands of people instead of having it locked up in a closet, just gathering dust. And I no longer have family, so DU helps a lot. Du is my family.

[Maru Kitteh]

7. Not for me. I love DU. I've dabbed at Kos and Reddit, but I get bored there.

Nothing is really like the DU community.

[JackintheGreen]

8. Balloonjuice for me

DU and the jackaltariat over there are my daily reads. BJ is more contributor driven than member driven like DU (this DailyKos model), but the discussion threads are pretty solid.

[nolabear]

15. Never heard of it! Sounds interesting.

[Sugarcoated]

21. jackaltariat doesn't bring up anything when I google

Do you have a link? What's BJ?

[Celerity]

42. Balloon Juice

https://www.balloon-juice.com/category/election-year-2020/

[bamagal62]

9. DailyKos used to be great.

I went there a lot. Then, they changed their format and I hated it. I just couldn’t stay in there for very long. Haven’t been there for a couple of years. I have come here almost everyday since about 2007???

[tblue37]

10. smirkingchimp.com, but I came here from there because I found its redesign annoying

back in 2004. It became a PITA (in my experience, at least) to follow and comment in threads.

It's Jeff Tiedrich's site, though, and his Twitter feed is often hilarious, which is why his tweets are so often reposted here.

I still kick in a few bucks, though, whenever he does a fundraiser for The Smirking Chimp site.

[tblue37]

11. Booman Tribune was great. Now it is Progress Pond, and though it still has some

free articles, most require a subscription, and a subscription is required to comment.

[Blue_true]

12. This is the most organized progressive site that I could find.

The format makes posting and reading easy, I didn't find that on two other sites that I signed up to.

If there is an important event in the world and I want more details, I come here and look through thread to find info, lots of well informed people here.

[scarletwoman]

17. I have no idea if there are any other sites like DU, but I doubt it.

I've been here since late summer of 2001 (DU was born on the day of W. Bush's inauguration, Jan. 21, 2001), and never looked elsewhere.

[canetoad]

18. I read a few other specialised interest forums

But don't participate any where except DU. Not TwitFace nor InstaTube. Always believed it takes many more years to make friends and trust folk online than in person.

DU's strength is it's people. We've seen them come and go over the years - some being exposed for the fakes they are. The majority? Decent, intelligent people who care for the fate of the world and other folk.

DU reflects every other aspect of life; there's a handful you love dearly, a big group you like and some that raise your hackles. That's OK too - no-one can be all things to all people.

[GulfCoast66]

19. Nope. Not for me. I don't do social media.

No Facebook, Twitter, Reddit if that’s what’s it called or anything.

And I live my real life surrounded by debate with republicans. Which I actually like. Not afraid to take them on. Actually my real life is spending as many days on the Gulf of Mexico as possible!

But I like a place where, while don’t agree on specifics we have the same general goals.

This primary season has been a joy compared to 16.

A place for Democratic voters.

[Totally Tunsie]

20. Can't answer your question because once I found DU, I never looked for

another site. DU instantly felt like home. I had found my people!

Beyond that, I find the esthetics of the site to be very easy to read, follow, and kind to the eyes.

I see you back.

[relayerbob]

22. I've looked but not found any as good as this

Despite the spats, some of the most thoughtful political discourse goes on here every day

[Sugarcoated]

23. None for me

though I like a few fb groups. Your OP does bring to mind something I've been meaning to bring up here, though.


We lost this wonderful gathering place last Nov and it really hurt, I felt very lost in those horrible weeks without you all.
I don't want to go through that again. Is there a back up plan or back up site where we can meet up? If not, it would
behoove us to discuss some options.

[nolabear]

26. It's a very good question. Do we make one or ask for one?

I’m not exactly savvy nor do I have time, but it does seem there should be a Craigslist area or something. That’s what people did after Katrina. It was amazing who you could find.

[Sugarcoated]

33. There's a DU Facebook page

but it's public. Someone could create a DU private fb page ahead of time...or maybe one already exists?

[A HERETIC I AM]

24. I first wrote this almost 13 years ago, and in many ways, I feel it is still applicable

Here’s the original post, from April of 2007 (on an older version of DU)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x683224

And the last time I put it up, 7 years later;

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10025164009#post4

Maybe you’ll find it amusing.

Hi.

Welcome to our town. Care to take a little walk with me?

I've lived here for just shy of 11 years now and I like it just fine. It's very diverse, vibrant, active and fairly peaceful. Oh, we have our differences but for the most part, everyone gets along pretty well.

We have several Churches; A Catholic Church, a small Episcopal Church, A Baptist Church, a rather large non-denominational Church as well as a Synagogue and a Mosque. Oh, and a fairly good sized Unitarian Universalist congregation too as well as a vocal and passionate non-religious group. There are clubs and civic organizations to meet all tastes and a very active GLBT community. Here on main street is where many of our inhabitants work, whether it is in the small businesses they own or for some of the national chains that have decided to adhere to our strict zoning laws and scaled down from the large, big-box stores they set up elsewhere. We have a Mall on the edge of town where others work. Very few folks from outside town come here to work but quite a few commute to the city. We have a thriving Industrial park on the other side of town where many more of our inhabitants are employed. Seems to me our unemployment rate is about the same as the national average.

We have a few folks on the outskirts that have rather large properties, a cattle ranch and a few hobby farms, some orchards and several large vegetable producers. The folks that live here come from all walks of life and do almost anything you can think of. We have several Banks, Restaurants, a couple Brokerage Firms, Real Estate offices and Insurance companies. At the end of the block is a gun shop that has a shooting range inside and there is an active group of hunters. There is a Golf Course, a Bowling Alley, Hair Salon and a Barber Shop. Oh....and the Bars. We have several of them. There is quite a lively night life here. In fact, one street is referred to as "The Lounge" because it is lined with Cocktail Lounges and Bars of all types. If you stray over there, make sure you take a serious sense of humor with you. You'll find most are very accommodating and you rarely have to buy your first drink if you are new in town.

The age range is from teenagers to the elderly. I know there are small children here because I can hear them but I never see them. There are a few celebrities, a number of published authors, several filmmakers and quite a few cranky old farts thrown in for good measure! It is rumored that several of our quietest residents are famous in politics and the arts, but they don't say much, they seem to just watch the town through the windows of their homes. All of these tend to add style and color that we quite frankly would miss if they were for some reason to leave our fair city. We have Truck Drivers, Pilots, Sanitation Workers, Waiters and Waitresses, Carpenters, Bricklayers, Craftsmen, Clerks, CPA's, Attorneys, Stockbrokers, a Veterinarian or two, Doctors and Nurses, Cooks and Chefs, Seamstresses, and maybe a Tailor. I haven't met him yet but there is his shop, right over there.

Often the national media, be it a Newspaper or a TV Network reports on what goes on here. We think thats fine. It's good to know we get noticed.

One thing you'll find out right away is that there are conversations that spring up on almost every street corner and in every business about any number of subjects at all times of the day and night. Our residents LOVE to talk. Sometimes, the conversations are just between 3 or 4 people about something as silly as what shampoo to use on a cat. Other times, huge crowds will gather with dozens shouting their opinions. There can be two or three very loud, raucous conversations about the same subject going on at once. It can get rather lively. Usually when it gets to be really big, it draws several of the cops to circle around and stroll through the crowd, looking to stop anyone who might be ready to throw a punch. Once in a while there is a push or a shove and on occasion a punch is thrown. Rarely is the injury any more severe than a bloody nose or damaged pride. More often than not, when tempers flare, the antagonist or protagonist will just walk away. In the most severe cases the some participants of a conversation will call upon the residents of the town to participate in a jury. That jury will decide whether or not to break up the conversation completely and make everyone leave. They do, but sometimes it is just down the street a little where another conversation will start again. It is usually the case that the jury will take a specific participant out of the crowd entirely, and that person is not allowed to speak in that conversation any longer. It serves to keep things a little more civil, though the system has it's flaws. Often these conversations last for days and days. There's several big ones going on right now. You can tell the ones that get heated as they tend to drift up to the top of the street, near the Courthouse, while everyone is sweating and there are several cops in the crowd.

We have a small Police Force, maybe less than 100 Deputies, a Mayor, a Sheriff and a Marshall. The Deputies volunteer to be assigned to a specific street and they rotate out every few months so there are no career cops. They carry no guns but they have a weapon no other Police Force in the country has; the magical ability to make someone shut up! It seems to work pretty well. It is rumored that the Mayor, the Sheriff and the Marshall are the town fathers, but I think they just hung a phone on a post in the woods, stuck a flag in the ground, named the town and within days, this town started to grow, but that's just my opinion. I wasn't here then, but I passed through this area before it existed and it was just wilderness. The Mayor is a decent sort, very opinionated but firm in his convictions. The Sheriff writes an occasional column in the paper that is widely read and the Marshall...well....he stays out of sight. I think he sits in his study, playing with electrical devices all day, trying to create a time machine maybe. Who knows? Sometimes an outsider will come into town and start conversations or enter into them and cause nothing but trouble. Then, all of the sudden, he or she disappears. There is a special team charged with catching those trouble makers before they get a foothold in town. They seem to do a pretty good job. I know. I was on the team for a while. (Tip - Watch what you say)

Our history has had it's share of serious problems. Soon after the towns founding, hundreds and hundreds of people came rushing in to the area, trying to tell the Mayor that he had no business setting up a town here, that he was a maniac, that the water was poisoned (or that it WOULD be if he didn't leave) that the grass would die, that no one would come to live here, etc. As you look around, I think you can tell those predictions were all wrong.

Is it a perfect place to live? Surely not. But what place is perfect? We have clean air (we see to it) clean water (that too) good schools and good food. We have births and we miss those that pass away. New folks come to town all the time. Some stay for years, others leave soon after they arrive. Some, for some strange reason, insist on telling everyone they are leaving. This often gathers a crowd of either well-wishers or smart Alec's or both. I could never understand that, but there you go. But all in all, it is a wonderful place to live. Just walk down the street and listen in to the conversations. There is so much to learn and so many incredibly intelligent people that live here. I learn something just about every minute of every day!

Just remember, when you come across one of those large conversations that seems to have drawn a large crowd, try and listen in for a bit. You don't want to say the wrong thing and get the cops pissed at you. Trust me, I know. I was escorted almost to the edge of town at least once!

Well, I hope you enjoyed my 5 cent tour. I'm heading home. Have a good time and I'll see ya around!

[nolabear]

27. Oh that's lovely! I can't believe I haven't seen it before.

Man, Old DU is a trip!

[Dem2theMax]

36. That was an absolutely wonderful read.

And I truly could picture DU as a town, the kind you never want to stray too far from. You always want to know the locals, the best place to hang out. You call it home.

I've never found another place like this. I don't bother looking anymore. This is home.

I'm not feeling well, and it finally stopped raining long enough for me to go outside and take a walk. And while I was on that walk, I was thinking of how lucky we all are to have each other to turn to, especially right now.

I live alone. I have no family. They have all passed away. Yet I never feel alone, because I know everyone is here.

I can come on here and participate as much as I want. I can read and educate myself. I can laugh, I can cry, I learn. This is home.

Three guys came up with a wonderful idea and turned it into a reality. I wandered in here in 2004, and I've never left. DU educates, it opens our minds and our hearts. It takes us on trips to places we never thought we could see, through the eyes of those who live in different countries.

We support each other through the tragedies of life. And we celebrate each other's good fortunes.

We are the luckiest group of people on the internet.
This is home.

[A HERETIC I AM]

38. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I understand how your loneliness can weigh on you, so if I may, have you ever heard of Meetup.com?

Depending on how large your community is, you may find groups centered around any number of subjects, from gardening to travel to crafts to just anything.

I encourage you to check it out in your area;

https://www.meetup.com/

Don’t allow yourself to be sequestered, because you may very well be only one or two steps away from some fascinating people.

[Dem2theMax]

40. Thank you for the information!

I'm actually a bit of a loner. But I do have very nice neighbors and friends where I live. So whenever I feel like company, all I have to do is go outside and start walking around. Honestly, I can go outside to say hi to one neighbor, five more will drive by and stop, and it will be four hours before I get back in my house. Happens all the time. We call them street meetings. LOL.

I will keep the link, and once it's safe to go back out in the world again, I'll give it a try!



P.S. I sure hope I didn't come off as some lonely, pitiful creature. I sure don't feel that way. I'm very blessed. It just so happens that all of my family has passed away. And by choice, I never got married or had children. Never wanted to. Life has been full and happy, had it's very trying times as well. And what I wrote about DU was meant to express how special it is to have a place like this to share like-minded feelings and experiences.

[grantcart]

25. There is

In the alternate universe.

In that universe UD is a site where everyone sees the inner holiness of each poster and talks to each other as if they are speaking to their favorite pet in the last few minutes of their lives.

The Constitution was amended do that President Obama could serve a 3rd term. The Republicans voted at their convention to not to disband even though they agreed not to nominate a candidate this time but spend the next 4 years thinking of a really good reason why they should exist and revisit the issue when someone figured out a good reason.

[nolabear]

28. ...

[quickesst]

29. DU is the only place for me

The only other place for me has been gone for some time now, but I will say it loud, and I will say it proud....

I MISS BARTCOP!!!!

[herding cats]

30. If there were, we wouldn't all still be here.

That's it in a nutshell.

[Grasswire2]

31. There was.

There was Salon.com's great board.

And others.

A whole gaggle of us worked together in 1999-2000 as citizen journalists to expose and try to break the story of George W's AWOL status during the Vietnam war. It was an Iowa pig farmer who brought the evidence to light.

Good times, good times.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

32. Check out this one: The Discussionist.

I have not joined this one but it looks nice:

Link: https://www.discussionist.com/

From their "About" page:

About Discussionist

If you're an opinionated person with something important to say about whatever is going on in the world today, Discussionist is for you. Designed from the ground up for people who love challenging, anonymous Internet debate, Discussionist might make you laugh, cry, or shake your fists -- but you'll never be bored. Our innovative approach to forum organization puts the topics of the day front and center, and our unique jury system changes the game for people who have had enough of traditional discussion forum moderation.

Someone on DU recommended it a while back and perhaps some here can reflect on their experiences.

KY..........

[Sugarcoated]

34. Last time I was there it was a RW cesspool

[KY_EnviroGuy]

35. Yes, I think it's supposed to be open to anyone so....

it would be vulnerable to right-wing trolls. They are like a cancer on decency.

DU is quite adequate for me.

Thanks for sharing, I'll stay away......

[A HERETIC I AM]

39. Discussionist was formed by the administrators of Democratic Underground.

The Admins are the same 3 guys that run this place;

https://www.discussionist.com/?com=contact

[KY_EnviroGuy]

41. Thank you, I will take a second look....

after this latest disaster settles down. That's good to know and if I recall correctly, their intent was to make it non-political or at least try their best to do so.

KY............

[left-of-center2012]

37. I belong to a couple groups on 'Delphi Forums'

There are many there, some political, which I stay away from (they can get brutal).
Some just 'neighborly', and some geared toward a particular topic or hobby.

https://www.delphiforums.com/

[beachbumbob]

43. PolitialCrossfire forum existed for years, and way better as it allowed all political

people from hardcore to rightwingers to libertarians and all in between to have discussion and debate, allowed subforums dedicated to each political persuasion and rarely suspended or kicked members out. Someone bought the site and immediately closed it down

[onethatcares]

44. another like this??

Last edited Fri Mar 13, 2020, 10:53 AM - Edit history (1)

not that I've found but I stop here most days and will keep getting stuck here for coffee and news until either DU or myself are gone.

This is the only website that I recommend to like minded folks and as someone else said, there are people from all walks of life with so much practical and learned wisdom about so many subjects.

It's like walking into the company cafeteria and seeing Malaise, Atticus, nolabear, california peggy, dewsgirl, and the rest of the crew each day. Hell, I think I've even given them faces and mannerisms.

It's a great feeling.

Thanks for letting me in here.

BTW. Have you ever had anyone you've spoken with here change their minds and say, "Oh, it would be a great thing to cut everyones medicare and social security"? or "what we really need is a dumbass in the Oval Office"?

[nolabear]

48. LOL--no. Not even jokingly. And especially not now!

We need each other!

[Kitchari]

45. I appreciate DU

Kept me sane more than anything else since the Bush years.

[Vinca]

46. I haven't found one. I like to post on HuffPo, though, because it's fun to interact with

some of the far right nutballs and refute their BS for all the world to see. It would be nice to think every so often one of them wakes up to the stupidity of their Trump worship. Shame it might take their friends and relatives dropping like flies to do it.

[malaise]

47. I don't know

but I love DU

[NNadir]

49. There's kos. Great site. They banned me for telling the truth...

...but it was, as they say, "an inconvenient truth."

They're really bad at science over there but politically they're spot on, and there are many excellent posters there.

I recommend it, but they will never be as good as DU.

It's worth reading, except, as I say, when they try to discuss science.