So. Regarding my proposal for a separate forum for the most serious situation since Civil War.

[Grasswire2]

This discussion thread was locked by EarlG (a host of the General Discussion forum).

It was the post from Atticus yesterday about his stepping back from DU and the time it takes to find significant content in GD that made me realize the importance of this.

I just scrolled through GD to see what distribution of topics are there. Not calling out any of them, just a sampling that I copied down from the first batch visible.

Trump Golf Course in Africa -- Afraid of being eaten by lions.
Sidney Powell on Dems
Petito
Michigan Rep: I hope your car explodes
Space Force New Uniform
My Pillow Guy Thanksgiving Surprise
Gas station clerk in Germany
Free car
Ghosting a problem for employers
Paula Poundstone
Herschel Walker to speak at Trum rally
America's cops throw sick tantrum
Utah park ranger warned Petito
List of food origins worldwide
People who don't do empathy
Amazon Lobbying Federal Gov't for legalizing weed
Patito
Patito
Potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate
Serious rain Florida

and so on.

All topics interesting to some.

BUT wouldn't it be great if news and discussions re: the ongoing attack on the republic itself had a separate forum, in the way that separate forums were created for hot interest in the past on DU?

So a person could look at a list of the latest events and the best reporters and writers on the subject that most affects our near future and survival as a democratic republic.

I realize that a person looking for the most recent and most important news and discussion in this regard will find it fastest on twitter. On twitter, a user can tailor their experience in ways not possible on DU. But many DU-ers do not use twitter. (I gotta say it's a little thrill to have a four-star general like my tweet and follow me there.)

I just wish GENERAL discussion didn't have to be where ESSENTIAL information about EXISTENTIAL threat to the republic has to fight for attention.

[msongs]

1. everything on twitter is true, and on facebook too nt

[Grasswire2]

6. whatevah

One would hope that an educated user can discern truth or rely on the reputation of the tweeter, on twitter.

Users tailor their content by choosing who to follow.

Facebook is something else entirely and a distraction to this conversation.

[hedda_foil]

2. I agree completely!

[Joinfortmill]

3. 👍

[Frasier Balzov]

4. Label the topic Insurrection.

That should line up nicely with a lot of the relevant posts. Enthusiastic readership can pretty much be guaranteed.

[Grasswire2]

8. I LIKE IT. nt

[brooklynite]

7. Because the OWNERS want to...

You're welcome to set up your own online platform and charge for the privilege.

[Grasswire2]

9. always the naysayer.

Without members and their contributions of content THERE WOULD BE NO DU.

Duh.

[brooklynite]

10. Then then are you debating this with me, rather than the people who make the final decisions?

[Grasswire2]

11. nope, done with you. nt

[Hekate]

33. Well that's a helluva plan. Some of our best members have very little left at the end of the month...

That is, if they have anything left at all.

I’ve been here 19 years. In the early years I had to really think hard about that $30, and for awhile I just put up with the ads. A long time ago it became “give what you want,” and that was really nice. At some point I became much more comfortable in my life and now I have DU on my donation rota the way I have my favorite charities.

But I’ve never forgotten that others are counting every nickel to this day. Some of them are my friends IRL, and some of them are my friends here. I will not exclude a one of them from my society — and I would be very, very disappointed if the DU Admins took you up in your grand idea.

[ramen]

34. I started reading this site in 2002. I was a student and paying for

this site would simply not have been an option. When that changed, I started paying. I would have missed an awful lot in the interim and am personally grateful for the model that DU takes on the matter. I would be shocked if I were the only one.

[Pinback]

12. Could you link to the "free car" thread please?

That one sounds useful!

At times I’ve hidden General Discussion for months on end and am just about at that point again.

Your idea is intriguing, although there is the risk of it becoming invisible to the broader membership, like the Gungeon or I/P.

[Shipwack]

31. Here ya go....

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10601540

[Skittles]

13. I do see what you mean

I think it is a good idea

[uponit7771]

14. Only 64% of democrats believe Voter Suppression is a problem (link)

[kentuck]

15. I think that is an excellent suggestion.

[EarlG]

16. I'll just say...

You may have missed the couple of posts I’ve made about this, but Elad and I are currently working on a major update to the site. It’s not going to be finished for quite some time, but as part of this update we will be (eventually) reorganizing the forums, which will involve removing and/or consolidating some of the lesser-used forums.

Because of this, I am not inclined to create any new forums right now, because we already have too many underused forums as it is.

FWIW, with regard to this: “… separate forums were created for hot interest in the past on DU” — we never used to create forums specifically for “hot topics” that people thought were too important for GD. Typically in the past, forums were created for more niche interests that people don’t want to talk about in GD because they would be crowded out.

The reason people talk about hot topics in GD is because that’s the busiest forum, so naturally people go there to talk about them. If we create a separate forum for a hot topic then we’d either have to ban that subject from GD — which would be confusing, and a major hassle — or allow people to continue to post about it in GD, in which case nobody would go to the hot topic forum because they’d all be talking about it in GD.

Hope that makes sense.

[Grasswire2]

17. when I said "hot topics" I meant elections.

Because that was the hottest topic of all.

Thank you for your explanation. Please consider a way to separate concerns/info about the retention of the republic from the tabloid topics that often clutter GD.

[EarlG]

20. I do actually have some ideas about ways to do this

I won’t go into them now because there’s a lot to do before we get to that, and only two of us to do it. But with updates to DU coming, these are things I’ve been thinking about a lot.

FWIW we do already have an Election Reform forum which may suit your purpose for now if you want to use it.

[Pinback]

23. Thanks. Approach sounds good to me. (nt)

[Grasswire2]

25. Thank you for your response.

Election reform is surely an important issue.

The concern for me here is having a space on DU where the fight to keep the republic against those who push for autocratic rule is not cluttered with dozens of other topics, many tabloid in nature.

Democrats need to be fully informed now. We will increasingly be needed in one way or another, in this fight. Information sharing is critical.

[Hekate]

35. Many thanks for all your thoughtful hard work, EarlG

[Demsrule86]

18. Why not post about it? That seems more reasonable. If you can't get others to post on an OP,

I doubt a new forum will make a difference. Post things that interest you and others which is how it always worked. I think some are taking a break from the dismal news at the moment...nothing wrong with that.

[Grasswire2]

26. Did you see the list of topics I posted?

Please.

This is not "that time before, when it always worked" --- this is NOW, when we are in grave danger.

[summer_in_TX]

19. Or perhaps a way to find or search for those on the ongoing threat to the Republic.

But leave them in the mix. We all probably skim and ignore a lot. I tend to leave Latest Threads and Greatest Threads for last, saving the best for last.

[Mr.Bill]

28. After I exhaust the Home page,

I click in General Discussion on the "main" list in the upper left hand corner. Very easy to go down the list of thread titles and find what interests me. I rarely make it to the second page, but since I'm here every day, I've already seen what's there.

[Grasswire2]

29. Frankly, I can't imaging pawing through dozens of threads about celebs or crimes or .....

....to find information about the theft of the republic and any attempt to stop it, or important matters of Congress, etc.

I honestly find my news several times a day on twitter, WaPo, various writers/reporters and know that much important news gets lost here in GD. Much doesn't even get here to DU. But then I am a news hound for the nearly two decades I have been here (with a hiatus).

But EVERY citizen needs to know what's happening.

[mrsadm]

21. Excellent point!

[JustAnotherGen]

22. I just posted about the Haitian Immigrants

I went back a few pages and didn't see anything. It must not have the right wing wing nuts pissed off enough to get opposition response.

We can't continue to allow "them" to control the discussion. They aren't pissed off at all on the Right regarding 1/6. So we aren't responding. The more we hammer it - the more scared/angry they will get.

That said - I believe after the Anonymous data dump last week (yeah - I was indeed paying attention) things are going to start to get ugly for the conspirators in the next few weeks.

[littlemissmartypants]

24. It doesn't matter how many groups or forums there are you would have to control the posters first.

You can't make people post exclusively in one place or another. There are plenty of groups that already have specified topics and yet General Discussion acts as a catch all because people are either too lazy or just not interested in exploring the groups and forums that already exist and are already created for specified content.

I used to try to steer posters to forums that are designed for specific content. I quickly got tired of trying because many don't look beyond the noses on their faces, and don't look for the specifically named and designated group and post there.

There are just too many cases to keep up with therefore General Discussion fills with fast moving posts that are difficult to find later, should one desire to find them. This is just because someone didn't take the time to find the more appropriately designed location to post the content in and make the additional cross post.

For example, posts about North Carolina, there are many that get posted in GD, even in LBN, when they could be posted in the North Carolina group and simultaneously in GD, or cross posted by topic anywhere else, for that matter. Instead the posts sink like stones in GD and are rarely seen in the very place that is designed to provide a place for them.

So my vote is 'No' for adding the forum or group you are proposing. There's a multitude of places that aren't used already. Additionally, I don't believe people will take the time to use it, especially when the novelty wears off.

You can't control the posters and that's the real battle.

If anything, I believe that there should be fewer forums and groups. There are certainly many we wouldn't miss, because they aren't being used anyway.

So I think deleting, Not Adding is the way to better control the content. Especially since the posters themselves cannot be controlled.

That's my two cents.

Flame away.

❤pants

[Grasswire2]

27. Not going to flame you.

Maybe it boils down to "What is DU, anyway?"

Maybe it isn't meant to be a serious purveyor of curated information. Maybe we have to go elsewhere for consequential reading, and come to DU for friendship and stories of people's lives, and that the news stories and analyses are secondary. That's not necessarily a bad thing.


And maybe Earl's overhaul will answer that question.

[Dave says]

30. Maybe do something like this

Have the OP pick from a list of (changing) topics. Change the software to include the choice as the prefix to the title. Then skip categories of change you’re not interested in, and focus on what you prefer.

Or tags.

Or something else from what you and Atticus suggest. I don’t want to have to chase down topics in separate folders. I prefer scrolling and discerning in the scroll what I’m interested in.

Just my twenty cents.

[EarlG]

36. Funnily enough

I have been considering something very similar to your first idea. We still have a lot of work to do before can get to it though.

[intheflow]

32. I remember when at least 50% of those GD topics

would be moved to the Lounge by the mods. Maybe we could bring that back.

But I'm down for a new forum to track and monitor the insurrection investigation, too. T'would be handy.

[intrepidity]

37. I remember when DU was my daily/hourly source for anything important that was happening

I'm not sure when it changed exactly, it was gradual over the course of a few years.

It was a real struggle to accept the change. I miss the DU that knew *everything* before *anyone*. I still come here daily because it is home; but I no longer rely on it as my main source, as I once did.

[EarlG]

38. Anyway

I’m going to lock this now. I’ve answered the question, but I would prefer it if people don’t get the idea that GD is going to turn into a new “Ask The Administrators” forum.