Would you like to share a DU memory?

[senseandsensibility]

I guess I am feeling nostalgic as a long time DUer about the "good old days", although I know we faced very serious challenges from the day the forum started.
I started thinking about when I first started posting here. Everything was new (even the internet) and it felt so empowering to communicate with other progressives.

Here's my memory: California Peggy once posted that she replied to everyone who responded to one of her OPs. And she really did. For a while, I felt that that was the coolest thing, and I tried to do so as well. Of course I didn't follow through for too long. There's only one CP.

So many funny and significant things have happened here over the years. What do you remember?

[TxGuitar]

1. Oscar

But I can't find a link to the old DU2 thread. DU at its finest

[Scrivener7]

16. OSCAR!!!!! I recently re-read this and was literally crying laughing. I'll see if I can find it again.

[Scrivener7]

45. I found it!!! The Oscar thread!!!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x624815

[kcr]

67. I am dying

I forgot how funny that thread was.

A-Schwarzenegger
I am continually finding things hidden and entangled in
his fur. Sometimes things just work their own
way out and drop on the floor as he is walking
(a little toy wheel) or sometimes they fly out while
he is scratching (an old sock). He was up on the couch
today and I got him off there and then I couldn't find
the remote. Then he was scratching himself and
the channels kept changing. The remote had worked
its way into his fur somehow. Apparently his fur
has some quality that is like those plants that
draw things into them by follicuilar action.

TrogL Ok, what are you on? A REMOTE was caught up in his fur? How big is this thing anyway?

A-Schwarzenegger Just a normal regular size remote

[Scrivener7]

85. .

[yardwork]

143. Literally crying tears of laughter!

[Scrivener7]

146. It's a masterpiece!

[A-Schwarzenegger]

165. thanks for the message, yardwork!

[yardwork]

166. I'm so glad to see you! Missed you!

[MLAA]

156. Hilarious! I just spent the last 10 minutes enjoying it.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

164. You all warm my old heart and Oscar's timeless liver.

Thanks to yardwork for the heads-up. It took a village to raise a mixed animal.

[yardwork]

167. Take a bow!

I'm all out of hearts to give away (again) but I hope others get you caught up.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

169. Oscar is a smile-maker.

Thanks, yw.

[yardwork]

170. Oscar is a uniter.

I imagine President Biden reading that thread and laughing.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

176. yes!

with his dark brandon shades on

[Scrivener7]

171. Oscar is the gift that keeps on giving! I go looking for that thread every once in a while, and

every single time, it makes my day.

Thank you for hours of enjoyment!

[A-Schwarzenegger]

175. it was a pleasure

[A-Schwarzenegger]

168. I remember that self-centered ne'er-do-well varmint.

[doc03]

2. I will never forget the election when DU was crashed by the the

Trumpers calling Trump the "God Emperer". DU was down for days.

[senseandsensibility]

5. Was this right after he won in 2016?

I do vaguely remember that.

[rurallib]

41. yep

[Drum]

73. Mid afternoon of Election Day, I believe

[TwilightZone]

11. That was painful.

It put a really unfortunately stamp on the 2016 election, as if the election itself wasn't bad enough.

[keep_left]

70. They also were able to hack a video clip into the DU site in such a way that...

...it was nearly impossible to remove. I recall that a lot of the site code had to be audited to figure out how the hack even occurred. It turned out to be an unknown vulnerability that was somehow discovered by the intruders. The video clip would start playing and take over the browser tab or window. The only thing that could be done was close the tab and leave the site. And yes, I also remember DU being down for several days, maybe more.

The video clip from the hack was posted at YouTube for a while, but fortunately it seems to be gone now. It was very heavy-handed with the alt-right imagery, including authoritarian leaders such as Viktor Orban.

[yardwork]

142. That video was fascinating.

It was crudely done but interesting as a window into who was pushing Trump. The imagery was European-centric. In one scene the little cartoon Trump was dressed as Napoleon. Other images referenced Wagnerian legends. The video was very racist and had lots of white-replacement and white-hero imagery.

Most of the authoritarian figures were Eastern European, including Putin, of course.

The soundtrack was stolen from a video game or something; I read details once but can't remember now.

I'd never seen anything like it and would love to learn more.

[keep_left]

144. It was alt-right Pepe shit. The soundtrack was "The Protomen". Apparently...

...most of it was stolen from sites that are/were popular with alt-right chuds and gamers (but now I'm being redundant!). There were idealized images of far-right European leaders, obsessions with "white genocide" and non-existent racial "no-go zones", etc. My favorite image was Trump holding the severed head of Osama Bin Laden. Hmm...who actually was President when Bin Laden was taken out?!

Whoever made the video (out of mostly stolen material) was probably a regular at 4chan/8chan/8kun/whatever-the-hell-they-call-it-now.

[mahina]

103. I remember that.

Thought it was the Russians, who knows!

[marybourg]

3. The door buzzard thread.

[róisín_dubh]

82. I came across that one recently...

Last edited Tue Feb 6, 2024, 01:14 AM - Edit history (1)

And was howling. My partner thought I’d lost my mind 🤣

[enid602]

4. Andy

Andy

[senseandsensibility]

6. Yes

[enid602]

7. Andy

Humorous, irreverent, controversial yet friendly.

[AmBlue]

172. Yes, Andy.

[Quakerfriend]

8. Redstone and his poignant posts- miss him!

[Arazi]

9. Kudzu. It's going places

And Will Pitt



Anyone remember the epic Olive Garden thread? 😬

[malaise]

10. Love our Dear

CaliforniaPeggy

[FalloutShelter]

17. Me too...

And you Dear Malaise, for all you bring to the party.

[bif]

13. LionessPryanka

I remember her from the olden days. Not sure whatever happened to her.

[Kaleva]

34. FFR'd back in 2017

[bif]

122. What does FFR mean?

[LuckyCharms]

123. Flagged for review.

A person is unable to post if their account is flagged for review.

It's essentially a tombstone, unless it is eventually reversed by the admins.

[Kaleva]

125. Yes, it's really rare for an FFR to be lifted

[Kaleva]

124. Flagged For Review

She accumulated too many hides in a 90 day period and the system automatically flagged her account.

[bif]

140. Thanks for the explanation

[lastlib]

14. MiddleFingerMom and pinboy3niner

Hard to think of many people who brought more joy and laughter to this community.

MFM - - - - - pinboy3niner

and the door buzzard thread.

[mahina]

104. pinboy3niner

[speak easy]

126. pinboy3niner - The door buzzard!

[I_UndergroundPanther]

107. Swamp Rat

Miss him.

[Hekate]

109. Opihimoimoi

Auwe

[mahina]

129. Opihi

“ come, we go eat!”
Auwe no ho’i 💧aloha e Opihimoimoi

[BeyondGeography]

152. Pinboy...a comic must-read always

Miss him.

[TwilightZone]

15. Hanging out with my fellow Clarkies

Wesley Clark, for those who aren't familiar, ran for president what seems like a very, very long time ago. We spent much of the primary season trying to fend off allegations that he was some kind of Republican plant. History has proven that allegation false, of course, though it was a bit of a challenge back then.

He had a pretty amusing town hall where someone asked him a question about Outkast breaking up.

[canetoad]

18. Old Lefty Lawyer

Who kept offending people and was tombstoned quite a few times. Finished up here as Tangerine LaBamba before she died.

[Brother Buzz]

19. I miss Plaid Adder's sterling linner essays

I miss a lot, but her name popped into my mine just the other days; I enjoyed reading them immensely.


https://www.democraticunderground.com/plaidder/


**********************

Oh, I really miss Bob (so stop saying that!) Boudelang, too


https://www.democraticunderground.com/bob/

[senseandsensibility]

20. Was Bob Boudelang a real person?

I remember him!

[TwilightZone]

22. He was the creation of a DUer.

Mr. Benchley, it appears.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181029645

[senseandsensibility]

24. Wow! Interesting info at that link

[TwilightZone]

23. I mean it!!!

I forgot about Bob. Thanks for the reminder.

[live love laugh]

77. What happened to Plaid?

[yardwork]

145. Bob Boudelang anticipated the MAGATs.

Who knew that half the country would turn out to be Bob Boudelang?!

[Raine]

21. I remember Kephra🥰💔

I posted back and forth with him a few times. He died sometime back.

R-I-P

[senseandsensibility]

25. I remember him too

[Turbineguy]

37. Kephra was a marine engineer

He died while trying to rescue another crew member on his vessel.

[mahina]

106. Oh my goodness.

WOW

[Coventina]

62. I'll never forget that day. I sat at my computer all day and cried.

He was such a sweetheart.

Rest in power, sweet soul!!

[mahina]

105. Tephra sourced great articles from everywhere.

He was an outstanding DUer and such a kind person.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

108. Kephera was awesome.

Miss him too.

[Hekate]

113. Kephra was the invaluable backbone of Latest Breaking News. His death was a tremendous loss. 💔

[Mz Pip]

26. Wiil Pitt

watching 8 hours of Fox News and commenting on it. It was hysterical! Sharks!

[Owl]

84. I agree! 😂

[OAITW r.2.0]

179. He was must read during the W years. When Obama became President, not so much.

He was better on offense than defense.

[Ocelot II]

27. Dont tutch the but.

[Cadfael]

61. I actually saved a screenshot of that

Makes me giggle even now

[vanlassie]

28. We used to have "How Many DUers Does It Take?"

from time to time and they were always funny.

[blm]

29. I can't. I'm already crying. Kef, 180, Andy, Will, and TOO MANY.

[Tom Kitten]

30. I went to Andy's memorial

I lived in Portland then but was in Seattle that weekend. I met Will Pitt there and he gave a eulogy. He was a powerful speaker as well.
ETA - the Lounge was a happening place in those days! I remember Lynne Sinn, yr grrl, progmom, kitchenwitch...

[Kaleva]

36. KitchenWitch!

I don't know if she was before my time, I joined early 2008, but I remember there being posts about her.

[bottomofthehill]

31. What ever happened to young John kleeb

Last edited Mon Feb 5, 2024, 10:44 AM - Edit history (1)

Young and impressionable. He must be in his 40’s now

[XanaDUer2]

39. I miss him

Great kid

[redqueen]

92. I hope he's still engaged and doing well. nt

[OAITW r.2.0]

180. An earnest young man, as I remember.

[Freethinker65]

32. Found DU through the Randi Rhodes message board back during early Air America Days.

[lpbk2713]

33. I remember "Unrec" being an option.

Some OPs would go up and down. I'm sure it was sometimes used
as a popularity contest. The Mods did right with doing away with it.

[Scrivener7]

48. The Meta Forum was another interesting experiment. Brought out the worst in EVERYBODY, but you couldn't look away.

[Kaleva]

59. It was DUs soap opera, a train wreck, must see tv

[yardwork]

147. I got in so much trouble in the Meta forum.

That was DU's version of a 24/7 bar fight.

[senseandsensibility]

98. I must have missed that

Do you remember what year that was?

[lpbk2713]

99. Sorry. I can't give you a good guess.

Seems like maybe six or eight years ago.

[DBoon]

35. There's a yak in my butter!

[XanaDUer2]

38. "I don't drink with you. " nt

[senseandsensibility]

159. Oh god, I remember that

RBin TX or something like that? Good times.

[XanaDUer2]

161. Yes

At his wifes work party. A woman kept pushing booze on him until he had to say that.

[oasis]

40. Opihimoimoi. Great host of Oahu DUers.

I have fond memories of our time near “The Fishpond” during W Bush’s first term.

[blm]

50. Such a sweetheart

[Kaleva]

42. The taterguy exception to the rule

"70. Have you never heard of the taterguy exception?
Mar 2014
Ordinary posters often will be (and have been) penalized for attempting to invoke the taterguy exception."


https://twitter.democraticunderground.net/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4666641

[emulatorloo]

43. NothingShocksMeAnymore - well thought-out and very well documented posts

[blm]

51. It was tough when she left 😢

[emulatorloo]

53. Indeed it was, definitely miss her posts.

[love_katz]

44. Top 10 conservative idiots and the hate mail bag.

And, as others have mentioned, Equal Time with Bob Boudalang. And Grovel Bot. Good times.

[sky_masterson]

46. The old circumcision battles

were always fun

[Scrivener7]

47. Rowdyboy.

What a sweetie.

[mike_c]

49. matcom

[Rhiannon12866]

52. I still remember the 2004 election. I couldn't believe that Bush* had been reelected.

The two forums at the time, GD and GDP, were changed for those who wanted to vent their feelings, one for those who were angry and wanted to sound off and the other for those who were miserable and needed sympathy. I posted in the latter.

[Skittles]

55. how about the first time he was elected

I mean, he's an idiot

[Rhiannon12866]

57. Good Grief! That was such a mess! But we didn't have DU back then, more's the pity

I remember watching the returns that night, Dan Rather and Bob Schieffer, and they kept saying that Al Gore won Florida, then he didn't - it was an anxious night.

[redqueen]

93. Well he would have, which is why Bush sued to stop the counting

Will never ever forgive sandra day oconner

[OAITW r.2.0]

185. A single vote......

that changed the course of US American history.

Most likely 9/11 and the Project for a New American Century don't happen. We don't invade Iraq. We invest in solar infrastructure and would have gained total renewable energy independence while employing millions in construction/and ongoing maintenance. Would Obama have won in 2008? Joe Liberman (why?) would have been the heir apparent? Does Trump happen without Obama?

Her vote changed US American history, but hard to know how much.

[live love laugh]

78. We were definitely robbed then. I couldn't believe it either. Still don't

believe it was legit based on the first term.

[Rhiannon12866]

79. I figured after his abysmal first term, there's be no way he'd be reelected.

I felt sick about it for a week, kept going back and forth with my friend about it since she felt the same way - and she eventually joined DU as well - which was a good thing.

[DBoon]

54. mini manda ruth

names after a song by the band "Rank and File"

[applegrove]

56. I miss MiddleFingerMom. He diligenty gave us comedy

Last edited Mon Feb 5, 2024, 03:18 AM - Edit history (1)

based on the DU and its members. It was a great part of the day on DU. He shared the best part of himself with us all that time. He had a big heart.

[nolabear]

110. I miss him too, the big galoot.

[greatauntoftriplets]

58. The Christmas of 2004.

Andy had been in Ohio working on the election count, but had nothing to do there on Christmas. So he came to Chicago and spent it with my family. Everyone loved him and we had a wonderful time.

About a month later, he called me from Washington, D.C., and told me that he was sick. I encouraged him to go to the local VA hospital. That was his pancreatic cancer making itself known.

That Christmas was the last time I saw him.

[blm]

64. 😢😢😢

[hatrack]

60. I remember Nostamj making me laugh until I was literally crying . . .

He was talking about Chimpco making scary noises about Saddam Hussein having NERVE GAS (except that his "NERVE GAS" was in scary green letters with a wavery font, and much more frightening than my attempts to type NERVE GAS.

[OAITW r.2.0]

63. My ex loved this site.

But I found it 1st!!!!

Formed an important communication link we needed in post 1999. She posted under a couple of names, but I can't even tell you now what her User Names were. Wish I could, because then, I could go back and read her thoughts from another time. She was a reporter and communicator of public issues. She ran for State Rep, but lost. It hurt badly.

I thought one of her nom d'plumes was "One World", but that account was a total deadend. A couple of DUers engaged with her a lot in the 2005/2012 era. maybe active in the Maine forum - maybe they can comment or PM me.

She was a good person, in the finest sense. Loved her for who she was and what she gave me. For 35 years. Sorry now it blew apart in 2012.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

65. BetterBeleiveIt

Who can forget .

[dalton99a]

66. RandomThoughts

because you need a beer when you see The Wall of Blue Links

[jmowreader]

68. Who remembers Oscar?

One of our number claimed to have found an animal that was like taking a dozen species of animal and sewing the parts together at random.

Also Kudzu, Dont Tutch the But, and the debate about whether cornflakes were acceptable as breading for fried chicken. As to the last one, some people got so upset over the thought of doing this and were creating enough of a disruption that the owner of DU at the time was kicking people off the board for even mentioning chicken.

[redqueen]

95. Oh my goddess the cornflake chicken fiasco

I had forgotten about that - odd to think such an innocuous thing could cause so much drama

[A-Schwarzenegger]

178. Through the fog of 20 years ago...

i vaguely recall...

[AKwannabe]

69. When...

My introduction post got a reply from Skinner!!!!!!

Didn’t have a clue at the time.
Some of the other DUers clued me in.
Including (our Dear) CP!

Great post!

[bluesbassman]

71. The "door buzzard".

Still chuckle when I think about that thread.

[AwakeAtLast]

74. Kephra's funeral.

Met with many DUers there, including Skinner himself!

RIP Kephra

[Duncan Grant]

75. arwalden, NSMA, Sapphocrat, terrya, and so many LGBTQI+ active users.

Back in 00’s, there were more smart, vital, queer progressives here than you can imagine — it was incredible. Such a community of people! I miss that DU.

The lounge was full of lgbt people (and allies), too — they were hilarious. NMSA and ASchwarzenegger had the funniest thread I remember — about Dildo, Newfoundland. Yeah, it was double entendres excess, but those two were well-matched, witty intellects. It was a community that burned bright, take my word for it.

[Hekate]

112. Political Tiger -- I enjoyed him very much...

A weird thing happened at DU, and he got stalked and left. I don't even have words for how bad his departure made me feel, but you know how you get a creepy feeling at the back of your neck when walking down a dark street? That was me. I’m not part of the LGBTQ community, I was just his friend, but all of a sudden one after another of my posts got alerted on. So I left, for what I thought would be forever — ended up coming back after a year or two.

Someone is now using the same tiger avatar he used to use, and every time I see it I remember him and hope he is happy.

[yardwork]

149. A weird thing happened. Yes.

It may have been related to what happened to DU in 2016. Infiltrators are real.

[Hekate]

162. This was earlier on -- and I was confused by events. But you may well be right.

[yardwork]

148. Hello Duncan. It's good to see you.

[Dem2theMax]

76. Longhorn.

Also known as Kendra. I will miss that woman forever.




Damned cancer.

[yardwork]

150. I remember her. I liked her a lot.

[Shrek]

80. "24 business hours"

After which Karl Rove would be slapped into handcuffs and frog-marched straight to jail.

[Hekate]

118. There was a HUGE amount of wishful thinking!

[betsuni]

81. Left was united during the Bush administration, Democrats weren't attacked with Both Sides

and accused of corruption, being establishment and status quo and not being progressive. I used to read many blogs and news sites when they were reporting about actual horrible Republican things, but it changed after Obama was elected, started to go to the dark side pro-Russia anti-America (meaning Democrats) and from 2014 Russian troll farms had more and more influence and 2016 was disgusting. People are really stupid.

I stopped lurking and joined DU in 2013 because women DUers were attacked and I needed to support them. Sorry, not a positive DU memory.

[Hekate]

115. Glad you joined. Don't be sorry -- I have a couple of bad memories too. If you've been here a long time...

…it’s like the fights some families have, and then you decide to get over it even if you don’t forget.

[Scrivener7]

119. Oh, Lord, yes. The gender wars.

On the bright side, just about every one of those guys is gone.

[betsuni]

120. Yes, gone. One of the worst claimed to have been so disgusted with Obama that he moved

to Japan in 2009. Didn't even give him a whole year. Of course that wasn't true, he'd moved during the Bush administration. Anything to attack Democrats and supporters!

[Scrivener7]

121. Those posts were eye opening.

I don't think I understood the thought processes before those gender wars. It was a scary look into those brains.

[róisín_dubh]

83. Recursion's "langurwalla" story

🤣 I about died laughing at that one and also the door buzzard thread 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Scrivener7]

86. Oh, a classic!!! "The monkeys have taken over the cabana! Repeat!

The monkeys have taken over the cabana!!"

[livetohike]

87. Newyawker99 who welcomed every new poster and

milestone. Bobthedrummer who was the first DUer to welcome me (after Newyawker99). RamboLiberal who stopped posting after contracting ALS.

So many hilarious threads that eased the tension of living with the Bush regime, sharing the joy of President Obama’s victory with the DU community and surviving the madness of the Trump cabal.

[OAITW r.2.0]

184. Thanks for posting....

He/she greeted me, too. And she kept up with the anniversaries and post counts too.

I know some DUer's have passed on, but I wonder about all of the others who are still around but no longer posting here. Would love to know why.

I

[Shrek]

88. jiacinto

Just guessing but I have to imagine that he set some kind of record for surviving the most alerts without a tombstone.

[XanaDUer2]

96. I forgot about him

IIRC, he went off on some cross-country trip for some reason, and he was keeping us all updated. Some DUers were offering him to stay with them. Crazy

[OAITW r.2.0]

186. That was an interesting poster.

Poster danced on the top of a tombstone for a long time.

[DFW]

89. July 2008. I had been on DU for 2 or 3 years, just getting used to being trashed on occasion.

Usually, "bullshit, there's no way you know those people (I did)," and "what makes you so special (nothing) that Howard Dean would tell you that? (He and I talked regularly)" and "why would someone like that tell something like that to someone like you (maybe because he didn't have your phone number?) "

On the morning of the day Obama was to announce his pick for VP, I was in Cape Cod, Mass. The announcement was scheduled for around 4 PM that afternoon. My nephew called me up from northern Virginia at about 7:30 in the morning and told me it was Joe Biden. I asked if he was sure. When he told how he knew, I realized he was 100% sure, but I also knew it would be a few years before I could reveal WHY he was so sure.

Not sure how to post the news, I crafted a carefully worded OP, saying I had it on pretty good authority that it would be Joe Biden, and had anyone else heard the same thing?

You'd thought I had cursed the name of Mao at a Chinese prison that carried out executions.

I got an onslaught of angry posts telling me why it would never be Biden, why it would be anyone BUT Biden, and who was I of all people to know such a thing, and, of course, the inevitable LINK?!?!?!?!?!?

When Obama's pick of Joe Biden was announced later that afternoon, exactly ONE poster came back to apologize, understanding that I still couldn't explain HOW I knew, but at least acknowledging that I really did know.

Years later, I figured there would be no more fallout for the "guilty" parties, and I revealed how I had known, but almost no one was left at DU who had trashed me at the time.

For the curious, here's how I knew. (If you don't care, feel free to stop reading here )

My nephew was 18 at the time, but was somewhat small for his age. he had a young face, and had a young and wiry physique. In addition, he is somewhat reserved, and has strong Asian features. My brother's wife is from Japan. He used to go to a local indoor swimming pool in northern Virginia very early in the morning, before he went to his summer job, interning with Matt Angle at the Lone Start project in Washington. At 6:30 AM, the only other people at the pool were two female office staff of then-Senator Joe Biden's office. They looked around before talking, but saw only some 12 year old (they thought) Asian kid, who never said a word, and probably didn't understand English in the first place. The kid, was my 18 year old nephew, who understood every word, of course. They felt free to excitedly discuss, out loud, the fact (still secret) that their boss had been picked by Obama to be his Vice-President. After all, it was still a secret if the only other person who heard the news was some young Asian kid who didn't understand English, right? He never said a word, and let them leave, still thinking their secret was safe.

So, right after he got home, my nephew called me up and gave me the news. For all my good intentions, I have been rarely so trashed for a thread on DU, and if there's anyone left here from those days who was one of those who gave me grief, no, I STILL don't have a link!!

[PCIntern]

90. Terrific post! Thanks for that!

[Hekate]

114. Love you and your stories, DFW. Always have, always will.

[DFW]

158. And I love friends who are always there with kind words and support

back atcha!

[yardwork]

151. The passive -aggressive DU LINK?????

Hmmmm???!

If I was one of those questioning you at the time I apologize now. I have a suspicious mind.

[dalton99a]

157. +1

[PCIntern]

91. Yes...

Election night, 2004:

After midnight strange things started happening in Ohio and a few of us were posting furiously. It was obvious that someone was up to no good. It was announced that there would be hell to pay the next day when they figured out what was going on with the Secretary of State of Ohio and his minions

Of course, the next day, Sen Kerry conceded and it looked like he was “gotten to”. My theory at the time was that his children were threatened if he contested the election. He had a look to him.

Anyway, I recall being up all night posting and reflecting that I’d been up all night on Election Day 2000.

I thought things were horrific THEN. 😢

[OAITW r.2.0]

187. Never not believed that Republicans gamed the Ohio results in 2004.

The State uses a GOP server address for reporting results?

[berniesandersmittens]

94. The switchover to DU2

Change came hard for some of us. So we stayed in the echo chamber of the old lounge as long as possible.

Some of us left claw marks leaving the lounge.

[BannonsLiver]

97. A poster Calling Hamas members "freedom fighters just like Mandela" is one for me.

[Kali]

100. lots of hilarious trolls

some were high post count, years long members. some still plague MIRT to this day. probably my all time favorite was the loony darkangel. got a lot of hides due to her.

[OAITW r.2.0]

188. Thing about long-term trolls on DU.

To troll well, you need to read DU a lot and digest what is being said about the issues of the moment. The more time a troll spends here, the more unfun it becomes. Then they drop out or change their name and might actually become contributors here on DU.

[mahina]

101. I remember the first time I ever heard of DU. I read a banner Democraticunderground.com on CSPAN, watching the bush II

inauguration parade. It was a big banner, maybe painted on a sheet? It was a beautiful thing. Such a dreadful day, but that gave me hope. That and the egg throwers...

I read DU that day, and lurked for a couple of years.

What a wild ride. DU, you make the world a better place.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

102. I remember

Sleepless nights spent on DU.

I am an insomniac one night
I wrote a post titled " I must be weird" and California Peggy was one of the few people still awake on the forum at that ungodly hour. She and I ended up in a conversation and she asked me if I was waxing poetic. It felt good to talk together,I was having doubts about my ideas and she gave me critique and confidence. I will always appreciate the 4 am conversations with various DUers late at night. It was the early days of DU when it was a much smaller board much less chaos. It used to get rather quiet here when it was that late and I had many great and honest conversations here Some really have uplifted,educated ,made me laugh and even changed me.
Thank you DU and vlad,skinner and elad.

Also when the site got hacked and lost my post count and my name which is similar to the one I have now. I had a fit trying to get back on DU.

[Hekate]

138. I'm also an insomniac -- DU has been great because there is always someone awake in some time zone

[yardwork]

154. When Trump occupied the WH I would wake up and doom scroll.

I'd get freaked out by what Trump was tweeting in the middle of the night and come to DU for a reality check. I'd find something to make me laugh. It was a comfort and then I could go back to sleep.

My wife was annoyed with me for four years. I hope that Trump doesn't get back in the White House. I'm older now and I need my sleep and so does she!

[nolabear]

111. Listening in on the police scanner when the Boston Marathon bombing happened.

I don’t recall who had a link to it but it was mesmerizing to hear them zoning in on him hiding in a boat. When the police realized people were listening they switched channels. It was surreal hearing the news wondering what was happening and us hearing it play out.

[Hekate]

116. Hurricane Katrina and the Drowning of New Orleans. We had a slew of DUers who lived there...

…and who wrote gripping first-person accounts to this board. The accounts were heartbreaking and enraging all at once. Gods bless them all for sharing that horrific and historic clusterfck with those of us far away.

I thought then (and still do) that someone should gather all those posts into a book.

[radius777]

117. Whether Al Gore would run in 2004 or not.

I've followed DU off and on since about 2002 - back when people wanted Al Gore to run again in 2004 - who probably should've as the base was fully behind him in a way that they were not in 2000, and I think he would've beaten Bush (again, lol).

Some others:

-Jiacinto. iirc he was very conservative (some felt he was a plant) and loved Lieberman lol.
-Mongo(what ever happened to him) and his porn war threads lol, were usually epically long with lots of hides and hurt feelings lol.
-Will Pitt was a defining character of early DU.
-Keith Olbermann and Al Franken. remember people felt they were the only fighters in the MSM for us calling out Bush's lies.
-in 2008, Obama vs Hillary, this place was insane, I stopped reading for months and came back when it was over.

There were years at a time I barely visited (had other user names I forgot passwords to) - but usually came back around the presidential elections.

[OAITW r.2.0]

190. Started out as a Hilliary supporter in 2008, but switched early on to Obama.

Saw him in Bangor, ME in 2008 and I was impressed with his oratory skills and general overall intelligence. And I was committed to Hillary when she ran in 2016, We had the opportunity to elect the most experienced and capable person to be POTUS and due to a fucked up institution, we ended up with the dumbest, most unqualified person to become President.during the COVID epidemic.

Fun fact - no President has ever killed more Americans, in 4 0r 8 years, than Donald Trump and his total failure performance during the start of Covid. Thought it was a Democratic problem. Turns out it was his voters that paid the price.

[bif]

127. I miss Lunatica!

She had the most insightful observations in the Artists forum. Don't know what ever happened to her. She simply disappeared one day.

[2 Meow Momma]

128. Sending flowers to Sen. Barbara Boxer and sending a tie to Olbermann

then waiting to see if he’d wear it on MSNBC.

Good community here to do those kinds of things!

[Hekate]

135. Sent a bajillion red roses to Helen Thomas. I think the occasion was Bush exiling her to the back...

…of the White House Press Room.

When she got the buckets of roses she sat among them for a photo looking rather stunned at our accolades — and gave most away to hospitals (of course)

What a great lady. What a great community at times as well.

[2 Meow Momma]

136. Gosh, I forgot the flowers to Ms. Thomas!

This thread has made me kind of sad remembering Kephra, Andy, and others.

Some of us have been talking with each other for 20 years or more.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

130. My dear senseandsensibility!

Imagine my shock and pleasure on seeing my name in your OP! Wow!

Thank you for that honor. I had completely forgotten that I ever said that. I still try to answer everyone who comes into a thread of mine, but some days there just isn't enough time.

I'm always working on living up to my sigline:

I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creatures, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. Stephan Grellet

[senseandsensibility]

132. That is a beautiful sentiment, CP!

And I am sure I am not the only one who thinks you live up to it.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

131. Christie Crime Digest

Last edited Tue Feb 6, 2024, 05:03 PM - Edit history (1)

Like three volumes of it. Back when Republicans were merely corrupt and there was some humor to it. Now everything is so dark and evil. Today, Christie looks almost normal-still fat and obnoxious but almost…

On edit: it was four volumes! What an effort. I’ve got to give Laxman a call. Haven’t talked to him since our college reunion before Covid. He’s the one who introduced me to DU.

[Elessar Zappa]

133. Matcom!

He was hilarious. I wonder what became of him?

[Dr. Strange]

134. Well, let's see...

rabrrrrrr's match game was always great fun
The DUzy's, of course. RIP JeffR.
mainly because half the people I was with believed it until I explained the situation to them
Bombing the moon
The Brazilian joke
NARWHALS FUCK YEAH!!!

[Hekate]

137. I still miss Frenchie Cat. She was lovely.

All the best wherever she is.

[Mz Pip]

189. She was great

We were both Clark supporters 20 years ago. We went to heat him speak in SF.

[elocs]

139. No n/t

[eleny]

141. The thread where DUers posted our real names

I hope it's buried deep!

[xmas74]

153. My daughter was a preschooler

And she loved when matcom would mention her,just to watch his purple hippo.
Fyi- she's almost 24 now.

Also, kudzu/cornflakes/breastfeeding in public/Olive Garden and sn entire late night thread with dozens of pictures of Trent Reznor.

[Deep State Witch]

155. The DUzy Awards

And Top 10 Conservative Idiots.

[senseandsensibility]

160. Reading everyone responses has made me remember something called

I want to start a thread that never dies. The poster kept a single thread going for months, maybe longer. Anyone remember that?

[A-Schwarzenegger]

174. greywarrior

yep, i remember

[senseandsensibility]

177. Do you know what happened to him or her?

That thread was something else.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

193. i searched

Last edited Sat Feb 10, 2024, 11:09 PM - Edit history (1)

and couldnt find anything recent, she was a she, and funny... Bless her wherever she is... Oh, here she is... last post 2015... https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=profile&uid=119770

[Model35mech]

163. I won a CD produced by a DUer who started posting from Hawaii

and then moved to Virginia.

He said he'd give a cd to the nth poster in his thread. I happened to be that poster.

[talkinghand]

173. I was active on here 20 years ago!

For several years I lurked and posted on DU. I found this place via oreilly-sucks dot com; a friend of mine was active there and referred me to that forum. I had no idea there were places like this. I didn’t know anything or care about politics until 2000! Even though I was a Poli Sci major. I stayed up all night watching the election results that year, and witnessed Fox News switching Florida to Bush - completely in shock. THAT got me interested. By the time 9-11 happened I was VERY interested. Over the next five years I wrote satirical political columns for our local underground press. Many were submitted to DU and a few were accepted! I was very proud of this. By 2007 I was completely burned out on politics and quit writing and posting. I got an email from DU this week, somehow, so here I am - shocked I was able to log in after all these years! I’ll lurk for a bit and see what’s going on around here. 2016 and 2020 got me interested in politics again; 2024 looks like another banner year for shenanigans. Thanks for putting this thread up!

[senseandsensibility]

183. Welcome back!

One thing I can guarantee: it won't be boring!

[madinmaryland]

181. Walt Starr. "Just tombstone me right the fuck now." Skinner: "OK"

[senseandsensibility]

182. Classic!

And never to be heard from again, I guess.

[OAITW r.2.0]

191. This has been an multi-hourlong reading. Because I got side tracked on a lot of comments. Well done S and S!

The poster I miss the most is NothingShocksMeAnymore.. One of the most consistently intelligent with a hard edge of cynicism. Loved that DUer.

[Texasgal]

192. I miss Sniffa

he used to always capitalize his "L's" in his posts. We traded books through the mail a few times. He was a HOOT!

[madinmaryland]

194. From the Sports Group: cboy4, upton, condem, matcom, trumad...

[Tree Lady]

195. The day after John Kerry lost

Someone started a post saying I am not afraid and posted their real name, a bunch of us including me did the same, for years if I googled my name DU came up, because my first name was my name here, when they offered to change names I did as the internet became less safe.

That thread has always above all others meant the most to me because we were all so honest and raw in our grief.