For my 27th thousand post on DU.

I've been on DU since sometime in 2001 - I don't remember which month I joined. I know I began reading DU in the spring of 2001, and was a registered member by the time of the 9/11 attacks. My registration number is 106679, which means I was the 6,679th person to sign up on DU.

I doubt many people are familiar with my username these days, since I have never been a paricularly profligate poster, and these days I maybe post a comment in the main forums no more than 2 -3 times a week, and post an OP less than 3-4 times a year. But I've been here reading all along, through all these 13+ years. I've seen countless DUers that I knew from the early days drift away or get banned - and there are many of those who got banned whom I dearly miss even today. Not to mention those very precious DUers who shuffled off this mortal coil - to the grievous loss of us all.

Anyway, the last time I marked a milestone in my post count was when I reached 1,000 posts, ages ago. Back then I was in a friendly race with Jackpine Radical for reaching the 1,000 mark - I think I may have won, but I honestly don't remember for sure. What matters to me now is that he is still here and still posting, and is still my good friend. Thank you, Jackpine! And if you won that race, please be sure to correct the record!

I totally missed noticing when I made my 10,000th post, and totally missed noticing when I made my 20,000th post - so I've been sort of half-assed watching for this 27,000 mark - just for the heck of it. I noticed I had reached 26,999 on Monday, so I started thinking about what I might want to write for #27,000, to mark the occasion.

So, this is it. This is how I'm marking my 27,000th post on DU.

I still love this place - even as I despair about many things that go on here, even as I miss how it was in the early days, even as I feel anger, disgust, despair about how people have come to treat each other here - I mean, come on, can't some of you at least TRY to be kind to each other?

DU is my home on the internet - literally, it's my homepage, has been since 2001. After all these years here, I can't imagine my life without DU. And I've "met" so many wonderful, extraordinary people here - some in real life, for which I will always be grateful.

Please be kind to each other. Please don't automatically assume ill intent on the part of those with whom you disagree. When your first instinct is to respond to someone with anger or snark, please take a moment before you click "post" to consider the possibility that you might have misinterpreted their intent. Please take a moment to consider that your reflexively moving into combat mode will only result in defensiveness and combativeness in return.

I think that most of us are here because we care about the state of our country and its governance, and we hope that, through our discussions with each other, we can share and promote ideas for creating a better future. What else is the point?

Really, this is all I have to say for my 27,000th post: please treat each other with kindness.

Thanks,
sw