I left DU nearly 3 years ago and it took me 3 days to remember why.

[Cirque du So-What]

8. It does seem that a good many are determined to make DU suck for everyone else

but in the same way that I stick with the Democratic party and work toward achieving change from within, I have stuck with DU and will continue to strive toward making it suck less. I consider it shameful that an ostensibly 'democratic' discussion board allows the trollish shenanigans you mention - and more - to pass muster among a randomly-selected group that can give a stamp of approval that passes poorly for enforcement of so-called community standards.

But still I return.

Why?

It's because of the news and commentary. Sure, I could find all those articles and opinion pieces on my own, but that takes time. For me, DU is a very convenient location for finding anything & everything of interest in the political world. I've tried an untold number of other websites, but they're lightweights in terms of breadth and depth of content.

In the meantime, I'll continue to make noise when I see a contingent hellbent on making DU suck. At the same time, I express my dismay over good people being run away disgustedly when encountering the sort of crap you mention.