An apology. A concern. And an invitation.

[Ms. Toad]

92. Because too many people see trolls where there aren't any.

Spend some time in MIRT - any variation from the party line triggers a troll hunt (including many who are dragged into MIRT because MIRT member notices what they perceive to be a slightly off post in the rest of the forum.)** The OP is correct - in many ways DU thinking is just as black and white as the thinking we accuse CC or FR of - and you can see it more clearly in MIRT where discussing people who step out of line can be done freely, without the concern of hidden posts because of bluntly accusing someone of being a troll, republican, conservative, etc. One of the things I value most about people I see as truly progressive is that they really embrace multi-dimensional thinking. The OP is at least correct that very little of that happens on DU. I wish more would.

** This is not to totally trash MIRT. MIRT members do a lot of work, and make the place much more pleasant for the rest of DU by identifying and quickly eliminating known trolls (LG, DTG, etc.). They also quickly dispatch spammers and obvious disrupters. All that is good, and necessary work that takes considerable time. I did two terms on MIRT - and if you take it seriously, it is a lot of work. My concern is when any variation from the party line triggers an assumption that the person is a, and triggers a troll hunt that often either results in a PPR - or the person leaving because of badgering like some of what is going on in this thread.