What does Bernie Sanders really want? What he said he wants. Read his speeches. Go to his website

[senz]

46. It took me a long time to get a mental map of this place.

I got lost a lot and tended to stick to the front page and lightly stumble through some of the threads without focusing on individuals. I knew nothing of the jury system and had no idea there were flame wars. I got a hide months before I understood about alerts, juries, the five hide rule, etc. For a long time I wasn't aware of the tabs that show "my posts," etc. and couldn't find threads I'd posted in previously. It was so confusing. I didn't get heavily involved here until Bernie announced and then it began to open up for me, perhaps from pure motivation. Once I grasped the layout and operations, I was blown away by how beautifully and intricately programmed it is. One person who helped me feel more at home here was bmus, and after I got to know her, other people came into focus and I began forming impressions of them.

I've seen mention of woo me with science and wish I'd been aware of her when she was here. I never know how to deal with those whose motive is to disrupt/prevent discussion (perhaps that's where ignore comes in handy). It's pretty much the definition of troll. Sometimes it's obviously an act of hostility and disruption, e.g. Hill supporters who pop in to say something inane and demeaning of the entire discussion. A good example is a comment toward the bottom of this thread. Sometimes it might just be someone who impulsively blurts out whatever they're thinking. I plead guilty to having done that occasionally.

I think sometimes people, myself included, will repeat the obvious for the simple purpose of getting the truth out to the public, to anybody who happens to stop by and lurk a while. I think of web forums like this one or Facebook as "media" capable of influencing the national conversation and thus the national consciousness, so there's a certain responsibility involved. Yes, I believe that. I know for a fact that one can get memes started by putting them out on "the internet" a few times. Because of what I studied in grad school, I pretty much always see public communication -- like this -- as potentially rhetorical. Now private communication -- private forums, email -- is a different thing.

Okay, I'm getting fatigued.