I'm saving a GDP thread to disk as html

[Eloriel]

If anyone would like to see it -- I'm HOPING it will soon be deleted -- please shoot me your email address. Unfortunately (or fortunately, perhaps, given the adrenalin coursing thru my veins right now), I have to be off line for a while.

[Heddi]

1. I just sent you my email

because I'm a nosy little shit :)

[Heddi]

2. I went to GDP and I *think* I know what you're talking about

at any rate, I alerted on one that was particularly vile.

[Ripley]

3. I bet I know.

The thread about Katherine Harris' "tits"? Goldmund had one in GD earlier today that I alerted on, but it's still around.

See, this is why I might have to leave DU again and for sure will not be donating any more money to DU. They KNOW that thread is full of sexist language, but we're supposed to ignore it because it is about a Repub instead of one of "us." Bullshit.

And the crap they'll say about how we make fun of Bush's chimp face is not equal to this!!!! :grr:

[Bunny]

4. If it's the Katherine Harris fake breast thread, it's locked now.

What a big steaming pile that was. Why was it allowed to get so far?

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[chicaloca]

12. Bloody fucking hell.

You might want to save that one, too, Eloriel.

What the fuck is wrong with people? I feel like, just for the hell of it, starting a really disgustingly sexually degrading thread about Bush sometime, just to see how people here, especially the mods, would react. I bet it would be gone in a second.

[Ripley]

14. Of course it would be gone in a second.

They'd say it broke the rule about saying anything threatening to the Boy King. Blah blah blabedyblah.

This really stinks...there are way too many great female Duers that are leaving or don't spend much time here anymore because of the rampant sexism.

[Eloriel]

15. And it's STILL not locked

Amazing. Just when I was beginning to calm down. :grr:

[Zenlitened]

23. Confession: I posted in that thread.

My post:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4304928&mesg_id=4305220

I wish there was a way to discuss the topic in a non-lockerroom guffaw! guffaw! kind of way, because what Harris is doing is offensive to women in general, IMO.

:(

[Bunny]

8. Say, when your friend gets her forum going, would you mind

sending me a link? I'd like to visit a forum that doesn't allow this crap! Thanks.

[Ripley]

9. Me too!

I think it's getting worse here, and I can only imagine what it will be like around election time.

[Eloriel]

11. Absolutely. n/t

[chicaloca]

13. fuck, I'd like a link, too.

I haven't been on a lot lately, and it's amazing how much better my mindset has been lately. I think that thread just made my blood pressure bounce off the moon.

on edit: I know of an awesome feminist message board that gets a decent amount of traffic. You have to be registered (for free) to even look at it because of the types of woman-hating trolls we see on DU, but it's definitely worth it. If anybody wants a link, let me know.

[Eloriel]

16. Absolutely, on both counts -- I'll take that link as well. PM me. n/t

[cally]

37. Could you PM me the links also

Thanks.

[lukasahero]

42. Add me to the links list please. :-) eom

[Love Bug]

44. I'd like a link, too please

The negitivity on DU gets to me sometimes and I'd like to find a forum that hopefully is accepting and more positive. Thanks.

[atommom]

21. Me too! I'm finding all this juvenile BS really annoying.

[Eloriel]

10. I want to point out two things

One, look at the pile-on such an OP creates. It is one huge disaster, that thread.

Second, to DU's credit -- and I emailed Skinner re the thread after I alerted, btw -- AT LEAST "sexist" was given as the reason for it being locked. That kind of moderator message will HELP avoid future threads of the sort.

But man, it never should've gone on that long, and I'm still real mad, disgusted, and outraged, actually.

[Bunny]

17. Here's a brand new one:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4308449

And another one! :

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4308603

:grr: I've alerted.

[atommom]

18. WTF is going on here? It's as if we're being firebombed by the

Booby Squad. :eyes:

[Bunny]

19. That's exactly what it is. And it's a distraction from the other

"important" news.

[atommom]

20. I see that the "slept her way to the top" thread has been deleted.

And it's about f'in' time.

[Bunny]

22. I wish I had the power to reach through the screen!

Yes, thankfully that was disappeared.

[NMDemDist2]

24. I would just like to remind you folks that mods are not paid, are not

on "shifts" and deal with alerts when then come online (usually after a busy day of school or work), wait for consensus THEN act.

Patience is a virtue.

[Technowitch]

25. To second this -- and as a GD Mod -- we're doing the best we can

Many of us are women, some of us having been involved in feminist causes for decades -- but that includes the male Moderators, too. A truly misogynistic Moderator would not be tolerated by the Admins.

But we are, all of us, volunteers. I'm a freelance writer, and the hours I can donate to DU are limited.

We don't ignore Alerts on purpose. We don't get every single bad post, and given the nature of the job, the Moderating isn't always consistent, and sometimes things fall between the cracks. And sometimes there is not sufficient consensus to perform the acts being demanded. Or it takes time -- sometimes hours -- to get that consensus.

We're trying though. Please don't bash us for failing to be perfect.

Thank you,
-Technowitch

[Eloriel]

26. Good points. What I don't understand is

(and I'm not looking for an answer here) -- HOW can a post be deleted while the post above it, the very post the now deleted post is responding to, is NOT deleted even tho it contains the word "slut"?

[Technowitch]

30. Because as I said, we are not perfect

In the last five hours, I've gotten over 50 alerts on various posts in GD alone. As Moderators, we're also supposed to provide consensus on actions brought in by other Mods. This doesn't even count the posts you seem to expect us to spot automagically and without fail.

We get one nasty post, and manage to spot a few others on our own, and fail to see the other near it. After looking at all the dreck we have to look at, literally thousands of posts a day -- some of them so bad, they make me physically sick -- we're bound to miss some.

I'm sorry, but WE ARE NOT PERFECT. And DU isn't going to come to an end because we Mods fail to live up to impossible-to-meet standards of absolute perfection. You would not believe the hell it's been this afternoon, trying to stay on top of everything -- and then getting slammed for failing to get every last offensive post as quickly as everybody here would like. It makes me question why I even volunteered, to be quite honest.

Okay?

[cally]

39. I do know how hard you work

I am also a former GD mod and it can be hell. I remember so many alerts and they are coming so fast that you can barely keep up with them.

Just to concur with you I know I often would delete posts without reading all the posts in the thread. I just couldn't read them all, make decisions, try to get consensus, and keep up with the alerts on busy days. You do the best you can and I appreciate it.

[NMDemDist2]

32. I'll try and answer that Eloriel. Some days the mod forum is VERY busy

and we don't always look at the whole thread to give a consensus. Often we just read the alert that includes the post in question, it's a bad one, we agree, it gets removed.

When we have an inbox full of alerts (some days there are 50 when I get home) we don't always get back to the thread to read through the whole thing. Some days we have more time and we do a lot of alerts ourselves as moderators (which means you never see the thread/post because it's gone so quick), some days it's all we can do to act on the posts the members bring to our attention.

Those are the days that Technowitch was talking about when things "fall through the cracks"

We do strive to read all posts in context but we sure aren't perfect. On a busy news day (like this Katherine Harris thing) threads are getting started faster then we can alert, post in the mod forum and get a look from the other mods to act on ONE post, much less 20 threads worth.

don't hesitate to alert but please try not to lecture us on the rules, we are vastly outnumbered out there remember. We truly do our best. Some days it's pretty darn good, some days maybe not so much.

:hide:

[cally]

34. Just so you see my other post

I'll repeat. Thanks for the hardwork and I know it's a volunteer job. :hug: Some of it just gets to us. I'm glad for your comments and efforts.

[NMDemDist2]

36. thank you, and you're welcome! we Mod cuz we love DU too n/t

[Bunny]

28. Thank you. You have a very tough job.

And I appreciate your efforts. :thumbsup:

[NMDemDist2]

38. you're welcome, and Thank You for your patience and understanding n/t

[Heddi]

29. As a former mod, and speaking SOLELY for myself

I don't expect to-the-second response when I send an alert. I used to mod while working 40 hours a week AND going to school full time. I know that you gals/guys aren't online 24 hours a day, sitting by the computer waiting with baited breath for email alerts to come through.

For me, though, the frustration isn't with the moderators, but rather with the members of DU themselves. It's frustrating that after THIS long, we STILL have to deal with members who think it's hunky dory to make posts about ugly women, ugly tits, ugly ass, tight ass, big tits, etc.

THAT is where my frustration comes from--the fact that we even HAVE those posts around to alert on. The frustration is that, for the most part, these posts aren't made by newbies, or trolls, or disruptors. They're made by LONG TIME members who are supposedly in "good liberal standing" because they ascribe to SOME liberal philosophies, but find it just perfectly acceptable to continously not just denegrate women, but denegrate women's issues and causes.

THAT is the frustrating part. That, for the most part, the same posters can be as misogynistic and hateful AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN and it's tolerated out of some wierd notion that "There are no hard-set set of values someone has to ascribe to in order to be a member of DU"

I know you all have a thankless job. THat you're the first to be criticized when something goes wrong, but never complimented when you zap trolls and disruptors without anyone being the wiser. I appreciate the hard work that all of you do and really do understand the frustration that you feel on your part.

But please understand--again, just speaking FOR MYSELF---my frustration is aimed 99% at the members of DU that think it's cute, and 'boys being boys' to constantly make hateful and hurtful posts SOLELY because they know it's gonna get a rise out of the Feminist Harpies that congregate in this group. Pushing the envelope further and further and further.

They don't do it on race issues like they do on women's issues. They don't do it on gay issues like they do on women's issues.

FAT
UGLY
WOMEN
SEXY
TIGHT
WOMEN

THEY KNOW that by making posts highlighting one (or all) of the above will get a rise. I feel sorry for anyone who thinks these posts are 'accidental' or 'misunderstood' or 'just a joke' or 'not meant in that way'. They are PURPOSEFUL and with INTENT TO DISRUPT.

That's my frustration.


hed

[Bunny]

31. Your very last paragraph is a perfect description of those boys.

They always show up, with their oh-so-clever :popcorn: smiley, don't they? It's just a big farking game to them, isn't it?

[Bunny]

27. I understand, and thanks for your hard work.

:thumbsup:

[cally]

33. Thanks for your hard work

and I know it's a volunteer job. :hug: Some of it just gets to us. I'm glad for your comments and efforts.

[Technowitch]

40. Appreciate it, Cally. As AZDem said, we wouldn't have volunteered...

...if we didn't love DU, and want to help keep it a good place. Thanks!

[lukasahero]

41. Can I join the thank you pile on?

Sorry if this thread started to sound like a "complain about the mods thread" - I know everyone here has noted an increased attention by all you mods to the sexist BS that has sprung up here in droves lately. Anyway, I owe someone on the mod crew a personal thank you for deleting a post yesterday before it even got a chance to get out of hand (which it most certainly would have - quickly). I'm not going to say which one because I don't want the folks who were pissed about it getting deleted to know I had alerted on it because, to be honest, I don't trust them and I don't want to be harassed. (Please think about that statement, if you will.)

I would like you folks to consider, however, how many women are leaving DU due to the "rampant sexism". Look at this thread and see how many are looking to go elsewhere to find a place to talk in peace. And then there's the many who have left without saying anything at all.

I really do appreciate the job you all are doing, and realize the creation of this group has, to some degree, made that job more difficult as it has really stirred things up for those that want DU to remain their political "boys club". Thank you for your efforts. But please do give some thought to what is being expressed in this thread. It might be worth discussing among the other mods.

PS - I think Heddi really nailed down our frustration to a T. Props, Heddi.

[Ripley]

43. Good point.

Thanks to the mods as well. I'm sorry I implied the moderators were sexist in my deleted post above, but honestly what are we to think? I appreciate how much information you mods have to look at and aren't always on line. However, it seems odd that outright racist, homophobic and just plain hateful Freepers seem to be zapped very quickly, while the sexist and I mean BLATANTLY SEXIST threads last for almost a day long.

As lukasahero says.... look at how many of us you are losing. Maybe it doesn't matter to some here, in fact I know some people would say "Thank God those PC Feminists left!" And their sexist threads would probably stay a lot longer and they wouldn't have to worry about anyone annoying them and making them feel uncomfortable and defensive for their sexist and misogynistic words.

And as Heddi says so well above...it is the long time DUers that get a pass. Why are some of these men not banned? I know of one particular guy that everyone, and I mean other men as well as women have a problem with - he has been banned from more than one Group - and yet...magically he is still a welcome poster in LBN, etc. I don't understand that.

[cally]

35. Those threads are disgusting

I still think there are way too many on progressive forums who think it's OK to trash women.