|
Help
Frequently Asked Questions, message board rules, contact information,
and more. |
Last Updated November 22, 2005
Rules & Administration FAQ
Do the discussion forums have any rules?
Who is in charge of Democratic Underground?
Registration & Passwords FAQ
How do I register?
How do I register with an AOL, Gmail, Hotmail,
MSN, Yahoo, or other free email address?
I lost my password. How do I get another one?
How do I change my password?
Posting FAQ
How do I post a message?
How do I edit a message?
How do I delete a message?
How do I post an image?
How do I link to an image without having it embedded
directly in my message?
How many posts do I need to start a new thread,
etc?
User Options & Customization FAQ
What is an avatar image?
How do I select an avatar image or upload an avatar
image?
How do I change my signature line?
How do I hide members' signature lines?
How do I increase or decrease the font size?
How do I add someone to my ignore list?
How do I remove someone from my ignore list?
How do I add someone to my buddy list?
How do I remove someone from my buddy list?
How do I hide a thread?
How do I show a thread that I have hidden?
How do I hide Lounge threads from the Latest Page?
How do I hide images and avatars?
Forums, Features & Pages FAQ
What is a Forum?
What is a DU Group?
How do I propose a new DU Group?
What are "My Forums"?
How do I add a forum to "My Forums"?
How do I remove a forum from "My Forums"?
What is the Lobby? Latest Page? Greatest
Page?
How do I recommend a thread for the homepage?
How do I recommend a thread for the Greatest
Page?
How can I tell which threads have the most votes?
What is "My Posts"?
What do "Mark" and "Mark All" do?
Alerts & Reporting Abuse FAQ
Where is the "Alert" link? How do I use it?
I think someone is a disruptor. What should
I do?
I think a post should be removed. What should I
do?
I alerted a post. Why didn't the moderators
do anything?
I alerted a post. Why did it take so long for
the moderators to do anything?
I alerted a post. Will the moderators send me
a response?
Donation FAQ
How do I donate?
I donated, but I didn't get a star. What should
I do?
Can I donate for someone else?
Do you accept donations by mail?
How long does a donor star last?
Where did my star go?
What is the minimum donation?
What is your refund policy?
Are donations tax-deductible?
Moderating & Rule Enforcement FAQ
Why was my post deleted?
Why was my post deleted, but not this other
post?
Why did the moderators delete my post
faster than they deleted someone else's post?
Why was my thread locked?
Why are the moderators picking on me? Why is a
particular moderator biased against me?
Why was I banned?
Why was another member banned?
Can I come back after I have been banned?
I've been banned. Why don't your respond to
me?
Why don't you let conservatives post?
Rules & Administration FAQ
|
Do the discussion forums have
any rules?
Yes. All members of our community are expected to learn and abide by
our discussion forum rules, which are available here.
[Back to top]
Who is in charge of Democratic Underground?
The three administrators of Democratic Underground are Skinner,
EarlG,
and Elad.
You can contact them by email.
We also have a team of volunteer moderators who help with the day-to-day
operation of the discussion forum. You can alert the moderators to potential
problems on the discussion forum by clicking the "Alert" link
on any post. A complete listing of moderators and their forum assignments
is available in the Forum
Lobby.
[Back to top]
Registration & Passwords FAQ
|
How do I register?
New members can register to join Democratic Underground by clicking
on the link on our homepage that says "First time visitor? Please
register," or you can simply click
here to register. After you agree to follow our Discussion Forum
Rules, you are prompted to provide the following information:
- Username - This is the name you use to login to DU. It will
appear along with all the messages you post here.
- Name - This is your real name.
- Email Address - This must be a valid email address that
you have access to.
A randomly-generated password will be sent to the email address you
provide. Please note that some email programs sometimes interpret this
email as unwanted spam, so make sure you check your junk email folder.
This email should arrive within 30 minutes of the time you register.
Click the "login" icon in the Forum Lobby, or click
here to login. Your web browser must be set to allow cookies. When
you login for the first time, you will be prompted to set all of your
preferences.
After you login, you have the option to change your password to anything
else you choose. Click "Options" then "Change your password,"
or just click
here.
If you do not receive your registration email: First, check
your junk mail folder to make sure the registration email is not caught
in your spam filter. If you do not receive your registration email within
thirty minutes, please use our lost
password function to email yourself another password. If that does
not work, please send an email to the administrators.
We will get back to you on the next business day.
[Back to top]
How do I register with an AOL, Gmail,
Hotmail, MSN, Yahoo, or other free email address?
We have a 24-hour waiting period on user registrations which come from
AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, MSN, Yahoo, or other free email addresses. If your
email comes from one of these providers, please follow our normal instructions
for registration. However, please note that you will not be permitted
to login to our website until 24 hours have passed from the time of
your registration.
We appreciate your patience, and we apologize that we have to enforce
this waiting period. Unfortunately, this action is necessary to cut
down on the number of disruptors who register using free email accounts.
[Back to top]
I lost my password. How do I get another one?
Our software can automatically assign you a new password, and email
it to the address we have on file for you. Click the link on our homepage
that says "Lost Password? Click here," or click
here to get a new password.
You will be prompted to provide your forum username and your email
address. Take care to insure that you type this information exactly
as it is saved in our records, with proper spelling and spacing. A randomly-generated
password will be sent to the email address you provide. Please note
that some email programs sometimes interpret this email as unwanted
spam, so make sure you check your junk email folder.
If that does not work, please send an email to the administrators.
We will get back to you on the next business day.
[Back to top]
How do I change my password?
You have the option to change your password to anything you choose.
Click "Options" then "Change your password," or
just click
here. You will be prompted to type in your current password and
the new password you want. Click "Update."
If you do not know your current password, please follow
these instructions to have a new password assigned to your account.
[Back to top]
How do I post a message?
There are two ways to post on Democratic Underground. You can start
a new discussion topic, or you can reply to another message.
To start a new discussion topic: Enter the forum which is most
appropriate for your topic, and then click the icon at the top of the
page that is marked "Post." Fill out the form and click "Post
Message."
To reply to another message: Find the message you want to reply
to. Click the small black link in the bottom right-hand corner of that
message that says "Reply." Fill out the form and click "Post
Message."
[Back to top]
How do I edit a message?
Members have the ability to edit their own messages. The editing timeframe
lasts for 60 minutes after a message is first posted. After that 60
minute timeframe is over, you are no longer permitted to edit a post.
To edit a post, click the small black link in the bottom right-hand
corner of your message that says "Edit."
[Back to top]
How do I delete a message?
Members cannot delete messages. However, you can use the edit function
to completely erase the content of your message if you so choose. (See
the FAQ How do I edit a message?) Also, you can
click the "Alert" link in the bottom left-hand corner of a
post and ask the moderators to delete a post for you. There is no guarantee
that they will do so, but you are welcome to ask them.
[Back to top]
How do I post an image?
There is no special code to post images. All you have to do is type
the URL of the image, like so: http://www.democraticunderground.com/image.jpg
If you are using Internet Explorer on a Windows computer, you can find
the URL of an image by right-clicking on that image, and then selecting
"Properties." Look for where it says "Address (URL)."
[Back to top]
How do I link to an image without having
it embedded directly in my message?
To post a link to an image without having the image embedded directly
in your message, just add a question mark at the end and type a few
letters, like so: http://www.democraticunderground.com/image.jpg?click
[Back to top]
How many posts do I need to start a new
thread, etc?
New members are restricted from starting new discussion topics. We
require you to first post responses to a few existing discussion threads
before you are given the privilege to do so. We wish we did not have
to enforce this rule, but we have found it very helpful to keep disruptors
off of our message board. Please do not ask what the minimum number
is; we won't tell you, and it's not very high. New members are similarly
restricted from using the private messaging function or recommending
topics for the Greatest Page.
[Back to top]
User Options & Customization FAQ
|
What is an avatar image?
An avatar image is the small square image that appears next to each
person's post.
[Back to top]
How do I select an avatar image or upload
an avatar image?
Registered members of our discussion forum can choose an avatar from
our selection of available images. Donors have the option to upload
their own individual avatar image.
To choose an avatar from our selection of available images:
Click the "Options" icon, and then click "Edit your profile"
(or just click
here). Look for the words "Avatar Image" and click the
link that says "choose from the following images." This will
open up a pop-up window showing all of our available images. (There
are a lot of them, so it may take a long time to load.) The images are
listed alphabetically. To select a particular image, click on it. The
pop-up window will close. Scroll down the page and click the "Update"
button.
To upload your own avatar image: First, you must save an avatar
image on your computer hard drive. (Your avatar image should be in either
.jpg or .gif format, and should be no more than 3 kilobytes. We recommend
that you crop your avatar to exactly 48 pixels wide and 48 pixels tall.)
Click the "Options" icon, and then click "Edit your profile"
(or just click
here). Look for the words "Avatar Image" and click the
link that says "upload your own." This will open a pop-up
window with instructions for uploading the image. Click "Browse"
to select the image on your computer hard drive. Click the button to
indicate whether your image is in .jpg or .gif format. Click "Upload
file" to upload the file to our servers. When you are finished,
click the "close window" link to close the pop-up window.
In the space where it says "Avatar Image" type the path to
the file, which will be formatted like so: "personal/000000.jpg"
or "personal/000000.gif" (where the 000000 is your DU member
number). Scroll down the page and click the "Update" button.
[Back to top]
How do I change my signature line?
Your signature line is the small section of text which appears underneath
each of the messages you post on our discussion forum.
To change your signature line, click the "Options" icon,
and then click "Edit your profile" (or just click
here). Look for the word "Signature." Type your signature
line into that space. Click the "Update" button.
[Back to top]
How do I hide members' signature lines?
To hide signature lines, click the "Options" icon, then click
"Edit your preferences" (or just click
here). Look for the words "Display signatures?" and check
"no." Click the "Update" button.
[Back to top]
How do I increase or decrease the font size?
Enter into any of the forums on the website, and look closely at the
top left-hand corner of the page. To increase font size, click the small
black link that says:
Switch to large fonts. To decrease font size, click the small black
link that says:
Switch to normal fonts.
[Back to top]
How do I add someone to my ignore list?
To add someone to your ignore list, find one of their posts, and click
the
icon next to their username.
[Back to top]
How do I remove someone from my ignore
list?
To remove someone from your ignore list, click the "Options"
icon, then click "Ignore list" (or just click
here). Check the box next to the name you want to remove, and then
click "Remove selected users from my list."
[Back to top]
How do I add someone to my buddy list?
To add someone to your buddy list, find one of their posts, and click
the
icon next to their username.
[Back to top]
How do I remove someone from my buddy list?
To remove someone from your buddy list, click the "Options"
icon, then click "Buddy list" (or just click
here). Check the box next to the name you want to remove, and then
click "Remove selected users from my list."
[Back to top]
How do I hide a thread?
To hide a thread, click the small
icon next to the title of the thread. You can also click the small black
"Hide Thread" link in the bottom left-hand corner of the message.
[Back to top]
How do I show a thread that I have hidden?
To show a thread, click the "Options" icon, then click "Hidden
Threads" (or just click
here). Check the box next to the thread you want to show, and then
click "Unhide selected threads." Threads are removed from
your hidden threads list automatically when they fall into the discussion
forum archives.
[Back to top]
How do I hide Lounge threads from the Latest
Page?
To hide Lounge threads from the Latest Page, click the "Options"
icon, then click "Edit your preferences" (or just click
here). Look for the words "Hide the Lounge from the Latest
page?" and check "yes." Click the "Update"
button.
[Back to top]
How do I hide images and avatars?
To hide images and avatars, click the "Options" icon, then
click "Edit your preferences" (or just click
here). Look for the words "Hide avatars and other images?"
and check "yes." Click the "Update" button.
[Back to top]
Forums, Features & Pages FAQ
|
What is a Forum?
A forum is an area set aside for discussion of related topics. For
example, Latest
Breaking News, General
Discussion, and The
DU Lounge are all very popular forums that host discussion of a
broad range of topics. We also have many smaller forums where members
can discuss a number of more specific topics. We encourage you to spend
some time browsing
all of our forums to familiarize yourself with the wide range of
offerings. If a particular forum is of interest to you, you should add
it to your "My Forums" list.
[Back to top]
What is a DU Group?
A DU Group is a special type of discussion forum, suggested by DU Members
and dedicated to a particular mission. They are "safe havens"
where all participants must support the mission statement of the Group
in order to post. The mission statement of each DU Group is pinned to
the top of that Group. Only donors are permitted to post in DU Groups.
All of the DU Groups are listed in the DU
Groups folder.
Members who disagree with a particular Group's mission statement, or
who otherwise disrupt a particular Group can be barred from posting
in that Group.
For more information about DU Groups, please read the topics What
are DU Groups? and How
to Suggest a DU Group. We keep a running list of new DU Groups in
the New
DU Groups thread.
[Back to top]
How do I propose a new DU Group?
Instructions for suggesting a new DU Group are available in this
thread.
[Back to top]
What are "My Forums"?
This is an extremely large community, with many forums. Most members
are probably not interested in participating in all of our different
forums, so we have given you the ability to select specific forums that
interest you, using the "My Forums" feature.
You can add up to 15 forums to your "My Forums" list. The forums you
select will appear on the Forum Lobby,
and in the left-hand column of the Latest
Page and Greatest
Page.
[Back to top]
How do I add a forum to "My Forums"?
To add a forum to "My Forums" first click to enter any of
the four Forum Category folders:
Forums are listed alphabetically within each forum category folder.
Locate the forum you want to add to your "My Forums" list.
Click the link next to that forum's name which says "Add to My
Forums." The forum will be added to your "My Forums"
list.
[Back to top]
How do I remove a forum from "My
Forums"?
To remove a forum from your "My Forums" list, click the "Options"
icon, then click "My Forums" (or just click
here). Check the box next to the forum you want to remove, and then
click "Delete from My Forums."
[Back to top]
What is the Lobby? Latest Page?
Greatest Page?
There are three gateway pages into Democratic Underground: The Lobby,
the Latest Page, and the Greatest Page.
The Lobby
lists all the available forums, along with their moderators and other
info.
The Latest
Page lists the most recent threads posted on the discussion forum.
The right column lists the latest threads posted in our Latest Breaking
News forum.
The Greatest
Page lists threads which have been nominated by the members of DU
as the most noteworthy. The center column (Most Recent) lists the threads
by time, with the most recent at the top of the page. The right column
(Most Popular) lists the threads by the number of votes they receive,
with the most popular at the top of the page.
[Back to top]
How do I recommend a thread for the
homepage?
Click the link in the bottom left-and corner of the message that says
"Recommend Topic for Greatest Page." That recommendation will
be counted as a vote to get the thread included on the Greatest Page,
and it will also nominate the thread for possible inclusion on our homepage.
The administrators review all the nominations and select which topics
to place on our homepage.
[Back to top]
How do I recommend a thread for the
Greatest Page?
Click the link in the bottom left hand corner of the message that says
"Recommend Topic for Greatest Page." That recommendation will
be counted as a vote to get the thread included on the Greatest Page,
and it will also nominate the thread for possible inclusion on our homepage.
Threads that receive at least five votes are included on our Greatest
Page. The threads with the most votes appear at the top of the right-hand
column of the Greatest Page, under the heading "Greatest Threads
(Most Popular)."
[Back to top]
How can I tell which threads have the
most votes?
The Greatest
Page lists the recommended threads in two ways. The center column
(Most Recent) lists the threads by time, with the most recent at the
top of the page. The right column (Most Popular) lists the threads by
the number of votes they receive, with the most popular at the top of
the page.
You can also see how many votes a thread has by opening the thread
and checking the number listed in the bottom left-hand corner of the
message, next to where it says "Recommend Topic for Greatest Page."
[Back to top]
What is "My Posts"?
The "My Posts" page lists all the messages you have posted
on our discussion forum during the previous 48 hours, along with the
number of replies. You can access the "My Posts" page by clicking
the icon at the top of the forum Lobby that says "My DU" (or
you can click
here).
[Back to top]
What do "Mark" and "Mark All"
do?
The "Mark" function helps you keep track of which posts are
new. When you click "Mark" in a particular forum, all of the
posts in that forum will get marked with a white icon, like this: .
Any messages that are posted in that forum after you click "Mark"
will be marked with a gold icon, like this: .
The "Mark All" icon marks messages in every forum.
Note: In order to use the "Mark" function you need to have
the function turned on in your preferences. Click on "Options"
then click "Edit your preferences" (or just click
here). Under the section "Use MARK time stamp feature?"
Select "yes" and then click the "Update" button.
[Back to top]
Alerts & Reporting Abuse FAQ
|
Where is the "Alert"
link? How do I use it?
There is an "Alert" link in the bottom left-hand corner of
every message. Use the "Alert" link to notify the moderators
about any post (or person) which you think needs moderator attention.
To use our alert function, first click the "Alert" link on
a particular post. Type a brief explanation of why you are alerting
that post. (You do not need to copy the text of the message -- it will
be sent to the moderators automatically.) Click "send email."
This will send an automatic message to the moderators assigned to that
forum.
The moderators are not required to be online all the time, and they
are not required to respond immediately to the alerts they receive.
Sometimes it takes a few seconds, and sometimes it takes many hours
for a moderator to respond.
Please do not send rude or abusive messages to the moderators using
the Alert function.
[Back to top]
I think someone is a disruptor. What
should I do?
Click the "Alert" link on one of their
posts and politely explain to the moderators why you think a person
is a disruptor. Do not post a message publicly accusing that person
of being a disruptor.
[Back to top]
I think a post should be removed. What should
I do?
Click the "Alert" link on the post and
politely explain to the moderators why you think the post should be
removed. Do not post a message publicly accusing that person of breaking
the rules.
[Back to top]
I alerted a post. Why didn't the moderators
do anything?
The moderators are instructed to only take action when there is a consensus
to do so. There are often times when members believe the moderators
should intervene, but the moderators themselves choose not to do so.
Occasionally alert emails are lost, or a particular alert might get
"lost in the shuffle." You are welcome to click alert a second
time if you feel confident that something needs moderator attention.
But please do not alert on any post more than twice.
[Back to top]
I alerted a post. Why did it take so
long for the moderators to do anything?
The moderators are not required to be online all the time, and they
are not required to respond immediately to the alerts they receive.
Sometimes it takes a few seconds, and sometimes it takes many hours
for a moderator to respond. Please be patient.
[Back to top]
I alerted a post. Will the moderators send
me a response?
No, the moderators do not reply to the alerts they receive.
[Back to top]
How do I donate?
Democratic Underground is a completely independent website, funded
almost entirely by voluntary donations from our visitors. We accept
donations by credit card, PayPal, and by mail using a personal check
or money order.
Full instructions for donating are available on our donate
page.
[Back to top]
I donated, but I didn't get a star. What
should I do?
Usually when you donate, a donor star should be assigned to your forum
username automatically. However, in some cases, a star will not appear
immediately. In such cases, usually a star will appear before close
of business on the next business day.
If you do not have a star by 6:00PM ET on the next business day after
you donate, please send an email to skinner@democraticunderground.com
and explain what has happened. Include the following information:
- Your forum username
- Your real name
- The method of your donation (Credit Card, PayPal, Check, etc.)
- The approximate date of your donation
[Back to top]
Can I donate for someone else?
Yes, you can donate to DU and designate the donor star to another member.
On our donate form, there is a space that says "Forum username."
In that space, type the username of the member you want to give the
star to.
That member will be given full donor privileges, but they will not
receive a DU bumper sticker or a thank-you note. The bumper sticker
will be sent to the person who actually makes the donation (if that
person requests it).
[Back to top]
Do you accept donations by mail?
Yes, we accept donations by mail. Instructions are available on our
donate page.
[Back to top]
How long does a donor star last?
Your donor star lasts for one full year after the date of your donation.
But you are welcome to donate before the full year is over.
[Back to top]
Where did my star go?
Donor stars last for one full year after the date of your donation.
If your star disappeared, it is probably because it has been more than
a year since your last donation.
Sometimes our records do not accurately reflect the date of your most
recent donation. If you believe your donor star was taken away prematurely,
please let
us know so we can fix the problem.
[Back to top]
What is the minimum donation?
There is no minimum donation. To be more exact, we charge a $1 processing
fee on all credit card donations, so that is the effective minimum.
There is also no maximum donation.
[Back to top]
What is your refund policy?
Donors may request a refund for any reason within 90 days of the date
the donation was made. After 90 days, refunds will be granted at the
discretion of the DU Administrators.
[Back to top]
Are donations tax-deductible?
Due to the highly political nature of Democratic Underground, we cannot
qualify as a non-profit organization. Therefore, donations to Democratic
Underground, LLC, are not tax deductible.
[Back to top]
Moderating & Rule Enforcement FAQ
|
Why was my post deleted?
This is a moderated message board with rules.
The moderators remove a post when they come to a consensus that it violates
our rules. The most common reasons for a post to be removed are the
following:
- It is a personal attack against another member of our website, or
otherwise uncivil.
- It is bigoted or grossly insensitive against a particular group
of people.
- It is inflammatory or extreme.
There are dozens and dozens of other reasons why a particular post
could be deleted, and most of them are listed in our rules. If you do
not know why your post was removed, please read our Discussion
Forum Rules, including our More
Detailed Discussion Forum Rules.
If your post is deleted, we do not consider it a valid excuse to argue
that someone else did it, too, or to
argue that the moderators deleted your post faster
than some other post. We get tens of thousands of messages posted
every day, and absolute consistency in moderation is simply not possible.
[Back to top]
Why was my post deleted, but not this
other post?
Your post was deleted because the moderators decided that it broke
the rules. The fact that some other, allegedly comparable post was not
removed does not matter. We get tens of thousands of messages posted
every day, and absolute consistency in moderation is simply not possible.
If you think some other post by some other person should have been removed,
please click the "Alert" link on that post so the moderators
can deal with it.
[Back to top]
Why did the moderators delete my
post faster than they deleted someone else's post?
We get tens of thousands of messages posted every day, and absolute
consistency in moderation is simply not possible. The fact that a particular
post gets deleted faster than some other post is totally random and
does not mean anything.
[Back to top]
Why was my thread locked?
This is a moderated message board with rules.
Threads get locked for many different reasons. The most common reasons
are because the thread topic was inflammatory, or because the discussion
turned into a flame war.
Usually, when a moderator locks a thread, they will post a message
in that thread explaining why they have locked it. Occasionally they
will not post a reason if 1) the reason for locking should be obvious
to most people, or if 2) they don't want to kick the thread back to
the top of the forum.
[Back to top]
Why are the moderators picking on me? Why
is a particular moderator biased against me?
Most likely nobody is picking on you, and nobody is biased against
you. If the moderators are "picking on you," it is most likely
because you are causing problems. You would be wise to make an effort
to play nice with other DU members, and also to familiarize yourself
with our rules.
The moderators of Democratic Underground enforce the rules based on
consensus. Whenever a moderator takes action, they are required to first
get a consensus from the available moderators that action is necessary
and appropriate. What constitutes a consensus varies based on the situation.
If a rule violation is obvious, then action only requires a second opinion
from one other moderator. But if a situation is unclear, highly subjective,
or likely to be controversial, then the opinions of many moderators
are required. Whatever the situation, one moderator has the power to
veto any enforcement action. All moderator actions are logged by our
software, and can be reviewed by the administrators.
Of course, if you continually act like a jerk to the moderators, then
it is inevitable that some of them might start to develop a bias against
you. They are human, after all.
[Back to top]
Why was I banned?
People get banned from DU for many different reasons. The four most
common reasons people are banned are: 1) They are conservative, 2) They
are uncivil or disruptive, 3) They repeatedly break the rules, or 4)
They have been previously banned under a different username.
[Back to top]
Why was another member banned?
We generally do not discuss why particular members are banned.
[Back to top]
Can I come back after I have been banned?
Once you have been banned, it is pretty difficult (but not impossible)
to come back to DU. If you value your membership in our community, you
would be wise to not get banned in the first place.
We do occasionally reinstate people who have been banned, after a cooling-off
period, provided that they seem genuinely interested in improving their
behavior and want to be a positive contributor to our community. Send
an email to the admins
to make your case.
[Back to top]
I've been banned. Why don't your respond
to me?
If we don't respond to you, it means your appeal for reinstatement
has been denied.
[Back to top]
Why don't you let conservatives post?
Democratic Underground is not intended to provide a soap-box for our
political opponents. If we let conservatives post here, then this discussion
forum would be identical to all the other discussion forums on the Internet.
If you want to debate conservatives, there are thousands of other websites
on the Internet where you can do so -- just not this one.
By the way... There are lots of conservative discussion forums that
don't permit liberals to post, including this
one.
[Back to top]
|