The 800 Pound Gorilla in the room

[sellitman]

My personal feeling is that the DU Hack was one of many around the country done by The Russians.

It seemed too in depth to be a regular Tea Bag wack a doodle.

Thoughts?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

1. Nah. It was a Deplorable who really hates us.

[Buzz Clik]

2. Who knows for sure.

Most of the knuckledragging deplorable crowd are barely literate, but some are quite bright and capable of such a hack.

My favorite part of the hack was when DU came back up for star members only, and some of the lurkers had to cough up some cash to see what's happening here. They are so addicted and so obsessed with DU that they couldn't stand being without their favorite muse.

[moonscape]

10. I'm one who hasn't posted a lot on DU, but was here reading, and

perhaps to you oddly, feeling part of the community by nature of doing that. My resources are limited but since 11/8 I did become a Star member, subscribe to NYT (during the general subscribed to WaPo) and donate to ProPublica. I will do more as I'm able.

My despair is intense, my need to be among people who see the world as I do is profound. Characterizing those of us with lower post counts as 'addicted and so obsessed with DU' and that higher count folks are our 'muse' feels pretty derisive.

[Buzz Clik]

12. Derisive? Maybe. Depends on who you are.

There is a parallel site, a rightwing "viewing room" for DU where the participants spend their days copying threads from DU and insulting everyone involved. They have gathered extensive personal information on their "favorites": real names, addresses, pictures, family members, etc. If these people feel slighted, they will make that personal info public. That takes a bit of talent, a lot of obsessive behavior, and a lot of basic meanness.

Does that describe you? If so, no apologies.

Is that not you? Then, this has nothing to do with you.

[Maru Kitteh]

14. Since you were very likely not here trolling with backhanded praise or Republican talking points

I'd say the post was not directed at you and shouldn't be taken personally. I think we all know the type of participant the post was directed at. I think we all understand a low post-count and lack of paid membership can sometimes be an indicator but is certainly not determinative of who that poster may be.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

16. Hi moonscape

'Methinks thou dost protest too much'. Your post count means nothing. The content of your posts, everything................

[sellitman]

3. I FOUND HIM!!!!!

[IMG][/IMG]

[Equinox Moon]

9. good one

[Hugin]

4. I've pondered this...

My belief is that it was an institutional hack.

Here's why. (and I'm open to other hypotheses) We don't know who did it.

If the perp were independent and of the usual sort, they would've bragged to those in their circle. LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! I DID THIS THING! That circle surely has some leaks... Eventually, we would know roughly who did it and which group sponsored the act.

But, so far... We don't. Maybe, Skinner et al know something more.

Any government or institutional hack would be far more circumspect.

On a related note, I'm considering only attributing these acts to Putin or The Kremlin... We are sure to have friends among the "Russians". I'd like to keep it that way.

[Richard D]

5. That was my very first thought

To keep us from communication during a coup.

[Sugarcoated]

6. Than we need a backup site

We need a plan B and C

[dumbcat]

15. This

What happened to the old "panic room"?

[Maru Kitteh]

18. Agreed. DU Facebook/Twitter is a poor alternative.

[tinrobot]

8. Exactly.

[Buzz Clik]

13. DU will be ground zero during the revolution?

We are in deep, deep shit.

[tinrobot]

7. Absolutely. I've been thinking that as well...

Shutting down our ability to communicate gave someone more opportunity to pull shenanigans. It prevented us from reporting problems, from watching vote counts, etc..

Might have been the Russians or someone else, but the timing and severity were very well thought out. This wasn't just some yahoo sitting in his parent's basement.

[sellitman]

17. Glad I'm not the only one

Seems more than plausible.

[ancianita]

11. Entirely plausible. Have we any evidence at all? Probably not. Or admins aren't telling.

[Sunlei]

19. no, it was one of the -always unhappy- deplorables. experts should be able to catch it.