The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsI have 14 years of messages in my DU Mailbox.
I don't delete messages, though I did delete jury results and host notices. Need the room for my messages. So if you have ever sent me a PM, I still have it.
I've been reading over some of the messages and the names and events discussed read like a history of Democratic Underground.
Members no longer here, members who have died, and the entire chain of events like the Cuban_Liberal/Padraig saga.
The day Khephra died and the outpouring of love by DUers to his family and the many ways people gave of themselves to express that love.
Messages I can't bear to delete because they are from much loved members who have died.
Messages I can't delete because the events they commemorate were hilarious and wonderful and just plain worth remembering.
Messages I can't delete that are absolutely meaningless to anyone besides me and the person I'm talking with.
A history I can't delete because DU has been a part of my life for 16 years.
Perhaps I'm not the only one?
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,640 posts)You joined before I did...I used to have many messages in my inbox too.
I decided that I would delete most of mine, since they made sense to no-one but me. They remain largely in my memory...
They are woven into, and have become part of the fabric of my entire life.
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)Did you know there was a time, in the early days, when you could hit a button and "unjoin" DU?
Just a click of a button and you were no longer a member. That didn't last long.
It's not as if the trolls were going to hit that button anyway.
In the first days of DU, the trolls were actual freepers who came over from FR to cause problems.
Sometimes the board looked as if it leaned right there was so many freepers.
It was a daily battle of shouting them down. It was ugly but fun.
All that anger from Selection 2000 was unleashed.
But as the board was supposed to be a safe place for us, the trolls had to go.
hlthe2b
(102,294 posts)so many messages, that you just have to delete en masse. But pretty neat that you still have them. Boy, Khephra and so many others we've lost. Really gives you pause....
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)A huge chunk of life.
Cirque du So-What
(25,947 posts)I couldn't bear to delete them when his health deteriorated.
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)So much of this internet world is transient, forgotten as soon as the next meme/scandal/uproar comes along.
But not the people. For me...for you..for many of us. It's the wonderful and not-so-wonderful people along the way that made the difference.
Binkie The Clown
(7,911 posts)So my inboxes are pretty empty.
The exception is when I order something from Amazon or eBay, I keep the order verification email until the item arrives. Then I delete it.
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)My regular email is like that. I do hate clutter in my email box.
secondwind
(16,903 posts)Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)But better.
japple
(9,833 posts)I ever sent you a message, but am thrilled that you might have a great archive there in your mailbox. Thanks for being such a great resource.
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)me in a wood chipper and watch me turned to sawdust. I deleted it to keep the mailbox tidy.
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)Has for a long while now.
It's part of DU lore, so to speak.
Sorry!
Phentex
(16,334 posts)but yes, I keep the ones from people who are no longer here. I just realized a few people were FFR'd. I knew I hadn't seen them in a while but I did not know that was the reason.
I don't know what happened to the messages from 2004 to 2011.
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)Only goes to my inbox though.
I thought it was the same for everyone with older messages.
Maybe not though.
Phentex
(16,334 posts)I just looked and there it is. Now I can re-read the ones from MiddleFingerMom.
Thanks!
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)You've got a treasure trove yourself.
Leith
(7,809 posts)Well, that and all the people that think like me. But, MFM was special. His good nature was contagious and he was happy to share it. Even though I didn't know him or correspond with him, I shed a couple tears when he left us.
SWBTATTReg
(22,143 posts)been reading/following DU and really enjoy, specially all in 1 place news. Nice to hear a personal perspective too, with news too...would be nice to have a nice history of DU too, maybe snapshot of top 10 chains...
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)People bring the news home because it has touched so many of us in different ways.
First Speaker
(4,858 posts)Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)problems.
blm
(113,065 posts)I lost my first 10 years here, erased after several computer crashes (lightning strikes).
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)I've been lucky, I guess. I might delete them one day but...I dunno.
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)Just saying
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)Thank you!!
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)You mean,
someone else here knows my sister-in-law?
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)It wouldn't be DU if it didn't happen. Much like this discussion. Wouldn't be DU otherwise.
The_Casual_Observer
(27,742 posts)Those were the days.
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)Some of the very best people of DU, some of the very best times.
KG
(28,751 posts)never got very many, and only deleted a few....
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)A nice slice of history.
I imagine that other people have gotten far more messages over their time on DU than I have. Even if they deleted them all.
For all my time on DU, I have far less posts than a lot of people who have been here for a shorter period of time.
DUgosh
(3,056 posts)He's been gone so long now
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)proud patriot
(100,707 posts)good thinking
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)Feeling did.
steve2470
(37,457 posts)I too delete alerts and non-personal stuff. I have at least 5 years, if not more.
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)But won't.
steve2470
(37,457 posts)NanceGreggs
(27,815 posts)I had no idea one could access their Inbox archives until I saw your OP.
Soooo ... I thought I'd take a "quick look" at my 12 years of PMs, which turned into two-plus hours of looking - and I haven't even made a dent in viewing what's there.
Thanks for sharing this info!
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)I wouldn't delete those for anything in the world.
UrbScotty
(23,980 posts)Looking through my archive, I see a 2003 message from GregW about the DU Gallery (which was hosted on another site and is no longer online).
A message from someone saying that they started to tear up when they saw that a quote from them was in my sig line.
A conversation with John Kleeb, who was a fixture around here in the mid-00s. I hope he is well.
yewberry
(6,530 posts)Yes, found some from long gone DUers. Redstone. AlienGirl. Wow, that was a long time ago.
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)Some laughs, some tears.
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)One problem is that I can't figure out how to delete more than one at a time. Or am I just not seeing the right way to do that?
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)Never really thought about it.
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)It takes awhile when there are a lot of old ones.