Ok....I must speak....

[Khephra]

There are those who leave us, those who can't or won't ....deal...stand...with the Censorship on this site.

Whether it's because of Nader, MM, AA, or saying anything critical about Kerry, it's becomeing a straight-jacket posting here.

Hippiechick leaving is one of my breaking points. I've been here since 2001, but the site isn't even half as friendly as it once was.

This thread will be locked, but this is my statement.

[Name removed]

1. 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.

[freetobegay]

12. Well since you want to take that attitude

Heres an expression I use for people that make threats on walking out "don't let the door hit you where the good lord split you". Have a nice day.

[bigwillq]

24. And we wonder why our country cannot unite

Just look at the tension on this site and we're all suppose to be on the same team.

[Deja Q]

18. Ouch. That's callous and likely is a personal attack.

And I don't care if you don't care about me, him, or anybody else. I've just spoken. Do with it what you will.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

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

[CatWoman]

26. Don't you now or ever fuck with Kef

and don't you talk to him like that.

[bicentennial_baby]

28. Word to that CatWoman!

Scott, I got yer back bro!! :loveya:

[VelmaD]

52. Uh...you do see the irony...

of telling someone what they can't say on a thread that started with a complaint about censorship, right?

[madeuplikebowie]

34. Wow, she has a legitimate concern

and you chastise her? To be honest, what she is saying is true, I've posted before about a question/concern about Kerry and I got accused of being a freeper. The level of paranoia is getting fullblown. Most I'd say is friendly, but there are some apples in the bunch that will criticize anything anyone says that is even a concern. Aren't we supposed to be better than the freeps? Free speech remember? Geezus.

[DS1]

35. How does SCOTT make so many think he's a woman?

:shrug:

[Teddy_Salad]

Hey, I was called a freeper once because....

.....I'm a Yankee fan.

How's that for paranoia? :crazy:

[liberalhistorian]

36. No, damnit, he's exactly

right and I've been noticing that for some time. Even Raven is disgusted, along with Lone Liberal and many, many other long-time people. I've been here for 16 months and nearly 8,400 posts and I've never seen it like this. It's getting to the point where we can hardly say anything anymore, and I'm fucking sick of it.

The alert buttons are smoking, and for trivial bullshit reasons half the time, and people are far too quick to yell "freeper" at even the slightest disagreement, and I'm fucking sick of that, too. Damn near the last straw was some newbie screaming for a ban on Free Republic threads because she/he didn't want to have to deal with anything being said over there, and too many others agreeing with that, when the obvious solution, and one which we tell freepers and wingnuts and conservatives all the time when they're trying to censor us, is DON'T CLICK ON THE FUCKING THREAD AND DON'T READ THE FUCKING THREAD! Jesus H. Christ, people, it's just that goddamn simple.

The newbies especially appear to be causing a lot of the trouble, and I'm fucking sick of that, too. We are liberals and progressives, we are supposed to be TOLERANT and OPEN-MINDED and unafraid of opposing viewpoints and I'm seeing the total opposite of that on here. We bitch about how restrictive and censoring and fascist Free Republic is, well, HELLO PEOPLE, we're starting to do the same thing they do, not allowing the slightest disagreement with the lock step mentality. And I'm fucking sick of that, too.

I'm hanging on here by a fingernail, frankly, and it breaks my heart. But I've almost had enough. Flame away if you must, but this had to be said.

[Teddy_Salad]

43. Ummmm.....LH.....

Please don't label all newbies as trouble makers.

Just because we weren't as fortunate to find DU earlier than some does not make us all bad.
Or should everyone under 1500 posts be ordered to leave? :shrug:

[liberalhistorian]

47. Hell no, of course not!

I'm sorry if I seemed to label ALL newbies as the troublemakers,(you certainly aren't); I agree that that's unfair. And there are some "old-timers" who are also part of the problem. It just seems that a lot of the problem happens to be caused by those who haven't been here that long.

[JohnLocke]

53. Thank you.

Most of the problems here aren't cause by freepers or newbies, but by long-time posters who are highly aggressive towards fellow progressives. A lot of members (not you!) have become a little xenophobic and paranoid.

http://www.politicsforum.org/images/flame_warriors/flame_47.php

[Teddy_Salad]

54. Hey, I understand..

Although I'm sure there are many who wouldn't agree with your accessment of thee. :evilgrin:

[NightTrain]

45. I, for one, have missed your posts. They're well-written, thought out...

and, best of all, spelled correctly! Granted, I may be biased in your favor, but I can't be the only one who'd miss you if you split from DU.

Perhaps you merely need a respite from DU? I took a few weeks off last fall when I was feeling disgusted with the place, and it did me a world of good! :shrug:

[liberalhistorian]

50. That could very well be.

But given how this place is really changing for the worse, I'm not all that sure that it would be much different after a few weeks break. I'm especially disgusted with all the threads involving the Berg murder, I'm afraid they were just too fucking much and made this place look like a total joke filled with crackpot fools.

[JohnLocke]

58. LH, you hit the nail on its proverbial thread.

:yourock:

[Dookus]

2. I honestly don't know what censorship you're talking about

people will disagree with other people on a variety of issues - that's the whole point of a message board.

I don't know of anybody who didn't violate the rather simple rules who was banned.

[kalian]

3. That's for sure....

but for me, its the censorship that is so damned rampant over at the
I/P forum...even though I don't participate within that forum as
much as I would like too.
Oh well...this is what American is becoming... :eyes:

[patrick g]

5. here's my .02

from a california band fifteen:

"everybody knows authority is just abused anyway..."

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. kheph, you have been here for so damned long.

Longer than I have. I feel it, buddy, I feel it.

[Khephra]

9. I wont give up

I'll always be there...

if its on DU....

Well...

That's unknown

[arwalden]

7. Some Thoughts On That...

Here's a link to my comments to 'bolokshi'.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1588013#1589622

[DoveTurnedHawk]

8. Really Sorry to Hear You Say That, Kef

You're still one of my fave posters, and always have been, even when we were disagreeing about Dean/Clark.

I honestly haven't seen the censorship you're referring to. Just offering a different POV.

DTH

[Pithlet]

10. I'm sad to see her go, too.

I miss the old days, but only because there were a lot of great people on this site who are here no longer.

There are still a lot of great people here, though, that make it worth it, IMO. I come to the lounge when I've had enough of everything else. It does get to be too much sometimes.

[Angelus]

11. Has DU hit a low point?

I'm just wondering. :shrug:

[Pithlet]

16. It's been rough

I don't think it's so much DU that has hit a low point; it's the world. A lot of scary stuff going on, and people are reacting to it. A lot of nerves frayed. DU has been up and down before.

[Angelus]

17. Ah, ok.

Thanks.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

31. Thanks..I agree

it's life...DU is art imitating it

[Kool Kitty]

27. I don't think it's just DU. It's everything-

the country, the world, you name it. I knew it was going to be bad when Bush got selected, but I never dreamed it would get THIS bad. I'm so depressed. Don't go, Kef. I like to believe that things will get better.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

13. I hate when people I like leave

but there's always been huge tensions here..the only thing that has gotten worse is America...yes..that's really it...while we've all been here dealing with every shit storm that has come our way...life in the US has gotten worse.

The site is bigger and less personal than it once was..and the primaries were pretty divisive but not near as bad as if we had all been here in 92...talk about dirty...

As far as saying anything critical about Kerry...there are a lot of critical posts that go unacknowledged or even get high fived..but when certain people ONLY and EXCLUSIVELY post crap..well...crap smells.

There isn't a single candidate that would make everyone happy.

Can't we at least rejoice in the fact that Lieberman (who was the odds on favorite at the beginning) lost HIS ass off?

I love you..I'd hate it if you left...but people should be prepared to be challenged..especially when they post conjecture.

[Mr_Lefty]

14. I would like to think we can stand debate

At the same time I understand the need to keep out people who come here with an agenda to disturb. It's a fine line. That said- debate is the fresh air that keeps this place fresh.

[mike_c]

15. lets be clear about something here....

Kephra is one of the long time stalwarts of this forum, and one of its most articulate and thoughtful posters. Show him some respect. "Pity party" indeed. When members like keph raise concerns like this, we should all listen.

[Khephra]

19. It's a "him" but thats ok

;-)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

23. I love her no matter what her sex is

:evilgrin:

[mike_c]

25. corrected-- sorry, don't know where I got that impression....

sheepish.... :eyes:

[Deja Q]

22. Yeah, her response to "pity party" speaks volumes too.

Not very articulate or thoughtful.

Very mean spirited and thoughtLESS. It only adds to the fire, I don't care how the original post was. It's how we deal with what gets posted that determines how civilized we are.

And I used to be inflammatory as well toward people. I learned the easy way.

[KG]

21. i hear ya, bro.

[Taverner]

29. Oh God Kheph...please don't YOU go too

I hope Hippiechick returns, and I hope a lot of the guys who left return...

We need you guys around here...I mean can't you just ignore the doofuses who are going around saying dumb things?

Stick around....and tell Hippychick to come back. We all kinda need to stick together at this point

[MikeG]

30. It's the election season that's doing it to us.

They'll be back. Where else can you get such good smiley faces?

[JohnLocke]

32. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

:eyes:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

33. Do you have any fucking idea who you just said that to?

Do you have any idea the AMBASSADOR of DU that Keph is? That he worked his ass off for Truthout? That he was one of the people that NEARLY singlehandedly for over a year MADE LBN one of the MOST stopped at news sources on the entire fucking web?

[bicentennial_baby]

40. Bravo Teena!

Couldn't of said it better myself! :hi:

[JohnLocke]

41. Well, who-hoo.

:eyes:

[Bake]

46. I'm with you there, NSMA

But then, nothing shocks me anymore. It would be a huge loss for DU if Kheph split -- SO DON'T DO IT, MAN!

(And for those who may be checking my post count, no, I'm not in the gazillions like Kheph and NSMA et al., but I've been here since nearly the beginning. I just don't post all the time because I don't always HAVE that much time.)

For the long-timers who occasionally feel like saying "fuck it," (and I count myself among them) take a break, quietly, and come back when you feel better about it. But if Will Pitt, NSMA, and Kheph check out, hell, there's not much point in me hanging around either.

Bake

[kalian]

49. Unfortunately....

oh nevermind...although I could say quite a number of things about
this poster.
:eyes:

[Name removed]

51. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

55. Deleted message

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

[JohnLocke]

57. What the heck does that mean?

:wtf:

[toddzilla]

38. will you say that when you don't recognize anyone here?

I don't feel the censorship as bad as some on here, but i mostly lurk and post occasional comments.

but when it gets to be a signifigant # of long-term users, you have to wonder if the problem is serious.

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

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

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[Amaya]

39. Things have changed around here....

yes indeed. I've been here since 2002 and I've noticed it.
I can honestly say I don't post much anymore because of it. Maybe sometimes a break is good. I've taken one before. Good luck :)

[Name removed]

42. Deleted message

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

[NightTrain]

48. Unfortunately, I'm inclined to agree.

Just recently, for the first time ever, I put somebody on my Ignore list. And I'm afraid it may happen again :(

[bleedingheart]

56. I am so bummed out to hear about this all..

I have been posting here and there as I have been actively involved with Dem politics and dealing with kids/work and my bad back...


...signed a big time bleedingheart liberal...

[Moderator]

59. locking

as you expected, but not for the reason you expected.

I'm locking because of too many personal attacks that I just don't feel like cleaning up, and because of criticism of the mods, which is against the rules. If any of you have a problem with the job the volunteer mods are doing, feel free to PM Skinner about it.