The ERD forum is alive and well it seems to me, stronger than ever!!

[Stevepol]

A lot of people have criticized the demotion of the ERD forum and others I've read have suggested that it's now on life support. Actually, the coverage of the issue as a whole has increased it seems to me when you consider all the other forums which have posted election related material.

I always check Election Reform at some point when I surf, but I find many other interesting articles on the same general subject originating from other forums now.

I think election reform is more than alive and well on DU; it's thriving, maybe even healthier than in days of yore.

[IndyOp]

1. I think the content has gotten better and better

...and evidence and arguments have developed over time & as there is more and more activism and public recognition of the issue to discuss.

Skinner posted a thread the other day that included the insight that DU in general is most interesting and 'co-operative' when there are lots of events, some positive; when things are slow or events are going badly then posts become less good.

I think this must be true of most forums, too...

:hi:

[MissWaverly]

2. DU please take a bow

I remember when anyone with a diary on election fraud was banned from Daily Kos, but DU
let us post about what we saw and what we researched and what we gathered everywhere. I was just talking to a middle of the road Dem about why we lost in 2004. She said it was
due to Gay Marriage. It's true that the Republicans campaigned on hate since they had
no record of achievements to base their reelection on but I saw the machine default to Bush 5 times and that had nothing to do with abortion or gay marriage. Thanks DU for compiling this material!

Miss Waverly

[Febble]

5. there have always been loads of DKos diaries

on election fraud, and the diarists have not been banned. I have posted several myself. Georgia10 wrote a magnificent one that was front-paged. It's still one of the best compilations of evidence for fraud in Ohio that I've seen, and arose from a series of diaries by Georgia10 and comments on them by other posters.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/2/19512/47013


Kos was reluctant to front-page fraud stories, though there were a few good ones. But there were plenty of fraud diaries in the diary section. I think a couple of people were banned, but it certainly wasn't because they posted about fraud, because lots of people did and weren't banned. Also lots of people complained about fraud stories not being front-paged and weren't banned (although maybe some of them were, and that's how this story got about).

[MissWaverly]

6. I am glad they are more lenient now

but I read the ban on election fraud posts over there myself, I think those who do post have to get special permission from Markos.

[Febble]

7. Not to my knowledge

and to my knowledge all through November to January, when the interest was at its height, fraud diaries kept appearing, daily. I commented on many and wrote a couple myself. I never asked for permission, and Georgia10 was posting updates regularly as her magnum opus was gestating. Markos certainly didn't like being constantly asked to front-page them, but they were there. And eventually her big one was front paged. Also, regular front-pagers wrote on fraud.

So I don't know what you read, but if it was a ban, it didn't seem to work. The rules on DKos are much less stringent than on DU.

[MissWaverly]

9. I must of read a diary and thought that was the rule

[OnTheOtherHand]

11. "election fraud" is a pretty common tag on DKos

although Armando recently warned against a post that worked "GAO confirms - 2004 election was stolen' into the title. The OPer was understandably annoyed, since s/he was just quoting the Huffington Post. (But the GAO did not confirm that the 2004 election was stolen.)

It's hard to tell what is banned and what isn't. Kos said that he was banning, quote, "bullshit conspiracy theories" -- not all conspiracy theories. WWKCB -- What Would Kos Consider Bullshit? Anyway, if you look for the tag, you'll see plenty of (IMO) good info getting through.

[Febble]

14. Ha!

Just noticed that Georgia10, author of the magnum opus on election fraud in Ohio, linked above, is now a DKos front-pager....

(To my knowledge she hasn't recanted).

She's a great writer. (And I do recommend that link, if you are interested.)

[MissWaverly]

15. Yes, I read posts every day over there

Maybe this country will wake up now after the NSA story. When Bush says he will do
whatever is necessary to protect the American people, that's Bushspeak for doing whatever
he wants to protect himself and his circle, since when has he ever been for the American
people.

[kster]

3. Yes it is

and this weeks news is gonna make it thrive even more, we don't need no STINKING MEDIA! The word is getting out to the people on the ground thats most important.

[kster]

4. kick.nt

[BeFree]

8. Stronger?

I dunno. We are here, and we've been getting a leg up in the GD's, but the personality crap now airing SUCKS!

The naysayers are falling in line, more and more tidbits of info continue to leak out, reinforcing our beliefs and gaining new converts, but the personality CRAP is a drag. Always has been, always will be.

I damn near used the ignore feature whilst reading another thread here.... no telling how many new folks were turned off by that CRAPOLA.

Sometimes I wonder.... Folks, we have our enemies, lets not shoot each other in the foot, unless they are naysayers here to disrupt. Forget the personalities, the past (except to keep it from happening again) and lets all keep what little unity we have, intact.

[Febble]

10. Well if you don't like

the personality crapola, stop dismissing those of us who don't happen to think that the exit poll discrepancy is a slam dunk for fraud as "naysayers". It is really starting to get on my nerves. I don't use a generic term for those who do, and I don't appreciate a generic term used to describe me.

I just happen to know enough about statistics to know that the stolen election case isn't as cut and dried as some people think.

[BeFree]

12. Your personality...or even your feelings

...I couldn't give one hoot about. Your opinion, as displayed here, I do give a hoot. If you kept it to yourself, I wouldn't, except that you would be arranged in the dust like so many others.

Actually, I find the naysayers, such as is the label you have adopted, to be almost amusing. Had you any legs to stand on I'd find naysayers disturbing, but they are, here, merely a nuisance - and someone to drop the ball on.

There having been no good evidence against the stance that the exit-polls showed Kerry to have been defrauded, the naysayers are as inconsequential as the flavorings of any other personalities.

The cause - election reform, demands unity. It demands progress. The naysyers have not hindered the progress on iota, but the crappy personality mudslinging is injurious to the movement.

[Febble]

13. I haven't adopted the term

but it is one that has been frequently applied to me. So I don't like the implication that I am a disruptor, or, indeed a nuisance. Actually I think two of us "naysayers" helped you figure out a math problem the other day.

I agree about personality mudslinging, which is why I don't sling mud (I also do care about other people's feelings, and I'm sure you do too). But I don't like bad statistical arguments being used in a good cause, because I think they potentially undermine the cause. Unity in error is no use to anyone. Arguments are fair game as far as I am concerned.

But personalities - no.

Peace :)