For anyone who wants to see how we have "changed"

[SoCalDem]

There have been many posts lately bemoaning what DU has become... While googling, I ran across this old thread from 2005. It might be worthwhile to read the whole thread to see how discussing used to be here.. There was really once a time when discussion happened without being disrespectful and rude. This thread is full of disagreement, but mods were not pulling out their hair trying to keep it civil.




http://sync.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4067158#4092454

[ixion]

1. k/r

:applause:

[Hell Hath No Fury]

2. The picture in your sig line -

Sorry just had to go OT but say I LOVE that picture! :D What's the story behind it?

[SoCalDem]

4. I found it on a blog somewhere online..

No doubt a mom thought it was funny & I surely hope that mixer was unplugged..and that she watches that little girl like a hawk :)

[unkachuck]

17. it looks like....

....the little girl has her tongue stuck in the beaters....your pic makes me nervous....

[peace frog]

3. Lots of "gone but not forgotten" names on that thread

Ya'll are welcome back any time. :hi:

[SoCalDem]

6. I think many of them got frustrated and split.. I wish they'd come back too

:)

[FreeState]

24. A few were banned too

At least one of the posters on that thread was one that helped create the current environment we see now.

[paulk]

5. yeah, definately a lot of changes here since i joined

a lot of posters tombstoned or just plain left - even from that thread...

the quality of discussion on DU has declined significantly over the last few years... I know that I don't come here or post anywhere near as frequently as I used to.

[SoCalDem]

7. That's what I liked about the responses in that thread.

People who disagreed with me (and there were many) used FACTS and links to books etc to bolster their responses, and gave us all more to discuss & think about.. I learned a lot from their contributions, and had no reason to feel like they were attacking.. they were explaining and enlightening:)

It;s called constructive criticism & we used to have that here

[emulatorloo]

8. So true. I am glad you posted this thread, I sometimes wonder if

my impression of those times is just fake nostalgic wishful thinking. I used to learn a lot on DU, these days it seems more mind deadening than anything else.

[girl gone mad]

32. Now "fuck Nader" is what passes for repartee.

Sad.

[rosesaylavee]

9. That was the week I joined up here...

Lots of familiar names I haven't seen around here for awhile. sigh.

[tblue37]

10. I joined DU in June of 2004. In the past I used to write longish, detailed

posts in response to OPs or other comments on an OP. My posts would get longish, detailed, thoughtful responses--some agrreeing, some disagreeing.

These days, when I write such a post it is never responded to. I think a lot of people just won't read a post longer than a few lines. Since I don't expect my more detailed posts to be read or responded to any longer, I seldom take the time to write them. I still post, but seldom at length.

I used to love reading detailed posts like those in the OP's linked thread. It was like a conversation with a group of intelligent, interesting people. Of course, I still find such posts here on DU, but not as many. Now I find many more short (and often nasty) drive-by posts than I recall encountering in the past.

Maybe that's a good thing. I find I since I am less tempted now to spend hours reading on DU, I get a bit more accomplished in my real life.

[snagglepuss]

11. It was way better; however, there was a shadowing of things to come

with omega minimo taking offense and citing DU rules in response to Ikonoclast's statement "It always boils down to some weird psycho-sexual dominance thing that I just can't understand."

It is this sort of response that since quadrupled and has had a very negative impact. People are too ready to accuse others of some sort of phobia or latent bigotry. The opposite to this development was HamdenRice's response to a post which (s)he took exception to. However, rather than accuse another poster of bigotry (sh)e presented an argument to refute those claims.

[SoCalDem]

12. yes.. that's exactly it.. disagreement was not "dissing"

and when people take the time to explain themselves, we all learn.. copy/paste v thoughtful comments..''and every "argument" in that thread was valid..and I think we all learned a lot, and came away wanting to learn more..

[Le Taz Hot]

13. And not a one with,

"If yer not fer us, yer agin us!" and "If you're not a Democrat, you should go post somewhere else!!!!11111!!!!!!" The recent loyalty demands are what's getting under my skin.

[SoCalDem]

14. and no one accusing anyone of being a troll

:rofl:

[MuseRider]

15. Impressive difference.

Missing a lot of those people.

I joined in 2002 and it took me quite a while to actually feel competent to post, especially since my first few posts were challenged and I could not really defend what I was saying. :)

I miss the discussion. I used to feel like I was informed, now it takes a longer look to actually find things I can feel comfortable repeating.

[QC]

19. That was before The Invasion of the Pony People. n/t

[SoCalDem]

20. Pony People?

Stone Ponies?

My Little Ponies?

[paulk]

28. yes, that is exactly correct

[stevenleser]

31. And when we supported every Democrat except Joe Lieberman. n/t

[QC]

16. Thanks for posting this. n/t

[WorseBeforeBetter]

18. K&R

[stevenleser]

21. :-( Very sad to see that. we have lost something. nT

:-(

[emilyg]

22. k/r

[MyshkinCommaPrince]

23. Possibly a larger trend?

I frequent several forums, and all (save one) of them have been becoming steadily less civil and more combative since late 2008. On many, the post count is also dropping steadily. The only exception is a forum which is over-moderated to the point where any kind of meaningful discussion is impossible, at risk of post or thread deletion. I'm not sure it's just DU. :(

[Lucinda]

25. I remember those days well (different username)

It's part of why I'm still here.
I just recently liberated a very, very, VERY big ignore list with the hope that I can find a way to make it better - rather than running from the negativity.

[Armstead]

26. Ah shaddup...

Just kidding.

I think the whole culture has gotten coarser and dumber, and DU reflects that sometimes.

[hfojvt]

27. you have but one example

I am remembering incivility here http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=2306182

and here http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2713800

I am sure there are more examples, and you could probably still find civil debate today as well.

[kick-ass-bob]

29. I left this site 3-4 years ago because I couldn't take the incivility

anymore at that point. I'm here off and on now for a week or 2 every few months.

I really don't see much of a difference between then and now.

[Bandit]

30. I used to laugh a lot here

There was a lot of humor in the beginning.. I am sad it has mostly disappeared..