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So this post will "kick" yours in the forum and maybe others will see it and reply.
Your experiences early on here mirror mine pretty closely. I was so shy about actually initiating a thread myself, and then when I made my first stab at it, the thread "fell off the page" so fast I couldn't imagine how anyone had even been able to catch it if they might have wanted to respond!
That's mostly just a matter of how many people there are here, I think, and always it depends as well on who happens to be reading either the forum you chose or the Latest page. Because the flood of new threads here is so deep and wide, it's very easy to have a thread drop out of sight like a flash in the pan.
Not your fault -- and not really anyone else's either.
Nasty responses, however, are a different thing. You're right -- in any group this large, there must be some sour apples, and a few (but not really too many) who can be just plain irritable and grouchy or, if you like, "mean." ;)
Oh, and I forgot to check, but the time of day or night that you post an original thread can make a big difference, too. Posting late at night (U.S. time zones at least) might mean not as many people will have a chance to see your thread. Sometimes kinder veterans of DU will offer helpful suggestions or even do the simple, quick thing and kick your thread, maybe even recommend it, so that it will be seen by more people.
Like you, I had participated in other message boards and groups, quite a lot in my case, for eight years before I came to DU, so I already had a good idea of what sort of reactions I might get and how to go about introducing myself into a new group. Many here have been working so hard ever since 2000 toward getting rid of the criminals who took over our country so wickedly that year, they inevitably get battle fatigue and grow impatient with anyone they feel is "uninformed" or trying to preach to them about stuff they've known of for a long time. A natural reaction, though it's not an excuse for being mean to a newcomer.
Some days, also, people who are normally kind and helpful are just in a big bad dark-cloud sort of mood, frustrated as hell with the way this administration just KEEPS ON getting away with so much destruction to our country and in the larger world, that they can't help exploding at the wrong target when something strikes them wrong on that particular day.
One of my early efforts to join in a discussion about the danger of Roe v. Wade being overturned by these neocon criminals resulted in my being pounced upon when I (naively, it turns out) said I didn't think there was a snowball's chance in hell that Roe v. Wade would EVER be overturned.
I mean, this person really jumped into my face and lambasted me good and proper, and I was stunned. But not for long. I'd been through similar things in other groups, so because I was still so new here and didn't know exactly what had been discussed here previously about the topic of abortion, I tried to make peace with the one who scolded me, and it smoothed out okay at the time. Then, much later, in fact very recently, I was involved in a thread with that same person and s/he was not hostile at all to me.
Good "lesson" story in that experience. What I do after someone is rude or hateful to me (or anyone else for that matter) is to refrain from overreacting and simply note the screen name, check their profile (after I learned how to do that), and then just observe and learn from how I see that person behaving toward others for a period of time. If s/he is not a hypercritical shrew or jerk on a regular basis, I realize I really must have simply struck a nerve or encountered them on a bad day for them.
That was the case in the instance I mentioned above. In the later thread where we were both participating, someone else pounced on another member -- and was promptly rebuked for it, at least a bit. And the one who had a year past scolded me was at this later time saying fair and even-handed things in that subthread. S/he replied to a post of mine in that thread then, letting me know s/he remembered how s/he had got in my face pretty harshly, and apologized for it -- even a year afterward!
I thought that demonstrated real class and humility, and it warmed those cockles we hear about residing in our hearts. :)
Some folks especially are VERY impatient with newbies, if only because there are so many of them here at any given time, and they do often post idiotic stuff -- or the same thing that has been discussed repeatedly in the past here. Your OP, OTOH, was NOT idiotic at all -- and my guess is that it simply sank and fell off the page too fast for the "right" people to catch it. Searching the archives (if you become a donor, or, as happened for me, someone donates for you and gives you a "star") can be very helpful to see past discussions on any topic.
I see the other reply you got here indicates that person didn't think your suggestion of emailing news outlets and other entities would do much good, but s/he explained why s/he felt that way, which I thought was helpful.
I'm not defending any truly nasty people here at DU, but I do hope you won't get discouraged and leave this place, giving up on it or shying away from it due to snarky folks here who can't hold their tongue when they're in a bad mood or frustrated to the max. I've been so very glad I stayed and "lived and learned" until I can fit in better here! Like with anything else, the more you learn about how this board works, and what works best on this board and with these folks who all have the same goals in mind, the better you'll feel here.
Even from my very first post, in addition to that one event where someone scolded me for my irritating ignorance and rather flip attitude, there were others who appreciated my comments and let me know it. I was welcomed many times and patted on the back when I had something to say that was worth listening to.
And there were always those precious members who are willing to offer truly helpful tips and advice on how things work here at DU -- they made me reluctant to give up too soon on this place and the almost-100,000 other people here! It's such a powerful resource for "our side," and I wanted to stay in the thick of things and learn from them, while I felt more free as time went by to express my own ideas and opinions.
I've only been here about 14 months now, but already I've figured out how to make my frequent stops here most beneficial. It's different for everyone, of course, but here's how I like to handle it.
I like checking the Latest page first, so I changed the settings after the first month or two to open to that page. I may be missing some of the great articles that are on the default opening page, but this way I also get a chance to, for instance, reply to a worthy OP and possibly help it draw more replies -- or at the very least not get missed entirely. I like to do this at night, especially, when original posts are even more likely to slide off the page unnoticed.
Then I check out the Greatest page to see what threads and topics my fellow DUers felt were worthy of at least five "recs" and therefore a wider audience. Often I join in those discussions, even if they're near to their "endstage" due to the fact that no thread lasts more than a couple of days here at most (as a general rule). So many people, so many worthwhile topics and urgent matters discussed ... it's just normal that after 24-48 hours, new threads will move on to the archives as even newer ones take center stage.
Make sense? :shrug:
This is just me, of course, and I'm sure everyone has his or her own way of approaching DU. I've recently started visiting the Lounge a lot because I wanted to see if I could find someone I'd met elsewhere at DU who was said to hang out there a lot. Also I just wanted to check in there again because I hadn't since my first days here at DU, to see if I could get to know a few people a little better than I normally can in the "serious topics" forums and subgroups.
It's been a delightful experience in the Lounge, I must say! The "lizards" there are -- generally speaking -- a lot less intense and critical of fellow DUers on the serious issues and often simply talk about any- and everything that's on their minds, including personal lifestyles and favorite themes like cute puppies and dating, favorite music or books, and life at DU and in the broader world.
But the one thing I'm glad to have found in the format used here at DU is the "My DU" section where I can check to see if anyone replied to my posts, wherever they were. Just click on My DU at the top of the page, and scroll down a bit to see your posts from the previous 48 hours and note if anyone has replied to them. Before I discovered this feature, I was frustrated by the slow way I was "tracking" any of my own comments, which was to bookmark the thread and go back to see what else had been said and check for replies to my posts. It works, but that takes more time and isn't as efficient.
Well, these are just some of the tips I thought I'd offer ya, and my last one would be to consider either trying again with this OP in some form or joining in on another thread taking a similar tack or on a similar theme. When there's something I really want to talk about here, and if my first efforts to do so fall flat or draw few replies, I just try again elsewhere. Repeatedly, if need be. Folks here ARE very well read, for the most part, so you can expect that there will almost ALWAYS be others here who are knowledgeable about any topic and are willing to talk about it. Ya just gotta FIND them! :dilemma:
Sorry to run on so much about this, but I wanted to address your concerns and answer your question. Oh, and that's another thing: DU is the ONLY online group among the many I've been in over the years where I have not been criticized even ONE TIME for my longwindedness! :rofl: What a pleasant surprise that was! Been here for 14 months and no one ever even makes snide remarks about how I can go on at length or "ramble." Amazing.
Fact is, I type 130-150 wpm, was an executive secretary for 33 years before disability forced me to retire in my 50's. I was an English major and I love language and words. I'm a singer/songwriter and musician, and for years wanted to be a writer. I've written three books and several hundred songs and poems, and I can type almost as fast as I can think. It's very easy for me to get started and end up "scribbling" down several pages when I think I've just got started! :D
So they're very tolerant here in some ways, and the plusses so outweigh the minuses here at DU that I don't think I would ever leave here for good. Take a break sometimes, maybe, but never abandon this haven and these people I've come to think of as my friends and almost my family.
If no one has said it yet, or even if they have -- WELCOME TO DU, JPK! I'm Vicki, and you must be Kathy, so we even have real first names to use. ;)
Hang in there! You'll love it here six months from now if you stay, I can almost guarantee ya. We can still follow up on your ideas, too. Don't let the fact that this one OP failed to draw much attention put you off. Everyone here wants to use ANY effective methods we can to address our goals and win this fight for our country, our lives and wellbeing, and the very world!
:hi: :pals:
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