Should we take action to stem the tide of Kerry Bashing?

[seito]

I was perusing the Ask the Admins forum, and there seems to be a lot of complaints about the negativity that has flourished here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=120x27757

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=120x27761

I am certainly not in favor of censorship, and I appreciate constructive conversation, but much of the garbage that is being spread around here IS fit for Free Republic.

Do you Kerrycrats, (those that still venture past these hallowed halls) alert on posts that are over the top? I have only done it once and the offending post was removed.

[JI7]

1. i'm not even looking at them, i just advise not to take it too seriously

but if you feel some things are too much, yes you should alert.

but don't waste your time with many of them. also, most important is to ignore some of them. replying and debating with them, especially the oens who continue attacking does nothing and probably encourages them.

[seito]

2. It is not that I take them seriously

I am more concerned about the effect that they have on the many people that read this board. I do not argue with them, unless they infest an otherwise positive thread.

I do not have anyone on ignore currently, most of what they say does not affect me personally. I just do not like the direction that this board seems to be going.

[JI7]

4. yes, i know what you mean

but i don't think they will influence much. they will just turn people off mostly. and not many come on here or even lurk anyways compared to the population overall.

i think the best is to ignore them. and yes you should report if you think it's over the top or violates the rules.

[Vektor]

3. I am livid about it.

And agreed, it is totally out of hand. I just clicked on one breaking Kerry news thread only to see that a poster clicked on the thread to "YAWN" and say she "Wasn't interested in Kerry."

But, She HAD to click on the Kerry thread to let everyone know that.

Um, duh.

I have seen a lot of bull-crap on the site that is way over the top. Two posters in particular were both so incredibly rotten, antagonistic, disruptive and foul that after much deliberation, I alerted the mods. I don't go crying to the mods over every little thing, but both of these people had logged literally hundreds of these attacks. Both were tomb-stoned, so I guess other people took offense too.

Freedom of speech, IMHO does not mean freedom to oppress or freedom to slander and attack. Some of the stuff on here is WORSE than Free Republic, and if it is really bad, and the person does it relentlessly, I think it is probably against the rules the moderators have set.


I think that a good number of these disruptors are actually freepers, too.

[seito]

5. Our favorite villain "Testy" just earned this

He was one of those people that never had a single constructive comment.

I now believe there IS justice in this world.

[Vektor]

7. Yup...hey guys...

Check out this thread, maybe kick down a little Kerry love.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1478644#1478695
Most of the Kerry hate and negativity I am seeing is by brand new users...I'm not sure they are Democrats. And it is suspect when people jump onto a Kerry thread JUST TO SAY how much they hate Kerry. It's like someone cannot post a news headline about Kerry (that many of us concerned about the middle east MIGHT want to read) without a bunch of naysayers who just joined recently showing up JUST to bash. It looks suspicious. Now I am not "calling out newbies" many of them are fine, but a lot of them seem to have come just to stir the pot. I don't attack the newbies either and accuse them of being plants, but look at this thread and tell me what you think.

[New Earth]

8. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

how did it happen! how did i miss it!! !when did it happen? tell me what happened!?!?!?!

JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED :toast:

[seito]

15. This was the clincher I think

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x261488#261499

[Vektor]

21. That was also...

...what prompted me to hit alert.

[Patsy Stone]

30. I was just going to call and tell you! LOL! Woo Hoo! n/t

[JI7]

9. yes

people who ONLY or mostly just attack other Democrats, especially in the disgusting freeper way this person did should be reported. tell them that person has a history of only attacking in such ugly ways.

during the campaign there were a lot who did that and i alterted them and would tell them about the person's post history so they could see for themselves.

so yes, report them to administrators but don't respond back to the person in the thread itself. that only encourages them or gives them some satisfaction.

[paulk]

11. I did exactly that yesterday

on our "badhead" friend...

Maybe it had an effect?




:bounce:

[Vektor]

13. I did too..

I felt that person was just here to attack and defame others. Like I said, intelligent debate is one thing, but there is a board policy against offensive personal attacks. I looked around at his posts to see if he had ever contributed in a rational manner, and was unable to find a single instance.

[JI7]

14. that person posted anti Kerry things during the campaign also

and i remember after the elections it posted that it was glad Tom Daschle had lost.

there was one person who was a regular poster on here for years and very anti Kerry. he revealed himself on election night to be a freeper. based on his posts and the ugly attacks on kerry he should have been kicked off long time ago.

[Vektor]

20. I think that the mods do a good job...

...of removing disruptors when they are pointed out. It is difficult for them to catch every offensive post as they happen, with all the traffic on this board. If someone is totally hateful all the time, it warrants letting the mods know, I think...they can be the judge of whether or not the person needs to go. I have no doubt this board is crawling with Freepers everyday. Most real Democrats do not unmercifully bash their candidates. If a politician does something you don't agree with it's fine to say so, but words like "coward" "spineless" "fuck Kerry" are from the mouths of Freepers, not Democrats seeking progress.

[Withywindle]

23. Testy's gone??

Party on his grave tonite!!




:party:


:toast:

[Vektor]

25. I feel like a horrible oppressor has been removed!

He was scary.
:scared:

[Withywindle]

26. What I said in that other thread...

...still holds. I think he's John O'Neill. Stalker with a grudge.

[Vektor]

27. John O'Neill has the worst case of penis envy...

I have ever seen.

[Withywindle]

28. I think he might have...

..wanted to "hit that" himself. Kerry said "Ew, not my type, Nixon toady." 33 years later, still not over it.

[Vektor]

29. Right... :-)

O'Sqeall never got over the rejection.

[bunny planet]

32. Great news. I didn't know, I've had him on ignore since my third day here.

Does this mean he can't lurk anymore either?

[WildEyedLiberal]

33. OH MY F-ING GOD

A choir of angels have just descended from on high, heralding the good news!

Seriously, that's great. I read that thread, too... Vektor, you did a particularly good job making him look like an ass. And I loved the flip-flop thing, seito!

HALLELUJAH!

[seito]

34. I felt a bit like a cat, toying with a mouse

Is that bad? :evilgrin:

[WildEyedLiberal]

35. Haha

Not when it's someone as odious as testy. :evilgrin:

[JI7]

6. that says a lot about the people who do that

the best is to just totally ignore them.

[paulk]

10. hit alert

that's Skinner's advice. Even if the rules are enforced in a pretty arbitrary way sometimes, it can't hurt.

it's the only way the mods and admin. can really ascertain how the board feels as a whole toward some posts (and some posters).

I don't see it as censorship when there are people who's agenda it is to damage your side.

And really, what constitutes constructive criticism? I don't know how many times I have spent hours debunking some of the crap posted here, only to have it show up again the next day, from the same poster.

[New Earth]

12. i usually give them an inconspicuous word or two

followed by one of these :hi:

then I just alert mods and suggest they watch that person's posts.

[seito]

17. I rarely alert the mods

I guess I felt a bit like I it was "tattling." But, I am starting to think that, perhaps, it is more of a service.

[New Earth]

18. that's why instead of alerting and saying something like

"hey mod, i think this is a freeper....."

i say more like, just watch this person's posts and decide for yourself.....

[seito]

19. That is a great way to put it

Thanks.

[Vektor]

22. I have done it a couple of times...

...only when a person has been horribly offensive in their attacks to another person, and is hijacking whole threads with slanderous bile. If it gets to a point where it is so disruptive that people cannot even converse, I feel it may be warranted.

[sandnsea]

16. Ignore, Hide Thread

Works wonderfully. And fully appreciate that there are true leftists here. They are not Democrats. They attack all Democrats. They've been here for the two years I've been here. Skinner has decided their viewpoints are valid so there's nothing we can do about it. I think it helps us when we're talking to our friends and neighbors. We can begin to explain the difference between liberals and true leftists and throw in there that many "moderate" Republicans actually support liberal values as well. That's how we reclaim the word "liberal". Push the leftists out and pull the "moderates" out from behind their cover and plant the liberal label on the liberal values they espouse. Abortion rights, gay rights, environment, etc.

[Vektor]

24. Anyone on the spectrum is welcome...

if they can be civil, ya know? If am totally ok with differing viewpoints, and intelligent debate, but when people become downright nasty over and over again, I worry. Like our recently tomb-stoned friend "testy." He seemed dangerously unstable. You could not even speak to him in a civil manner without being assaulted. Literally, you'd say "hi" to him, and he'd bite your head off.

[bunny planet]

31. I haven't hit the alert button yet, but I've been sorely tempted.

My snooze button on the other hand is worn down to a nub.

I'm hoping this severe Kerry bashing will pass when JK gets back from Iraq with the real information about what is going on there.

[noamnety]

36. I used the alert button for the first time this week

It was a thread asking for photos from teh mideast, and a person randomly jumped in to say they couldn't support Kerry anymore. Completely off topic random nonconstructive attack for no reason. I don't know if their intent is to let everyone know they don't like Kerry every single time his name is mentioned, or what they are trying to accomplish, but I finally got fed up.

I'm going to go with that plan I guess - if it's a thread about Kerry's actions contesting the election, I understand people voicing their opinion on the issue. But if it's a thread about Kerry meeting with people in Syria, for me it's over the line to jump in with a random "I don't like Kerry" post. So I'm going to start reporting those, unless the mods ask me to stop.

[Zero Division]

37. YES

There is a thread filled with unconstructive, inflamatory posts right now in GD Politics. There are way too many posters who are destroying any chance at constructive disagreements over Kerry's actions with their gratuitous bashing.