Please Don't Leave On My Account ...

[NanceGreggs]

Over the past month, I have received quite a few PMs, emails, and FB messages from DUers who have asked if I am staying here – because they plan to leave if I do.

Staying or going is something we each have to decide for ourselves, and it should be based on reasons other than what someone else has decided to do.

DU started publishing my articles on the Home Page in 2004, but I didn’t actually sign-up and start posting until the following year. Having been active on other political websites, I eventually abandoned them for DU.

My reason for coming here was a simple one: the site’s own statement that this was a “sanctuary” from the constant Dem-bashing we were all being subjected to by the MSM. I liked that idea – because it meant I could post on the premise that we were all on the same page here as far as supporting the Party and its goals, and go from there.

That was always the “starting point”, if you will, and from there we agreed, disagreed, debated, and discussed Democratic issues and personnel – all on the basis that while we might disagree vehemently on the direction of the party, in the end we were committed to supporting our own.

That has now changed. I am used to defending my opinions on where the party is at. But I now find that one has to defend their support of the party, and our Democratic president, before being able to move on to the topic one wishes to debate or discuss. And more often than not, an OP thread becomes about that issue only, while the topic-at-hand is lost in the fray.

I have made the assumption, rightly or wrongly, that if any changes are to be made here by the site owners, they won’t be addressed until after the holidays. There may be new rules put into effect, and changes made to reflect the fact that now that the Democrats are the party in power, the previous “sanctuary” status of DU is no longer deemed necessary or viable.

I am, as of tonight, taking a break from DU. I have taken breaks from posting from time to time, but always continued to read DU as my source of news. That is no longer an option either, because positive news stories are being unrecced, and eventually fall off the latest page, unlikely to be found unless one has the time to search them out. So this time, I’m going cold turkey.

I am eternally grateful for all of the kindness and support I have been shown here, and the encouragement to keep writing. But I need some time to assess where this site is headed before I decide if posting here is the “right fit” for me personally. And if it turns out to be the wrong fit, that doesn’t mean it’s not the right fit for others.

Here’s wishing all of you a happy, healthy and successful 2010 – I love you all!

--- Nance

[cliffordu]

1. I understand, my dear Nance - but am selfish enough

to want you to stay in the worst way.


Write me is you ever need anything at all.

I wish peace upon your home.

c

[Born_A_Truman]

2. Nance, I totally understand and will miss you terribly.

Your posts were always a highlight of reading DU. Hope you have a wonderful New Year.

[JohnnyLib2]

3. Completely understandable--and regrettable.

An old Irish blessing:

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!


:hi:

[JohnnyLib2]

44. And thanks for leaving JeffR here!

:evilgrin: :thumbsup:

[angee_is_mad]

4. OMG

not you Nancy! This place has gotten ridiculous.

The site owners might want to think about changing the name of the site. Based on the comments and posts that are flooding the forums, being called democratic underground is a contradiction.

[Dappleganger]

5. Then the bullies win.

This place will be unbalanced without voices such as yours. :(

[HughMoran]

6. Uggh

You'll be missed. :hug:

[NanceGreggs]

7. Awww ...

Thanks, HughMoran!

I'm hoping this will be a temporary absence on my part, and that DU will go back to being what it once was.

In the meantime, right back at ya! :hug:

[HughMoran]

15. I'm an eternal optimist

Something has to break here - sooner than later I hope!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. I am very sorry you're leaving. I really like your comments.

But I don't blame you. I don't know what's gone wrong, or whether it will get better. But it has become very difficult to read DU without feeling terribly discouraged at the way some so-called liberals and progressives have jumped the rails. I hope you come back; but then, I might be gone, too.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. My dear Nance...

Oh, no .....

We will stay in touch; we have to.

There are too many things we need to say to each other, still...

Take care sweetie...

I love and cherish you, always...

:cry:

:loveya:

:hug:

[babylonsister]

10. Nance. When did the unrecs go into effect, and why should that matter?

I agree that the admins need to address all the negativity here, but I'm sorry you're being influenced by that, when your voice is so powerful and so welcome by us. Your clearheadedness drowns out the idiots, and I'll miss your opinions, which I have agreed with for years.

I wish you a wonderful 2010, too. And I'll miss you. :cry:

[SeattleGirl]

11. Nance, while I understand your need to take a break,

I would be incredibly sad if you left for good.

If you do go, and end up writing elsewhere, I hope you will let us know where that is. As I've told you more than once, your writings reflect my feelings and my thoughts so well. I would hate to lose that.

:hug:

[LiberalAndProud]

12. You will be missed.

Like you, I hope that in the New Year Democratic Underground will return to the sanctuary for lonesome Democrats as it once was. As voices like yours fall silent, the character of the Underground changes yet again. I hope that your absence is not permanent.

Happy new year, Nance. Have a pleasant respite, and I hope to see you on the other side of all of this. Until we meet again ...

:toast:

[Tarheel_Dem]

13. Nance. You are one of the few things that makes wading through the cesspool..

worth it. I commented on another thread that if all the good folks, such as yourself, decide to leave, then this really is no longer Democratic Underground. Skinner should really think about a name change so that those of us who are Democrats, and left leaning individuals know where we stand. Why should we continue to financially support a site that has clearly taken a horrific turn? I could read some of the same stuff I see here, over at Free Republic, and I don't have to pay for it.

I hope you'll come back renewed, refreshed, and better than ever. Hang in there kiddo. :hi:

[madamesilverspurs]

14. Perhaps without meaning to

you have mentored many of us, myself included, for whom venturing into the political blogosphere was new and daunting. It was one of your posts that first drew me to DU. It was one of your posts that we copied and enlarged as a decoration at our inaugural celebration in January. It was many of your posts that I emailed to friends, friends who sensed in you a kindred spirit, friends who have made this a regular stop on their daily journies.

So, thank you. You set a high mark which helped to set our discussions on a plane above. And that high mark stands in stark contrast to the slithering snark that has displaced so much of our conversation. Personally, I prefer to believe that the bulk of that toxicity comes from without the party, that it has been delivered in swarms that overwhelm the 'filters', that the garbage is a directed response to DU being perceived as "too effective". In a way DU has been "Dixie Chicked".

I will miss your vision and your voice. Get some good rest. Stay in touch. And if you see Bob Beaudelang, tell him to come home, too.

[Number23]

16. Is it the general nastiness on the site or the nastiness directed towards you that's affecting you?

I can certainly understand being enraged/disgusted by either, and I would think that anyone would have to be affected by the idiotic, nonsensical fuckwittery that seems to float your way every single time you post an OP.

I see the comments directed towards you about living in Canada and I just laugh. The folks doing that mess sound just like every in-bred redneck I have ever had the misfortune to come across -- and my ass is from Georgia so you KNOW I've come across alot. One of the reasons I changed my avatar to the Aussie flag is not only because I live here now, but because I also had someone tell me that my "opinion of what happens in America doesn't count" because I currently live out of the States.

It's a sad day when alleged "progressives" suggest aligning with teabaggers, primarying the first black Democratic President before his first year in office is even over despite his many successes, and try to look down their noses at Americans who have the nerve to live outside of America. I chalk alot of that isht up to jealousy -- many of the folks hating on those of us who live out of the country are probably mad as hell they can't do the same. I'll be DAMNED if some nobody on the Internet with a heart full of hate and a head full of nothing will make me feel bad that I have acquired skills and an education that have allowed me to become a commodity that is requested in other countries and that I have the adventurous spirit and the financial means to go where I want in this world. F*ck 'em.

I hope that you reconsider sticking around and almost as importantly, I hope this sentence has a ring of truth

I have made the assumption, rightly or wrongly, that if any changes are to be made here by the site owners, they won’t be addressed until after the holidays.

Something really does need to be said and done around here by the folks in charge. I know the drama has got to be good for business in some ways, but when folks who've been donating for years are dropping like flies, you'd think another look at what's really happening is in order.

[NanceGreggs]

18. No, no, it's not the personal vitriol ...

I was only posting here a couple of months when I got my ass kicked by a ton of posters who disagreed with my position. It stung, believe me - but I learned that was part of what posting here was all about.

But the thing was, we were all Dems - arguing over a particular issue, and nothing more.

I am taking a break because of what is being permitted to be posted here - things I once only expected to see on FR.

I am also mindful that the Mods must have their hands full these days - one can only imagine how often the "alert" button is pushed here on a daily basis. So I am assuming that a lot of posts are living "under the radar" - things that normally would have been expunged are now living longer lives.

I believe all of this will be "settled" soon, one way or the other. I'll check back in a while and if things have settled down to where I am comfortable again, I'll be back.

Just remember that my "comfort zone" is not necessarily the same as everyone else's. There are some posters here who love "the fight" - and I suspect you'll be seeing a lot more rising DU stars as those posters come into their own with great, well-written OPs!

I hope you are enjoying living in Australia - I have many friends who hail from there originally, or who have left Canada to live there now.

My husband (JeffR) asked me to say "hey" to ya - he was born in Florida, but later lived much of his childhood in Savannah, his daddy's home town!

[Number23]

21. I completely understand your displeasure with the tone of this place now, but you should see this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=7365882

Somebody decided to create a Best DUer of the Decade poll and you're beating out 3/4 of the field by a mile. That should at least bring a smile to your face if nothing else. :)

Happy Holidays to you and your hubby (tell 'em I said "hey" back).

[Cha]

22. Thanks for that poll Number 23..

I put my vote in.

[Fire1]

31. Absolutely to all of your post. You'll ALWAYS be a Georgia

peach no matter where you are in the world, 23.

[Number23]

39. Thanks, girl. I feel the same way (and so does my mom!)

:hug:

[Undercurrent]

17. Nance,

I've been trying to cobble together a few words that express how I feel about you, and how much I will miss your eloquence, humor and insights. Most of those words have already been used by others to great effectiveness.

But I have something personal to thank you for.

I want you to know that my 90 year old dad is a fan of yours! He can't use a computer, see very well, and is deaf without his hearing aids, which only help a little. Shouting is still required. But his mind is keen, and he's a life long political junky. I'm his sole caregiver. Most of his friends and family are gone, so visits from other people are very rare. I regularly print out your OPs, and read them to him, and your words help to brighten his mind and keep him engaged.

So thank you dear lady, for all the good energy, and thoughtful reflection you have offered so freely.

Happy trails, and I hope they lead back around to DU. Maybe by the time you pass this way again DU will have been pulled out of the gutter, and set back on a productive progressive track.

[NanceGreggs]

19. Well, since I am temporarily suspending ...

... my writing here, how's about your dad and I become pen-pals? I can write for him.

I'll PM you with my email info.

[Cha]

20. Oh yeah, that's why I came here too

in 2002.. to have that sanctuary from bushit idiots and it's been great for 7 years and now as a place to support the Democratic President..not so much.

Except for all the awesome cyber buddies I've gotten to know over the years.. I wouldn't be here. It's crazy but I look forward to "seeing" them just like any friend in 3D lifeB-)

Happy New Year to you and your's Nance and may 2010 bring us all together again at some point to "talk" about the twists and turns that brought us to that juncture.

This is one of my favorite pieces to remember you by..:) "Remember When?"..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8598197

[TicketyBoo]

58. I'm sorry,

but your link isn't working for me. Is it a temporary glitch in DU, or do you need to repost it?

[grantcart]

23. Ok its Friday already so that's enough of a break!!

You can recipes here and we would be happy.

Looking forward to your return.

As has become clear by parallel OPs on the subject we are on the same page.

[Hekate]

24. Happy new year to you, too, Nance. I am hoping that starting today (Jan 1) Skinner et al will...

... get a new broom to start sweeping out that which is now destroying DU. It has become really distressing that I have so many posters on Ignore, and I can't keep up with the new ones. I freely use Alert because I know the Mods are not omniscient, but that is also distasteful.

Best of luck to you, and I hope to see you back here. Happy new year. :hug:

Hekate

[NJmaverick]

25. Nance I will miss you and your writings

I really hope that the powers that be will take actions that once again makes this board the DEMOCRATIC Underground. If that happens I think it will certainly be a great day.

[Peacetrain]

26. Nance take a break from this craziness.. and come back refreshed..

I know I have a couple of times, the last time did not even work out for me. I was lurking and blast it, I just had to get right back into it.

I absolutely understand the need to take a break. BUT NOT A LONG BREAK

:hug:

[berni_mccoy]

27. I'm so very saddened by this

I completely understand and know how you feel and exactly what you are talking about. I've often had similar feelings. It's difficult to come here and read, let alone post. Without you, it will now be more difficult. I will miss you.

[Cary]

28. I too have wrestled with this for the same reasons

Sorry Nance. If I end up leaving it won't be on your account but it will be because you and others have reached the conclusion that I really don't want to reach.

In any event I think you are correct, as always. I have waited for management here to do something. Even a simple statement would be better than what we have had.

It's a real shame.

Happy New Year to you Nance. I'm sure that whatever you do it will be the right decision for you. If you end up elsewhere please do let us know.

[AspenRose]

60. What you said.

And I don't consider myself an Obama "cheerleader" by any stretch of the imagination.

This crap is getting ridiculous.

[treestar]

29. Happy New Year!

Enjoy your break, Nance! :fistbump:

[DeepModem Mom]

30. I sincerely "hear you," Nance.

We've been talking about a new Mission Statement for this Group. With a Democrat in the White House, DU's Mission, it seems to me, is a question, along with individual decisions about continuing participation.

[DevonRex]

32. I understand.

I think the horse has left the barn regarding rules changes. The vitriol was allowed to go on so long that a lot of posters went with the peer pressure. Just like high school. Now DU is a site for folks to say they AREN'T democrats, quite proudly.

Regarding stuff being deleted, locked, etc., I agree with a post here about that issue. The writing is on the wall and it has been for months.

Now I think that we're the ones who are out of step. We have clung stubbornly to the "Democratic" part of the board title, thinking that surely no board which calls itself "Democratic Underground" could be against Democrats. We think that because we have donated or perhaps because we (not me since I haven't been here 2 years yet) have been here so long that surely we wouldn't be unwelcome.

To all that I just say go look at the first couple of pages of GD. GD is the bread and butter of DU. The Admins HAVE decided which direction the board would go. We just didn't want to believe it. I STILL don't want to believe it even as I write this. I love the format of DU and I love so many of you, including you Nance. I should tell you that I admire you so much that I've always been hesitant to reply to you, even. You usually say exactly what I'm thinking in such a beautiful way.

PM me, please, if you know of another board that we should check out. :hug:

[Diamonique]

33. If we've lost Nance, the meanies have beaten DU.

This place is almost getting to the point that it's not worth visiting, so I surely understand your point.

We'll miss you VERY much. Please come back soon.

[DevonRex]

34. They've been running the joint for months now. We just didn't

want to believe it.

:hug:

[JohnnyLib2]

35. I want to think you are overly pessimistic, but --

personal attacks seem to be the overriding theme now. Sad.

[DeepModem Mom]

36. I'm afraid that's the truth, DR, and it hurts. nt

[DevonRex]

38. Yes it does hurt. That's another reason we haven't wanted to see it.

We are real people with real feelings. And when we've spent so much time on a site and have made so many friends, it hurts to suddenly be the outcasts, the ones the cool kids pick on in high school. We think that surely they can't let this happen to us. We're nice, we're smart and we support the Democratic Party. Why on earth would all those attacks be allowed? Well, they ARE allowed. It's just a fact.

Someone the other day likened us to swine. I'm not complaining, mind you. Just pointing out facts to my fellow "swine."

[Irishonly]

37. Happy New Year

I was reading your writings a very long time before I joined DU. I don't post very often and I am saddened to see the hate spewed on some of the boards. You have been a shining ray of light for me and many others. I hope you come back after your break.

[goclark]

40. Please don't go ~

:cry:

[rebel with a cause]

41. Nance, I don't want you to go but understand...

you have been out there fighting while I went underground and stayed on parts of DU where I could hide from the haters. If I go to GD or GDP I cannot take it. I would be leaving right with you. The way it is, I will hide out here for another week or two and if things do not change, then I will also leave DU and I don't know what I will do then. Hope for things getting better is what has kept me alive and if this is a sign of how things are going to go, well I see no reason for holding on to that hope. I hate...yes, I said it...I hate some of these people and what they are doing.

Bless you and go in peace.

[billh58]

42. Your wit, wisdom, and charm

will be sorely missed, but only for a short while I hope. Take care, be well, and know that you have touched many hearts and minds with your rare talent.

[Patsy Stone]

43. I will miss you.

But I can't say I don't understand.

[nofurylike]

45. be well, so very, very well. thank you for it all!

gasp

[still_one]

46. I would like to think we are not lemmings, Happy New Year /nt

[johnaries]

47. I can certainly understand - but I bet you won't be gone long!

I remember when Will Pitt "took a break". And yet couldn't resist the urge to post. :)

Of course, it is different here now than it was then. Sometimes the vitriol and unreason is overwhelming. I can't help but think that is the plan of some posters - to change Democratic Underground into Democratic Divide. And chase away posters like you.

But always remember - we love you!

:grouphug:

[Hutzpa]

48. Thats it

for some absurd reason I saw this coming, it's a dame shame to see the level of discuss has dramatically dropped
and what we have now is a mix of teabagging and teapuking. Never thought I'll see the day where democrats will
go after democrats for supporting a sitting democratic President.

I don't take too kindly to folks on cyberspace but I have to admit, you where one of my exceptions, we shouldn't
give up hope but have faith that the site owners are either working on new methods or are planning upgrades as
we can all see it is needed.

The format has got to change as you rightly mentioned when this website got started Barack Obama was not the
President, so to most of us it is unusual and awkward coupled with shock to witness the systematic destruction
of a democratic elected president as we were hoping our next level of discuss could have been to find progressive
democrats for nomination. This place has turned into a rat race where everyone is out doing the other with
rhetoric and vitriol, anyway....

Enjoy your sabbatical.

Right ba'acha!

[cry baby]

49. Damn, I'm too late to say how much you are appreciated. My best to you! nt

[Arkana]

50. No, Nance, don't leave

just because a bunch of reactionary pricks in GD don't want to listen to reason.

[NYC_SKP]

51. It's very sad to be reading this, Nance. Sadder, however, are the reasons you cite.

I trust that you'll be back if the administrators of this site decide to redirect the "flavor" of the board that has become so sour.

Big Hug!

:hug:

I'll see you elsewhere, and back here maybe...

Always hopeful,

NYC_SKP

[LiberalFighter]

52. Just slow down a bit and relax. But don't stay away.

It could be better but it could also be worse.

Don't let others get you down. Believe in what you do and believe it is the right thing.

[mzmolly]

53. I just read this tread.

I am beyond sad that you've decided to leave DU, for at least a time. I hope that someday DU will be the sanctuary many of us seek and we'll see your fabulous posts on the front page again.

I'll seek you elsewhere in cyberland.

:loveya:

[Name removed]

54. Deleted message

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

[HCE SuiGeneris]

55. Peace to you, Nance.

You touch many people in a very positive way. Don't let the negative criticism overshadow the positive effects of your writing and expression.

:hug:

[BeyondGeography]

56. Be well

Hope to see you again here sometime.

:patriot:

[ismnotwasm]

57. I understand

I will miss you, but hope to see you here again. I

[TicketyBoo]

59. I was looking for that

"sanctuary" of which you speak because of the constant HATE I was hearing toward President Obama in the midst of this sea of red(necks) in which I live.

I came here fairly recently, but I am definitely not feeling the love.

I have recently discovered the IGNORE feature and used one of your threads to rapidly populate my list. However, I didn't come here to ignore people.

I'm not sure how much longer I can tolerate what's happening here, either. It's certainly not the oasis from hate I longed for when signing up.

[Cha]

61. Well, TicketyBoo,

a belated Welcome to DU and a now Welcome to the BOG.

Since DU is obviously overrun with anti-Obama posters I'm really glad you found the BOG. I've been here since 2002 and am not happy with all of the rules being broken incessantly but I'm more interested in supporting the President in what he and his Team are trying to accomplish..so I will go anywhere that's helpful.

Post in here and help make this the Action Forum!:bounce:

I still go to GDP to check out what some of the good reserchers have brought to DU in that forum but this is my main thing.:)

[TicketyBoo]

62. Oh, wow.

You mean, I've stumbled around and finally found a little island of sanity?

I'm not sure. The anti-Obama brigade seems to be well represented here, too, unfortunately.

There's a difference in being disappointed in some of what has happened (I am, too, of course), and deciding that you don't trust and will not support this really smart and wonderful man we've managed to elect as our president.

I still love him.

[TicketyBoo]

63. P.S.

BOG is really an unfortunate word for it, isn't it?

Almost too true.

[Cha]

64. Ha! Trolls come in here but they're Zapped

eventually..just for being trolls.

And, The BOG is our affectionate word.. I know everyone here has the best sense of humor from years of reading their posts.:P

So you stumbled on it? That's pretty good. I found it around Dec 5, 2009 bc there was an OP about it in GDP ..and of course it was mocked and all that but people started coming in and it was resusitated from its early Barack Obama primary days.. if you'll see some of the earlier threads.:)

[TicketyBoo]

65. I saw something posted

about Nance leaving, and nosed around to find her post saying that she was going.

I may get cozy in here.

[BrklynLiberal]

66. This is such sad news. I hope your leave is temporary.

You will be dearly missed....

:hug:

[NYC_SKP]

67. Just kicking this. You are missed. There was a thread today in saying so...

Be well, we'll see you again.

:hug:

[JeffR]

68. This thread should retire to the Keys, drink mojitos and play pinochle!

Instead, it keeps getting called out for encores.

[NYC_SKP]

69. 12 days since the last reply.

I guess group threads don't lock after periods of inactivity as they do in other forums.

Or is thread dying based on something else?

Anyway, knowing that many of us only check in every week or two, and from the post now in GDP, some don't even know that Nance is on break.

That said,

If this frakken thread goes to the keys, I'm goin' with it!

[JeffR]

70. I'm digging that photo.

:beer:

[Cha]

71. Glad you did!

There's a thread in GDP by scheming daemons that says he's no Nance but he has a righteos rant..and he does!