Something happened today that makes me very unhappy with DU3.

[GardeningGal]

I'm going to need to think about it a bit. I just realized that SpiralHawk was banned by Skinner for something I thought was pretty trivial. I may end up having to activate my Facebook account after all.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/124023464

[Celebration]

1. oh, that is ridiculous

Yikes that is way over the top to be banned for that!

And everybody in that thread agrees. Maybe he had a bad day! Ugh............

[backtoblue]

2. Is the ban temporary or final?

I would've thought that a suspension would've been harsh, let alone getting banned. Yikes!

[Howler]

3. Whoa!

That does seem like overkill.

[onecent]

4. I am a little confused also...What happened to free speech? I kind

of felt like DU was a "safe" haven for people to discuss or cuss about things they felt...

Wise to have limits....but I don't believe I want to ever be on a jury.... I am not here to judge others for their
thoughts.

[Remember Me]

16. Please remember -- you don't have free speech where private property is involved

It's a common misconception. The First Amendment only prevents GOVERNMENT from censoring your speech. Whenever you find yourself on private property -- privately owned property, that is, such as DU -- you can be censored all day long every day.

[rosesaylavee]

6. I am finding the DU3 to be an unpleasant unfamiliar place.

Not sure I will be posting much if at all here now.

[OneGrassRoot]

7. word

I check in every few days; whereas I used to check in several times a day.

I agree with you. It is both unpleasant and unfamiliar. At least in DU2-GD the unpleasantness was familiar.

[Mist]

24. That describes me too--DU once was a "must," now it's something else entirely. The

list of "forbidden" topics is a riot, except not really funny. My friends and I often spend an evening on the "forbidden" subjects, so I'm not sure
how off the wall they really are.

[NuttyFluffers]

20. ding! winner!

i'm close to being done myself. starting to look like it outlived its usefulness. the primaries poisoning will be a deciding factor.

[Fire Walk With Me]

8. Those who can See, take a Look. nt

[liberalmuse]

9. How did SpiralHawk get banned?

That's not right!

[Still Blue in PDX]

10. I once asked about something that is apparently not to be mentioned here.

Someone at work was talking about something unmentionable one day and piqued my curiosity. I had no idea it was ban-worthy.

Holy cow -- guess I'm lucky to still be here.

[Tumbulu]

11. How does one know what is banned- is there a list somewhere?

that is so weird, but would she have been banned in the oldDU as well?

Was these topics banned there too?

[icymist]

13. Subjects that are not permitted are listed in the terms of service at the bottom of the forum:

<snip>
Don't go overboard with the crazy talk.

Democratic Underground is not intended to be a platform for kooks and crackpots peddling paranoid fantasies with little or no basis in fact. To accomodate our more imaginative members we tolerate some limited discussion of so-called "conspiracy theories" under the following circumstances: First, those discussions are not permitted in our heavily-trafficked Main forums; and second, those discussions cannot stray too far into Crazyland (eg: chemtrails, black helicopters, 9/11 death rays or holograms, the "New World Order," the Bilderbergers, the Illuminati, the Trilateral Commission, the Freemasons, alien abduction, Bigfoot, and the like). In addition, please be aware that many conspiracy theories have roots in racism and anti-semitism, and Democratic Underground has zero tolerance for bigoted hate speech. In short, you take your chances.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=termsofservice

Personally, I find it a shame about what happened to SpiralHawk.

[Tumbulu]

17. I never even saw all that- thanks for pointing it out

I wonder why that topic freaks them out so much? How strange.

[right on maude...]

22. Are we "allowed" to talk about chemtrails HERE?

I mean, "they" are stepping up the spraying big time. It was pointed out to me and I now see it practically every time I gaze up at the sky.

What's so dangerous about even mentioning it? Doesn't that give one pause?

[kentauros]

25. I would say don't even discuss it here.

It, along with all the others they label as "CrazyLand", seems to really bother the admins and such. Best not to antagonize if you can help it. Their one sentence in the TOS, "In short, you take your chances", doesn't really help, either. It would be better to have a complete list of forbidden topics and state emphatically that they are not to be discussed. "Taking your chances" won't work when those odds are stacked against you.

At the same time, the Matthew Messages threads seem to be okay, but I would guess no one but us ever looks at them. It's full of references to the Illuminati. I have to ignore that part of it because I don't really believe in such organizations. Then again, I love the site RexResearch as well as sometimes browsing Fortean Times. Both include topics that would likely get me banned were I to discuss them openly. Better is to find forums elsewhere that don't have such restrictions.

[Celebration]

12. Lol, me too

I don't have the time or interest to check and comment on Chem trail threads but that response was not at all out of bounds.

[kimmerspixelated]

14. Years ago, I held a few discussions that got

Dungeonized. It wasn't even particularly flame-worthy.

[Remember Me]

15. a word of warning -- don't even try to talk about chemtrails in the dungeon

It seems to be an absolutely verboten subject.

I wandered in there one day and in whatever discussion happened to mention them or comment on a mention and I was schooled very promptly NOT to discuss chemtrails even there. I don't think I've been back since.

I'm just sick about SpiralHawk, though.

[Habibi]

18. Me, too.

I find that ASAH is the first/last place I visit these days. I feel like I understand the rules here more than any other forum/group.

[BlueIris]

19. Many things can't be discussed here.

This site, while it does have its occasional insightful post from an unusual or rarely heard perspective, is pretty mainstream. Then again, so is most of the Internets.

[FirstLight]

26. any word on the finality of the decision?

...did they allow him/her back? It was seriously a really out there and harsh decision, you'd think they'd reconsider?

[GardeningGal]

27. I think it's final.

Take a look at this thread - it's painful though.

I'm really not liking the energy of DU3. It's seems pretty dark to me now.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/124024351#post113

edited because I forgot to post the link. duh!

[Metta]

29. Yes, it was trivial especially compared with malicious posts by others.

Looks as if DU3 is becoming a swamp compared with the sensitivity and comradary of DU2.