If it's January 20th, it can only mean one thing [View all]
That's right -- it's DU's birthday.
Democratic Underground opened its doors on January 20th, 2001, just a few hours before the inauguration of George W. Bush. Over the past 24 years we have witnessed the dawn of the blogosphere, the rise and fall of left-wing talk radio, the birth of YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter -- leading to whatever the hell the social media landscape is these days -- and now our sixth presidency (if you count the few hours that Bill Clinton was still in office when DU opened to the public). I was 26 years old when DU launched -- this year I turn 51.
Through it all, DU has changed dramatically, and yet in some ways -- perhaps the most important ways -- it has not changed at all. Our goal when creating DU was to provide an online space for people from the center to the left to discuss politics, without interruption by right-wing conservative trolls, and to have those discussions in as civil a manner as possible. Whether or not we are achieving those goals has been an ongoing matter of debate for the past quarter-century, but when I look around at what has become of the rest of the Internet these days, I'm proud that we at least continue to try.
Sadly, today's anniversary falls on a dark day in American history. We have no idea where Donald Trump is going to drag the nation over the next four years, but we all know deep in our bones that it's not going to be anywhere good. Nevertheless, I saw an aphorism posted on DU recently which summed up my feelings about the current situation quite succinctly:
When you're going through hell, keep going.
What's interesting about this aphorism is that like so many things on the Internet these days, it is often falsely attributed. Many people believe it is a Churchill quote, but there's no evidence that he actually said it. Nevertheless, the essence of the aphorism seems to me to be perfectly aligned with the situation we find ourselves in.
And so, my fellow DUers, I do intend to keep going, and I hope the rest of you will join me. Tomorrow we plan to open two new top-level forums which we hope will allow people to better cope with whatever is coming. These are supplementary forums -- we are not closing any of our current forums. They are top level forums so they will be managed by the Forum Hosts.
One of these new forums is intended to provide a space for ongoing discussion of what Democrats should be doing over the next two to four years to retake power. Most likely, this forum will eventually transition into the next Democratic Primaries forum, when we feel that the time is right to do that.
As for the other new forum -- it is my belief that there is a significant difference between what Trump says he's going to do, and what he actually does. The mainstream media treats these as equally important, which Trump uses to his advantage, stressing us out and baffling us with bullshit. We burn up so much outrage on the nonsense that comes out of Trump's mouth, that it can feel like we don't have much energy left to get angry about his actions. It's certainly worth talking about the things Trump is saying, but they do not necessarily need to be confused with the things that he's doing. So this new forum is intended to provide a dumping ground for the BS that Trump spouts on a daily basis, leaving more space in General Discussion and elsewhere for people to discuss the ramifications of his administration's real policies and real actions.
The idea behind separating out these discussions is to provide people with the ability to take a break from them whenever they feel the need, by trashing the forums when things get to be too much. Like every single idea we've ever come up with, I can't promise that this will be a perfect solution. This is a big community, and some nuance and understanding will be required, especially in the beginning as people get a feel for what should be posted where. I expect that as time goes by, people will gain a natural understanding of how it works. If there is some overspill between forums, that's fine. And if it turns out to be a failure, we'll reverse course. As usual, we'll all muddle through together.
These are the new Statements of Purpose for the forums which will be coming tomorrow:
Discuss the late-night social media rants, unrealistic policy proposals, and ridiculous trial balloons floated by Donald Trump and other Trump-adjacent figures. This forum is intended to separate the nonsense that Donald Trump and his MAGA cohorts spew on a daily basis from real Trump Administration policies and actions. For example, if Donald Trump uses Truth Social to randomly suggest an invasion of Mars, it would be appropriate for this forum. Whereas if Donald Trump orders the Joint Chiefs of Staff to actually draw up plans for an invasion of Mars, it would be appropriate for General Discussion or Latest Breaking News.
Discuss the future of the Democratic Party and the left, strategies to rebuild the party's influence and reach, and tactics to retake political power from the right. REMINDER: Forum Hosts are only responsible for locking off-topic discussions in this forum, they are not responsible for locking discussions which may violate the DU rules. Please be aware that while the rules prohibit "bashing" of Democratic public figures, the rules also allow for constructive criticism. Between those two positions lies a large grey area, and if you want to avoid getting posts removed by Jury in this forum, remember that not everyone on DU may have the same appreciation or dislike for the same politicians that you do. If you treat your fellow DU members with respect and try to post in a civil manner, you will rarely have any problems. Posting derogatory nicknames for center-to-left politicians, groups of DU members, or individual DU members, will increase your chances of getting a post removed.
It's been an honor and a privilege to manage this community for the past 24 years, and whatever happens next, I'm glad to be facing it with all of you. Thanks for reading.
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