I joined DU after the 2008 election was over.

[MineralMan]

So, I haven't been here as long as many people have. The first thing I noticed on coming here was people attacking the newly-elected Barack Obama over a number of issues. I thought, "Well, that will settle down soon, and they'll see that President Obama was by far the best choice." That's what I thought.

However, for the next eight years, some of the same people who attacked him as soon as he was elected continued to do the same thing at every opportunity. Not a huge number of people, but some who were very prolific posters seemed to fall into that category. Nothing the President did was enough: not good enough, not progressive enough, not far enough left.

Daily, there were a few posts by those folks, calling out our new Democratic President for something. He didn't go far enough, they said. He was a tool of the corporations, they said. He has failed us, they said, starting immediately after the election. As time passed, I came to recognize the posters who were doing that. Often, they'd post something that cast aspersions on Obama, and then leave their post to those making replies, but not returning to the discussion.

That is what I observed. Now, some of those posters are not on DU any longer. It took eight years and another presidential race for them to get removed from DU. Finally, their true colors were recognized and acted on. That's a good thing, since we're now faced with a President-elect who is abundantly worthy of our disrespect. President Obama never deserved such treatment, but got it, despite the best efforts of many other DUers, some of whom are also no longer here.

I hope we have learned that we need to come together and fix what has happened to our country. I hope we will work hard together to elect more Democrats to Congress and our state legislatures. I hope we do not repeat our mistakes of the past.

That's my opinion. Thanks for taking the time to read it.

[TexasProgresive]

1. I hope you're right.

[MineralMan]

2. So do I.

[bigtree]

3. there were many folks who were absolutely consistent in their opposition to issues

...opposed under Bush, which continued or were exacerbated under Pres. Obama.

Certainly there are trolls, but there was also an effort to label any opposition to the Obama administration as trolling, even when confronted with clear reasons for the opposition.

It's one thing to recognize the totality of Barack Obama's presidency and conclude that it's been successful, historic, or transformative. It's quite another to expect folks to put aside their advocacy for issues which they feel were either ignored, neglected, or mishandled in favor of some sort of canonization of his presidency.

What I've found helpful is to recognize and appreciate the DU community's collective views and try and avoid being constantly abrasive or negative toward the Democratic presidency and party. That's really all we can ask.

We need to recognize that Democrats come from many diverse regions of the nation and have myriad interests and expectations from government which may not comport with every other expectation and interest here. If we don't allow for dissent on issues (and even personalities), even directed against our own party, the board becomes little more than a closed bubble.

[MineralMan]

4. I see. Thanks for the reply.

[mopinko]

5. i think the guys have learned their lesson.

so many that smelled like trolls all along finally unmasked themselves here during the primaries. we all see who they were now.

the thing is, it is really up to the juries to uphold the rules here. no posts removed, the guys dont see it. i have been on several juries under the "dont bash dems" rule, and i dont think many have been upheld.

it is good and bad that we no longer see who the posters are. shame that the system has been so abused in the past. the institutional memory around here has always been a double edged sword. but it was a sword that often rang in justice.

oh well. it is up to us.

[MineralMan]

6. Yes, it is up to us.

It didn't start that way until fairly recently, though. I try very hard, when serving on juries, to stick to the guidelines provided by the admins of this website. I like the system, imperfect as it is. As a grand experiment, it appears to be working better than I expected.

Some pretty talented posters walked a very careful line here. Many times I was impressed with their skills in taking things right to the edge, but not quite past it. Often, I couldn't find a way of countering their posts that would not go past the boundaries.

[TheDebbieDee]

7. I think many of those negative posters

Were Netvocate posters - posters paid to monitor political forums and hold sway or re-direct subject matter. Paid TROLLS, if you will....

[MineralMan]

8. Could be, but I have no way to prove that, so

I don't say it.