What, to you, is the purpose of DU?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

Since it is obviously to some degree all of these choices, I guess what I'm asking is, which is its most important role to you?

I guess the reason I post this is that I see the intended "purpose" of DU to be forums such as GD/GDP, as distasteful as the posting activity there sometimes is. I feel a bit guilty if I spend most or all of the time in the Lounge because of feeling discouraged about our situation since NOV.

I do feel the cool, non wingnut, community aspect is a very important one for DU though. It's important, especially for those of us living in primarily "W" sticker states, to have cool, like minded people to bounce stuff off of, even if it's just lame copycat threads.

[miss_kitty]

1. um-"is the.." what?

On edit: :evilgrin:

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

2. Edited, sorry.

[henslee]

14. DU is where beer chugging smilees go to die.

[miss_kitty]

3. "A community of cool people to..." what?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

5. Sorry edited again. Quotation marks really throw these posts.

[miss_kitty]

6. Yeah. For some programming reason in some applications

they make shit disappear. PHP sites are bad for that in subect lines. :hi:

[sniffa]

4. other

finding peopLe to dump aLL my emotionaL baggage on.

[Catchawave]

7. Other:

A place to discuss EVERYTHING with like minds...sometimes :)

Politics is important to me, but not the most important thing in my life! The DU Forums are the glue that holds the public forums together too !

[Deja Q]

8. A place to 'chill out' and openly discuss topics.

I am somewhat opinionated, to say the very least... O8)

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

9. So which one did you vote for?

[RoyGBiv]

10. Several of the above ...

Choices 1,2, and 3 being the most prominent.

The social aspects are nice at times, but of all the options, that's the one that is the least important to me.

[Tom Kitten]

11. I chose other because

I think DU is a combination of the above purposes you mentioned, and not necessarily in equal doses. DU is an organic growing entity, and it ebbs and flows in the direction our fates lead us individually and collectively. This place is constantly growing and as it continues to do that its purpose expands also.

But I'd also add that perhaps the mission of DU is exactly is what the founders and administrators say it is

http://www.democraticunderground.com/about.html

[Wapsie B]

12. I've used this analogy before.

But if anyone is familiar with Mike Malloy's show he used to have one night of the week which he called "Bughouse Square." This refers to a place in Chicago where people could come and get on their soapbox, talking about any issue they chose. Some people wouldn't get much of an audience, others would have many listeners. But everyone had their say.
DU to me is the virtual version of Bughouse Square.

[Pale Blue Dot]

13. To meet, fall in love with, and covertly flirt with my girlfriend.

Well, there are some other nice people here, too. :D