A
discussion today of someone's writing style instead of what they said led me to wonder, "How high is the bar?" We argue here about politics, but not as much about English composition or the aesthetics of our rhetoric.
The site seems more focused on spontaneous expression of thoughts, emotions, and ideas related to politics and current events. We look past the typos, misspellings, and composition questions to appreciate the intent and substance of the post.
The main draw of DailyKos for me has been the responsive aspect, I read something that prompts me to respond, which stimulates a response from someone else, and so on - adding our "contributions" to the "body" of knowledge, chatter, and analysis that is DailyKos.
I am often more surprised by my response than I am by someone else's response to my entry. I have realized this back-and-forth pulls more from me than I could produce on my own.
We draw on this community to hone our political knowledge, understanding, and analysis. If done gently, the community could also help refine our abilities to express and appreciate the expressions of others. Some recent poetry postings have been a step in that direction.
This does apply to us because frequently misunderstanding of intent or substance has led to disagreements, which require further clarification or devolve into tedious arguments. Improving the aesthetics of our arguments would benefit us outside the community too.
Many of us (moi) are certainly not trained or adept at writing, which to do well is a rather esoteric art. Some basic direction would help us over minor hurdles and keep language connoisseurs from cringing when reading our posts. We would appreciate constructive criticism intended to refine our writing styles.
The prior experiences and education of some DailyKossers could benefit others in this regard.