Disclaimer: The title is a "gotcha" but this diary is a sarcasm free zone. If you're looking for sarcasm, you might like the poll.
In light of recent GBCW diaries and pleas from long-time Kossacks to make changes to the site to help us rise above the candidate wars, I propose that we all take a good hard look at what brought us here in the first place. What you find may offer you guidance on how to go forward, whether to move on, or how to better accomplish what you set out to do when you joined this community.
I have an easy time finding validity on both sides of a reasonable argument. Sometimes that’s a blessing;sometimes it’s a curse. On some subjects, my heart leads me to a position that is easy to defend while still recognizing the validity of arguments to the contrary. Other subjects require more soul-searching, and I try to remember that issues are not just issues – there are people behind them. I try to consider what it is that the affected person or people really need. Which leads me to the topic, over the fold, of clarifying what you want from dailyKos and then setting out to get it. Because it is about the people and right now, I say sincerely, it’s all about you.
Before beginning, let me point out that I am probably an outlier in the typical Kossack demographics and am also a self-proclaimed newbie, both at Kos and to blogging in general. I have written very few diaries, namely because my time, desire and ability to research are somewhat limited. I do, however, like to assimilate information and convert it into an accessible framework for others. That’s what I do for a living. So I hope that what I have observed during my time here will be helpful, at least to a few. Maybe I’m overreaching, but perhaps some people, maybe even a few disillusioned old-timers, will find a new way to approach this site and have a better experience for it.
So why are we here?
Let’s start with the easiest and least contentious. Some of us are here because we’re wonks. The policy and issues stories and diaries here are top-notch. Many of the best issue diarists also post on other sites, but not all do. The dailyKos gives these excellent writers access to a huge readership who may start out as learners and turn into activists. If you are here because you are a wonk and love to write analysis and issues diaries, I have no advice for you. I hope you are not discouraged, because I have nothing to offer you but thanks and praise. Keep up the excellent work. You are the framework around which everything else revolves.
A brief recognition of those who are here to learn is due as well. What issues do you want to learn about? Name your issue and there is likely a well-informed, gifted writer speaking on the subject. Learners are perhaps our audience segment with the greatest potential. Some of us will "grow up" to be wonks, others will learn how to better advocate for their issues or candidates, many will help good diarists become better writers with their comments and questions. If you are getting discouraged about the predominant tone or content of the site, as a learner, you have opportunities and responsibilities.
• Redouble your efforts to search out the great diarists.
• I can’t say this enough: do not depend on the rec list to find what you are looking for here.
• Expand your horizons. Visit the sites on the blogrolls of these great diarists and learn a lot more while perhaps getting a new perspective on the blogworld in general.
• Exert your influence on the site. Consider your comments and recs to be your voice and use them wisely.
I would strongly suggest a "let the weeds dry up" philosophy for discouraged learners. If the tone or content of a comment or diary disappoints you, resist the urge to "correct" the poster and let those weeds dry up from a lack of water.
Moving on (pun intended,) we have the activists. These folks deserve heaps of praise as well. One of the things that made dailyKos actually become daily for me was the ease with which I could get involved in more than just reading and commenting. The best advocates are activists and provide links that make it easy to sign a petition, contact your legislators, donate to candidates in key races, and the most fun of all, contact advertisers to protest various egregious right-wing blowhards’ missteps. (Ann Coulter, I’m talkin’ about you.) Activists, we love you, and we thank you.
Infotainment seekers can continue finding plenty of good stuff here too. Cheers and Jeers, pootie diaries (I like dogs, but hey, I’m not complaining,) and lots of other special topics do have their place here. If you truly need to detox from the candidate wars, it is worth spending some time there. If you do venture into a candidate diary, or witness a comments pissing match that you’re just dying to get into, save yourself by saving your wiseass comments for one of the humor diaries or a comments thread that gets wild and crazy. Candidate partisans might find it hard to believe, but slapping down W or John Gibson or any other RW dick of the day can be even more fun than busting one out on your opposing candidate nemesis of the moment. There was definitely a lot of venting going on in some recent diaries of this type. We can and still do turn some of that righteous anger on those who deserve it most, and usually have a great time in the process.
Those who seek a sense of community can find it here too. Brilliant minds, generous souls, and passionate people are still and always will be here in abundance. The candidate wars need not hamper your desire to connect. I wandered over here from a candidate website, thanks to a very gifted writer, Bruce McF. What was obvious from first glance was, "Hey, these people are really smart." This site has a very high collective (and probably a high average) IQ. Perhaps I flatter myself as I compliment others here, but I feel at home with smart people. Sure, some of us can be difficult, but our shining moments are amazing. And if you want to gain a true appreciation for this site, just spend 5 minutes reading Slate’s Fray, or worse, comments sections from any of the major news sites, where the collective IQ is maybe 90. If you can’t stomach the topics there, just go to Yahoo Answers or any other public place for "user" comments. It will make the thought of ever needing a jury of your peers frightening. If I ever need a jury of my peers, I would wish for people like the ones here to be on it.
Right now, the primary motivator for a lot of folks’ visits to the site is, well, the primaries. All of us probably have a little bit of campaign junkie (CJ for short) in us. I have to admit I’m a big CJ, and always have been. Horse race chatter, polls (and more polls,) platforms, videos...whatever it is, I have a big appetite saying FEED ME. Whether or not the CJs are in the majority or minority, it is campaign season, and the content will reflect that.
Is the coverage disproportionate? Probably. Is the content acrimonious? You betcha. Will it reflect badly on the site to lurkers or the media who happen by? Maybe, but the folks that wanna "gotcha" us can find a way to do it anyway. (If someone wants to destroy a blogger or a community of bloggers, nothing will stop them. (Witness the death threats on Amanda Marcotte & Melissa McEwen or Bill O’Reilly’s attack on Jet Blue for sponsoring Yearly Kos and his subsequent comparison of DailyKos to the Nazis.) Will it destroy our community? No way. (This community is alive and thriving long after the pie fightcame and went.)
Will GBCWs or earnest pleas or sanctimonious slapdowns (or even this diary) change anything? I doubt it. Do those who write them have the best of intentions? Absolutely. Is there any hope for those who are discouraged to find their way back to what they came here for? Positively. This site has evolved over time and like everything else in life, will continue to grow and change. Nostalgia for the old days is healthy, and wishing for a better world is admirable. Just don’t let them stand in the way of doing what you came here to do.