Despite the cry for sanity and peace in this community by
Delaware Dem not so long ago, the focus and continuity of this site continues to be disrupted by flame wars between the Troll Hunters (I use this term as short hand, not because it is an accurate description) and their critics.
As Delaware Dem wrote:
We have an evil administration in the White House bent on world domination, fascism, and the shredding of our precious Constitution just to suit their political whims.
We have evil religious fanatics running the ruling majority party, and they are bent on establishing a theocracy that will imprison us all.
We have war, disease, famine, murder, and genocide scarring our beloved planet.
We have poverty. We have global warming and pollution.
We have many problems, and many conflicts.
And we come here to Daily Kos to discuss those problems, because we all share them.
And we all agree that we must stop Bush and his evil cabal.
And yet, the flame wars continue between two groups, few in number but equally convinced of their righteousness. The Troll Hunters, who believe that Trusted Users have a responsibility to moderate this site as Markos has directed. And their critics who fall into various categories but generally view the Troll Hunters as a vicious pack who unfairly victimize non-trolls. Their continuing battle no doubt leaves the rest of the community wishing they would all just STFU.
Unlike true troll fests, these disputes don't end up in the hidden comments because the users on both sides of the divides are often all TUs and sufficiently respected for their other contributions to the community that their posts will more often than not remain visible, even when the posts are trollish. The end result is these disputes hijack the diaries in which they appear and remain in the open to be seen by new users, lurkers and enemies of this site. The disputes fester and get carried over unrelated threads, leaving respected members of this community bitter.
I agree with Delaware Dem IT NEEDS TO STOP.
But we've seen it's not enough to simply declare a truce because of the strength of conviction present on both sides. My view on the matter is that too many fail to follow the first three of Hunter's Ten Meta Commandments from what may be the greatest meta diary of all time:
1. MetaJesus says thou shalt stop whining over troll ratings as if people were cutting your fingers off with strands of dental floss. If you get ONE troll rating for something, THOU SHALT GET THE HELL OVER IT.
2. MetaJesus says thou shalt not take your past unresolved fights into every damn thread, not because you do not have a very good and interesting Point of Ultimate Righteousness, but because your cross-thread spree of indignation and martyrdom is Fucking Ass Boring for the rest of us.
3. MetaJesus says that if you engage in a slapfight, thou shalt expect to get slapped, and if it hurts when you poke yourself in the eyeball repeatedly with a fork, STOP DOING IT.
If every one would follow these three simple rules, I believe the problem would resolve itself. But it's become clear that this simply is not going to happen.
So where does a solution lie? My first instinct as with issues like this in the past was to let the community sort it out. But unlike prior instances, these disputes pit TU against TU and ratings just aren't going to take care of the problem. Further, because of the comparatively small number of folks involved, not enough TUs rate to allow the community to express its judgment and resolve the issue once and for all.
And a slow burning flame war continues at DailyKos waiting for the next arguable troll rating to fan the flames.
In each flare up, the same debates inevitably arise. Who is correct? The critics who consistently decry the supposed injustice with which the Troll Hunters moderate the site or the Troll Hunters who protest they act as Markos desires. Who is hijacking the threads, the troll rater or the critic?
Until these questions are answered, I fear the slow burn will continue and fester. Ultimately, the only person who can answer the questions with certainty is Markos - the rules here are his to make after all. And so by posting here, I hope a front pager or Markos will see it and takes steps to have these questions answered for the good of the community so we can get back to the business of taking back our government. Elections are right around the corner.
Thank you for your time.
PEACE.