So, a little tense lately? Feeling like finding a place online where you can just kick up some shit because you can't think of anything better to do? Or stressed out from having spent all your disposable income on campaign donations, and wondering how you're going to make it through this holiday season and all it entails?
Whatever the cause, this place has been in one pissy mood all week. I have my suspicions about where it's coming from. The election, however positive the results were for us, has been over long enough now that the euphoria has faded. The common purpose that drew us together for so many months has dissipated, and now we're all back to thinking about those things that matter most to us, that we'd like to see everyone writing and talking about. And we know that there are going to be tremendous challenges in the next two years. So the high of winning the Congress has hit the brick ceiling of reality.
As for the community itself, there are a whole lot of new faces and names around, (well, some of those new names probably belong to some old faces, which is a problem in and of itself) and, as with evey big influx of people, some of the community norms haven't managed to filter their way out to everyone. And some who do know better take advantage of the resulting chaos to just cut loose and become asses. And assholes.
So what do we do about it?
Ah, the $64K question, huh? I don't have all the answers, but I have a few thoughts. In the spirit of the impending season (Peace on Earth, Goodwill and all that) here's what I've been thinking. Some of these are reminders or suggestions, some of these are reiterations of the rules. And yes, we do have rules. That's the first thing you're going to have to learn to live with here at Daily Kos.
Onward:
- Criticism of your arguments in your comments or diaries are not personal attacks. There was a time when people would post in the hopes of having input from the community on their thinking. They wanted readers to find the holes in their arguments. They wanted to have some help in refining their thinking. A very large number of members here still take that approach, and when you are encountered with a critical reader, take it in the spirit in which it was offered. Use the opportunity to think more about your positions. Maybe even change your mind. There are some very intelligent people around here. Use them.
- An important corollary is the flip of the above: personal attacks are not valid criticism. Calling someone a shithead who can't write their way out of a paper bag is not a valid criticism. Showing them how they might have extracted themselves from said paper bag is.
- Not everyone is going to love your candidate. However much you may believe in whoever it is you are supporting for '08, they are a human being. Even beyond being a human being, they are a politician. They have flaws. The fact that other people see those flaws and want to discuss them here, on a political site where we talk about things like, well, flawed politicians, is something you're going to have to live with if you want to hang around here for the next two years. Hopefully your fellow Kossacks can extend their criticisms without calling that candidate a shithead, but when they do you can feel free to tell them it's not a particularly convincing argument against your chosen one.
- Don't gossip or speculate on anything about another poster other than what they have made public on the site. We don't really know each other that well. Sure, you talk to the same people online here every day, but for the most part we don't know what's going on in their daily lives; what meat-world conflicts they are having, what personal demons they are currently battling. (Ok, sometimes we do know all that, in far too much detail, and would much rather not.) But the point is, don't presume to know why someone behaves as they do. Don't speculate on what you don't know about, and don't gossip about it. Ok, you say, I know what's going on between these two users because one of them has e-mailed me and told me all about it. If you've only got one side, then you really know you don't have the whole story. And you don't have any business talking about it in front of tens of thousands of people on the Internets.
- And sort of in that vein don't believe everything you read on the 'Nets. That goes for this site, too. Particularly those personal stories from Kossacks that make you just go "hmmmm.....?" But more than them, those "news" sources that have a pretty bad track record for veracity. If you use a source like Capitol Hill Blue, or Wayne Madsen, you'll hear from plenty of Kossacks about your choice of sources. They are not reliable, and should not be used. When someone tells you so, believe them.
- Speaking of hearing from Kossacks, READ THE DIARY RULES BEFORE YOU POST. I don't shout very often, but Christ on a crutch, those rules are there. How can you possibly miss them when writing a diary? If you break them, then you deserve whatever you receive in the comments. And yes, it IS the job of the community to point these problems out. That's how it is supposed to work, and has been from the beginning. If you have written a duplicate diary and have a completely new take on the story, or have really added to the debate about it, that's cool. Keep it up. But if it's the third "Breaking!!!" one graph with a link, give it up already. Add it as a comment in the other and delete.
- Here's everyone's favorite topic: Troll-rating a comment just because you disagree with it is ratings abuse. If you have any question whether a comment should be troll rated, don't do it. Leave a reply explaining your problem with the comment. If it's not an obvious over-the-line attack on another poster, or a spam, or clearly freeper comment, and you've troll-rated it, explain why in the comments.
- Troll-rate the comment, not the poster. If you're having a feud with someone and troll-rate all of their comments, that's ratings abuse. If it's an aforementioned spammer or freeper, sure, TR away to hasten their departure from the site. But otherwise, don't do it.
- Uprating deservedly troll-rated comments is also ratings abuse. Does more need to be said here?
Ok, so I got a little tightly wound there at the end. It's been a rough week, and I'm not the most patient person in the world. Here's the thing, though--this place has meant the world to me over the last few years. It has to so many of us. We've been through a helluva lot in just a few years, and have so much more to do.
You are participating in what is one of the most dynamic virtual communities in the world. That means a lot of people with a lot of divergent views. There's absolutely nothing wrong with disagreement. We need disagreement. We need robust debate, argument. We need that argument to be productive, to be intelligent, and to be about the things that matter. Not about the grudge you've been carrying around for the last year and a half because someone was mean to you about something you don't even remember any more. Try, just try, avoiding that person. There are plenty of other people here to play with.
Flamewars are inevitable, but they don't have to be the rule. And if you're going to have one, at least make it about something that matters. Like the Fiesta Bowl.