Yesterday,
mariawells posted
this diary. Here's her above-the-fold:
Breaking News: Scoles drops out; Sestak to run
Wed Feb 01, 2006 at 04:08:12 PM PDT
This is my district (PA-07). Paul Scoles was being challenged for the right to run against Curt Weldon by a young Fighting Dem--former Republican--Bryan Lentz. Paul is now dropping out and endorsing Vice Admiral (ret.) Joe Sestak who has just thrown his hat into the ring.
I'm not sure what to make of this yet. I just got it in my inbox.
Not to pick on Maria specifically--her post was just the latest such instance I've come across, the proverbial straw--but I'm not sure what to make of it either. Plea below the fold...
Here's why: I don't live in PA, and I don't have the party affiliation of every member of congress memorized, by name, along with the names and affiliations of the current crop of candidates. Maybe there are some here on dKos who do, but I'll bet they're in the vast minority. So, I have to read pretty hard to infer the affiliation of those people in order to understand your post. Or else, I have to go poking around on the web to find that information somewhere else. Neither of those make for a happy reading experience.
My plea to diarists who are commenting on their local races: Please, include a "(D)", "(R)", or "(I)" after a person's name upon first mention. That would really help to make diaries about local races easier to read and understand, for people outside those states & districts. It would only take a moment, but it would be really helpful. Please? Thanks.
My plea to readers: if posts like Maria's give you the same problems, please go ahead and recommend this diary. If enough people read this, maybe we can change dKos, if ever so slightly, for the positive. And, if you see posts like that in the future, post a comment asking for an update with affiliation marks, eh?