Disclaimer:These diaries are my personal interpretation of how the latest changes in the Rules of the Road will need to be handled. I’ve had no input from administration (though I wouldn’t mind hearing from them, should they care to weigh in), and am putting the whole thing together from a) the written changes in the Rules, and b) the modifications that have been done to three or four diaries in the past few days. Feel free to tell me I’m wrong and suggest a better interpretation. (Politely, if you would.)
This is the non-Victorian version of Part II (see link in Appendix), in which I propose to call a “digging implement” a goddamned shovel.
It’s been a long and unhallowed Tradition on Daily Kos that a) Markos is fair game for insults because he doesn’t fight back, and b) there’s never much negative feedback if you insult moderation, admin, the Help Desk, or any of the other working parts of this site, or propose various and sundry Conspiracy Theories about them. My first major diary series started as a reply to one such about the current levels and patterns of Hide Rates (the latest precursor to Flags).
In consequence of this lack of consequence, there’s been a lot of it going around, for a long time. And it almost all fits directly under the newly specific ban against “Fake News.” (See Appendix)
Let me give you a few examples with the serial numbers filed off: (Note: GBCW and TTFN diaries are generally a good source)
- first, recognize that this is an OFA site it leans Third Way, perhaps more right-center than center-right, populated by many ex-Republicans who think "life-long Democrat" is a scary leftwing concept. (2014)
- Long ago it became clear to me that the "electing more and better Democrats" mission was a euphemism for really being a Party mouthpiece, which allows for "some" dissenting voices as long as they're within a certain "spectrum" of acceptability--to the Party establishment. (2014)
- I now feel that there is no ambiguity, that the leadership of this blog has clearly shown that what they are indeed is a mouthpiece of the corrupt corporatist Democratic party establishment. (2016)
- A big cup of nuthin’ that’s red meat for the most divisive, Sanders-hating, major blog owner in the U.S. Democratic Party.(2017)
- Once upon a time, Kos, like so many of the centrist hawks hawked on his site, was a bonafide progressive. In those heady early days of political blogging, Daily Kos was a relevant force for positive progressive change. . . / . . . Daily Kos supports candidates for political expediency, not for what is good and right. It definitely does not believe in democracy. (2018)
- This site's owner has never really been comfortable with left-leaning views.(2019)
Add a few dozen each of how the site is mostly click-bait because kos needs the money to buy his Teslas; that moderation has never been neutral since Meteor Blades was doing it all by his lonesome and we need to go back to it; that the reason bannings aren’t transparent is because otherwise we’d see the ‘real’ bias behind What Goes On behind the scenes.
Conspiracy Theory, all of it. Do you know how to peg something as CT? One way is really simple. If it’s really good CT, one thing it does is explain why nothing can be done about the problem. That leaves the whinger off the hook for having to try to fix any of the problems they’re complaining about, so that they can complain indefinitely, and never run out of reasons to do so. And all the explanations, and all the tips you can give them for working to solve the problems, get rejected out of hand.
And that makes it Fake News. Our own, special, homegrown version of Fake News. Complete with notes on how to mix the vinegar for spraying, to best counter the chemtrails.
And now, it can get you banned. If dissing the site, kos, admin, moderation, and suchlike, without bothering to find out what facts you can first, has been one of your fun things to do, think carefully. Please think very carefully.
1. Change to the Rules of the Road:
DO NOT Post “Fake News”: An especially dangerous type of CT, “Fake News” presents a threat not only to the site’s reputation but to political discourse in general. If a claim seems especially exciting or surprising, take a moment to verify it before posting it, even if it fits a left-wing narrative. Fake news of any persuasion is prohibited on Daily Kos. Posting stories judged to be Fake News can not only lead to the removal of the story from the site, but also to banning of the poster’s account.
2. Kos’ original diary on the new breed of Fake News filters:
Meta: Community content disclaimer explanation
3. Previous Diaries in this series
Part I — Weaponizing "Fake News": What It Means, How To Avoid Writing It, And How To Respond to it.
"Fake News" - Part II: Gone are the days... Negative Nostalgia and Site Reputation (This one went over like a brick, but there’s still some good stuff there.)
4. yet to come
Probably “Fake News” Part III — Site Credibility based on couple of comments in the first diary.
If you have suggestions for further useful items in the series, feel free to add them in your comments. I may stop with the next one, or recap some of my previous work on Community Moderation. I’ve been rereading diaries from a couple to a few years ago, and I have the funny feeling the topics would be new to an awful lot of people. For today, though, this will do.