For a short time, I grasped the ultimate DKos power- but alas is has slipped from my grasp. My lament follows.
I have been coming to this community since before the 2004 election, not really sure when I first bothered to get a user id and start making comments, but at least a year ago.
I rarely bothered rating posts. I handed out the occasional "4", when someone made a particularly salient, and not necessarily obvious point. Also, I've been known to give a "4" when I felt someone was being unfairly troll rated. But, overall, I've kind of ignored the whole system, except when I would get a "1" or "0" from someone who hadn't bothered to comment.
And, I never really understood why people were so fascinated with how they were rated. Until now.
Last week, I logged on one day and noticed something was different. I couldn't be sure exactly what it was, but I could just feel that my relationship with the site had been altered. I pondered the emotions that were racing through me- what could this mean? Then, I saw it, in the right hand corner, a new link: "Hidden Comments".
What was this?, I asked myself. Something new? I clicked, and what did I see?
Savagely hostile comments, that the righteous members of our community and struck away from the eyes of the average viewer- but I was no longer average, was I? I clicked on more and more- the hatred that had only been viewable to the public for a short time, I could now see!! Some comments struck me as being unfairly trolled, but I was new to this particular club, so I didn't want to make waves. So, instead, I decided to pile on, and found one particularly objectionable comment, and decided I would hand out my first ever "1". But there was more!!
There, next to "1", was an entirely new option- a "0"! I had the power to hand out the ultimate in troll ratings! Not only could I view the hidden comments, but I had an enhanced power to condemn them to the abyss in the first place!
Me. With this kind of power. I recalled how one of my very first postings on the site got me referred to as a "known troll" (seriously, it was like the third thing I ever wrote). How within the past month I had been referred to as a "sock puppet", which I didn't even know what that meant, but assumed was not a complement. (BTW, for those who do not know, I am told that it refers to users with multiple ID's who use them as their own personal Amen corner- you know, log on with one ID, state an idea, and then log on with the other ideas and shower the first ID with complements. There are apparently those who have the time to do that- but, then again, there are those who have the time to write diaries about nothing more than their own experience of logging onto the website in the first place, so who am I to judge?)
But now- I was a trusted user! No sock puppet no more. The next person who called me a troll or a sock puppet or an ass monkey or whatever would feel my righteous power, as zero's would rain down from the heavens.
Now, to test my powers. I clicked into an open thread, and looked for the ugliest cat picture I could fine. Sorry, kitty, but they've let the dog out, I quipped to myself, and reached for my mouse.
STOP! A voice cried from within. Do not use your power for evil, or self-enhancement, or to get ugly cats off of your screen. Walk away, take some time to ponder the power and responsibility that you have earned. Only then should you return to Daily Kos, ready to be a responsible steward of the community.
And I did. I went to my Fortress of Solitude, and I waited. And resolved to be the best damn trusted user ever. And I returned.
And I was a trusted user no more.
There is a moral to be found here, but I leave it to each of you to find it on your own.
Edited: As of 3:12 PM Eastern Time, I am again a trusted user. Thanks to all who have participated in this project. Let's see how long I can keep it.
Who wants to be my first "0"? Any volunteers?
