but rants never are ;)

has increased recently. Now instead of just "troll," there's McPuma, McTroll, and McBlogger.

Off topic, but I thought Obama was brilliant on Meet the Press this morning.  An "A" performance; Obama showed me why I considered him this party's best one-on-one live interviewer.  Perhaps he comes back invigorated from his travels abroad; heck, I'd be feeling pretty darn good about myself if I had the week he just had.

Keep up the good work CG, you get the customary rec from me.

It's a lot more civil now than it used to be, and anyway the real trolls make their agenda blindingly obvious nowadays.

If we want dissent then we need to allow it. MyDD has two problems right now---GOP trolls and purity trolls. GOP trolls have caused the purity trolls to get all jumpy and call people like Linfar, a valuable diarist here, all sorts of names.

But if we want dissent, in all realistic fashion, we need to figure something out here.

Hillary supporter for Barack Obama in 2008
by zcflint05 on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 08:34:00 PM EST

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

As my internet journey began, suddenly - BAM (cue the violins) I came across MyDD.  Not only was there (for the most part) some really good discussion - but also some positive Clinton stories and comments.  AS A LOST INTERNET SOUL, I KNEW I WAS HOME.

Funny.  I came here because I had heard it was a hotbed of anti-Obama, Clinton supporters...and as an Obama supporter, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

I'm pleased to see that most of those who fervently supported Clinton (or any other Democrat) are now supporting Obama.  And coming here certainly helped me learn a LOT more about Clinton.

So, overall, a positive experience, even though I came here for a somewhat negative reason.

I am flattered for your usage of my comment ;) ESPECALLY on such a wonderful and after the last couple of days, much needed diary.

When the Democratic party heals (or at least the online portion of it), it will start here. It already has.

You are one of the main reasons why I like this place, and why I feel comfortable here!

Enjoyable and interesting diary as usual from my somewhat limited perspective.

I spend more time working away from a computer than I do on-line, but your sig is always a sure bet for a good read when I get here.

Warm days and good fortune!

oh. havent been around as much lately [been working nonstop and junk] but this whole 'mydd sucks' attitude is annoying. staight up annoying.

alyssa's rules to Mydd [yay]:
in regards to trollish comments or outright trolls, effing tr that shit and move on. if you dont like a diary, dont read it. if you dont like mydd, leave or better yet help improve the site by writing badass proactive diaries, [emphasis on writing diaries] otherwise you just sound like a complainer. [cough cough, there seems to be alot of people complaining yet taking no action.]

-I get that trolls are a big problem around here and people are always going off on Jerome, so FYI for anyone who is determined to get a troll banned: post your request on a open thread to Jonathan or Todd. they seem like theyll act on it.

to be more tolerant of contrarian views than other blogs. And of course the admins including Jerome, Jonathan and Todd had been very respectful of the diversity in the opinions expressed. Surely some have abused the system, but in all this is definitely a better blog than the rest.

To all the haters - PLEASE SHUT UP.

We get it - you do not agree with the moderation here.  You may have a point - but I suspect that if you were serious in your criticism you would be contacting the owner and administrators rather than the constant bashing.  Yes - I have heard - they don't respond - well keep trying.  Or as they say - you might not want the door to hit you on the way out.

Just because people are disappointed with the moderation does not mean they hate MyDD. You have insulted all the people with legitimate complaints. The best policy is to sincerely apologize if you can.

And you are attempting to silence positive constructive free speech by telling people to "SHUT UP" when they see something wrong.

Furthermore, you admit that MyDD sometimes does not respond when people complain about wrongdoing.  And you admit that that method does not work for some people. Yet you say they should continue with a method that has proven ineffective. I disagree because if one method doesn't work then it's smart for people to try a different method.

Thanks for the diary canadian gal. You have  elequently captured the essence of my experiences this past spring as well. I share your feelings about the treatment of the candidates by the MSM and many of the political sites and blogs. I too found mydd to be a haven for this angry HRC supporter.

I have also evolved and have learned to appreciate the nominee of our party in spite of the fact he was not my first choice. It my personal belief that BHO should pick HRC for many reasons, not the least is to unify the party.

I am now frustrated to read diaries that turn into moronic slugfests between people who will never agree with one another. So I ask people to stop cluttering up the diaries with garbage. I love reading intellegent, thoughtful, reasoned, and polite posts. I love reading jokes. I love reading a hard hitting smack on the opposition.

I do not enjoy, "no it isn't, yes it it, no it isn't, yes it is." I actually stop reading these sorts of posts as soon as I realize what they are. Please stop calling each other names. It is not worth it. If you feel like calling someone a name, stop talking to them.

I do have disagreements with the nominee. I do not expect to agree with politicians all of the time. I just hope that intellegent people will continue to challenge our nominee and all of our elected officials. However, this does not mean promoting his opposition, it means trying to make our candidate better.

My overall take is that, while particularly since "the strike," there has been a lot of polarization and dissent at mydd, one could still find sophisticated discussion and analysis.  Often this involved state and congressional races.

I know a lot about politics and political history. I'm not bragging. It's just the truth. And it's not only a deep interest, but I've been professionally engaged in analysis for a long time and involved in campaigns as well.

And I have to say that the average level of discourse has fallen here.  There's a lot of talking points put forth, including ones straight out of Rush and redstate (not to mention the odious NQ.)  And there are diarists who go to other sites where they make it clear that they have NO intention of supporting Obama and then come here and pretend that they would support him but -- insert Republican talking point of the day.  

I find that professionally interesting in terms of observing this slice of the electorate.

But it is not engaging discourse that widens my own understanding or challenges my own thinking.  

So I come back and take a look and comment and blog now and then.  But until those who keep pushing nonsense -- like Obama is not really the nominee or that he leaked his note placed in the western wall -- are not prominent, well, this site will have fallen from its former heights as a place of intense conversation between engaged and sophisticated political people.

The PUMA's and McTrolls are being enabled by those who claim to honor dissent but then tell the "haters" to "SHUT UP".  I find myself coming to this site less and less because I can argue with honest to goodness McCain supporters about Republican talking point on other sites.  I don't need to come here to 1) argue with the opposition anymore or 2) find out what Democrats are thinking.  There are other sites that are much better at those things than MyDD.  

For a while this was the best site to argue with Clinton supporters but now it is just a place to do oppo research.  That is quite a big fall.  If Jerome has any interest in keeping MyDD going past November he needs to refocus the site.  Otherwise MyDD is going to be an object lesson in how not to run a political blog during a primary.    

was in terms of substance indistinguishable from low-grade troll vomit.  It was without substance, false and defamatory, and nothing more than a shrill rant based on the author's feelings, not any valid criticism of the nominee.

So, calling her a 'troll' was inappropriate, but her diary was reprehensible and I really have to question the rationality of anyone who recommended it.

an above thread points back to that a basic intolerance of a different viewpoint. Thus far
such intolerance had been prerogative of the Republican party and historically in authoratarian one-party systems. This is a big reason why the Republicans are going to be a minority for years to come.

Democratic Party and Progressives have the opportunity here to build a majority coalition in generations to come. But this streak of intolerance of a differing opinion on a particular subject is going to be bane for the future of this majority coalition. We have seen this during primary and both sides had been guilty of this practice. However this particular blog had been very successful (unlike some well known ones) for the most part a place where contrary views were expressed without a fear of getting banned as long was done in a respectful manner and not spouting pure Republican Talking Points.