It figures trumad would be the one to give me the opportunity.

posts hidden, so this is news to me. I didn't realize it is up to the admins to decide to enforce the penalty. Seems a bit soft, but I would tend to be a hard-ass about stuff like this, no mercy!

so....apparently trumad and I have a life or two left to give.

So I guess there are steps to this "punishment system". Interesting.

"Usually when this happens it is because an account has had too many posts hidden in a relatively short period of time."

That sounds like they put a temporary hold on your account if you've had multiple hides in quick succession until they can check things out. This might actually benefit the DUer being reviewed -- if someone goes on a binge, a brief enforced break could prevent a flameout or a time out. I guess it would also be a chance to see if someone's being targeted.

Posting Under the Influence.

Posting under speak my mind influence.

As I read the announcement, when this 90 day period is up, anyone who has 5 hides is blocked from posting until the oldest hide falls off the transpo page.

If I'm mistaken, admin ought to clear it up. If it's going to be an arbitrary thing depending on the poster, as opposed to a hard and fast rule enforced on 5 hides no matter who it is, I think DU ought to know, frankly.

Given that he posted it on September 25, it seems that anyone who has racked up 5 hides since then will fall silent for a bit on Christmas Eve. But I agree that if it's going to be a judgement call, we should all know...

starting at Christmas. I don't think they'll be reviewing those.

difference at all. For a few, I suppose, it's not something to look forward to. Some kids get bicycles or other great gifts. A few get lumps of coal. The solution is simple, I think.

I just couldn't resist the attempt to mimic the "Thanks, Obama!" meme blaming the pres for everything. And now I have a new graphic to use whenever Skinner has obviously done yet one more thing to "ruin" DU.

But any posts hidden since it started were counted. It wasn't really a 90 day grace period so much as it was starting with a clean slate.

I still thought it was automatic suspension if you hit 5 hidden posts in a 90 day period, then when your first hidden dropped off the radar by being more than 90 days old you were able to post again automatically.

EDIT - I see the rule posted above says the suspension doesn't occur until Dec.25 or so. But still, all posts from before Sept.25 didn't count, but hidden posts after Sept.25 do count.

it looks as if trumad may be silent from 12/23 through 12/27... 90 days from 9/25 is 12/23, and the 5th hidden post was on 9/29, and won't fall off until 12/27.

Ouch.

(And Pretzel Warrior is only one post from a similar fate.)

Trumad do any such thing, of course.

The hidden posts will fall off his transpo on that day. No matter how many of them there are.

So really if he wants to get his digs in, today's an excellent day for it.

number of hidden posts on your transparency is less than 5, and hides only drop off after they've been there 90 days. So if today was hide number 5, a block wil kick in until the oldest post drops off, not the newest. Racking up some extras today will make the block longer. At least, it will until the number of hides today exceeds the number between today and 9/25 (So in Trumad's case, the next hide will extend the inevitable block by about 20 days, but if he does get that one teoday, he may as well go wild - subject to that whole 'flagged for Review' thing, of course. Which might make going wild a bad idea...)

It's too complicated, man!

we'll all avoid getting hidden posts because it's just too darn confusing to figure out what happens when we do...

except those with lots of hidden posts. If they don't think about it, they'll discover it when they can't post for a 90 day period. By making it automatic, it's also objective. I think that was the goal of the change.

Only one falls off that day. The rest fall off one by one as each one hits 90 days. Now if he doesn't mind another month of silence, there are two today, and 20 or so more today would all fall off along with those two. But he would have to be willing to endure another 25-ish days of silence...

(ETA: I see someone else 'splained it, but I'll just leave this here for posterity)

Although, if one is getting numerous hides now (5 or more), they'll be taking a "timeout" until they are cleared.

I've never read an inaccurate use, by you, of the word "Douchebag"; especially over the past four days.

Accuracy may have unintended consequences...

are one hidden post away from real restrictions. Be careful. That's my advice. I'd miss seeing you posts.

Good luck, trumad. I hope you stay around.

Best regards.

As I said to another poster this morning:

glad you're back among the posting.

Been on a bit of tear lately.

sort of.

I'm too bland............

*EGREGIOUS*

This jury system makes it hard to know whats acceptable. Say one thing one day, its fine. Say the same thing the next day, get spanked. Hard to walk the line when you cant see where it is.

Still, when you start talking about larger numbers of alerts and hides, on average the juries get it right.

People don't rack up large numbers of hides unless they're exhibiting a pattern.

Stop letting juries know the potentially offensive posters name. I cant help but wonder if some people are more prone to get hidden just based on who they are.

You have a point though. Some people should definitely pull back well before they do.

Not sure how to hide the name in that situation.

Guess I hadnt entirely thought that one through. They'd have to hide the name in every post and even then theres always a chance that a jury member may have already seen it. Then theres the transparency page. So much for that idea.

I think that would go a long way toward improving jury decisions.

Just show the post in question on the alert. No thread link or profile link or anything. Just vote based on that one post. A true blind jury so to speak. I think it'd be great.

Personally, I think that the post should be judged based on what is said in the post. I don't care about what they are responding to or if there is instigation involved. If they say something that is inappropriate, it should be hidden, and if they didn't say anything wrong, you leave it. So......you can just show the offensive post without a name, and it is judged on the content alone.

If you are being egged on, it is probably best to walk away anyways before you say something you will regret. We all know that some people will intentionally push buttons.

The alert could just show the post and thats it. No link to the thread, no link to the DUers page, just the potentially offensive post. That is what we're supposed to be adjudicating anyway. And it wouldnt be that complicated, code wise.

voting. Some do; some don't. But that may play a role in how they vote in some circumstances, I'd think.

Still, it's pretty easy to avoid having posts hidden. Just being polite and civil is all it takes.

Sometimes I think there are things that wouldnt get hidden if they came from someone else. I know one thing though, Ive been hidden twice and deserved it both times.

I forgot myself, I'm afraid, and wrote poorly.

I find that hard to believe. Ive never seen anything but nice from you.

of an alcoholic beverage or two. I learned my lesson, though.

Ive typed many a response I never posted after a couple of Jack & Gingers. Damn good thing I never hit "post" by mistake.

Universe crumbling... What's true? What's false?

From the jury so they don't judge based on the poster's past. But I've opted out of being on a jury since I got too worked up about decisions.

As for how to not get posts hidden - I write LOTS of posts that never get posted. I'll write long rants with loads of insults. Think about it a while and delete the rants. It keeps my blood pressure down - I get all the poison out of my system, cool off, then don't have to deal with the ramifications of what I said because no one else ever sees it.

Maybe I should change my user name to Emily Litella!

Florida psychics -- despite the lame attempts by notorious & slightSighted ScienTifiC MatErialist Ahrimanic Sockpuppets to disparage them -- have predicted with 101% accuracy, the possibility of coming back to DU in a new inTARnation, even if GrumpDUmpters have targeted and assASSinated your TRU idenTiTy. I'm just sayin...

I've seen several old time DUers get a pizza.

from the various ideological wars here. my bad

and gold star, but will probably spend long periods under suspended posting with the 5 hidden posts rule.

You would probably be safe just by avoiding personal attacks against other members and groups.

It would be sad to have seen you removed, trumad. I do love your posts and in my honest opinion, they're not nearly as abrasive as some I read on here at times.

You consider it a favor that you are altruistically doing for us all.

I submit that that is not the case.

And MineralMan was reading this:

I've found a great policy if the post I'm replying to is particularly addlepated but just under the TOS radar is to fill up the screen with flamethrower prose, hit page back, and then either put the poster on ignore or formulate a prissy and tolerable reply.

and bait that duer to get the fifth hide! Ouch. So maybe people should keep these things quiet...

Now that I think about it, I think post #1 was hinting at this, so yea, I can be pretty dense at times!

when the motivation of jurors is in question, and when the standards seem unequally enforced (even in the same thread), one must consider there is a problem. I've had the same smack down and reconsidered reinstatement for offences that seemed to pale in comparison to the multitude of posts on the same thread I was banished from.

Go figure, huh?

It must have been something else you wrote.

"bless your pointy little head".....apparently is as bad as douchebag when it comes to hidden posts lol

apparently. They might have taken it as some sort of personal attack, rather than the mot juste it actually was. Not all jurors know about our famous DUers, I guess.

is the "taterguy exception" where he gets carte blanche to call anyone a dumbass for any reason or no reason.

If I see a post, regardless of the poster, wherein the poster is personally attacking another, I vote to hide.

Just this week I voted to hide posts by two DUers whom I really like.

In fact I'm touched by the faith people have that merely staying civil is going to work. There have been many jurors who are willing to vote against people they don't like or posts of which they don't like the content.

And you could tell by the comments. Or just read the post and think it was obviously not rude or anything, so they just happened to get four jurors who wanted to be jerks.

Out of the thousand or so folks on DU at any point in time who could be selected for jury duty, you can tell by the comments who they are? Not including the fact that a huge number of jurors make no comment at all? I'm not picking on you since I have seen this on many other posts, but it is bs. Someone doesn't like the results so it must have been four jerks picked at random.

The point is that by their comments you could tell they were willing to hide or not hide depending on their subjective opinions.

but a majority hiding a thread based on subjective opinions is hard to see. I have served on a lot of juries. I declined one because I had strong negative feelings about the poster being alerted on. I have declined a couple more because they involved gun threads and I won't go there. I think most DUers would do the same...decline threads if they had strong personal opinions.

Whatever, it has been nice chatting with you.

that a few people here have accrued enough personality cultists that any post questioning their absolute rightness is liable to be alerted; and the odds of a jury being subsequently tainted are currently way higher than they ought to be. This shit tends to ebb and flow ... just ride it out. (And maybe substitute "That seems contrary to the facts as I understand them" for "You're a lying mother-fucker"; and "unnecessarily unpleasant" for "fucking douchebag".)
We old-timers will still know what you mean.

LEMME AT YOU (after I tell you I am glad to see you)

and accusing them of being trolls was considered an above the law service on DU3.
Lord knows there are few if any consequences for bashing the left here in favor of Centrism.

It is likely a mistake due to automation of rule enforcement based on math and hides, I wouldn't worry, you will likely skate through each and every time it is reviewed.

If you keep your baseless accusations aimed at the left of the party your Teflon should continue to hold.

I need to start raising more hell around here...There's been too much go-along-to-get along in my dealings with posters I hate...

I don't know if you use it, but I KNOW it has saved my ass countless times now.

...just tryin' to help a brother out.

et tu, Brute?

You're poison. We have to think of the children.

You're one of the good ones.

Unlike me, of course.

It's yucky, mister!

It would be nice if hidden replies to trolls were immediately dumped once the troll was trashed.

I swear, this is EXACTLY the sort of thing which made meta the wonderland of fun that it was. Sniff.

Just because yes, there is a ghastly amount of uneven 'justice' applied. Vendettas will never go away. Even when jurors might be ethical and well meaning, they can be awfully shortsighted. I too have seen language in one post on a thread get alerted and hidden, yet upthread where the jurors certainly could've found it if they'd cared to look, or even if the second poster was alerted on, they absolutely are inconsistent with their verdicts. But HOW could a charged person's ID be hidden from a jury when it's available on the thread?

The only time I've ever had an OP blocked by a jury was when I flung everybody's favorite word for bad females at a person I'd encountered that day IRL, not even a DU poster at all. Oh, the outrage that caused! Some of it sincere no doubt, but don't tell me those jury members hadn't deliberately overlooked the same word. I've seen it bandied about with impunity by any number of others since then.

Also, when I made an extremely rare alert of my own on a poster who persisted in calling me names and eventually descended to 'FECAL CRANIUM', the jury voted to leave it. Bitch will slip by unmolested more often than not, but 'FECAL CRANIUM' is fine? Somebody explain that to me, please.

Uneven enforcement breeds contempt.

The poet, the physician, the farmer, the scientist, the magician and the other so-called gods of our legends. Though gods they were.

Now go home and get your f**kin' shine box.

Glad you're hanging around

... the jury system seems like a form of censorship. Unless someone is threatening the life of another, or posting personal info about a DUer (like address and phone number), extreme cases like that, then the post should stand. If one can't stand the truth, or fowl language, etc, then they should check out and find another nice little site to post on. This is DEMOCRATICunderground. On the blatant troll attacks out of nowhere for absolutely NO reason: a boot to the post.

Stay put, trumad. This place wouldn't be the same without you.

No sir.

... Actually I think that is the kind of fowl language I could easily put up with.

I also notice you have whistler's mother as your avatar.

And we all know what THAT means.

Silly posts. Perhaps, somewhere, you have a hidden agenda that advances when people are called names, called out, attributed badly even meanly to their personage and their wrong ideas are somehow to be left to linger.

I cannot imagine this agenda.

Easy trumad--- don't do it.

Perhaps the poster has a point.

You need some lessons in sensitivity training by Lisa Lampanelli - The Best Comedian Ever

Easily one of the worst on the circuit.

a little bit or the whole video? I can see that you are a sensitive person. I respect that.

You and cboy4 had some epic arguements over the sports forum (well so did just about everyone else)!

Hang in there brother. Or sister. Whatever you have in your goody box, you're a good egg.

rec my thread...

You are one of my favorites!

What would we do without you, trumad?