DU Political Research Forum?

Many of us are researchers and have good backgrounds in following links and tying odd bits of information together.

Any chance of starting a "DU Political Research Forum?" There's much out there that DU'ers started to research but threads went off to archives. Maybe if we had one place for folks like us who like to "dig" we could put all our skills and varying backgrounds together and come up with "Position Papers" we could use, just as the Repug "Think Tanks" do?

I know DU has had "Plame Threads" and "Investigating the Media Mail Marketers," "9/1l," "Plane Crashes of Famous People," Biochem Scientists being Killed or Suicided" and other efforts here on DU throughout the last three or more years where many DU'ers find links and names and do lots of work for nothing and although there's no money to pay us, it seems as though some of us are just inclined that way whether we are paid in our real lives, or have just always had an interest in being a "snoopy sniffer," and can bring our own experience into searching and putting facts into perspective. :shrug: I think we need ten people to present it to Skinner for a go ahead..and we need to write a proposal.

Any thoughts on this?

Great idea!

And I am serious about this.

If possible. Or to have tight organizational subject. You also need to create a set up where people who pick apart these arguments are welcome. One of the biggest problems with some of these threads is that when someone critiques an argument it isn't very well recieved. And if an argument can't stand up to the probing of people inclined to buy it, its going to fall flat in the real world.

Bryant
check it out --> http://politcalcomment.blogspot.com

means it has to be "loose" just so that the accidental finds come out. At the end when it's time to form a position is the time for argument. At least that's what I would think. Doing the research to find the information and where it leads is a prerequisite to getting to the point where one then has to weed out the misinformation, disinformation from the facts.

In many cases the information retrieved is "peer reviewed" by other researchers along the way...at least that's what I've found here on DU in these last years. We are very tough on each other, here. Because of our diverse backgrounds we can often point out inconsistencies or nuggets of info that lead to argument but also lead to a conclusion that's closer to fact than fantasy. :shrug: IMHO..

Some of the more involved threads, like Plame, developed into a great forum that helped develop a personal community that went beyond the subject. The threads went into lots of facinating side issues but ultimately became acrimonious and were shut down.

That being said, I feel that the more involved threads have the most hope of effecting real discussion and ultimately change in the real world.

Perhaps a "Research Group" should be formed and within it various areas of interest could develop their own subjects. The ones that are of interest to DUers will develop their own following. The only problem i see is that topics in GD are seen by more people and tend to have more new input. that may change with the new structure. For one, I have already been to more specific forums in one day than in my entire time here (maybe six months).

I think it's a great idea and will support it.

I agree that such a forum is needed, just it would be nice not to
have karl rove reading everything we post there. I could see the
forum having members apply after say 1000 posts (as a basic) and
be seconded by 4 members of that forum... or something like that,
and have it be not readable to non-members.

This is not to make DU exclusive in any way, but to keep our think
tank work inside the family. Any thoughts?

I believe that such rules would be overly exclusive - not really the sort of culture DU would want to encourage.

Perhaps it is important to consider what sorts of discussions would take place in the forum. When i hear "political research", i don't think about political strategizing first. I think about information gathering and analysis. Exclusive access would not be necessary. However, once you get to the formulation of strategies that put information to use, different story.

Were i karl rove, i'd read DU regularly to know what the enemy's
collective mind state is. As free republic is hardly the equivalent,
there is no reciprocity in this arrangement, and internal thinking
is impossible except offline.

I accept your point that perhaps research is not the right place,
but perhaps we should just call it "advanced members forum" and have
a place for vetted thinkers to post things that Rove does not read.

I hope that every forum encourages the talented researchers to bring the truth to light.

not that i don't love it, but there is alot of noise on here sometimes...it would be nice to have a seperate forum for hardcore research.

Great idea.

I've seen a tremendous amount of good research done here. Much of it gets picked up and run with...some falls off. I think a research forum is an excellent idea.

:kick:

Where do we go from here?

My mind has been too numbed to even do simple addition, let alone connect the dots...but you guys rock. You need your own place to meet.

Count me in, if you still need 10.