I hate it when GD gets like this, too...

Whenever the mainstream media picks up a juicy morsel to feed to the masses, inevitably the General Discussion forum gets inundated with a plethora of threads about said morsel, most of which are simply repeating what others have already said.

After a certain number of threads show up, even more threads pop up deriding the other threads. Then people respond to those threads by starting even more threads, and it becomes an absurd Dog That Ate The Cat That Ate The Rat That Ate The Frog That Ate The Fly sort of thing. Remember John Edwards' house?

(Irony alert! This thread is no exception! Please note that I make no claim to be innocent in all of this.)

So what is the solution?

I can think of 2 Suggestions for new DU rules:
1) No threads about other threads. What's the point of starting a thread to complain about the flooding of a board inundated with other threads? It's somewhat counter productive, is it not?

2) Whenever this kind of MSM morsel gets thrown about, the mods enact a get tough policy on duplicate, no content threads. Of every Imus thread posted in the last few days, 99% of them should have been replies to another Imus thread that actually had some kind of content.

I understand that it is impossible to avoid duplicates whenever this happens, but let us not kid ourselves. The vast majority of the people who have started Imus threads did so knowing full well that other Imus threads already existed, most probably right at the top of the page! They could have posted their thoughts as a reply, but it's natural human tendency to assume that nobody else will read it (which is categorically untrue, given the number of lurkers and people who read replies but don't respond), and thus a new thread is born.

Of course nothing, and I repeat, nothing can solve the constant clogging up of the GD forum every time the media finds a pet issue unless the administrators of this site and the mods agree to crack down hard and lock useless, duplicate threads.

Perhaps that is the whole point of the GD forum though, to have a place where duplication is allowed, in which case I suggest we all suck it up and deal. Of the two suggestions I've made, I believe the first one is much more feasible.

Can we, as posters to GD, all come to an unofficial agreement to at the very least, obey the first suggestion? With the exception of this very thread, obviously, can we all agree to the following?

I, as a member of the DU community, will refrain from posting a thread whose sole purpose is to complain about another thread or group of threads in General Discussion. I will not respond to a thread whose sole purpose is to complain about another thread or group of threads.

While it may not mean much, I promise to follow the above rule. I encourage all who read this to follow suit with me. Together, we can make a difference.

Theres plenty of other forums here.

This happens from time to time and it is just how it is here.

I also think that this is a big deal. I also hope that this might lead to a protest of other hate mongers.

I also agree with you that there are much bigger things than some old radio fart. We have two wars going, the troops just saw their tours extended, and more than 10 were killed on Easter.

This Imus-stuff will ebb and flow, but it will die down, just as Anna Smith's death and other things have and do on a daily basis. Do what I do when the silly shit is overwhleming- go to the Lounge and vent and tell jokes, then come back tomorrow after the flash has died down.

I know what you mean.

I have zero problem with an Imus thread. While in my opinion the entire Imus debacle is one of false outrage, I would express that opinion in an Imus thread, as opposed to starting a new one.

My issue here is with too many duplicate threads about the same thing, and too many threads about those threads, and threads about those threads, including this one!

Any time a thread like this pops up that is slamming in any way, shape, or form the mass chaos that Don f'ing Imus of all people has brought to DU, I'm automatically recommending it. I'm so sick of this pointless crap I could scream.

Half of the posts on DU would be eliminated. It's a DEMOCRACY dude.

People want to talk about what they want to talk about. If you don't want to talk about the same things...don't. Nobody is holding a gun to your head.

There should be a reward for that.

Suitable for many occasions!

:spray:

I just noticed that.

Gosh. I haven't ever written a pledge.

I feel so slow now.

However, I erase them before I post them so that I don't get banned.:D

shitty things I write. But I write it first. It's cathartic.

I started lurking years ago. Notice I mentioned Edwards' house. :7

Uh, that flap was maybe TWO months ago.

back in until fairly recently.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=53439

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=51999

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=53509

Okay, so maybe not two, but 3 months ago.

a gigunda house and using too much electricity that I remember.

Sorry, the house thing clicked in my brain, but not thoroughly enough for me to remember the details. I just remember reading a big, long hoo-ha thread about it.

The more things change, eh? :)

:rofl:
touche.

You know what I mean, though.

As it was, so it shall be. Enjoy your current stay.

Similar names, and all. MKJ

of mind control. The media sets the agenda. It tells people what to think, what is the important story and the people follow. You think it's just Fox? Look again. It's everywhere. American people are the most propagandized and brainwashed people in the history of history. The rest of the world just shakes their head not only at the inanity of it but the remarkable consistency and predictability of it.

Never have so many known so much about so little.

is very well administered.

I suggest three features: the scoll wheel, and, exclusive to DU--the ignore and "hide thread" feature.

Sheesh.

:bounce: :party:

"Plethora of Morsels" was a rock band?!?!?!?

Amazing! I wouldn't have been so BOLD AS YOU when I was just "new kid on block."

I thought this was the 'Democratic Underground'?

The whole 'except for this time when I'm doing it' thing is just too funny to me. I mean, holy cow.

Obama is raising millions while campaigning on campaign finance reform.

...Hey, gotta start somewhere. :crazy:

Let me try another one.

Keith Olbermann slams the mainstream media for ignoring important issues. He does so while being a part of the mainstream media.

:rofl:

It was an analogy.

You said,

>>The whole 'except for this time when I'm doing it' thing is just too funny to me. I mean, holy cow.<<

I replied by making a comparison that while Obama wants campaign finance reform, it is ironic that he must raise millions of dollars in order to achieve said reform.

You replied with something nonsensical about killing murderers in order to stop murder, and I attempted to clarify my analogy by stating that while Keith Olbermann criticizes the media, it is ironic that he is a part of the media.

The implication of both analogies being that while I am attempting to opine about the state of multiple threads in GD, it is ironic that I must start a thread in order to do so.

If you can point out to me where either of my two analogies are inconsistent, I would gladly hear it out.

:evilgrin:

GD is crazy, that's the way it is.

It's always been that way.

If you're uninterested in a story, don't click on it.

As for me, if I'm not interested in a story, I still check in and look at the post titles. If anything piques my interests, I'll join in.

Mental filtering is obligatory if you want to stay here a long time.

Pick your true passions and go with them. Complaining about other's tastes and preferences will drive you mad.

If you have a general opinion, by all means, vent it.

Just don't expect everyone to swarm all over it.

Chacun à son goût, as they say.

"I, as a member of the DU community, will refrain from posting a thread whose sole purpose is to complain about another thread or group of threads in General Discussion. I will not respond to a thread whose sole purpose is to complain about another thread or group of threads."

It happened with the Coulter insinuation about Edwards and again with Imus.

I said in a post earlier, much ado about very little.

We would be doing a much better service if we just did not repeat these things. In the case of Edwards, we helped to create the meme. I can imagine a year from now, someone saying something along the line of "say, I seem to remember hearing something about that Edwards guy running for president being gay? I better vote for the Republican." Repeating and repeating and repeating something is what does the harm. Very few people would have even heard Coulters' comments if they hadn't been repeated so often. And we here at DU are as guilty as anyone.

You aren't going to stop these people, the best you can do is try to limit their audience.

I doubt if the Rutgers players would have even known about or cared about Imus's remarks if they hadn't been repeated.

I feel badly about it because I truly believe in many if not most cases, we are allowing ourselves to be purposely misdirected and distracted from what should really be news.