We're not going to reach our goal this fund drive. Let's talk.

[franksolich]

Okay, as most here know, franksolich pays a great deal of attention to the fund drives necessary to support and maintain Skins's island, watching very carefully to be sure the bucks flow in at a steady and healthy pace.

franksolich has done this for years and years and years.

It's now Thursday afternoon, well into the fifth day of the 3rd quarter fund-drive for Skins's island, and as of right now, less than 480 primitives have contributed to my fellow alum, or less than 100 primitives per day.

This is an outrage.

According to BadCat's newest DUmp Diver, there are circa 2,500 primitives inhabiting Skins's island, real-estate kindly provided by my fellow alum, for the primitives to romp and play.

The goal of 1,000 donating primitives should've been reached within the first six hours of the beginning of the fund drive, especially given that the primitives are always boasting about how giving, how generous, they are.

This is an outrage.  franksolich is getting pissed.

Part of the problem is, my fellow alum Skins's otherworldly manner; money doesn't mean a damned thing to Skins, as he's interested in higher things.  To my fellow alum, money is just something that happens, and if it doesn't happen, well, that's okay; it's the same as if it happens, if it doesn't happen.

Skins is so non-materialistic he makes an ascetic look fat and decadent.

But franksolich on this side understands money is necessary, especially for the maintenance of real-estate.

franksolich is seriously considering bringing over campfires and comments only by primitives who've loosened their wallets so as to fatten Skins's.

Now, if that doesn't jack up the fund drive, nothing will.

[dutch508]

All of my trolls have donated, Frank. I think the economic downturn has hit the DUmpmonkiez in their wallets.

Okay, as most here know, franksolich pays a great deal of attention to the fund drives necessary to support and maintain Skins's island, watching very carefully to be sure the bucks flow in at a steady and healthy pace.

franksolich has done this for years and years and years.

It's now Thursday afternoon, well into the fifth day of the 3rd quarter fund-drive for Skins's island, and as of right now, less than 480 primitives have contributed to my fellow alum, or less than 100 primitives per day.

This is an outrage.

According to BadCat's newest DUmp Diver, there are circa 2,500 primitives inhabiting Skins's island, real-estate kindly provided by my fellow alum, for the primitives to romp and play.

The goal of 1,000 donating primitives should've been reached within the first six hours of the beginning of the fund drive, especially given that the primitives are always boasting about how giving, how generous, they are.

This is an outrage.  franksolich is getting pissed.

Part of the problem is, my fellow alum Skins's otherworldly manner; money doesn't mean a damned thing to Skins, as he's interested in higher things.  To my fellow alum, money is just something that happens, and if it doesn't happen, well, that's okay; it's the same as if it happens, if it doesn't happen.

Skins is so non-materialistic he makes an ascetic look fat and decadent.

But franksolich on this side understands money is necessary, especially for the maintenance of real-estate.

franksolich is seriously considering bringing over campfires and comments only by primitives who've loosened their wallets so as to fatten Skins's.

Now, if that doesn't jack up the fund drive, nothing will.

[franksolich]

All of my trolls have donated, Frank. I think the economic downturn has hit the DUmpmonkiez in their wallets.

Well, thank you, sir, but I think it's up to the bona fide primitives to put their money where their mouths are, coughing up stomachloads of cash for Skins.

I nag, I prod, and it has some effect, or so it appears, but not what it should.

I'm at my wits' end.

Now I'm thinking of something else, but of course I would have to consult with our esteemed colleague Mr. Wiggum, as the Top 10 DUmmies (Primitives) are a joint venture between the two of us.

I'm wondering if we should make it a rule that only donating primitives would be eligible for nomination and selection in the Top 10 at the end of the year.

No donation, no making the list.

Maybe that would light a fire under the tightwad primitives' posteriors.

[Ballygrl]

Well, thank you, sir, but I think it's up to the bona fide primitives to put their money where their mouths are, coughing up stomachloads of cash for Skins.

I nag, I prod, and it has some effect, or so it appears, but not what it should.

I'm at my wits' end.

Now I'm thinking of something else, but of course I would have to consult with our esteemed colleague Mr. Wiggum, as the Top 10 DUmmies (Primitives) are a joint venture between the two of us.

I'm wondering if we should make it a rule that only donating primitives would be eligible for nomination and selection in the Top 10 at the end of the year.

No donation, no making the list.

Maybe that would light a fire under the tightwad primitives' posteriors.

frank, shouldn't the "rich" DU members each adopt those at DU who are unemployed or are having financial problems? isn't it hypocritical if they don't pick up the slack? the rich should adopt maybe 5-10 members and donate in their name.

[ConservativeMobster]

Forgive my ignorance but other than bringing attention to the true nature of the "skin"flints, why is this so important franksolich?  If he goes in the hole, so be it.

[BlueStateSaint]

Forgive my ignorance but other than bringing attention to the true nature of the "skin"flints, why is this so important franksolich?  If he goes in the hole, so be it.

Jess, I do believe that it has to do with the fact that both are alumnae of Yale.

[Godot showed up]

Maybe we should consider donating to the DU. I mean, they do provide us a good deal of fun with their random neural firings.

[Tucker]

I do believe that it took ten days for the summer telethon to get the vacation slush fund fully funded.

[thundley4]

Maybe we should consider donating to the DU. I mean, they do provide us a good deal of fun with their random neural firings.

Plenty of moles have probably donated already. 

[franksolich]

Forgive my ignorance but other than bringing attention to the true nature of the "skin"flints, why is this so important franksolich?  If he goes in the hole, so be it.

It's the old school tie.

Skins scratches franksolich's back, franksolich scratches Skins's back.

[thundley4]

It's the old school tie.

Skins scratches franksolich's back, franksolich scratches Skins's back.

Is that a way of saying that Skins gives you a kickback for driving the DUmmies to donate?

[ConservativeMobster]

mmmm...ok. 

The DUmpster is entertaining, no doubt about it.

I honestly just realized there is a "donate" button here, on our profile.  I could donate to CC in the name of a Dummie, how about that?

[JLO]

Plenty of moles have probably donated already. 

Yup.  Mine did, just a VERY few dollars, but I don't do it at the asking time.

Now that I am a member here at CC instead of just a reader, it's time that I first-time donate here at CC, so off I go to donate a few bucks.

 

[njpines]

To borrow a phrase from Frank . . . "oh my":

DUmmie link

Skinner ADMIN  (1000+ posts)        Fri Aug-20-10 09:29 AM
Original message
We're not going to reach our goal this fund drive. Let's talk. 
 So, it's now Friday, and as I post this we haven't even reached 600 donations yet. Unless we experience some kind of miraculous and unprecedented turn-around, we aren't going to reach our goal of 1000 donations by Sunday night. But before you stop reading, the point of this post is not to beg you to dig deep and donate and put us over the top. On the contrary, the point of this post is to tell you this:

Message received.

You don't like what DU has become. Maybe you have very specific complaints, or maybe you don't really know exactly what it is that you don't like. But what you do know is that you wish it was more like the old DU. A community. A place that was special. Where we had big disagreements, but at least you felt like we all had something in common.

Yeah, I miss that DU, too.

I miss it so much that it makes my heart ache. I lie awake at night agonizing over it. I can barely bring myself to read my email anymore. I'm burned out and tired.
 

Long OP -- more at the link.

[djones520]

That was the most pathetic tripe i've ever read before.  The lamewad was actually whining about how hard it is to stifle discussion, and ensure only one viewpoint could be heard.  Un****ingbelievable.   

[Tucker]

That was the most pathetic tripe i've ever read before.  The lamewad was actually whining about how hard it is to stifle discussion, and ensure only one viewpoint could be heard.  Un****ingbelievable.   

It's a ruse to make what little of the guilt that the DUmmy's have. It will work for the true moonbat. Personally I think the moles are getting close to outnumbering the primitives.

[AllosaursRus]

Skinner  ADMIN  (1000+ posts)  Journal  Click to send private message to this author  Click to view this author's profile  Click to add this author to your buddy list  Click to add this author to your Ignore list      Fri Aug-20-10 09:29 AM
Original message
We're not going to reach our goal this fund drive. Let's talk.   Updated at 9:29 AM
   
Advertisements [?]
So, it's now Friday, and as I post this we haven't even reached 600 donations yet. Unless we experience some kind of miraculous and unprecedented turn-around, we aren't going to reach our goal of 1000 donations by Sunday night. But before you stop reading, the point of this post is not to beg you to dig deep and donate and put us over the top. On the contrary, the point of this post is to tell you this:

Message received.

You don't like what DU has become. Maybe you have very specific complaints, or maybe you don't really know exactly what it is that you don't like. But what you do know is that you wish it was more like the old DU. A community. A place that was special. Where we had big disagreements, but at least you felt like we all had something in common.

Yeah, I miss that DU, too.

I miss it so much that it makes my heart ache. I lie awake at night agonizing over it. I can barely bring myself to read my email anymore. I'm burned out and tired.

Big Trouble in Little China!

Wondered why I was gettin' an error message! I see we have just extended this thread with Skinner's pathetic diatribe!

Maeve  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author  Click to view this author's profile  Click to add this author to your buddy list  Click to add this author to your Ignore list  Donate to DU!      Fri Aug-20-10 09:36 AM
Response to Original message
5. Sympathies, Boss
   
Edited on Fri Aug-20-10 09:49 AM by Maeve
Things change, but I still think Will Rogers got it right..."I don't belong to an organized political party; I'm a Democrat." And that's more obvious when we're in power than when we're not.

edited to add: well, you're one donation closer, anyway!
DU Admin and mods are the best on the Internet!!!

Good Grief!!! Glad I haven't had my breakfast yet!

Well Coach, looks like all he had to do was snivel and the donations started pouring in!

I haven't seen that much Ass kissin' since my JackAss was whooing the fairer sex tryin' to get some!

[Randy]

OR maybe they aren't reaching their goal because they've kicked out so many DUmmies there's not enough left to support the percentage required to make it to that 1000. I remember when they'd wrap up fundraisers in a few days. The beggings have been dragging out as the graveyard has grown.

[Ballygrl]

I think it might not be a bad thing that we're not going to reach our goal this fund drive. Perhaps it will provide us with justification to experiment with some really radical changes to this place. The Admins have discussed a lot of ideas, but we honestly don't know what's going to work, or what you all will be willing to accept. I think, to start, we're probably going to post some kind of member survey next week to better understand your attitudes, and get feedback on a bunch of different ideas. I'll be curious to learn if you are willing to try any of them.

Let Republicans post there openly instead of being forced to hide in the closet?

[Ballygrl]

What a long thread that is, I find it amusing the 1st couple people are citing the economy, well why is the economy so bad?

Oh and here's Bobbo:

bobbolink  Donating Member  (1000+ posts)
Fri Aug-20-10 12:58 PM
Response to Reply #23
542. Further, some of us are literally dying, and it doesn't matter to others.
   
It comes to the point where it is no longer possible to care when you aren't receiving care.

[Texacon]

Uh Oh.  Frank ain't gonna be happy!

Skinner ADMIN  (1000+ posts)       

Fri Aug-20-10 09:29 AM
Original message

We're not going to reach our goal this fund drive. Let's talk. 
 
So, it's now Friday, and as I post this we haven't even reached 600 donations yet. Unless we experience some kind of miraculous and unprecedented turn-around, we aren't going to reach our goal of 1000 donations by Sunday night. But before you stop reading, the point of this post is not to beg you to dig deep and donate and put us over the top. On the contrary, the point of this post is to tell you this:

Message received.

You don't like what DU has become. Maybe you have very specific complaints, or maybe you don't really know exactly what it is that you don't like. But what you do know is that you wish it was more like the old DU. A community. A place that was special. Where we had big disagreements, but at least you felt like we all had something in common.

Yeah, I miss that DU, too.

I miss it so much that it makes my heart ache. I lie awake at night agonizing over it. I can barely bring myself to read my email anymore. I'm burned out and tired.

We (the DU Admins) knew that having a Democratic Administration would make things a lot more complicated and difficult here on DU, but I don't think we really had any clue how difficult it would be. I know that many of you believe the solution is simple. I know this because you send me scolding shame-on-you emails demanding that I do {whatever} and then DU would be better. I wish I shared your certainty.

We have been very cautious and deliberate in our attempts to improve the way we run DU, and I think -- especially on the moderator-side -- we have made a lot of very important progress. But the whole effort has the feeling of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Our approach has been to "do what we've always been doing, only better," but I am starting to think that much more radical change is necessary.

Here's the problem in a nutshell: Back when Bush was President, he represented the center of gravity in politics -- the focal point that determined "Which side are you on?" -- and everyone on DU actually was on the same side. Now that Barack Obama is President, he has become the center of gravity. I think it's clear that we still broadly agree on the issues, but we disagree on how best to get there, how long it should take, and how much compromise we are willing to accept. Those are the disagreements that matter now. To be blunt, we are not all on the same side anymore.

Imagine if during the Bush Administration, Democratic Underground had welcomed people who thought the president was doing a bad job, *and* people who thought the president was doing a good job. DU would have sucked. Sure, it might have been worth the effort to stop by every once in a while to argue with conservative idiots, but nobody would have felt like DU was their home, their safe-haven, their community.

This is the situation we face. Nobody is "safe" anymore. DU doesn't "belong" to anyone. We all want this to feel like a community, but we have two fairly large groups of people who each seem to believe that they are the rightful heirs to this community, and that the other side doesn't even have a legitimate claim to be here.

And here I am, grasping to the naive and outdated hope -- against all the available evidence -- that maybe we can all figure out a way to share DU.

I could "solve" our problems pretty easily by picking a side. If I did that, at least the people who would remain here would know that they own DU. They would know that they have a home and a safe haven again. And they would take comfort from knowing (finally) that the DU Admins are on their side, rather than cold, distant, unpredictable creatures whose allegiances are not entirely clear and who could turn on them at any moment.

But I am not prepared to give DU to either side. I see all the people who are still here (thank you for still being here, by the way, despite everything) -- some posting and some, sadly, only lurking -- and I see the people who built this community. Great people. Generous, big-hearted, smart, interesting people. Some of you might post strange and unpleasant things now -- including some things that cut very deeply -- but I remember what you were like before, and I remember how much I liked you then.

So we keep doing what we're doing. But I harbor this simmering doubt. I feel obligated to censor people, even though I have never liked doing it, and like it even less now than I ever have. I feel obligated to serve as an authority figure to a community of people (including myself) who are naturally skeptical of authority. I feel obligated to keep deleting posts and banning people, even though I know that each time I do it serves as "proof" that I have already picked a side, that I am already hopelessly biased, and that I cannot be trusted. I long to let you all take responsibility for yourselves, to give the community the ability to police itself and set its own limits, but in the past our efforts to do so have been rejected almost every time.

I think it might not be a bad thing that we're not going to reach our goal this fund drive. Perhaps it will provide us with justification to experiment with some really radical changes to this place. The Admins have discussed a lot of ideas, but we honestly don't know what's going to work, or what you all will be willing to accept. I think, to start, we're probably going to post some kind of member survey next week to better understand your attitudes, and get feedback on a bunch of different ideas. I'll be curious to learn if you are willing to try any of them.

Thanks for listening. And thank you for being part of this community.
 

KC

[Ballygrl]

bobbolink  Donating Member  (1000+ posts)  Journal  Click to send private message to this author  Click to view this author's profile  Click to add this author to your buddy list  Click to add this author to your Ignore list      Fri Aug-20-10 01:13 PM
Response to Reply #5
576. The people in Will Rogers time didn't talk to each other with such hatefulness.
   
They didn't get death threats from expressing their view.

The atmosphere in this country and on DU has become hateful because we accept it as inevitable. Older generations are appalled.

bigtree  Donating Member  (1000+ posts)  Journal  Click to send private message to this author  Click to view this author's profile  Click to add this author to your buddy list  Click to add this author to your Ignore list      Fri Aug-20-10 12:58 PM
Response to Reply #44
541. definitely has gotten worse for me   Updated at 3:19 PM
   
I want to write an essay on how things just seem to disintegrating around me as a result of my impoverished condition. I've lost my car registration due to an inability to pay fees, but I'm still obligated to drive the car if I don't want to be homeless and hungry. Forced to be a criminal because of my inability to keep up with MVA fees . . . I feel like shit most of the time these days. I don't think I've ever been this pessimistic.

babylonsister  Donating Member  (1000+ posts)    
Fri Aug-20-10 09:45 AM
Response to Reply #10
16. You left out
   
rethugs; I'm convinced we've been infiltrated by trolls who have been smart enough not to get caught...yet.

City of Mills  Donating Member  (1000+ posts)
Fri Aug-20-10 11:09 AM
Response to Reply #16
205. Absolutely
   
That's why I don't understand the shock and outrage when certain threads get unrecced right away, it could be agenda driven but it could easily be lurking Republican trolls too...why flip out about it?
 

steve2470 Donating Member (1000+ posts)
Fri Aug-20-10 12:49 PM
Response to Reply #16
509. I agree with you
   
I've read many posts and wondered about their true allegiance. It seems like the motive is to tear down anything good about Obama and the party.

At some point, if you are that unhappy with Obama and the current status of the Dem party, you are really better off (unless you just want to fight) going to another message board.

I'm definitely not 100% satisfied with the party or with Obama, but I'm willing to give the man credit where credit is due. He's a LOT better than Bush and the R's.

cascadiance  Donating Member  (1000+ posts)
Fri Aug-20-10 01:18 PM
Response to Reply #16
588. I've actually seen one just yesterday on a separate message board bragging about posting here...
   
Edited on Fri Aug-20-10 01:19 PM by cascadiance
... and "infiltrating lightly" initially after just creating a new userid here. I know who this user is, but I'll let him expose himself later, as I'm sure he will at some point. Everyone deserves a fair shot if they post responsibly. But yeah, I think that also "colors" the dialogue at times too.

[Chris_]

Uh Oh.  Frank ain't gonna be happy!

KC

KC....merged......Skins thread is already being discussed here.

doc

[Texacon]

KC....merged......Skins thread is already being discussed here.

doc

No sweat doc.  You could've deleted it if you wanted.  I didn't know it was in here.

Thanks,
KC

[Chris_]

No sweat doc.  You could've deleted it if you wanted.  I didn't know it was in here.

Thanks,
KC

Until your post only excerpts were brought over.......glad you posted the entire OP........that way we don't give DU any more hits than absolutely necessary.......

doc