http://www.democraticunderground.com/124044382Oh my.
This is probably another reaction to the itching carpenter primitive's not liking the mineral oil primitive.
MineralMan (40,395 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
From time to time, someone on DU posts that I used to post on Free Republic
Usually, it's someone who disagrees with some post I've made here and is trying to discredit me. It is true. I did post there, for about four years. I was banned from there in 2006. What was I doing there? Read below. I used to have the following link in my profile. It's to a DU thread that a repost of my final post on that site. The link dates back to 2006. I joined DU in 2008:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2705446
Since I have used the same screen name on all political forums, I knew that people would find my posts on Free Republic, so I posted that link in the name of transparency. I don't list the link any longer. It's been a very long time since 2006, and it's not really relevant any longer. Yes, I posted at Free Republic for four years. Mostly, I posted pro-science and anti-bigotry posts. Immediately after I left, following the posting of that particular post as a GBCW post, I posted at a few other political forums, and one forum that supported science and evolution, despite most of its members being conservatives.
In 2008, I stopped all attempts to influence conservatives to think more clearly. At that point, I joined DU, because DU actually was about what I was about. I stopped all efforts to communicate with conservatives. That was always a lost cause. These days, and for some time, the only political forum I post on is DU. I'm not trying to convince conservatives of anything any longer.
So, from time to time, someone brings up the fact that I posted on FR as if it were something new and shocking. It's not. It's been over five years since I posted on that site, and my reasons for posting on that site were to attempt to convince the members there that they were wrong. All of my posts there are visible, still, for anyone who wants to search for them. They need to be read in context, not as individual posts, to see what I was doing there. Individual posts don't necessarily reflect my political beliefs, but staying on that site is not easy, and I thought I could convince people there to change their minds. That now seems like a waste of time to me. Since I joined DU in 2008, I've posted thousands of posts here. They represent my point of view quite clearly.
I've always been a Democrat. I've never voted for a Republican in my life. I've always worked in campaigns for Democratic candidates. I've been an activist since the 1960s. My political position is left of center. My philosophy is far left of center, but I'm a pragmatic kind of guy - one who believes that movement should be toward the left but that it is impossible in this country to make a sudden leap to the left. So, I'm an Obama supporter and an advocate of electing Democrats over Republicans every time you vote, even if a Democrat who can win may not be as progressive as you might like. The Republican will almost certainly be more conservative. Politics is movement and in this country movement is gradual.
So, yes, I did post at Free Republic several years ago. I do not post there now. I have not posted there for over five years. I gave up trying to change minds there. I post here as the only place where I post about political issues, and have for a very long time.
As many times as are necessary, I'll explain this. I'm posting this here, today, so I can add it to my journal. From now on, I"ll just reply to such "accusations" with a link to this post in my journal.
It's a big campfire.
Moosepoop (1,336 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
1. As many times as you've explained this, it's a sad commentary that you still have to.
MineralMan (40,395 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
3. That's OK. When I had the link to that post in my profile, I'd refer people to it. When DU3 was launched, I dropped the link and changed my comments in my profile. However, some people still refer to it in an attempt to discredit something I've posted on DU. So, now, I'll just post the link to this post, in my journal, and leave it at that.
Transparency is important to me. I'm not anonymous and don't attempt to be. There are links in my signature line to sites that show what I do for a living and to what I do politically. All anyone has to do to find that out is click those links. I am who I am, and I'm not afraid to display who I am. I'm as transparent as is possible, without using my real name as my DU name. I don't do that, because I've used the same screen name for all my political postings since the 1990s. I want the continuity to be there.
Transparency's important to franksolich, too.
That's why I make no secret of the fact that franksolich has a long-time mole on Skins's island.
UnrepentantLiberal (2,121 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
11. Where did MineralMan come from?
A hobbie?
MineralMan (40,395 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
17. No, not a hobby.
For several years, I used to sell mineral specimens to collectors as a small side business to supplement my earnings as a journalist. I found it fascinating. I've always been interested in minerals, and that interest and business are reflected in my screen name.
Note: There is currently a mineral dealer who goes by the name, MineralMan. That's not me. My mineral business was named OsoSoft Mineral Connection. I also had a shareware software company where I sold applications I had written. That company was also named OsoSoft.
An interesting story, though: Since there is an active mineral dealer whose business is called "MineralMan," one knockoff internet Forum had a post on it that claimed that I was that mineral dealer, and that dealer got some hate mail from people on that site. When I discovered that false information had been posted, I contacted the dealer and explained what had happened, and notified the owner of that site of their error. There are actually quite a few people on the Internet who use the name MineralMan. They're not me. Unless the MineralMan you find posts on political forums, it's not me. That's the only place I use that screen name. Since 2009, the only place I've used it is right here on DU.
zappaman (4,064 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
26. I never even knew it was a business or hobby until one of the characters on BREAKING BAD became obsessed by minerals.
Very interesting!
MineralMan (40,395 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
30. Yeah. Internationally, there are a lot of mineral collectors.
I specialize in good quality, low to midrange priced specimens, and did pretty well for a few years. I had one of the first websites selling mineral specimens, so I sort of cornered a part of the market for a while. I shut the business and website down in 2006, because eBay and a wealth of other internet dealers made the business untenable. Too bad, too, because it was a very interesting business, and I had many customers, worldwide. I sold my remaining inventory in one lot in an eBay auction, to another online dealer.
hlthe2b (38,967 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
2. FREEPER REJECT!
I'd wear that badge with pride.
But the question is, how the hell did you stand to post over there?... Not only is the website non-navigable, but geebus,the hate vibes just knock you over....
MineralMan (40,395 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
5. I have a very thick skin.
I actually did believe that I might be able to convince people that they were wrong. Who knows? I might have done that with a few people there. I don't know. But, it was a waste of my time and energy, overall. That's OK, though. Life is long, and there's time to try different approaches to things. Some don't work.
yardwork (30,542 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
4. Can you clarify one thing? Were you a George w. Bush supporter?
I know you on DU as a thoughtful poster who often makes a point of promoting gay rights and other human rights. I appreciate that.
I've often wondered about the sections of your goodbye thread to FR that mention W. You seem to imply that you were a supporter. Is that true and in that case, did you change your views about him?
MineralMan (40,395 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
7. No. I was never a GWB supporter.
In that final post, I said that he was neither a hero or a Satan. I didn't go further than that in describing my opinion of him. I was trying to make a point that nobody is all one thing or another and that people should look at both sides. Perhaps it was a little too subtle, but I was trying to create a post that would stay visible on that site, for anyone to find. It didn't work. That exit post was deleted, and I was termed an "anti-freeper." So be it. The post still survives, as reposted on several other web sites. That's the link at the top of my OP. One of those was the source of the repost of it on DU. That was in 2006. I did not join DU until 2008, during the campaign.
I said in that exit post that I wasn't a DUer. At the time, that was true. I also said I wasn't a liberal. Some here still think I'm not a liberal. I don't use political labels a lot to describe myself. Philosophically, I'm a socialist. Pragmatically, I'm a Democrat. The US will never be governed according to my philosophical principles. So, I have to be something on a day-to-day basis, and that is a Democrat.
NYC_SKP (39,458 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
6. I'm a big fan, Mineral Man.
Clever of you to create a post for your journal for easy reference.
It's sort of entertaining, but also disturbing, to see how people behave toward others on discussion boards and as I read your posts I was reminded of some serious craziness at another much smaller board called the "something something tree".
I think it was the "Bitter Old Tree", something like that.
You might have seen some of that... just hilarious how people behave!
Thank you for your contributions here!
Yeah, it was the elmers who "broke" the story about the mineral oil primitive's past.
When I saw the other thread calling the mineral oil primitive out, the first thing I thought was that the primitive who lit that campfire, the itching carpenter primitive, was an elmer. I dunno; maybe he is.
CaliforniaPeggy (93,600 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
10. My dear MineralMan...
Ever since I first started reading your posts, I have respected you and your point of view. What you wrote here today only reinforces that.
Yours is a clear voice, a reasonable one, one that I trust. There are a few here who I see the same way, people whose points of view are solid, well-thought-out and reliable: Will Pitt, WCGreen, babylonsister, to name a few.
Thank you.
Robb (34,182 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
12. Here's a link to an example:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=296218
The DUers involved in swarming you are, ironically, the same ones who rail against "swarming" elsewhere.
Hypocritical, I'd say.
MineralMan (40,395 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
15. The thing is that someone seems to come up with that argument from time to time. That's why I wrote this thread and put it in my journal, so I can just link to it, instead of writing the whole thing over and over again. On DU2, calling someone a freeper got your post locked. On DU3, not so much, so I guess I'll need that link in the future.
Interestingly enough, though, I've never gotten any hate PMs or emails from DU. I did a lot when I was posting on Free Republic. The links in my signature line lead to sites of mine, where my email is readily available. I learned a very long time ago that anonymity on the Internet is almost impossible to maintain, so I quit trying to be anonymous, and make it easy for people to get in touch with me.
From DU, though, there has come none of that. That's a very good sign, I think. When someone addresses something like this in a DU thread, it's easy to just reply publicly to it. So, that's what I do. Now, I'll just post a link to this OP. I am exactly who I say I am, and nothing more or less than that.
Joe the Revelator (10,843 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
14. Agreed, you have 1 particularly nasty stalker who i've sent a couple of tos alerts on.
MineralMan (40,395 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
16. I don't call people stalkers here. Some people have a problem with me, for some reason. They're welcome to read all of my posts, and I'm always happy to reply to them. It's impossible to stalk me. I'm right out front with everything.
If another DUer finds me interesting enough to go hunting for my posts, they'll have their work cut out for them, since I'm a prolific poster.
seaglass (4,049 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
22. I would think you would understand the skepticism from some.
"All of my posts there are visible, still, for anyone who wants to search for them. They need to be read in context, not as individual posts, to see what I was doing there. Individual posts don't necessarily reflect my political beliefs, but staying on that site is not easy, and I thought I could convince people there to change their minds. That now seems like a waste of time to me. Since I joined DU in 2008, I've posted thousands of posts here. They represent my point of view quite clearly."
How does one know after 4 years at DU that you wouldn't make the same statement as above?
MineralMan (40,395 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
32. You could read my posts here.
Just type MineralMan into the site search at the top of the page. There are 40,000+ of them.
seaglass (4,049 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
40. I know you are prolific, I don't know that you are truthful and I've stated why.
MineralMan (40,395 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
41. Again, as I posted to another person on this thread, It's of no consequence to me whether you think I'm truthful or not. You will think what ever you think.
seaglass (4,049 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
43. Again, as I posted earlier, my point was that you should expect the skepticism based on your history and statements you have made.
MineralMan (40,395 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
44. OK.
I posted this today, because more than one person has brought this up in the past 24 hours. Now, it's in my journal, and when it comes up again, I'll just post a link. I post what I post, and hope people will read what I post. That's all I can ask.
quinnox (11,376 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
23. Well, I think people are right to be suspicious of former freepers
no offense, but it isn't exactly a sterling calling card. Sorry but I don't buy the whole story of your explanations either. It is great if you saw the light and joined "our side", but to some duers, and they are entitled to their opinion, that is a permanent strike.
MineralMan (40,395 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
33. I don't really care if you buy it or not.
You are completeley free to hold any opinion you wish of me.
Matariki (13,218 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
46. You've been here a long time and don't need to explain yourself
MineralMan (40,395 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
47. But it seems like I do, from time to time. Now I have this I can point to when it becomes necessary. That's good enough for me. Thanks.
Well, the boat's overloaded with copying-and-pasting, so time to bring this over here.
