Revision as of 21:58, 22 July 2005 editJamesMLane (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers23,096 editsm →Activist Corps: wikilink fixes← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 13:06, 12 January 2025 edit undoDavide King (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users104,669 editsm →History: copyedit | ||
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{{short description|Online political community}} | |||
] | |||
{{use American English|date=October 2020}} | |||
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2020}} | |||
{{Infobox website | |||
| name = Democratic Underground | |||
| location_city = United States | |||
| url = {{URL|https://www.democraticunderground.com}} | |||
| launch_date = {{start date and age|2001|1|20}} | |||
}} | |||
'''Democratic Underground''' is an ] for members of the ] in the Unites States. Its membership is restricted by policy to those who are supportive of the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates for political office. | |||
== History == | |||
{{TOCright}} | |||
Created on December 5, 2000,<ref>{{cite web |date=2002 |title=DemocraticUnderground.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info |url=http://whois.domaintools.com/democraticunderground.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122141755/http://whois.domaintools.com/democraticunderground.com |archive-date=November 22, 2018 |access-date=January 9, 2025 |work=Domain Tools}}</ref> Democratic Underground was launched on January 20, 2001, the day ] was inaugurated as United States president. It describes itself as a "grassroots ] political community" and "an online community for friendly, ] people who understand the importance of working together to elect more Democrats and fewer ] to all levels of American government".<ref>{{cite web |date=2012 |title=Terms of Service |url=https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=termsofservice |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241211190359/https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=termsofservice |archive-date=December 11, 2024 |access-date=January 9, 2025 |publisher=Democratic Underground}}</ref> | |||
As of June 2008, over 122,000 user accounts were registered and over 38 million messages had been posted. Democratic Underground publishes articles several days a week and hosts an online store, a directory of links, and forums where members may post on various topics of interest. Discussions from posters at Democratic Underground attracted national attention. One example of this was the dialog about the ], in which a few posts explored the possibility of "]". The posts were reported by John Schwartz on '']'' and ] on ].<ref>{{cite news |last=Schwartz |first=John |date=January 3, 2005 |title=Myths Run Wild in Blog Tsunami Debate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/03/world/worldspecial4/myths-run-wild-in-blog-tsunami-debate.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529171240/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/03/world/worldspecial4/myths-run-wild-in-blog-tsunami-debate.html |archive-date=May 29, 2015 |access-date=January 9, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=1553-8095}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hume |first=Brit |date=January 4, 2005 |title=Disaster's Cause? |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/disasters-cause |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031143648/https://www.foxnews.com/story/disasters-cause |archive-date=October 31, 2020 |access-date=January 9, 2025 |publisher=Fox News}}</ref> An administrator also sent a letter to ''The New York Times'', which was printed.<ref>{{cite news |last=Washington |first=David Allen |date=January 10, 2005 |title=Online Debate Forums |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/10/opinion/online-debate-forums-090700.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030153504/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/10/opinion/online-debate-forums-090700.html |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |access-date=January 9, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=1553-8095}}</ref> | |||
'''Democratic Underground''', or simply '''DU''' to its members, is a ]/] ] established on ], ], the day ] ] took office. The site ] articles six days a week and has an online store, a directory of links, and ] where logged-in members may post on various topics of interest. | |||
Earlier in 2003, the site attracted the attention of ] in '']'' when a poster explained why they wished to see continued bloodshed in Iraq.<ref>{{cite news |last=Taranto |first=James |date=November 5, 2003 |title=Dems Gone Wild--III |url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=110004262 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526154756/http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=110004262 |archive-date=May 26, 2008 |access-date=January 9, 2025 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=1042-9840}}</ref> The forum was mentioned by Chuck Raasch of '']'' within the context of ] about the ] to blow up airliners between the United Kingdom and the United States. One poster suggested that one reason for why the liquids were banned on airplanes was to allow the airlines to significantly charge more money for their own beverages and that the American government's push to release the announcement of the plot was done to bump ]'s primary loss out of the news cycle.<ref>{{cite news |last=Raasch |first=Chuck |date=August 10, 2006 |title=Terrorists were brewing a fresh date of infamy |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/raasch/2006-08-10-raasch_x.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003043340/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/raasch/2006-08-10-raasch_x.htm |archive-date=October 3, 2012 |access-date=January 12, 2025 |work=USA Today |issn=0734-7456}}</ref> On Election Day 2016, the forum was hacked and rendered unavailable, which the site blamed on ] trolls.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leyden |first=John |date=November 10, 2016 |title=Left-wing cyber-hangout blames security breach on pro-Trump trolls |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/10/democrat_site_blames_pro_trump_hackers/ |access-date=January 9, 2025 |website=The Register}}</ref> | |||
Nearly 75,000 forum accounts have been created since its inception with over 50,000 still remaining active. More than 16 million messages have been posted. Membership and participation are free, although voluntary donations are solicited, and some services are available only to donating members. | |||
== Copyright infringement lawsuit == | |||
==Features of Democratic Underground== | |||
{{main|Righthaven LLC v. Democratic Underground LLC}} | |||
In 2010, Democratic Underground was sued for alleged copyright infringement in a member's posting of a few paragraphs from an article in the '']''. The suit was brought by ], an entity that finds ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' quotations online, buys the copyright for that story from the newspaper, and retroactively sues for copyright infringement.<ref>{{cite news |last=Green |first=Steve |date=August 11, 2010 |title=Righthaven sues Democratic Underground website over R-J posting |url=https://vegasinc.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/aug/11/righthaven-sues-democratic-underground-website-ove/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512041503/https://vegasinc.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/aug/11/righthaven-sues-democratic-underground-website-ove/ |archive-date=May 12, 2022 |access-date=January 9, 2025 |work=Las Vegas Sun |issn=2639-9083}}</ref> In response to the lawsuit, Democratic Underground asserted that the quoted excerpt (five sentences of a 54-sentence article) was ], and counterclaimed against Righthaven for ], ], and ]. Democratic Underground was represented in the case '']'' by the ], attorneys from the firm of ], and Las Vegas attorney Chad Bowers.<ref>{{cite news |last=Green |first=Steve |date=September 28, 2010 |title=R-J owner faces counterclaim in copyright lawsuit campaign |url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/sep/28/r-j-owner-faces-counterclaim-copyright-lawsuit-cam/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512041502/https://vegasinc.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/sep/28/r-j-owner-faces-counterclaim-copyright-lawsuit-cam/ |archive-date=May 12, 2022 |access-date=January 9, 2025 |work=Las Vegas Sun}}</ref> After Righthaven lost a similar suit against ] over 8 of 30 sentences quoted from a news article, Righthaven asked the judge in the case against Democratic Underground to dismiss Righthaven's claim against Democratic Underground.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Kravets |first=David |date=November 18, 2010 |title=Righthaven Says It Will Stop Suing Over News Excerpts |url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/11/righthaven/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014143122/http://www.wired.com/2010/11/righthaven/ |archive-date=October 14, 2022 |access-date=January 9, 2025 |magazine=Wired <!-- Threat Level --> |issn=1078-3148}}</ref> On June 14, 2011, Judge ] ruled that Righthaven be dismissed from the case because Righthaven had never owned the copyright of the article and gave Righthaven two weeks to explain in writing why it should not be sanctioned.<ref>{{cite press release |date=June 14, 2011 |title=Righthaven Copyright Troll Lawsuit Dismissed as Sham |url=https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2011/06/14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925231523/https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2011/06/14 |archive-date=September 25, 2022 |access-date=January 9, 2025 |publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation}}</ref> | |||
== |
== References == | ||
{{reflist}} | |||
== External links == | |||
DU has several regular ], and on any given day may have a number of guest columns sent in from contributors. | |||
* | |||
* on ] | |||
* on ] | |||
] | |||
* Mondays: , a rundown of the most outrageous ] activities in the past week, according to the DU administrators. | |||
] | |||
* Wednesdays: writes her column. | |||
] | |||
* Thursdays: , an 'advice' column. | |||
* Fridays: , a ] column supposedly written by a ] Team Leader. | |||
* Occasionally, DU will feature a of ]. | |||
Bernard Weiner and Ernest Partridge of ''The Crisis Papers'' are frequent guests. | |||
===Forums=== | |||
The DU Forums are a highly active scene where progressives of all types are welcome to come and talk. The site bills itself as welcoming to progressives of all types, though users are sometimes "]" (banned) by administrators for violating site policies, such as these: | |||
<blockquote>We ban ] disruptors who are opposed to the broad goals of this website. If you think overall that George W. Bush is doing a swell job, or if you wish to see Republicans win, or if you are generally supportive of conservative ideals, please do not register to post, as you will likely be banned.</blockquote> | |||
<blockquote>Do not publicly accuse another member of this message board of being a disruptor, troll, conservative, Republican, or ]. Do not try to come up with cute ways of skirting around the spirit of this rule. If you think someone is a disruptor, click the "Alert" link below their post so the moderators can deal with it. Unfortunately, it has become all too common for members of this message board to label anyone with a slightly different point of view as a disruptor. We disapprove of this behavior because its intent is to stifle discussion, enforce a particular "party line," and pre-emptively label a particular point of view as inappropriate or unwelcome. This makes thoughtful and open debate virtually impossible.</blockquote> | |||
<blockquote>Democratic Underground is a "big tent" message board which welcomes a broad range of progressive opinions. As such, you are likely to disagree strongly with many of the comments you see expressed here. Please do not take these differences of opinion personally. The simple fact that someone disagrees with you does not give you the right to lash out and break the rules of this message board. A thick skin is usually required to participate on this or any message board.</blockquote> | |||
The main forums on DU have been re-arranged since the close of the 2004 US Election season. They now include: | |||
* Latest Breaking News | |||
* ]s and Other Articles | |||
* General Discussion | |||
* General Discussion: ] (superseding "General Discussion: Campaign 2004") | |||
* The Lounge (for general non-political discussion) | |||
Other forums include: | |||
* Individual forums for the discussion of state and local issues. | |||
* Individual forums for the discussion of certain political topics such as education, homeland security, and guns. | |||
* Individual forums for the discussion of certain relatively non-political topics such as books, science, and sports. | |||
* "Group" forums where chartered groups of users may discuss topics of mutual interest such as hobbies, fan clubs, and potential ]. | |||
An "Ask the Administrators" forum was maintained until ], ]; this forum allowed users to pose questions to the board administrators. This forum has now been shut down by the administrators, who felt that the forum was being used as a medium for people for to issue complaint after complaint, with the nature of their complaints being inflammatory. A "Rules" page, a "Frequently Asked Questions" page, and a "Contact the Administrators" page showing the email addresses of the administrators have been substituted. | |||
Two of the most controversial forums are often scenes of hot debate between posters: | |||
* The Justice/Public Safety board, used for discussing ] issues and commonly referred to as the "Gun Dungeon" or "Gungeon"; and | |||
* The ]-] affairs board, sometimes referred to as the "Basement." | |||
===Campaign Underground=== | |||
DU has an online ] headquarters named "Campaign Underground." The site, which was put together with help from DU members, features a database of information about campaigns, voting trends, and media. A "media blaster" feature provides the ability to email local media outlets in many ] cities. Eventually DU hopes to have other features, such as integrated local news from the forums, a local event calendar, and other issues specific to states and locals. | |||
===Demopedia=== | |||
On ], ], DU launched the ] of Demopedia, a ] based collaborative project aimed at presenting the Democratic and ] opinion and outlook, and at collating and preserving some of the information generated on the forums. During the beta, only users who had registered at DU before December 7 were able to contribute. It uses the ] software. | |||
===Member avatars=== | |||
Registered members can select an ] that will be displayed along with each of their postings. For donating members, this avatar can be a custom ] that they have supplied; non-donating members can choose from a set of standard images that include popular symbols, images of political figures or ] figures, and state outlines, state flags, and a few national flags. These avatars allow users to show some of their personality with each posting. | |||
After the ], many members displayed an upside-down American flag as their avatar; an inverted flag is an international symbol of distress. | |||
==Ideology== | |||
Although DU restricts its postings to people on the political left, members have many internal disagreements over a wide range of issues, as well as disagreements over tactics of opposition to the Bush Administration. Nearly all members oppose the ], but some DU members favor only a gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, while other members favor an immediate and total pullout. Some members favor the ], while a majority do not. Another such issue is ]; DU participants include supporters and opponents of further restrictions on gun ownership. | |||
While supporters of ] are a distinct minority at DU, many posts criticize the ] from the left. Democrats such as ] and ], who are more inclined toward compromise and conciliation with the Bush Administration, are regularly attacked at DU, while Democrats such as ] and ], who favor a more confrontational approach, are more highly regarded. | |||
==Activism== | |||
DUers are active in US politics in many ways. Sometimes DUers in different parts of the country meet at DU gatherings in certain cities. DUers have also been known to attend political protests and rallies, volunteer for campaigns, and write letters to editors of newspapers and members of Congress. | |||
===Activist Corps=== | |||
One of the newest ways in which DUers are involved is called the DU Activist Corps. Founded on ], ], the Activist Corps is a group of over 1,000 DUers who are committed to taking action on a certain issue whenever an official Activist Corps activity is posted. | |||
The first Activist Corps action was posted on ]; members wrote letters to the editors of local newspapers regarding ]'s role in the leaking of ] agent ]'s name. More than 40 letters were published in newspapers throughout the country. The second Corps action was to sign ]s to ] asking them to reject ] nominee ] | |||
===Political candidates=== | |||
Some DUers have run for, and have even been elected to, political offices as high as ]. Examples of these include: | |||
* Herb Riede, the mayor-elect of ]; | |||
* Monica McGlocklin, a three-term former member of the ] Legislature; | |||
* Elizabeth Rogers, Congressman ]'s opponent in the ]; | |||
* Justin Sowa, Congressman ]'s potential opponent in the ]; and | |||
* The late Andy Stephenson, a voting-reform activist who ran against Sam Reed for ] Secretary of State in ]. | |||
==Notable members== | |||
Several notable figures have posted in the forums at some point. Among those who have been verified as not being ]es are: | |||
* ], the son of ]; | |||
* ], member of the ] from ]; | |||
* ], the wife of ]; | |||
* ], a son of ]; and | |||
* ], liberal activist, ], and owner of Truthout.org. | |||
==Owners== | |||
The website is owned by Democratic Underground, LLC (a ]), which is in turn owned by David Allen of Washington, D.C. He goes by the ] "Skinner" while on the boards and handles most of the issues relating to the forums. The other two administrators, "EarlG" (of Washington, D.C.) and "elad" (of Chicago), handle the articles and technical issues, respectively. | |||
==Criticism== | |||
As with any politically charged website, there are many charges made against Democratic Underground from both the political Left and the Right. | |||
===From the left=== | |||
Critics of the site allege that the site administrators and moderators are biased against, and unfairly ban ("tombstone") or ], posters who consider themselves to be to the political ] of ], the ] ] ] for the US presidency. Some critics are affiliated with the ] forums, which were founded by ] supporters who felt alienated from Democratic Underground during the contentious primary season; many of these posters had been banned or were later banned from the Democratic Underground forums. | |||
These people claim that DU is not truly ] or ], but rather ]. In particular, many members claim that the moderators of the ] forums enforce an anti-] bias or adhere too strongly to the politics of the centrist ] (DLC). | |||
===From the right=== | |||
Conservatives/right-wingers often criticize Democratic Underground for removing comments and banning users who don't fit the site's left-wing stance. | |||
Because most of the the site's forums can be posted-to by anyone who has registered at the site, outlandish postings by some members are occasionally held up as an example of what the forum's membership believes as a whole. One example of this was the dialog about the ], in which a few posts suggested some conspiracy at work; while the threads were eventually locked and publicly disavowed by the site's administrators, the postings in question were reported by '']'' and ]. | |||
==External links== | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* - conservative satire of DU | |||
] |
Latest revision as of 13:06, 12 January 2025
Online political community
Headquarters | United States |
---|---|
URL | www |
Launched | January 20, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-01-20) |
Democratic Underground is an online community for members of the Democratic Party in the Unites States. Its membership is restricted by policy to those who are supportive of the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates for political office.
History
Created on December 5, 2000, Democratic Underground was launched on January 20, 2001, the day George W. Bush was inaugurated as United States president. It describes itself as a "grassroots left-of-center political community" and "an online community for friendly, politically liberal people who understand the importance of working together to elect more Democrats and fewer Republicans to all levels of American government".
As of June 2008, over 122,000 user accounts were registered and over 38 million messages had been posted. Democratic Underground publishes articles several days a week and hosts an online store, a directory of links, and forums where members may post on various topics of interest. Discussions from posters at Democratic Underground attracted national attention. One example of this was the dialog about the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, in which a few posts explored the possibility of "earthquake weapons". The posts were reported by John Schwartz on The New York Times and Brit Hume on Fox News. An administrator also sent a letter to The New York Times, which was printed.
Earlier in 2003, the site attracted the attention of James Taranto in The Wall Street Journal when a poster explained why they wished to see continued bloodshed in Iraq. The forum was mentioned by Chuck Raasch of USA Today within the context of conspiracy theories about the August 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot to blow up airliners between the United Kingdom and the United States. One poster suggested that one reason for why the liquids were banned on airplanes was to allow the airlines to significantly charge more money for their own beverages and that the American government's push to release the announcement of the plot was done to bump Joe Lieberman's primary loss out of the news cycle. On Election Day 2016, the forum was hacked and rendered unavailable, which the site blamed on pro-Trump trolls.
Copyright infringement lawsuit
Main article: Righthaven LLC v. Democratic Underground LLCIn 2010, Democratic Underground was sued for alleged copyright infringement in a member's posting of a few paragraphs from an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The suit was brought by Righthaven, an entity that finds Las Vegas Review-Journal quotations online, buys the copyright for that story from the newspaper, and retroactively sues for copyright infringement. In response to the lawsuit, Democratic Underground asserted that the quoted excerpt (five sentences of a 54-sentence article) was fair use, and counterclaimed against Righthaven for fraud, barratry, and champerty. Democratic Underground was represented in the case pro bono by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, attorneys from the firm of Winston & Strawn, and Las Vegas attorney Chad Bowers. After Righthaven lost a similar suit against Realty One Group over 8 of 30 sentences quoted from a news article, Righthaven asked the judge in the case against Democratic Underground to dismiss Righthaven's claim against Democratic Underground. On June 14, 2011, Judge Roger L. Hunt ruled that Righthaven be dismissed from the case because Righthaven had never owned the copyright of the article and gave Righthaven two weeks to explain in writing why it should not be sanctioned.
References
- "DemocraticUnderground.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info". Domain Tools. 2002. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- "Terms of Service". Democratic Underground. 2012. Archived from the original on December 11, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- Schwartz, John (January 3, 2005). "Myths Run Wild in Blog Tsunami Debate". The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. Archived from the original on May 29, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- Hume, Brit (January 4, 2005). "Disaster's Cause?". Fox News. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- Washington, David Allen (January 10, 2005). "Online Debate Forums". The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- Taranto, James (November 5, 2003). "Dems Gone Wild--III". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 1042-9840. Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- Raasch, Chuck (August 10, 2006). "Terrorists were brewing a fresh date of infamy". USA Today. ISSN 0734-7456. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
- Leyden, John (November 10, 2016). "Left-wing cyber-hangout blames security breach on pro-Trump trolls". The Register. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- Green, Steve (August 11, 2010). "Righthaven sues Democratic Underground website over R-J posting". Las Vegas Sun. ISSN 2639-9083. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- Green, Steve (September 28, 2010). "R-J owner faces counterclaim in copyright lawsuit campaign". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- Kravets, David (November 18, 2010). "Righthaven Says It Will Stop Suing Over News Excerpts". Wired. ISSN 1078-3148. Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- "Righthaven Copyright Troll Lawsuit Dismissed as Sham" (Press release). Electronic Frontier Foundation. June 14, 2011. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
External links
- Democratic Underground homepage
- Democratic Underground on Facebook
- Democratic Underground on Twitter