Influx of New Members~~~Decline of Same?~~~

In the past few weeks there has been a small "flood" of new members. IMHO this site needs that.

Where did they come from? I don't know or care. It's refreshing. However, I'm seeing them rapidly disappear. Why is that and where are they going?

I suppose it says a lot about the members that have been here for a while. My opinion but I'm entitled to it.
In the meantime I urge the "newbies" to start posting again. Such a nice change of pace.

 

As a quasi newbie I can say that there is a lot of personal animosity and disrespect here that I wasn't expecting when I signed up. It was a real turn off. There were a couple of times when I was about to leave, but for whatever reason I've stuck around so far. Whether that's good or bad for the board is up to others to decide. Sadly I have come to be really uncomfortable with a few of the personalities here, and I'll be the first to admit that I've started respond to them in the way I feel they respond to me. Taking the high ground is not something that comes particularly easy to me. There are others of course, most I think, that I get along with well and they kind of cross the political spectrum. I think what we have here, like it or not, is a microcosm of what' this country is. I hear it used to be different.

 

I'm old enough to remember the days when civility was held in higher accord. I agree with Takiji--people here are very disrespectful of other people entering into discussions with them. I try my best not to argue with the person, but rather to argue the point. Unfortunately, logical argument seems to be a lost art in many places and dispute and nastiness is the general order of the day. I can think of two at least people that I think need a good smackdown (neither present in this thread), but I am not the person to do it--at least not by responding in kind to them. I'll stay for a little while longer, since I like some of the topics being discussed here and my normal dog-related forums are not places for such discussion, but I do have grave concerns about the personal attacks.

 

I wish you luck. It would be so refreshing to discuss points in stead of bashing Fox, the Tea party, right wingers, et al.

 

Please believe me this is a whole lot better than it use to be, and having visited a number of other political forums I have to say that the folks here behave a heck of a lot better than most others I have come across

 

Oh, believe me, I've been to other political forums and I typically last less than a day when I try to post. At least here, even when people disagree, there is not usually a huge piling on of people with a similar opinion over the single dissenting voice. Thank you, De Orc, for all of the work you've done. I'm looking forward to being here for a while.

 

Peter is the driving force he desrves most of the praise

 

Good to see new members. Takiji has been a welcome new addition that has 'stuck' and hopefully some of the newer group will stick too.

And if I disrespect someone, let me know. Most of the time I am not trying to.

 

I've noticed that too. How did they all happen to come here at the same time? Did Peter hit the recruiting trail or something?
What say you newbies?

 

I do a lot of research for my job and frequently find posts and articles from interesting websites. I found Partisan Line mentioned on a website I visited--please don't ask me which, since I do over 2000 searches in any given week and I honestly don't remember--it seemed interesting, so I decided to post. I usually post to dog-related sites where politics and other non-dog topics aren't discussed and I'm really not fond of Facebook, so . . . here I am.

 

Please stick around. So far you voice has been most refreshing.

 

I too am somewhat of a newbie (6 months give or take) and, like Takiji, had thought about leaving on a few occasions, for various reasons. One reason is the entrenched positions we all hold, that there is a lack of flexibility in all of us (some more than others). But I've also stayed for various reasons, one of which being that I want to hear what those differing opinions are... and bounce a few of my own around to see what others think of them... in order to help myself grow, and have a better understanding of what people are thinking about.

I had given some thought to the possibility of a larger opinion base here some months ago, and what the result might be. I'm still not entirely certain what the ultimate result will be but I am very interested in finding out... so I intend to stay a while longer.

...so... I extend my welcome to all the newbies!

 

In terms of newbies, I'd say my umbilical cord hasn't been cut yet. I do hope that there wasn't a flood of new members on the day I signed up. I do like to make an entrance.

As to why I came; one reason; and one only: Discussions. I thrive on them. If I stay, and so far everything looks good, it will be because there are lots of discussions. The only thing I don't really like is the rejoinders. I mean, the terse, off the cuff, type. I prefer a statement with some explanation included. Reasoning is what I'm after.

There's a risk, as there always is in discussions, of stepping on some toes. But, as long as it's pointed out, and as long as the claws are retracted (is that a mixed metaphor?) everything should work out. I can get pretty sarcastic at times, but I've had political correctness drilled into me. So I only fire on one cylinder at a time.