Droogie, you newbie, back in my day we didn't worry about being called newbies. We were all newbies. We didn't wait and look around to see what the rules were. We just found the place, got on board and did our thing. Nobody cared about a uid. Somewhere along the way this place got all bunched up with rules. And the internet etiquette police so quick to point them out. Too many rules if you ask me. And the worst rules are the fake rules. Like always be polite.
As anybody who was around for the Democratic primary knows (I'm talking about the Howard Dean primary you newbie, stay with me here) impoliteness is a regular occurrence here at Dailykos and that's okay. It's an internet message board. A good one. The best one. But it's still an internet message board and people get impolite sometimes. Always be polite is hardly a rule around here.
You newbies have changed dailykos a lot since you showed up. And trust me, I know. I may not post a lot but I read the site daily.
One day I went to post a diary and it stopped me and said I had to enter a tag. I'm sure that kind of thing is helpful to somebody somewhere but honestly, why is Dailykos wasting my time with a requirement like that. If it's not important to me - and I am the author of my diary - then it's clearly not necessary. I know, I know, you newbies have some techy reason why it's so important that every diary have tags. Spare me the explanation. It's not important to me. I'm not here to do research and I'm not here to learn technology. I'm here to learn and exchange ideas on our shared political interests. The rest is just unnecessary rules.
And another thing. Tip jar? What the fuck is a tip jar? And why the hell do I care? Honestly, I don't. I don't ask for tips and I don't give tips. Why would I? They mean nothing to me. Back in my day you knew what people thought of you based on the content of comments. Nowadays everybody's keeping score. And before you newbies come complaining to me, just understand this - I was here bitchin' about the Iraq War while you were still borrowing a stamp from your mother to send the local Congressperson a written letter. I was here pimpin' Howard Dean while you were flunking out of school because of your Spacecraft addiction. Admit it.
And what's this business about making sure diaries are sufficiently lengthy? That only encourages the overly windy. Take Atrios, for example, his stuff is short, snarky, and to the point. His stuff could make a great diary. How do I know this? Because his stuff makes a great blog, that's how. Here his stuff is a breach of etiquette. That's lame. Some diaries are long. Some diaries are short. Length is not a determinant of quality (keep your mind out of the gutter, newbie). I have my own personal rule about diary length. If it's too long, I don't read it. Usually the author has a Christopher Hitchens sized level of self importance. And no writer is more lame than Christopher Hitchens.
A diary is not somebodies house. It is an exchange of ideas. So are the comments. Exchange away. Leave mud on the wall.
I do want to thank that newbie, Droogie, for one thing. Thanks to him I learned how to found out what my uid is. Thanks, kid. Damn, I'm getting old.
UPDATE: You assholes. Back in my day you didn't recommend somebody, you called them an asshole. Still it is my first recommended diary. I guess, by rule, I have to say thanks (and yes, I know how to put the "UPDATE" in bold, I just don't care).