(Disclaimer: I have no idea whether or not kos likes bowling.)
A few days ago, I had a Top Comment. {*nearly pulls a muscle patting himself on the back.}
I want to expand on those thoughts a bit. This will probably reopen some meta fights and earn me a few detractors. Well have at it. You are welcome to your opinions, even if they are wrong.
May Ceiling Cat smite my enemies and Basement Cat subject them to as many torments as the number of hairs a pootie sheds in a life time.
Here's the original comment:
I have yet to see the cartoons (42+ / 0-)
But I have to comment on the pootie diaries. In case you missed the point getting to the pretty pictures, I repeat the noble JekyllnHyde:
I am fully aware that some of you sneer at and scornfully dismiss such diaries as being frivolous and undermining the very purpose of Daily Kos, which is to support the Democratic Party in its efforts to become or maintain itself as the dominant political party in this country. There is another very important reason to do so. If you actually read these diaries, you will notice unconditional love, compassion, and care expressed for all creatures large and small with support of animal rescue shelters highlighted to encourage action by interested readers.
Or more succinctly, our benevolent overlord:
I love community-building diaries (44+ / 0-)
even if cats aren't my thing, I find huge value in those diaries, as well as the gardening and book clubs and whatnot.
by kos on Sun May 31, 2009 at 05:26:54 PM EDT
In 2000, Robert Putnam published Bowling Alone. His argument, in a nutshell is that people don't join organized activities like bowling leagues anymore. This has led to a breakdown in interpersonal trust -- aka social capital. Putnam blamed TV (granted), virtual reality helmets (I so want one), and the Internet (LOL, Wut).
The idea is that these are all one-way entertainment devices. We no longer have to interact to have fun and we miss the secondary effect of discussing politics.
Unfortunately for Prof. Putnam, he was writing at exactly the wrong time. In 2000, the comment platform had not been perfected. Now we have it. I have met people from all over the world -- many of them in person even.
So we all all butt heads in all of the other political diaries, but we come together in places like the pootie diaries, TDS/TCR spoiler thread (my personal refuge), Top Comments, OND, DKGreeroots, BlackKos, Brothers and Sisters of Daily Kos, our present host's cartoon diaries and the many others.
The point is that we as a community are generally directed toward the same goal: a more progressive government and society. But we disagree on a lot of things. By taking a break and having fun in non-political diaries, we build that trust and are less like to flame each other.
I mean, how do you and someone else laugh at Assif Manvi together in one diary and call each other asshats in the very next? If anything, you get to know each other are are thus even more likely to read and rec comments of your fellow community diary participants rather than instinctively being nasty.
*and exhale
Okay, you probably already knew all of that. This is a pretty bright community, but I felt a need to spell it out anyway. Now back to looking at pretty pictures and pining for my VR helmet.
Thanks for all you do, JekyllnHyde!
by Casual Wednesday on Tue May 04, 2010 at 01:12:40 AM EDT
[ Reply to This ]
I know that there was a meta war some months ago on this topic. If this diary reopens those fights, so be it.
I check the hidden comments about once or twice a day. Most are the garden variety trolls, n00bs who haven't quite grasped it, or Kossacks having a bad day. The really depressing thing is seeing hidden comments in community diaries.
Look, politics is a nasty game. I've noticed it gets particularly nasty when we argue about policy development, Israel/Palestine, and important contested primaries. We fight. We get pissed off at each other. Sometimes we even storm out the metaphorical door.
But ultimately, we are all supposed to be on the same side. Sometimes we all need to chill out and have fun together. That was the point of Prof. Putnam's book. Americans are losing their sense of community and civic engagement. We don't have as many organized activities where political discussion is secondary. Instead we sit at home and look at the tee vee machine.
Of course, there is still political discussion at places like bars, but any bartender will tell you that he or she gets a bit more wary when conversations turn to politics and religion. Alcohol tends to remove inhibitions and a debate about those topics can quickly degenerate into a shouting match. That's not good for business.
Furthermore, our existing civic organizations tend to be somewhat exclusive and biased toward Republican Demographics. Think Rotary Clubs, Masons, Odd Fellows, Chambers of Commerce, BPW, churches. (And that is nothing against religious progressives.) I have even been told that local Rotary Clubs will only accept one member of a given profession except media and clergy.
At the heart of this argument is the concept of social capital. Social capital is the interpersonal trust within communities. Trust is critical to democracy. To put it in internet terms: Why would you post a comment or diary if you could not trust that your supporters will come along and give their support (rec a comment or diary, post a positive comment) and engage your detractors. In a broader sense, social capital is needed to hold together political parties and coalitions.
So where does this trust come from? Sure it could come from our regular discussions. Certainly cyber (and even real life) friendships happen in diaries and stories about health care reform, Wall Street crime, nuclear arms policy, and even I/P.
But this is not enough. Trust and friendship really develops around shared interests that are not necessarily political. Can you really have a friendly conversation about your pets in one diary and honestly bring yourself to call each other asshats in the very next one?
Disagreement is healthy and necessary in a democracy. Yelling and name calling is unproductive. However, if you can develop friendships and respect in a non-political diary, you will be less likely to fire off a nasty comment in a political one. Disagree, yes. We are not lockstep Republicans. Be disagreeable? No, for the exact same reason.
So I am only asking two things. First don't denigrate the community diaries, even when they do knock your musings off the rec list. Just be happy you got there. Second, don't go into them with the intention of being a jackass. Some, like IGTNT have pretty specific rules. Others, like OND, welcome diary pimping and almost all off topic is welcome.
Don't complain about any given community. There are a lot that I don't visit. Find one that caters to your interests and post there. You will probably make some new friends. If you have an interest that isn't represented, find a tag and start your own. That's the beauty of the democratization of the blogs. It is also why Prof. Putnam was not so much wrong as just writing at the wrong time.
So here are links to the community diaries. There are a lot, which is teh awesome. I have missed some. If you feel strongly enough, leave a comment and I'll add a link. These are almost in no particular order. However, since I'm the author, I get to list my favorites high on the list. Stop by some of these diaries and offer a tip and/or rec. Even if you don't participate, show some love to the people who are so dedicated that they post these diaries regularly regardless of whether they get eight or 800 comments.
So check them out:
TDS/TCR chat thread
The Week in Editoral Cartoons
eKos
Saturday Morning Garden Blogging
HikeOn!
WriteOn!
Overnight News Digest
What Are You Working On (WAYWO)
Top Comments
Insomniac's Vent Hole
BlackKos
Bookflurries: Bookchat
Brothers and Sisters at Daily Kos
Daily Kos University
KosAbility
SheKos
SistahSpeak
Pooties! (Should also get you to the woozles, feather butts, #sekritarmy and whatnot)
Countdown with Keith Olbermann thread
Give up Smoking (GUS)
Saturday Night Losers Club
What's Your Fucking Problem (WYFP)
WLBG and Friends
Saturday Morning Home Repair blogging
Mojo Friday
The Grieving Room
Morning Feature
Sunday Talk
Saturday Morning Parenting
Saturday Morning Painting
Teacher's Lounge
History for Kossacks
Tuesday Diversion
Macca's Meatless Monday
What Are You Reading (WAYR)
Frugal Fridays
Late additions from comments:
Community Quilts (Probably the purest expression this idea)
Chronic Tonic
End Consumption, Save The Air & Sea, Y'all (ECSTASY)
Right to Keep and Bear Arms (RKBA)
Dawn Chorus
Who can forget:
Cheers and Jeers
Jotter
And our most important community series:
I Got The News Today
So which ones did I miss?
And incidentally, WriteOn! and GUS were posted just before this diary and a Community Quilt and Chronic Tonic is posted above. Check them out.