DK3, child of Markos Moulitsas, beloved student of Meteor Blades, trusted colleague of Susan Gardner, siblings of the late DK1 and DK2, and notable frenemy of political commentators everywhere, died on Saturday, February 12, 2011, after succumbing to its long battle with cyber-replacement syndrome. DK3 is survived by its younger sibling and current blogging frenemy, DK4, which was born on the day of DK3's death after several hours in labor.
Please join us in Meta Monday in a requiem for the dearly departed.
It is normal that we should grieve over the loss of a loved one. The birth of DK4 has been, for many, a source of apprehension, a disruption of routine, and a tumultuous journey into the future -- in other words, a great big OMG. Death is a natural process of change that forces us to re-evaluate ourselves. The passing of DK3 is a process that asks of us many questions, such as, "How do I follow Daily Kos groups?" or "How come the Community Spotlight is sitting above the front page posts?" or "Why the frack didn't kos give us a Smite button?" or "Will DK4 leave us vulnerable to hostile takeover by the Kingdom of the Mole People?" These are all questions that may frighten and bewilder us. But in death we do find life, new opportunities, and new beginnings. Like the majestic phoenix of J.K. Rowling's imagination, a new Daily Kos has risen from the ashes of its predecessor.
Gone forever are the days of one-diary-per-day-limits. For some, this may be a drastic change that negatively impacts their experience of Daily Kos. However, this is where a new dawn arises. Never again shall a faithful Kossack suffer the slings and arrows of the following scenario:
"Oh crap, the President of [insert country here] just announced that he is stepping down, and I spent my one diary today on how much I hate the ad at the top of the front page? Damn it! Why couldn't that President step down the day after I was done ranting about how kos shouldn't let [insert awful, horrible company here] advertise on his website? Gawd, I hate [insert awful, horrible company again]."
So fear not, friends and family of DK3. Now you can write that diary about a hugely important political topic and write a second diary complaining about unimportant meta and, if that's not enough, publish a third diary with enough pootie pictures to crash the servers at Apple -- and you can do it all on the same day. This change may inspire grief. As the wise poet Garth Algar once said, we fear change. But it may yet inspire hope, if not more pootie diaries.
Let us now view the dead. Behold the face of the recently deceased:
And now, behold the face of the newly born:
Long shall we mourn the passing of DK3's orange masthead with white letters, on which a Flag Man holds a flag obscured by the thinness of the masthead space and a foreboding, burnt orange darkness, punctured only by a faint ray of sunshine. But ever shall we rejoice in the birth of DK4's white masthead with orange letters, on which a smaller Flag Man holds a brighter and entirely visible flag. No longer shall its patriotic artistry be hidden by the orange darkness; the DK4 masthead is a ray of sunshine! Lest we should forget about the new sunshine of DK4, remember that following one's favorite writers means clicking on a button with a heart on it. That means DK4 has the same power as the kid in "Captain Planet" with the Heart Power Ring.
(Actually, scratch that last one. That kid's ring was useless.)
Alas, our grief over the the death of DK3 may grow stronger still. What was once a website dedicated to discussing ideas and encouraging rigorous political debate has been replaced with......a website dedicated to discussing ideas and encouraging rigorous political debate. And though DK3 may be gone, let us find comfort in the knowledge that its tradition of meta will live on. I am quite sure that everyone will find lots of comfort in that.
Let us also use this requiem as an opportunity to acknowledge the seriousness of the cause of death. Cyber-replacement syndrome (or CRS) has affected nearly 400 million internet domains since 1990. More than 77,000 domains die from CRS each day, and this number is constantly growing. With at least 255 million websites spanning the vast universe of the internet today, CRS puts a significant proportion of websites at risk every day of infection and eventual death. DK3 and the other deceased victims of CRS are interred at the Official Internet Tomb. There are top men working on this tomb. Top. Men.
I will now close this requiem with a brief eulogy for the deceased. DK3 led an eventful life, and I dare say, a proud life. It was not a website of few words. On the contrary, it was a home of many words. In fact, it was well-liked for many of its many words. The greatness of DK3 cannot be separated from its manywordiness. And though many have used many words to bemoan its many words many times, few words can describe how many people have benefited from DK3's many words.
Fare thee well, DK3. May the road on your journey to the cyber-afterlife be paved with the glory of LOLcats, dramatic prairie dogs, badger badger badger (mushroom mushroom), and Antoine Dodson.