Shut Discussionist down!...

[Ms. Toad]

275. Because I happen to think that siloing ourselves in echo chambers is a generally unhealthy

I spend a fair amount of my time in real life supporting and participating in opportunities for people to listen to others with different viewpoints. I do that personally by being out as a lesbian, even in conservative Christian communities, by speaking out as a rape survivor when I encounter rape culture, by being out as a person of faith among atheist progressives, by being out as a liberal among conservatives, and by spending 8 years in my faith community wrestling with whether or not they could take our marriage under their care - which they ultimately did. There are probably hundreds of individuals who are now accepting of LGBT individuals - who weren't once, as well as many who are more sensitive to rape culture, because of my interactions with them.

In a broader context, when I took a break from DU a few years ago it was to be an informal adviser to a local version of discussionist. That particular experiment failed (even though it still exists on the internet) because the admin's self-identification as creatives blinded them to the reality that they didn't have a clue how to make a discussion board easy to use. In short, they believed they were too sophisticated to take advantage of the kind of technology that DU and discussionist have - and refused to listen to those of us with experience who told them the board was unusable - and the few users they attracted mostly vanished.

Discussionist, on the other hand, has the technology - and an audience. So I think discussionist provides an opportunity for discussion with others with different viewpoints, and ultimately we need more of that. That doesn't mean making progress is always pretty - anymore than having to explain repeatedly on DU why mAnn Coulter jokes were offensive was pretty. And there will be real jerks, including jerks threatening rape and murder, just as there have also always been on DU. I think the opportunity is important. I find it offensive that people on DU who don't happen to like the idea of discussionist constantly feel the need to trash it, rather than just ignoring it.

I don't think individual members of DU have the power to shut it down - but I also don't think trashing discussionist is an appropriate GD topic. It is essentially a meta discussion about another site. And I don't like the emotional coercion of using the vile actions of a few individuals - which were promptly and appropriately responded to - to rile people up about the site.