Sell out. Troll central. Rag. Real Posters of Huffington {{spit}} County.
Whatever you want to say about HP {{spit}} and what it was/is/is becoming, it seems we owe it a debt of gratitude. It is the place I happened upon during the time when I thought that I was the only person in the world who could not see the emperor’s clothes. The war was a good thing (huh?). We were bringing democracy to the Middle East by bombing the shit out of them, and they were going to LIKE us for it. LOVE us, in fact. Patriotism meant never having to say “I think for myself.” Bush was a uniter (worked in the Middle East. They’re completely unified in their anger at us. ) All I could do was listen to the sheep bleating their approval and keep my shameful secret that I couldn’t see any of it.
I remember finding HP {{spit}} and the comments section by accident and reading through them, realizing that not only was I NOT alone, there were LOTS of people like me. And they were smart and thoughtful and sane! It was a miracle. I read for weeks, and realized that there were regulars there who really knew their sh*t, and could beat down the conservative posters with actual facts.
I read Hume’s posts, saw how people reacted to him. He was the professor. He would smack people around for being impertinent and hand out the praise relatively sparingly. I was in awe. And intimidated as hell.
And then, one day, I read an article that hit home for me, and I saw the trolls posting nonsense and I had to speak. So, adey made her first comment and I logged out in fear, pacing and worrying that I had managed to bring humiliation to myself on a scale I had never imagined in my worst teenaged nightmares. And then I went in for a peek, because I’m just a curious George.
The trolls were silent. People reacted with agreement, or polite disagreement. It was a small thing, but it gave me the nerve to try again. And again. And then the miracle of miracles occured–Hume complimented me. And the regulars I’d been admiring actually respected my opinion. I was hooked.
In those days, the headlines matched the articles, for the most part. The trolls were real. the discussions were real. WE were real. We had to be– there were no avatars, so we had to EARN respect with facts and reason. Then came the avatars and the badges and everything changed. HP {{spit}} changed. WE changed.
So here is the question: How did we–each of us– get from there to here?
I’d been bouncing around from HP to CNN to dailykos getting my newsies all cross-referenced and verified like I like ’em, then one day the 805th story on HP about yet more anti-abortion legislation in the works caught my eye and I decided to post a comment- and was hooked. At first, I posted anything and everything, no pending, no waiting. And then I did the Big Bad. I said something unpleasant about Newt Gingrich. Not many know this, but “Moderator Stephanie” is a big fan of the Gingrinch. Suddenly, I couldn’t post a “LOL”. So I had a little fun with word games and hidden messages. No one noticed. Until I got into a mini-flamewar with some bonehead on a music thread. I called her a tw4t. She replied in kind. My comment got snuffed, hers didn’t, I complained, was suspended, received some very unprofessional emails from Stephanie (which I posted on Current, nearly getting her fired, according to her), and I ended up banned. Sort of. My 1500 comments remain, and I’m posting under 4 other identities, just in case important issues come up or I feel like making a pain in the ass of myself.
The problem with the Huffington Post, is that Arianna was hoping to resurrect the Algonquin Roundtable on the internet, but she does not possess the wit, the literacy or the irreverence to pull it off, and she’s placed lackeys of inferior intellect and abysmal writing skills in charge of her comment content. Most of the time, the HP mods don’t understand what they’re reading, and the rest of the time, they’re focused on manifesting their neocon agenda by arbitrarily removing the comments that would effectively put a cap on the right-wing argument for a particular thread.
It’s intolerable to have misogynistic assholes running amok, allowed to vent their spleen with impunity, and not be allowed to respond at all, much less in kind. Hamstringing such arguments for entertainment value is a revolting misuse of a news forum.
Hey everybody, Ruthless here! Just signed up.
Wow it’s cool to see some former HP-ers I recognize like JMBrodie , PocketWatch and some others (I think I remember you too, deygirl!). I called it quits at HP after almost two thousand posts. HP, I mean The Huffington Post and Arianna – oops, I forget I can spell it out here without getting scrubbed by the mods. That feels SO good!
The Huffington Post – All Palin, ALL THE TIME!
Welcome to the Planet, Ruthless! Glad to see you.
Hey RuthlessDictator, welcome to The Planet!
Hey Truth, I am happy to say that I’m A PROUD subscriber of the Planet! WE NEED THIS TO THRIVE! Will do all I can to spread the word…and believe me I can talk! Mardi Gras has started here so I’ll have to let that take its course! Still I’m excited about this site and about the fact that we can discuss issues honestly and openly without the threat of attack!
Well done to all who labored to give birth this wonderful place!
AHud, of course very much agreed.
I simply don’t understand why people continue to support her! You can’t fight against her agenda. She’s achieved that! The only thing those who disagree with her can ‘effectively’ do is leave the site! To remain there simply keep the stick of power in her hands!
Ariana’s greed and deception is well known and documented. She’s no different from Red State, Storm Front or Fox News; just a different cover! I wouldn’t support any of those sites as I no longer support HP! Huffington Post NEED a certain number of registered posters to post (regardless of the content in your post)to be successful! So, when you’re fighting trolls or stating a well researched point of view…it doesn’t matter. In the end the only thing that matters (again, regardless of content) is the fact that you post there!
I will not be a contributor to part of the greed that is destroying this country and President Obama and his administration with misleading headlines and stupid chit from Palin, Beck, and Rush featured all day long!
It comes down to Liberals and Progressives making a choice of either supporting the problem or shutting it down!
AHud,
– I wonder if the stuff is known widely enough, especially among progressives. Her suppression of any , even mild, criticism of her must have a reason.
– Excellent points.
Interesting article about Arianna from New Yorker, Oct 2008, talking about her run for CA governor:
He continued, “My experience with her was that her ego plays a big role in her life, and her commitment to her political principles seems to vary depending on what wind is blowing and whatever might benefit her in the short term.”
WHY am I not surprised??? That’s my opinion of her as well!
Amen…Arianna plays the odds…I swear she is as bad as Beck…and her sell out to AOL did her no favors….
Except for that $315 mil, of course. That can buy a lot of favors all by itself.
Escribacat, first thanks a lot for the title, and great if you join us. We first have to get better organized before proceeding…
And then here’s what I found yesterday:
[img]http://planetpov.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/The-many-faces-of-AH.jpg[/img]
THE MANY FACES OF AH – an article published in 2004 and online it is here:
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=p10EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq=msia+huffington+ex+member&source=bl&ots=reNqv9fbaF&sig=m0qlAkD8mKxGevJvhN_50vonjV0&hl=en&ei=oH5eTeynE8vnrAf37ty0Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q&f=false
I’m not surprised one bit!
I was HuffPo for years, with this same name.
HuffPo got insane long before the AOL buyout.
I have NO idea who these “moderators” are at HP but they are just stoopid.
just sayin…
Welcome to The Planet, justafarmer, I think they had just to do what AH told them, more about the subject coming shortly…
same here same name….but HP has really gone to the dogs…the trollies are taking over the sight….
I think we can all agree with that.
Thank you..so good to see past HPers here….
Deygirl, after kicking this off you still leave me redundant now? Or was your instruction that I should set up the behind-the-scenes email for those who want to participate?
You went to sleep, I thought. 🙁
I did, but it’s morning here now and I’m eager to continue….. ok, ok, it’s the weekend, I try to be a BIT more patient…. 8)
PS: I continue to work behind the scenes though…. I think I have to! See what my horoscope for today says:
Here’s my horoscope for today:
“… thirst for coffee is strong. You could have had a sudden inspiration, but it turned out to just be gas. Don’t be afraid to swing by the store to pick up milk & eggs on the way home. Breakfast is as important as anything else.”
Honestly…for me…I just had enough of her! Mrs. Huffington!!!!!!! Everything about her makes me ill! I absolutely hate the way she parades the Liberal troch around her rightwing cohorts; then (immersed in sheer delight) she (with all of her rich little mite) dunks it in the coldest water she could find while flashing that cheesy mug of hers!
Yes, she provided a format for us to gather. But, it was/is one built on falsehoods and deceptions. I can and will not continue to enable her to build her fortune; while she provides voice to those who want to tear down our country!
AHud, very much agreed. But then we probably have to conclude that it was her intention to split the left from the outset. Marion a bit further down the thread expressed that very well.
Yes…and she played her hand well! It’s now up to us! We can’t be a part of that on ANY level!
Alina, exactly. Are you on board with us too? We’re about to kick off a series called “Secrets From Beyond the Emerald Curtain”. She shouldn’t be allowed to pull a Palin and just get away with stuffed pockets.
Yes I am! :=)
Very good, Alina. I reached deygirl, I didn’t know that she’s that busy! So news about how we proceed will be up shortly, one or two days from now.
Great vent.
The format Arianna established was a good thing of sorts..it led many HPers here who were tired of her antics and the trollies that are allowed to rant their garbage unchallenged…as a neewbie here I am still fnding my way around but I think I will like it here….
I sure hope you do. Many of us are new, btw – I’m about 2 weeks old here and enjoy the famous right of free speech quite a bit.
HP could be considered as ProgMedia version 1.0 – complete with bugs and long-term limitations that required a total rewrite.
Let’s get going on version 2.0 …
Here’s a related sell-out story for your consideration: Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks landing a slot on MSNBC. Cenk, like the Empress, was a hard core neocon back in the day, then had a 180 degree turn in political slant, starting up that very successful YouTube channel catering to – political progressives. Now he’s appearing regularly on MSNBC. And has brought Her on as a guest on more than one occasion recently.
And approximately 50% of TYT’s threads are celebrity or sex related.
Just a curious coincidence, I suppose…
Perhaps Ana Kasparian can be saved before she’s thrown under the TYT bus. She’s smart, but under Cenk’s thumb. How many national shows could she go to?
shit sells.
I like to listen to the first half of The Young Turks podcast.
The first part is usually political news, and the second part pop-culture (which I don’t listen to.)
I don’t have TV, so I don’t know what Cenk is like on MSNBC, but the podcast is pretty good.
Yesterday I wrote an email to Ana at TYT voicing my concerns. She wrote back with this comment:
“Robert, I’m very happy that you value TYT’s mission as much as me and Cenk do. I can assure you that TYT is Cenk’s number one priority. We’re not going anywhere or changing our core beliefs.”
So, at least she and TYT are aware we’re paying attention. But I notice a conspicuous lack of TYT coverage on the AOL/HP story. Are they merely being careful not to burn their bridges, or have they already crossed them to MSM land with Arianna?
Cenk was explaining the other day about why he thinks it’s important to be on cable.
He said, “look at this picture of Obama in the Oval Office.” (I couldn’t see the picture he was talking about, because I was listening by way of podcast, but I could imagine it.)
Apparently the picture showed Obama looking a TV screen that was divided into four quadrants, each showing a different channel. One is permanently set on FOX, another on MSNBC, and another on CNN. The fourth is changeable.
Cenk said that this is part of the reason he felt that he needed to be on cable. He said that it’s important to be heard in the Oval Office, as well as the millions of people who watch cable news.
Again, I haven’t seen him on MSNBC, but he says that he isn’t sticking to any transcript, but doing his usual thing. His usual thing is being honest, and telling it like it is (as he personally sees it.)
I don’t always agree with the guy, and sometimes he’s annoying, but I do appreciate the strength and honesty of somebody who will tell you what he really thinks.
Once Upon a time, HP covered news, but the stories were not unlike news found most anywhere. What made it better was the commenters below the article.
Long before I began commenting, I found that I was more interested in what the critical thinkers were saying about the news, because they were well read folk who knew a lot, and their thoughts added a lot of right headed understanding to what was not written in the news. They collectively help see a bigger picture. They interrelate past with present with a mix of obscure put in for good measure. It was a big hit when Hume Passed, but still a group of great minds that make a difference.
Lately, and not unlike many others, I began to notice that my fan count plummeted and those people I regularly sought out, to see what they were thinking about current events were no longer commenting. I asked around and learned that some of them had come here.
Lately posting anything at HP became like a line out of a Mose Allison’s Parchman Farm. “I’m puttin that cotton in an eleven foot sack, with a 12 gauge shotgun at my back.” We were edited beyond belief while blather and diatribe was being allowed to stand.
The reason (for me) to care about the comments there sorta withered. None of what I came to read was being allowed anymore. It seemed like open season on anyone moderate to left. The right wingers had a free pass. Heck, some of them were getting fan counts that were on par with many others, and their comments were not comments, they were wrong headed unsubstantiated blather.
Next, (my prediction) News Corp will Purchase AOL, and that will not be such a surprise. (Arrianna’s Karma Possibly.) Cool how the word Arianna is not moderated here.) Not really a surprise at all. I am thankful HP did cover the Jobless Issues well and thank Arthur Delany for his work on that.
What I am saying is that though news is news, (journalism is best when it is neutral) I have come appreciate how a certain combination of commenters; real people who see, interpret and comment on it, has become as important to me than the news itself, because it checks my thinking too, and for that I feel better about my own considerations.
It is nice to learn that this is where a lot of those people have come. It is nice to have this place! Thank you to those people, they may know who they are, and Hello again!
Having been back a few times to try to find friends, reading through the comments today compared to what I used to see I would say today that 90% of it is drivel.
People take a story that lacks detail and begin to extrapolate from it making all kinds of assumptions from their own personal perspective.
Entire threads of comments descend into name calling and snark about things that aren’t even in the original story.
So glad I’m not leaning on it for my only contact with other thoughtful people. Hell, even the conservatives are pleasant here.
True, the name-calling and snark got pretty old pretty fast.
I made thousands of comments on that site, and only resorted to name-calling once (after too many glasses of whiskey one night, I called somebody an idiot.)
Name-calling is almost never necessary. Also, I never indulged in those cutesy respellings of people’s names and things. Like “Rethuglican;” I saw that one a lot.
It doesn’t persuade anyone to your point of view, and it doesn’t appeal to anyone except people who agree with you to begin with.
You make a really good point. It was becoming increasingly difficult to find an educated discussion. I found myself defending the GOP the other day because there were nothing but misinformation and lies – no one was dealing in logic or fact. It was a hate diatribe – where is that going to get any of us.
I’m glad I found this site – I tend to be a listener and not a contributor but I want to read someone who is thought provoking.
I joined huffpo in 2007. At first, I didn’t comment much because it took so long for my comments to appear and/or responded to. So I would go over to politico. The people there were like a pack of jackals. Very nasty and condescending. So I basically went back to huffpo and hoped for the best.
It got better and better for a while. My comments appeared in a shorter time, and replies to my comments became pretty regular. It was great, up until the time they introduced the badge program. I thought it was rather silly and sophomoric, so I opted out within a few days. (although months later they gave me a pundit badge and vanity told me to keep it)
The worst part was the citizen mod program. I knew right away that it was a horrible idea. The as time went on, my comments became increasingly deleted. I think that happened to everybody who is here now. It just became a huge waste of time, writing comments that required a bit of thought, only to see them disappear into the ether.
I was extremely glad when I came here after zootliberal’s invitation. I could never go back to HP. It is now as bad as politico was.
KT, the erasing of thoughtful comments happened to so many people. At that time I thought it was just happening to mine. But now that our opinions not are suppressed anymore and we can exchange our experiences openly I have to conclude, that this was very much a concerted effort on their part. It also matches the increasing trivialization of the outlet.
I got here by invitation from another HPer, actually more than one. 100+ of my fans disappeared almost over night. After I figured out that nothing I had posted after the mods were done with me was offensive enough to turn that many of my friends off. It was shocking because it was not about ‘fans’, it was about those with common ideas , beliefs and thoughts. I do not get off reading or wasting my time trying to communicate with Trolls.
I took the advice and figured out this reference (from my friends) and came over to check it out. So far I do not have it all figured out although so many I know and respect are here. I hope this will prove to be my new home .
I do have a problem connecting here sometimes . I submitted a reply to Ad Lib last night and when submitted the whole site disappeared and
that reply was lost forever and at 1AM……I was just too tired to do it again. Oh well. I am happy to see all of my friends. 🙂
coveark –
Yesterday was trying for many… sunspots, aliens, spotty connections, server issues… all made it a trial yesterday. I am sure they are working it out.
BTW, I lost almost 300 fans on Black Monday out of over 1,600.. It was then I knew SOMETHING was up!
I didn’t lose any fans until I had 2 comments deleted- my fan count dropped by exactly 2…?
Coveark
Welcome again. I’m getting tired of talking to you through a mostly strung out thread we’ve each had to reload about two or three times on HP.
I’m with PW on the sunspot thing. I like that better as an explanation that some of Arianna’s goons coming by and raising hell.
Hope you stick around and since he didn’t offer them I’ll tell you if you are good PW will offer donuts 🙂
deygirl, I have to leave now. I need some proper sleep for the first time in 2 weeks!!! Please let me know how we are going to proceed or/and what you think about my suggestions. If you had something completely else in mind than I have, we still need to figure out how to proceed. But please don’t expect me to be clairvoyant…
There are a lot more comments on your thread, and hihi, you as the author have to read them all….. Then you’re going to find also some more of my questions to you, most of them have remained unanswered so far. Take your time and think what is the next thing to do, then post it to me on top of the thread, else it’s hard to find now. Thanks, see you later and have a good time.
I remember telling a friend that I got a lot of my news from HP and that the comments were often better than the article. I read for a long time before feeling like I finally had to speak out and created an account about a year ago. In my memory, it seems that lately the Obama bashing has really gotten out of control. I don’t know how many times I have posted that I still support Obama when he was getting bashed from both sides. I joined up here but have not yet deleted my account at HP. I think it will take me a while to get used to the format here at PPOV but I like it so far and have seen a lot of familiar users that I respected from HP. So far, I like what I see here.
It’s insane. And these same people wonder how the contuds got into power. WE put them there with our refusal to fight the meme.
Great, welcome girlsparky. No need to delete your account, just be aware of the bad environment though….
GirlSparky, welcome to The Planet! What a lot of it comes down to for me is the quality of life issue. Blogging here for me is positive, creative, where I can fully express myself and talk openly with others like real, concerned and thoughtful people. No venom being spewed, no racism tossed out to try and provoke me, no censorship of my thoughts.
At the Planet, we already have come together on a number of important issues and in some cases, have made a big difference. Despite my being at HP bringing me together with a number of valued friends and colleagues, in all my time there, I never DID anything there to make a difference (though at the time I thought attacking and exposing trolls was doing something but all it was, was a neverending vicious cycle).
All this is a long winded way of saying that here we get to act like real human beings and our respect for each other and that we receive, brings us together in a much more valuable way by which we can better understand and explore issues and truly come together at times to make a meaningful difference.
So beautiful AdLib. Now I leave with this – my sleep will be so peaceful.
Thanks! I think I am going to like it here.
The same for me.
I AM also so disappointed with the Obama bashing, having to see the face of the Repug crazy/evil women in particular. I hope this will be exactly what I am looking for.
The crazy teabagger ladies are quite something else, aren’t they? One thing I like about HP is how it portrays Michele Bachmann as a lunatic.
Correction: I “liked” about HP. I threw up on them and “poofed” last week.
Oh, adey, what have you wrought? I always knew you could stir a pot. I did not know how well. I love, love, love reading through all you smart people’s posts and reminiscing how it was at HP {{spit}}.
At this time, I will not poof my account over there. Like others here, I enjoy lurking over there and dropping the occasional bon mot. As this planet community grows, I hope we will all remember how we got here, why we got here and consider what we can do to make positive contributions. Judging by the comments here, we’re headed in a delightful direction.
How’s that for some schmaltz? 🙄
Feel the luv!
Oh, chase, leave it to you to add sweetness to that stirred pot!
Truthfully, my hope is that remembering our beginnings will help us get back to them. The bitterness is still lingering in some of the posts (mine included.) But, as in divorce, we need to remember that we didn’t always hate, and temper our diappointment with the memory of the initial joy and hope.
(I saw your schmaltz and raised you a Pollyanna)
chasethis, not bad… 😀 ….
And I’m going to change my avi again, I don’t like to drive around with Arianna’s Trojan horse. So I hope you remember me later….
How about Ganesh?
Yeah, deygirl, good idea! I think about that. I thought of an Obama pic, but yes, Ganesh… the remover of obstacles…..
🙂
Thanks for the heads up! Permission granted. Oh, wait…
Hehe chase.. too late…. 😆