first time poster on du spewing anti abortion shit, stands.

[IdaBriggs]

136. Per Skinner, YES. This is NOT a protected group.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12596754

From Me:

Issue with Alert on "protected" group.

I recently juried an alert on a thread in a protected group. I do not believe the alerter was a contributor to the protected group (HOF) but was offended by the entire thread, and alerted on a long standing running joke while criticizing the thread.

My question: can non-members, or even people banned from a "protected group" alert on threads in these groups? While the issue occurred with HOF, it has probably come up with some of the other "controversy" groups, too, so as an inquiring mind, I would like to know.

Thank you!

From Skinner:

Anyone can alert in any group.

These allegedly "protected" groups are not protected from having to abide by DU community standards. Even people blocked out of a group can still alert there.

From Me:

Thank you for clarifying.

I am surprised there isn't more abuse of that particular feature in some of the more controversial groups, but what you say makes sense -- you want all of us to treat each other with dignity and respect as a community standard, even when dealing with difficult topics.

Thank you for the work you do. It is a good place to be on the internet.

Make of it what you will - personally, I think Skinner and the admins expecting us to treat each other with courtesy and respect even if we passionately disagree with each other is a reasonable community standard. Many of the "protected" groups (HoF gets a lot of attention, but we have other groups that deal with hot button controversy issues, too) can get ... "passionate" about expressing strong opinions.

There are at least half a dozen responses in this thread that struck me, personally, as abusive, demeaning, rude and insulting, but frankly, I have seen worse, and think some of it is just "personal style". It makes for interesting color in the community, but yes, it means those who are offended by such things *will* end up with more hidden posts. (Disclaimer: Recently got my first "non-Meta" hide in ten years by being snarky, so not on the perfect train myself. )

My husband and I have joked for a long time about "maybe certain people could pay 'extra' for a special license plate that would allow them to ignore speed limits - make it expensive and require special driving tests to be passed, and watch certain folks - including my husband - dive on that sucker!" Maybe DU needs a special Icon or Sig Line for "Yes, Sometimes I sound like an Asshole, but really, I have some Good Points and I truly VALUE being a part of this community, so cut me some slack, okay?"

Or something like that.