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			{{Short description\|Online political community}}
	]
			{{Use American English\|date=October 2020}}
			{{Use mdy dates\|date=October 2020}}
			{{Infobox website
			\| name = Democratic Underground
			\| location_city = United States
			\| url = {{URL\|https://www.democraticunderground.com}}
			\| launch_date = {{start date and age\|2001\|1\|20}}<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://whois.domaintools.com/democraticunderground.com\|title=DemocraticUnderground.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info - DomainTools\|work=]\|access-date=2016-08-14}}</ref>
			}}

			'''Democratic Underground''' is an ] for members of the ]. Its membership is restricted by policy to those who are supportive of the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates for political office.<ref name="duenforcerules">{{cite web\|title=Terms of Service\|website=Democratic Underground\|url=https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=termsofservice\|access-date=2012-10-08 }}</ref>
	{{TOCright}}

			== History ==
	'''Democratic Underground''', or simply '''DU''' to its members, is a ]/] ] established on ], ], the day ] ] took office. The site ] articles six days a week and has an online store, a directory of links, and ] where logged-in members may post on various topics of interest.
			{{Recentism\|section\|date=February 2023}}

			{{Expand section\|date=October 2020}}
	Nearly 75,000 forum accounts have been created since its inception with over 50,000 still remaining active. More than 16 million messages have been posted. Membership and participation are free, although voluntary donations are solicited, and some services are available only to donating members.
			On Election Day 2016, the forum was hacked and rendered unavailable, which the site blamed on pro-Trump trolls.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/10/democrat_site_blames_pro_trump_hackers/\|title=Left-wing cyber-hangout blames security breach on pro-Trump trolls\|last=Leyden\|first=John\|date=10 November 2016\|website=]\|language=en-UK\|access-date=2020-04-23}}</ref>

	==Features of Democratic Underground==

	===Columns===

	DU has several regular ], and on any given day may have a number of guest columns sent in from contributors.

	* Mondays: , a rundown of the most outrageous ] activities in the past week, according to the DU administrators.
	* Wednesdays: writes her column.
	* Thursdays: , an 'advice' column.
	* Fridays: , a ] column supposedly written by a ] Team Leader.
	* Occasionally, DU will feature a of ].

	Bernard Weiner and Ernest Partridge of ''The Crisis Papers'' are frequent guests.

	===Forums===

	The DU Forums are a highly active scene where progressives of all types are welcome to come and talk. The site bills itself as welcoming to progressives of all types, though users are sometimes "]" (banned) by administrators for violating site policies, such as these:

	<blockquote>We ban ] disruptors who are opposed to the broad goals of this website. If you think overall that George W. Bush is doing a swell job, or if you wish to see Republicans win, or if you are generally supportive of conservative ideals, please do not register to post, as you will likely be banned.</blockquote>

	<blockquote>Do not publicly accuse another member of this message board of being a disruptor, troll, conservative, Republican, or ]. Do not try to come up with cute ways of skirting around the spirit of this rule. If you think someone is a disruptor, click the "Alert" link below their post so the moderators can deal with it. Unfortunately, it has become all too common for members of this message board to label anyone with a slightly different point of view as a disruptor. We disapprove of this behavior because its intent is to stifle discussion, enforce a particular "party line," and pre-emptively label a particular point of view as inappropriate or unwelcome. This makes thoughtful and open debate virtually impossible.</blockquote>

	<blockquote>Democratic Underground is a "big tent" message board which welcomes a broad range of progressive opinions. As such, you are likely to disagree strongly with many of the comments you see expressed here. Please do not take these differences of opinion personally. The simple fact that someone disagrees with you does not give you the right to lash out and break the rules of this message board. A thick skin is usually required to participate on this or any message board.</blockquote>

	The main forums on DU have been re-arranged since the close of the 2004 US Election season. They now include:

	* Latest Breaking News
	* ]s and Other Articles
	* General Discussion
	* General Discussion: ] (superseding "General Discussion: Campaign 2004")
	* The Lounge (for general non-political discussion)

	Other forums include:

	* Individual forums for the discussion of state and local issues.
	* Individual forums for the discussion of certain political topics such as education, homeland security, and guns.
	* Individual forums for the discussion of certain relatively non-political topics such as books, science, and sports.
	* "Group" forums where chartered groups of users may discuss topics of mutual interest such as hobbies, fan clubs, and potential ].

	An "Ask the Administrators" forum was maintained until ], ]; this forum allowed users to pose questions to the board administrators. This forum has now been shut down by the administrators, who felt that the forum was being used as a medium for people for to issue complaint after complaint, with the nature of their complaints being inflammatory. A "Rules" page, a "Frequently Asked Questions" page, and a "Contact the Administrators" page showing the email addresses of the administrators have been substituted.

	Two of the most controversial forums are often scenes of hot debate between posters:
	* The Justice/Public Safety board, used for discussing ] issues and commonly referred to as the "Gun Dungeon" or "Gungeon"; and
	* The ]-] affairs board, sometimes referred to as the "Basement."

	===Campaign Underground===

	DU has an online ] headquarters named "Campaign Underground." The site, which was put together with help from DU members, features a database of information about campaigns, voting trends, and media. A "media blaster" feature provides the ability to email local media outlets in many ] cities. Eventually DU hopes to have other features, such as integrated local news from the forums, a local event calendar, and other issues specific to states and locals.

	===Demopedia===

	On ], ], DU launched the ] of Demopedia, a ] based collaborative project aimed at presenting the Democratic and ] opinion and outlook, and at collating and preserving some of the information generated on the forums. During the beta, only users who had registered at DU before December 7 were able to contribute. It uses the ] software.

	===Member avatars===

	Registered members can select an ] that will be displayed along with each of their postings. For donating members, this avatar can be a custom ] that they have supplied; non-donating members can choose from a set of standard images that include popular symbols, images of political figures or ] figures, and state outlines, state flags, and a few national flags. These avatars allow users to show some of their personality with each posting.

	After the ], many members displayed an upside-down American flag as their avatar; an inverted flag is an international symbol of distress.

	==Ideology==

	Although DU restricts its postings to people on the political left, members have many internal disagreements over a wide range of issues, as well as disagreements over tactics of opposition to the Bush Administration. Nearly all members oppose the ], but some DU members favor only a gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, while other members favor an immediate and total pullout. Some members favor the ], while a majority do not. Another such issue is ]; DU participants include supporters and opponents of further restrictions on gun ownership.

	While supporters of ] are a distinct minority at DU, many posts criticize the ] from the left. Democrats such as ] and ], who are more inclined toward compromise and conciliation with the Bush Administration, are regularly attacked at DU, while Democrats such as ] and ], who favor a more confrontational approach, are more highly regarded.

	==Activism==

	DUers are active in US politics in many ways. Sometimes DUers in different parts of the country meet at DU gatherings in certain cities. DUers have also been known to attend political protests and rallies, volunteer for campaigns, and write letters to editors of newspapers and members of Congress.

	===Activist Corps===

	One of the newest ways in which DUers are involved is called the DU Activist Corps. Founded on ], ], the Activist Corps is a group of over 1,000 DUers who are committed to taking action on a certain issue whenever an official Activist Corps activity is posted.

	The first Activist Corps action was posted on ]; members wrote letters to the editors of local newspapers regarding ]'s role in the leaking of ] agent ]'s name. More than 40 letters were published in newspapers throughout the country. The second Corps action was to sign ]s to ] asking them to reject ] nominee ]

	===Political candidates===

	Some DUers have run for, and have even been elected to, political offices as high as ]. Examples of these include:

	* Herb Riede, the mayor-elect of ];
	* Monica McGlocklin, a three-term former member of the ] Legislature;
	* Elizabeth Rogers, Congressman ]'s opponent in the ];
	* Justin Sowa, Congressman ]'s potential opponent in the ]; and
	* The late Andy Stephenson, a voting-reform activist who ran against Sam Reed for ] Secretary of State in ].

	==Notable members==

	Several notable figures have posted in the forums at some point. Among those who have been verified as not being ]es are:

	* ], the son of ];
	* ], member of the ] from ];
	* ], the wife of ];
	* ], a son of ]; and
	* ], liberal activist, ], and owner of Truthout.org.

	==Owners==

	The website is owned by Democratic Underground, LLC (a ]), which is in turn owned by David Allen of Washington, D.C. He goes by the ] "Skinner" while on the boards and handles most of the issues relating to the forums. The other two administrators, "EarlG" (of Washington, D.C.) and "elad" (of Chicago), handle the articles and technical issues, respectively.

	==Criticism==		==Criticism==
			Discussions from posters at DU have drawn criticism. One example of this was the dialog about the ], in which a few posts explored the possibility of "]". The posts were reported on by '']''<ref name="nytsuenammy">{{cite web\|last=Schwartz\|first=John\|title=Myths Run Wild in Blog Tsunami Debate\|website=]\|date=2005-01-03\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/03/world/worldspecial4/myths-run-wild-in-blog-tsunami-debate.html\|access-date=2007-05-02}}</ref> and ].<ref name="foxnewsdisaster">{{cite web\|last=Hume\|first=Brit\|author-link=Brit Hume\|title=Disaster's Cause?\|website=]\|date=2005-01-04\|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/disasters-cause\|access-date=2007-05-02}}</ref> An administrator also sent a letter to the ''Times'', which was printed.<ref name="lettertonyt">{{cite web\|last=Washington\|first=David Allen\|date=January 10, 2005\|title=Online Debate Forums\|website=]\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/10/opinion/online-debate-forums-090700.html}}</ref>

			The site also saw criticism when, in 2003, a poster explained why they wished to see continued bloodshed in Iraq.<ref name="demsgonewild">{{cite news\| last=Taranto\|first=James\|title=Dems Gone Wild--III\|publisher=]\|date =2003-11-05\|url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=110004262\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526154756/http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=110004262\|archive-date=May 26, 2008}}</ref>
	As with any politically charged website, there are many charges made against Democratic Underground from both the political Left and the Right.

			==Copyright infringement lawsuit==
	===From the left===
			{{main\|Righthaven LLC v. Democratic Underground LLC}}

			In 2010, Democratic Underground was sued for alleged copyright infringement in a member's posting of a few paragraphs from an article in the '']''. The suit was brought by ], an entity that finds ''Review-Journal'' quotations online, buys the copyright for that story from the newspaper, and retroactively sues for copyright infringement.<ref>{{Cite news \| last = Green\| first = Steve\| title = Righthaven sues Democratic Underground website over R-J posting\| newspaper = ]\| location = ] \| date = August 11, 2010\| url = http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/aug/11/righthaven-sues-democratic-underground-website-ove/\| access-date = 2010-10-08}}</ref> In response to the lawsuit, DU asserted that the quoted excerpt (five sentences of a 54-sentence article) was ], and counterclaimed against Righthaven for ], ], and ].<ref name="counterclaim">{{Cite news \| last = Green\| first = Steve\| title = R-J owner faces counterclaim in copyright lawsuit campaign\| newspaper = Las Vegas Sun\| location = Las Vegas, Nevada\| date = September 28, 2010\| url = http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/sep/28/r-j-owner-faces-counterclaim-copyright-lawsuit-cam/ \| access-date = 2010-10-08}}</ref> DU is being represented in the case '']'' by the ], attorneys from the firm of ], and Las Vegas attorney Chad Bowers.<ref name="counterclaim"/> After Righthaven lost a similar suit against ] over 8 of 30 sentences quoted from a news article, Righthaven asked the judge in the case against Democratic Underground to dismiss Righthaven's claim against DU.<ref name="wired">{{Cite news \| last = Kravets\| first = David\| title = Righthaven Says It Will Stop Suing Over News Excerpts\| newspaper = ], Threat Level\| date = 18 Nov 2010\| url = https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/11/righthaven/ }}</ref>
	Critics of the site allege that the site administrators and moderators are biased against, and unfairly ban ("tombstone") or ], posters who consider themselves to be to the political ] of ], the ] ] ] for the US presidency. Some critics are affiliated with the ] forums, which were founded by ] supporters who felt alienated from Democratic Underground during the contentious primary season; many of these posters had been banned or were later banned from the Democratic Underground forums.

			On June 14, 2011, Judge ] ruled that Righthaven be dismissed from the case because Righthaven had never owned the copyright of the article and gave Righthaven two weeks to explain in writing why it should not be sanctioned.<ref>{{cite web\|url=https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2011/06/14\|title=Righthaven Copyright Troll Lawsuit Dismissed as Sham EFF Press Releases\|date=June 14, 2011\|website=]}}</ref>
	These people claim that DU is not truly ] or ], but rather ]. In particular, many members claim that the moderators of the ] forums enforce an anti-] bias or adhere too strongly to the politics of the centrist ] (DLC).

			==References==
	===From the right===
			{{Reflist}}

	Conservatives/right-wingers often criticize Democratic Underground for removing comments and banning users who don't fit the site's left-wing stance.

	Because most of the the site's forums can be posted-to by anyone who has registered at the site, outlandish postings by some members are occasionally held up as an example of what the forum's membership believes as a whole. One example of this was the dialog about the ], in which a few posts suggested some conspiracy at work; while the threads were eventually locked and publicly disavowed by the site's administrators, the postings in question were reported by '']'' and ].

	==External links==		==External links==
			*
			* on ]
			* on ]

			]
	*
			]
	*
			]
	*
	*
	* - conservative satire of DU

	]

Latest revision as of 12:14, 1 October 2024

Online political community

Democratic Underground
Headquarters	United States
URL	www.democraticunderground.com
Launched	January 20, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-01-20)

Democratic Underground is an online community for members of the United States Democratic Party. Its membership is restricted by policy to those who are supportive of the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates for political office.

History

This section appears to be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non-recent events. (February 2023)

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2020)

On Election Day 2016, the forum was hacked and rendered unavailable, which the site blamed on pro-Trump trolls.

Criticism

Discussions from posters at DU have drawn criticism. One example of this was the dialog about the 2004 tsunami disaster, in which a few posts explored the possibility of "earthquake weapons". The posts were reported on by The New York Times and Fox News. An administrator also sent a letter to the Times, which was printed.

The site also saw criticism when, in 2003, a poster explained why they wished to see continued bloodshed in Iraq.

Copyright infringement lawsuit

Main article: Righthaven LLC v. Democratic Underground LLC

In 2010, Democratic Underground was sued for alleged copyright infringement in a member's posting of a few paragraphs from an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The suit was brought by Righthaven, an entity that finds Review-Journal quotations online, buys the copyright for that story from the newspaper, and retroactively sues for copyright infringement. In response to the lawsuit, DU asserted that the quoted excerpt (five sentences of a 54-sentence article) was fair use, and counterclaimed against Righthaven for fraud, barratry, and champerty. DU is being represented in the case pro bono by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, attorneys from the firm of Winston & Strawn, and Las Vegas attorney Chad Bowers. After Righthaven lost a similar suit against Realty One Group over 8 of 30 sentences quoted from a news article, Righthaven asked the judge in the case against Democratic Underground to dismiss Righthaven's claim against DU.

On June 14, 2011, Judge Roger L. Hunt ruled that Righthaven be dismissed from the case because Righthaven had never owned the copyright of the article and gave Righthaven two weeks to explain in writing why it should not be sanctioned.

References

"DemocraticUnderground.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info - DomainTools". WHOIS. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
"Terms of Service". Democratic Underground. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
Leyden, John (November 10, 2016). "Left-wing cyber-hangout blames security breach on pro-Trump trolls". The Register. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
Schwartz, John (January 3, 2005). "Myths Run Wild in Blog Tsunami Debate". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
Hume, Brit (January 4, 2005). "Disaster's Cause?". Fox News. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
Washington, David Allen (January 10, 2005). "Online Debate Forums". The New York Times.
Taranto, James (November 5, 2003). "Dems Gone Wild--III". Opinion Journal. Archived from the original on May 26, 2008.
Green, Steve (August 11, 2010). "Righthaven sues Democratic Underground website over R-J posting". Las Vegas Sun. Las Vegas, Nevada. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
^ Green, Steve (September 28, 2010). "R-J owner faces counterclaim in copyright lawsuit campaign". Las Vegas Sun. Las Vegas, Nevada. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
Kravets, David (November 18, 2010). "Righthaven Says It Will Stop Suing Over News Excerpts". Wired.com, Threat Level.
"Righthaven Copyright Troll Lawsuit Dismissed as Sham EFF Press Releases". Electronic Frontier Foundation. June 14, 2011.

External links

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