Real question… is DCUM

[Anonymous]

Yes Op is has. More trashy posters with trashy lives and trashy problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I subscribed to DCUM back in the listserve days. It was smaller and more of a community then. When things get bigger, the thoughtfulness goes away. Even though it's been anonymous for a while now, the increasing size and accessibility make it seem even more anonymous = less thoughtful and more mean

At the same time, I have long thought that this would be a GREAT site for Russian bots or other intelligence services to target -- lots of high powered zip codes represented here, and an ability to plant discord, stir culture wars, etc. seems like it may be pretty unmatched given this is a plain old parenting site.

I don't live in the area any more and can 100% say that the idea of returning to DC is less and less appealing given what I read here. Even the non-nasty posts validate all my stereotypes about the DC (where I grew up!) as power hungry, status obsessed, rat racy and overly Type A.

I grew up in DC too and the idea of ever returning makes my stomach turn. Aggressively competitive, conventional, humorless hall monitors dominate the scene.

+3

Also grew up here. DC is awful and it continues to self-destruct.

Hate it here. Can’t wait to move. And I agree with the previous two DC natives because the DC area:


Mostly Type-A strivers and mean-spirited, cold people,

No sense of hometown / no city pride,

Transient (everyone leaves),

Summers are miserably hot,

Mosquitoes and ticks everywhere,

Winters cold and gray with barely any snow most years,

Crumbling infrastructure,

Deteriorating public school system,

Unaffordable private schools,

Skyrocketing crime,

Incompetent local government,

Whole area stinks of weed now,

No one can drive here,

Metro on verge of financial collapse from fare-evasion after council decriminalized fare-evasion in 2018.





We are only here for our .gov jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I subscribed to DCUM back in the listserve days. It was smaller and more of a community then. When things get bigger, the thoughtfulness goes away. Even though it's been anonymous for a while now, the increasing size and accessibility make it seem even more anonymous = less thoughtful and more mean

At the same time, I have long thought that this would be a GREAT site for Russian bots or other intelligence services to target -- lots of high powered zip codes represented here, and an ability to plant discord, stir culture wars, etc. seems like it may be pretty unmatched given this is a plain old parenting site.

I don't live in the area any more and can 100% say that the idea of returning to DC is less and less appealing given what I read here. Even the non-nasty posts validate all my stereotypes about the DC (where I grew up!) as power hungry, status obsessed, rat racy and overly Type A.

Exhibit A in just how stupid this board has gotten.

[Anonymous]

The political forum is a disaster. You can't have a realistic conversation on there.

A fair amount of posts are bored people trolling or creating hypothetical problems for the fun of it.

The money forum seems to have an average HHI of $1M.

There's kids posting on here pretending to be adults.

I'm not sure if it's less interesting or that there's only so many times you can have a thread on any given topic and after so many years it feels like you've heard everything already. Several times.

On the whole, it's not bad. I've noticed that, if anything, there's less censorship and moderation going on compared to even a year ago. There were certain protected topics that you just could not have a pragmatic discussion without getting censored and banned.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I think some casual users have dropped off because of it. There are 3 main “types” of threads that seem to be common in the last few years and I worry are taking over.

1. People recycling material from Reddit ATIA or Carolyn Hax style advice columns. I don’t think this is the literal definition of troll, but clearly they read something that is bugging them and they want to see if other people are equally bothered or riled up. I’m usually up for a good debate, but these fall apart when the details don’t line up or OP can’t add more because it’s not their story.

2. People who seem to be testing / crowd sourcing plot elements for a novel. Similar to #1, but you can tell these people are writers or aspire to be.

3. People who do not speak English as a first language and seem to be turning to DCUM to learn the cultural norms of raising kids in the DC area. This is prevalent in the topics about sports and camps but I think it overlaps with the Money and Beauty obsession of class and fitting in. I can tell these posts because the grammar and nature of the questions are very similar to my real life Chinese and East Asian acquaintances I meet through my kids. These posters are often accused of being trolls, and perhaps some trolls imitate them, but I think they genuinely want help. I do feel bad for them because if you take DCUM literally and don’t have the English language and cultural literacy to read into the sarcasm of some answers, it’s like trying to learn how to be an American by only watching Real Housewives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The political forum is a disaster. You can't have a realistic conversation on there.

A fair amount of posts are bored people trolling or creating hypothetical problems for the fun of it.

The money forum seems to have an average HHI of $1M.

There's kids posting on here pretending to be adults.

I'm not sure if it's less interesting or that there's only so many times you can have a thread on any given topic and after so many years it feels like you've heard everything already. Several times.

On the whole, it's not bad. I've noticed that, if anything, there's less censorship and moderation going on compared to even a year ago. There were certain protected topics that you just could not have a pragmatic discussion without getting censored and banned.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I miss the posts that start off innocuously and then spiral into pure comedic joy. Those posts showcased how clever some of us are.

I'm the "less funny" pp and that is exactly what I meant. There was so much cleverness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The political forum is a disaster. You can't have a realistic conversation on there.

A fair amount of posts are bored people trolling or creating hypothetical problems for the fun of it.

The money forum seems to have an average HHI of $1M.

There's kids posting on here pretending to be adults.

I'm not sure if it's less interesting or that there's only so many times you can have a thread on any given topic and after so many years it feels like you've heard everything already. Several times.

On the whole, it's not bad. I've noticed that, if anything, there's less censorship and moderation going on compared to even a year ago. There were certain protected topics that you just could not have a pragmatic discussion without getting censored and banned.

+1000

This saddens me because the political forum used to be filled with incredibly bright people with actual insights into domestic and international political issues. Now it's filled with ideologues spoiling for a fight. So tiresome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The political forum is a disaster. You can't have a realistic conversation on there.

A fair amount of posts are bored people trolling or creating hypothetical problems for the fun of it.

The money forum seems to have an average HHI of $1M.

There's kids posting on here pretending to be adults.

I'm not sure if it's less interesting or that there's only so many times you can have a thread on any given topic and after so many years it feels like you've heard everything already. Several times.

On the whole, it's not bad. I've noticed that, if anything, there's less censorship and moderation going on compared to even a year ago. There were certain protected topics that you just could not have a pragmatic discussion without getting censored and banned.

+1000

This saddens me because the political forum used to be filled with incredibly bright people with actual insights into domestic and international political issues. Now it's filled with ideologues spoiling for a fight. So tiresome.

I feel as if the political forum has been infested with bored DSA idiots, who have successfully turned it into their own echo-chamber.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes Op is has. More trashy posters with trashy lives and trashy problems.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Crowd-sourcing from internet message boards peaked in about 2010.

DCUM still has a place, even if it has evolved and acquired some less intelligent/mean new subscribers. It is unique because it is anonymous, and most of the readers/posters are other moms. I find value.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Getting dumber? I’m being serious. I’ve been on DCUM for about 7 years now, and the lack of basic intelligence evidenced by some posters these days is alarming.

I think society as a whole is.

Covid.

[Anonymous]

Some what new here and I'm amazed how dumb some people are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes.

So many more "Kardashian" types. Vapid.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC Urban Moms and Dads active zip codes. And I know for a fact some relatively high level people are on here and I bet the % of influential people on this board are pretty high conmpared to another random area. NOt saying the people on DCUM are running the world tho

The irony here....