Last Week's Most Active Posts

Today I'll look at the most popular threads of the last week. When I do these weekly wrap-ups, I skip threads that were already mentioned in one of the daily posts. While the majority of this week's most active threads have already been discussed, one that wasn't is a thread that was started in October but was very active last week. Due to the new methodology I'm now using to identify the most active threads, the thread titled, "The White Lotus season 2" and posted in the "Entertainment and Pop Culture" forum, came out on top as the most active thread of the week. The topic of this thread is self-explanatory. Since the season started airing, posters have weighed in weekly to discuss the lastest episode and share insights on new developments. With the season finale being made available a week ago, attention turned to that episode as well as broader discussions of the season. White Lotus, especially season 2, seems to have been very popular among DCUM posters and this thread is 183 pages long, making it one of the most active threads of the entire past year. Unfortunately, the thread was taken over by a few crazies and I ended up locking it. One poster was weirdly fixated on the Harper character and appeared to have difficulty distinguishing between a television show and real life. Continually having to remove that poster's inappropriate posts and the responses to them was more than I could handle. That poster was far from being the only one obsessed with some aspect or character of the show, however, and plenty of strongly-held opinions were shared.

Next was a thread posted in the "Relationship Discussion (non-explicit)" forum titled, "He's cheating. Now what?" The original poster describes finding undeniable proof that her husband has been cheating, likely with multiple partners and over an extended period of time. While the original poster is very hurt, she seems to blame herself for the affairs. Her husband doesn't know that she knows about his cheating and she asks if she can just go on as if nothing happened. Posters weigh in on both sides of that question with some saying that they would personally confront the husband immediately and wouldn't want to stay married to him. Others opined that many people remain married after affairs, with several telling the original poster that what mattered most was what she wanted and was willing to tolerate. As the thread evolved, the original poster's attitude changed considerably. She disclosed that she was meeting with divorce lawyers and had hired a private investigator. She has started getting her ducks in a row and had a list of things she hoped to accomplish prior to confronting her husband. The original poster strikes me as very well organized and thoughtful and appears to be planning an ambush on her husband that will be simply incredible. I would say that she is going to come down on him like a ton of rocks, but realistically a ton of rocks would feel like a feather to him comparatively. I hadn't read this thread until just now, but I have to admit that I hope the original poster will follow-up with a description of the confrontation when it comes. Her husband is going to have a very bad day.

This week several of the most active threads dealt with college and university early decision (ED) admissions. So, it is fitting that one of the most active threads of the week addressed that topic. A thread in the "College and University Discussion" forum titled, "UVA early decision" was originally started to ask when early decision acceptances by the University of Virginia would be announced. UVA tends to be a controversial topic in DCUM's college and university forum for some reason. While many posters hold the institution in high esteem, others are constant critics who tend to disrupt threads with their negativity. For example, one of the first to respond completely ignored the topic of ED or when it would be announced only to declare to everyone that while her two kids had been accepted to UVA, they had declined since it was only their safety school. Because ED requires a commitment to attend, the poster's children could not have honestly applied for ED if UVA was merely a backup alternative. Nevertheless, this poster thought it was important to rain on everyone's parade. As the date of UVA's early decision announcement approached, posters related their nervousness and anticipation, often posting their children's stats and commenting on each other's chances. If I'm honest, this sort of fixation by parents is a bit strange to me. Nine pages into the thread, the first results were revealed with a poster saying their child was admitted. That was quickly followed by a disappointed parent posting that their child was deferred. There were several pages of this until the thread began focusing on when those admitted would receive their acceptance envelopes and what they would contain.

The final thread at which I'll look was titled, "New MacAuthur Principal" and posted in the "DC Public and Public Charter Schools" forum. MacArthur High School will be DCPS's newest high school when it opens in August 2023. Located in Georgetown Day School's former lower and middle school building in the Palisades neighborhood, the school has been controversial from the time it was first announced. Because the surrounding neighborhood is almost entirely white and generally very affluent, many assume, somewhat prejudicially, that the school will attract high-performing students. While seats for students from outside the immediate neighborhood are expected to be available, the difficulty of commuting to the far western edge of DC creates a significant hurdle for students who don't live nearby. One of the most anticipated developments for the high school was announced this week when it was revealed that Dr. Harold McCray had been appointed the school's founding principal. This announcement was not exactly warmly welcomed by posters in this thread, many of whom believed that McCray lacked the experience and credentials for which they had been hoping. In response, other posters claimed that such judgements were racist and ignored aspects of McCray's resume. Other posters who claimed more experience with McCray, praised his leadership abilities and welcomed his appointment. None of the words in support of McCray were sufficient to assuage the anger of those who were unimpressed with his selection. Some of those posters turned their sights on those involved in picking McCray. Animosity among posters in this thread led to many requests to me to lock or delete it. Instead, I've tried to monitor the thread and remove posts that crossed the line of appropriateness. At any rate, by the end of the week the thread seems to have lost steam and the last few posts are simply sarcastic suggestions for renaming the school. If DCPS truly wanted to cause heads to explode in that part of town, it could simply call the school "Marion Barry High School". But that would likely cause the neighborhood to secede and become part of Virginia.