Thursday's Most Active Threads

Once again I am beginning this blog by talking about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. This was easily predictable as soon as the thread titled, "Prince Harry’s Latest Private Struggle: Hollywood or Home?" was created in the "Entertainment and Pop Culture" forum. The original poster quotes an article suggesting that as Megan Markle is planning her next venture, Harry is considering a more subdued role. The original poster concludes by asking, "Is Harry ditching Hollywood?" I must say that the sourcing for this story in impecable, relying on the HeadlineReporter which, in turn, cites the Daily Mail. But, frankly, the source could have been the bathroom wall of an Irish pub and few of those responding would have cared. Clearly, most of those participating in this thread know the couple better than they know themselves. For instance, multiple posters claim that Megan wants to get a divorce but Harry doesn't. However, later in thread, posters claim that Harry is the one considering divorce. Despite their knowledge of the Sussex's, several of the posters struggle with geography. There is an initial dispute over whether the couple lives in Los Angeles. They don't, but rather in Montecito which is slightly over 90 miles from Los Angeles. Of course, everything west of the Rockies looks the same to us east coasters. Beyond this, there is little to differentiate this thread from the countless other Harry and Megan threads. Like those, this one will likely be locked soon. There is really no other topic that attracts obsessive posters like the Sussexes. Moreover, the posters spend a tremendous amount of time arguing about whether the fans or the detractors of the couple are the most obsessed. While I can understand fans wanting to post incessantly, I really don't understand the haters. Why do they find it impossible to simply ignore these two? It's really strange.

The next most active thread yesterday was posted in the "Off-Topic" forum. Titled, "VA Mother and daughter missing since Sun", the thread is about a mother and her 15 year old daughter who disappeared while driving from Prince George County, Virginia to a summer camp in West Virginia. While many posters appropriately express concern for the missing individuals and hope that they will be found, others speculate that the mother may have been running away or that the father may have been involved in their disappearance. Many posters appear to be unacquainted with a world in which GPS and maps on your phone are not available and seemed unable to comprehend how people could get lost in today's world. As such, the suggestion that the pair might be lost in the woods was unbelievable. But, late yesterday it turned out that was exactly what happened. Apparently, the mother's GPS directed them down a road that was impassable and the car got stuck in the mud. The mother and daughter then waited in the car hoping to be found. They had just given up and started walking back toward a highway when the police found them. There was still considerable second-guessing by posters after the pair had been found. Some posters couldn't understand why they had waited in the car while others opined that staying put is the safest strategy. Another topic that received considerable attention was the mom's weight. While the mother is not a small woman, her husband didn't do her any favors by reporting her weight at 100 pounds more than she actually weighs. This led to some posters theorizing that she had gone missing due to a medical emergency and others using it as an explanation for why she didn't simply walk to safety. In the end, her size doesn't seem to have been a factor at all. While the story had a happy ending, the DCUM thread continues with posters nitpicking all of the mom's actions. Personally, I don't know. I think someone who can survive 5 days stranded in the woods has a pretty good handle on things.

The third most active thread yesterday was titled, "How do you feel about those who take a paid maternity leave then quit?" and posted in the "Jobs and Careers" forum. The original poster added nothing beyond the title other than the word "Thoughts?" The first reply is from a poster arguing that every company should have the ability to clawback payments made during maternity leave if the employee doesn't return for at least a year. Presumably, then, this poster doesn't feel good about those who immediately quit after paid maternity leave. Other posters feel differently. Several posters point out that plans or circumstances change and that quitting might not have been the person's original intention. One poster who has had employees do this still thinks it is perfectly acceptable. His argument is that the company would take any opportunity to screw employees so they may as well do the same. Another poster makes an interesting point that maternity leave should be viewed as something that has been earned through previous work rather than to be paid back after returning. Viewed this way, quitting after paid maternity leave looks much less like "cheating". While many posters think this issue mostly applies to women, one poster claims that in her experience, men are more likely to abuse paternity leave, describing multiple examples of men taking leave and then getting a second job and double-dipping for as long as they could get away with it. On the other hand, some posters describe the difficulty some new mothers have with leaving their child to return to work after maternity leave. While this is not an issue for some moms, for others it can be very painful. Which way this will go may be unpredictable and it is nice that some mothers have the option to quit. A poster argues that women who do this make things difficult for all women, leading to objections that the poster is encouraging women to blame other women. Several posters reported that they actually quit after maternity leave themselves. In most cases, their intention was to return, but ultimately weren't comfortable with full time work schedules. Most tried to negotiate compromise schedules but, when they were unable, they quit. My favorite post in this thread was from a poster who managed an employee who was planning not to return after maternity leave. The poster worked with the finance department to maximize the employee's benefits and shifted work responsibilities in advance. She was ready to post the new job opening as soon as she was able and appreciated the employee giving her an advanced warning.

The final thread at which I'll look today was posted in the "Off-Topic" forum. Titled, "Where did we come from?", the original poster says that she was raised Christian and taught that we were created from Adam and Eve. However, she says that as she has gotten older, she understands that others believe we evolved from monkeys. Yesterday there was a thread in the "Website Feedback" forum suggesting that DCUM's demographics had changed and the userbase is not as educated as it once was. While I agreed that there had been some changes, I pushed back on the level of education being one of them. But, this thread really makes me wonder if that poster was on to something. Not only does this poster appear to have only recently become aware of the theory of evolution, but she clearly misunderstands it. Several other posters demonstrate that they also share her misunderstanding. Eventually a poster clarifies that humans did not descend from monkeys (or apes as another poster suggests), but rather from a common ancestor. Much of the discussion is about how Christian beliefs and evolution can be reconciled with several self-described Christians confirming that they believe in evolution. Additional debate focuses on flaws in the Biblical story with one poster asking if Adam and Eve only had two sons — Cain and Abel — with whom did they father children. In the case of Cain, that turned out to be his sister (Adam and Eve had additional children), a fact which raised its own questions. So much of this thread focuses on religion that it might be more appropriate for the Religion forum. I am really shocked by the number of posters who reject evolution in favor of creationism. Even among some believers of evolution, there appears to be considerable misunderstanding. Have schools given up on teaching evolution or have most people simply forgotten what they learned? At any rate, I would never have expected DCUM to evolve into a place where evolution is just a "theory" on equal footing with creationism.