DCUM Weblog

Today I'll look back at the most active threads over the weekend. There is an Internet security company that has used the slogan, "View your data, wish that you didn't". I sort of feel that way looking at this weekend's popular threads which covered some rather esoteric topics.

Leading in both views and replies over the weekend was a thread in the "Pets" forum titled, "Two children killed by family pet". The thread discusses the tragic killing of two children by the family's pet pit bulls. As is true for a some other forums on DCUM, the Pets forum has developed in ways that we never expected when it was created. It tends to be dominated by debates about breeders and arguments about pit bulls. Because the original poster of this thread advocated that pit bulls be banned, the thread is mostly a debate about such a ban. Opponents and defenders of pit bulls are equally vehement about their positions and more than willing to repeat the same points endlessly. So, this thread may never end unless I eventually lock it.

Today I'll look back at the most active threads throughout the past week. Most of the top threads have been covered in the daily updates so I'll skip those. What's left are threads from the top ten in numbers of replies or views, but not at the very top of the lists.

Sixth in number of replies for the week was a thread titled, "Reading Groups" which was posted in the "Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)" forum. The original post is pretty basic and straight forward, simply asking if individual reading groups are still used in 2nd grade. But, as DCUM threads — especially those in the education forums — are wont to do — the thread quickly veered off to different, albeit related, topics. In this case the thread became a discussion of the entire philosophy of teaching reading in FCPS. The DCUM education forums give the impression that schools no longer teach students anything beyond anti-racism and gender studies. I know from my own children's experiences that this isn't the case. But, parents who apparently walked 8 miles to school in the snow, uphill both ways, are having a difficult time adjusting to the newfangled — and dare I say hifalutin — teaching methods being used in schools these days. This thread demonstrates this phenomenon in the case of reading.

Yesterday's top thread in number of views may have also been the top thread in number of replies, except that I removed two-thirds of the replies. The thread, titled, "Reuters article on trans youth care" was posted in the "Tweens and Teens" forum and discussed a long article by Reuters that delved in to the topic of gender-affirming care. In one of the earlier blog posts in this series I mentioned that topics related to transgender issues are among the most controversial and this thread certainly continued that trend.

I receive a lot of criticism from posters who are not happy about how I moderate threads dealing with transgender issues, so I'll take this opportunity to explain my position on the issue. My primary goal is that DCUM not be used to spread further prejudice or hatred towards transgender individuals. So important is this goal to me, that I am quite willing to error on the side of caution. Therefore, it is not only possible, but actually likely that I have overstepped at times. I am completely comfortable if that is the case.

Yesterday's posts with the most engagement spanned quite a range of topics. I'll touch on the top 5, but spend a bit more time on the leader in number of replies, not because it is an interesting or important thread but because it demonstrates a more frustrating side of the DCUM Forums.

Titled, "colleges on the decline" and posted in the "College and University Discussion" forum, the leading thread in number of replies also led in number of views. Several things bother me about this thread. First, the topic. Obviously, such a thread will mostly be used by posters to put down colleges that they don't like regardless of those institutions' performance trajectory. Second, the original poster immediately posted the first and second replies to the thread without identifying themselves as the original poster. This is basically sock puppeting. The original poster eventually posted at least 23 times as of this morning, even giving "+1" responses to their own posts — which is textbook sock puppeting and really stupid besides. The poster was posting from an Elon University IP address, so more than likely the thread is just simple trolling by a college student who should probably be doing their homework rather than trolling DCUM.

Yesterday's threads with the most engagement spanned a range of topics. Leading in number of replies was a thread titled, "What would be your personal response to a pregnancy at age 47 when you have teens?" in the "Tweens and Teens" forum. The original poster of the thread apparently has a friend in this situation. Many posters responded saying that they would terminate such a pregnancy. Discussion dealt both on what would be best for a child born in such circumstances and what would be best for the parents. I've noticed that the broader topic frequently described as "advanced maternal age" is very much a hot button issue in the forums, which probably explains some of the interest in this thread.

Second in number of replies but first in number of views was a thread in the "Travel Discussion" forum titled, "VRBO won't refund Sanibel stay for next week". I was not aware of this thread until just now, but apparently the original poster had a VRBO reservation for a condo on Sanibel Island. Thanks to Hurricane Ian, it is not possible for the original poster to access the island, but the condo owner is refusing a refund. A quick skim of the thread reveals lots of very helpful "you should have had insurance" and "it's stupid to book vacations during hurricane season" type of replies. Many responders suggested disputing the charge with the credit card issuer. I was surprised by the number of posters who thought the original poster should pay in full.

Yesterday one thread ran away with the lead in most replies, getting more than twice the number as the next in line. The thread, titled, "'Regulars' of DCUM" in the "Off-Topic" forum also led in number of views. Clocking in at a whopping 18 pages in less than a day, the thread starts off as a discussion about posters whose frequency and style of posts makes them recognizable as DCUM personalities.

For years there has been a recurring tendency on DCUM of posters starting threads that take nostalgic looks back at threads from the past. These might be the funniest threads, most renown threads, or any other factor that might lead to a sort of greatest hits list. Yesterdays's thread was a variation of the theme, focused on posters who have stood out in some manner. Obviously, this is difficult on a website on which most users are anonymous, but over time some frequent users do become recognizable by their writing style. Many of the posts in this thread went on tangents dealing with specific threads from the past and/or recurring phrases that are overused or memorable rather than renown posters

On Monday, four threads stood out above the others in number of replies. In addition, the same threads led in the number of views received, though in a slightly different order. Unfortunately, I haven't read any of the four threads and, as such, can't say anything about them.

The leader by some margin in number of replies was a thread titled, "What is a normal amount/frequency of drinking?" in the "Off-Topic" forum. Again, not having read it I can't comment on its contents. However, it managed to get 12 pages of replies in a single day. Hopefully it is interesting because I would hate to see all that writing be for nothing.

The thread with the second most number of replies is titled, "when did you tell your kids that they were conceived by IVF?". This thread was posted in the "Tweens and Teens" forum and managed 11 pages of replies during its first 24 hours. I am skeptical that there are that many parents who have had to have such a conversation so my guess is that the thread attracted a lot of posters who should probably have skipped it.

Today I'll take a look at the most active threads over the weekend. There were four threads that stood out above the rest in the number of replies they received. The topics addressed a range of subjects including stereotypes, Halloween, Lizzo, and friendship.

Posted in the "Off-Topic" forum, a thread titled, "Have you ever been stereotyped?" led in the number of replies. I briefly glanced at this thread and had to remove a couple of inappropriate posts that were reported, but otherwise don't know that much about it. As best as I can tell, just about everyone believes that they have been stereotyped in one way or another.

This time of the year always brings out a lot of Halloween-related threads and one such thread titled, "Halloween is already The Thing. We don’t need ‘Boo baskets,’ trunk or treat, other dumb stuff" was second in the number of replies received this weekend. I haven't read this thread — which was posted in the "Off-Topic" forum — at all and, therefore, can't comment on it. But, based on other Halloween-inspired threads that I have read, I am amazed that this is such a controversial holiday. In my opinion, people are seriously overthinking this.

Today I'll look back at the threads with the most engagement during the entire last week. As can be expected, several of the top threads were also daily leaders and, therefore, covered in earlier posts in this series. The two leaders in numbers of replies were the thread about the "bike lobby" and the thread about Taylor Swift. I won't go into them again but you can read earlier posts below if you are interested. The thread with the third highest number of replies during the week was titled, "What annoys you about your neighborhood?" in the "Real Estate" forum. I haven't read the thread, but it managed 15 pages of replies during the week. My lack of interest was apparently not representative of DCUM's users however because the thread led in the number of views for the week.

Not surprisingly, two Hurricane Ian threads were among the threads with the most engagement during the week. One, titled, "do you feel bad for wealthy people that buy/build houses in places like Sanibel and lose them" was posted in the "Off-Topic" forum. The second was titled, "Are We Talking about Hurricane Ian?" is in the new "Environment, Weather, and Green Living" forum. There were a number of other threads related to Ian that didn't make the top in views or replies, but the hurricane was probably the most active topic overall this week.

A couple of days ago I noted that the most active threads of the previous day both involved bicycles. One thread argued that the "bike lobby" was too powerful and a second thread applauded the increased number of cargo bikes being used around town. Another thread discussing changes to Connecticut Avenue — which involves the installation of bike lanes — has been running for several days with considerable engagement. That thread opposed the changes and, in reaction, a poster started a new thread yesterday titled, "With all this negativity about bikes and pedestrians" in which the poster asks how to support changes such as those proposed for Connnecticut Avenue. Posted in the "Metropolitan DC Local Politics", the thread largely duplicates the discussion of the other threads and involves many of the same posters. Nevertheless, the thread led in the number of replies yesterday.