# March 10th, 2005 4:02 PM dummocrats

FAQ - Table of Contents

# March 10th, 2005 4:05 PM dummocrats

Why the name "Dummocrats?"

"Dummocrats" is a politcal commentary community whose members range from liberal to conservative. The name is indeed a play on the word "democrats" and was chosen because it's both memorable and makes a political statement. The name calls attention to the often well-intended but inevitably misguided social policies of politicians in general, but particularly the American Democratic Party.

Note that we are not all necessarily Republicans - it *is* possible to dislike the Democratic party and not be a republican, you know. Contrary to what the red v. blue people will tell you, few things are black and white.

so, as far as the name goes, don't read too much into it.

seriously.

# March 11th, 2005 2:37 PM dummocrats

Isn't the name "Dummocrats" a little childish?

you say that like it's a bad thing. ;-)

hey, politics is a very childish gig - have you ever seen 2 kids arguing over a dump truck in a sandbox? every time i do i think to myself "sand box today, crossfire tomorrow." when you talk about politics and political issues, it helps to get down on the level of most politicians.

but to answer your question, yes, it is.

# March 11th, 2005 3:12 PM dummocrats

Do you hate all Democrats?

we don't hate Democrats at all. in fact, some of us are sleeping with democrats. we just don't usually agree with them, that's all.

we save our hate for asshats and terrorists.

hey, some of us used to actually be democrats. and we can all think of scenarios, frightening as they may be, in which we might actually vote democrat again. (*shudders*).

hey, we rip on republicans too - seriously, think of the name as referring to "dumb politicians." we can't help it if dem politicians do more dumb things than politicians of other persuasions. ;-)

# March 11th, 2005 3:16 PM dummocrats

Are you all Republicans?

we're all conservatives of various stripes, but don't assume we necessarily agree with everything the Bush adminstration does.

# March 11th, 2005 3:17 PM dummocrats

Are all of your readers Democrats?

no, although our Democrat readers certainly love to disagree with us in the comments.

we write about politics, sports and pop culture, so while some of our readers are probably passionately partisan, there are just as many that couldn't care less.

# March 11th, 2005 3:19 PM dummocrats

How can I contact you?

we do read the comments to posts, but, in general, you can reach any of the regular contributors by using the email address listed on their profile page. (see main page, click on the name at the top left.)

for any administrative/techinical issues, it's recommended that you send an email to BOTH james -AT- dummocrats.com AND kris -AT- dummocrats.com.

# March 11th, 2005 3:20 PM dummocrats

How can I advertise?

we are currently running ads through Google. we dont love the google ad system and are planning on developing our own.

since our programmer is a tivo-addicted law student that spends his free time napping, that might take a little bit.

in the meantime, if you have an ad that you want to run contact james -at- dummocrats.com.

# March 11th, 2005 3:21 PM dummocrats

What's the link submission policy?

you can submit a link here. we do review these links, so don't think that if you submit a raging liberal link it will automatically make it on the site.

you're welcome to plug your own site this way. however, don't just link to your homepage. (you'll note that the categories of "blogger showcase" and "website" aren't available to you in the drop down list.) link to a particular post you think our readers will be interested in. also, don't submit every single thing you write. if we like your site we'll visit it and post links we're interested in.

we know that we're not a huge blog or anything, but we love linking to new and unknown blogs.

don't submit links to stuff you're selling unless it's really, really cool, really, really, topical, or really, really funny.

# March 11th, 2005 3:24 PM dummocrats

What's the commenting policy?

your comments should be on the topic of the post you're commenting on. you're free to passionately agree or disagree with us, but be prepared to defend your position.

we don't filter profanity, but you should really think twice about using it. there are appropriate times to use profanity, and as a general rule both on the internet and in your real life, those times are few and far between. feel free to swear in a non-offensive way if it makes you feel cool, but rest assured that by doing so you really aren't winning any points or advancing your argument; quite the opposite, really.

we will delete posts that are crass.

# March 11th, 2005 3:25 PM dummocrats

What's a great way for me to get banned?

it's not that easy to get "banned" from the site. you're generally free to discuss, argue, and disagree on the site. we don't delete comments or ban users for having a difference of opinion, no matter how maddening or obnoxius it might be.

that said, there are some limits: you will be banned for repeatedly hijacking threads. you will be banned for making extremely offensive comments, and you will be banned for making threats. etc. use your common sense.

# April 16th, 2005 5:01 PM dummocrats

I forgot my password!

Well, we certainly hope you entered an email address when you signed up. If so, then use the Password Recovery Tool.

If you didn't enter an email address, you're probably out of luck. You can always email james and ask him to help you out, but don't hold your breath waiting for a response.

# April 16th, 2005 5:02 PM dummocrats

I forgot my username!

Well, we certainly hope you entered an email address when you signed up. If so, then use the Username Recovery Tool.

If you didn't enter an email address, you're probably out of luck. You can always email james and ask him to help you out, but don't hold your breath waiting for a response.

# April 21st, 2005 2:23 PM dummocrats

How's that "# of users online" script work?

The script shows the number of users, both logged in and anonymous, reading pages within the last 20 minutes on the dummocrats site.

It doesn't over-report - if anything, it under-reports readers, treating all people coming from ###.###.###.XXX as a single reader.

# April 23rd, 2005 5:01 PM dummocrats

Which HTML tags are allowed?

[b] bold
[i] italic
[u] underline
[ul] [ol] [li] lists
[s] strikeout
[del] deleted
[blockquote] blockquote
[a href] links
[img] image

Obviously, the use of tags is restricted as a security measure, so no "object" or "script" tags will ever be allowed. but if you find that you want/need other tags, just post on the General Chat thread about it.

# May 10th, 2005 4:14 PM james

What is quick formatting?

Quick formatting lets you use special characters to format your comments.

Wrap a phrase in asterisks (*phrase*) to make it bold.
Wrap a phrase in curly brackets ( {phrase} ) to make it italicized.
Wrap a phrase in underscores (_phrase_) to make it underlined.
Wrap a phrase in double-hypens (--phrase--) to make it ~~strikeout~~.
Wrap a phrase in double square-brackets ([[phrase]] ) to make it a
blockquote.
Type a :) or a :-) to get a smiley.
Type >:o to get a

You should note that quick formatting only works on a per line or per paragraph basis, meaning that if you hit "enter" between 2 quick-format marks the text will i be formatted. Also note with the exception of the blockquote ([[]]) quick format marks, the formatting will only work on characters, spaces, and a few punctuation marks. (? . !)

Examples:

*This line*:
produces
This line:

but
*This line:*
produces
*This line:*

while
[[This line will be blockquoted: even though it has a colon.]]
produces
This line will be blockquoted: even though it has a colon.

This {is an example} produces:
This is an example

while

This {is an
example} produces:
This {is an
example}