I hate meta diaries. They become an end in themselves. It is one of the things about dKos which has led me to cut back on my participation there.

In any group of people there are going to be those who are psychologically impaired in some fashion. They may be excessively dogmatic or sociopaths or bullies or have some other anti-social characteristic.

"Liberals" tend to put up with such people for a longer period of time that "conservatives". A couple of comments that go against the prevailing dogma on a conservative authoritarian site will get you banned (I speak from experience). This is part of the nature of the conservative-authoritarian personality type that tends to run such sites.

I'm a big believer in freedom of speech, but I also think there is a need for a degree of enforcement of socially acceptable behavior. I'm willing to cede this function to the site's administrators. I have trusted user status, which I don't think I've ever used. I'm just not interested in enforcing decorum, but I see the place for it.

If a person joins who abuses their privileges then take the appropriate action, but don't lets turn this into a cause celebre, that's just a distraction. I've noticed a trend of late for more personal diaries and general meta discussions (such as how one chose their screen name). A bit of this is probably good for fostering a sense of community, but there are enough other places for those who want to discuss interpersonal relationships to hang out.

This site was established so that serious policy issues could be discussed with a wider audience than the US-based sites provide. The problems facing the planet aren't getting any easier, so if you find yourself talking about people on the site (including yourself) frequently, perhaps this isn't the right place for you.  

Policies not Politics
---- Daily Landscape