Another battle in the blogwars

I began blogging back in 2004, thanks to Wes, and I became very active both at Daily Kos and at Atrios' Eschaton. At dKos, I had a very low "uid," or user ID, number (1142), which presumably was a badge of status and honor, as one of the earliest participants there. (The uid's are well over 100,000 now.)

Over time, though, I noticed dKos getting more and more shrill and exclusionary, and I always felt more comfortable in the chatroom-like environs of Eschaton. The Kossacks didn't just attack right-wing trolls, but essentially they ostracized anyone who even dared to criticize Democrats, as I did when I took issue with Nancy Pelosi's decision to take impeachment off the table in January.

Today, MissLaura posted an open thread at dKos that, among other things, essentially said that the time-honored Atriot tradition of saying "First!" or "Frist!" or, now, "Pelosi" at the start of a new comment thread would not be tolerated at dKos. Well, that's fine -- have it your way. That's not the way I prefer to blog.

So I guess my comment at dKos today is kind of my valedictory, my farewell to a blog that was a great introduction to the blogosphere for me, but which I believe I have left behind. I don't see this as an arrogant attitude, but simply one that recognizes that I prefer to spend my blogging time laughing with online friends, railing at the abuses of power on both sides of the figurative aisle, and feeling free to express what might be less-than-popular viewpoints. In other words, I value my open mind, and I intend to keep it that way.

Thanks, Markos, for the good times.