20 Top Political Forums of 2007 [DU #2, FR #9 - Oh Please]

Pollyticks ^ | 6/30/07 | Staff

[Sleeping Beauty]

What follows aren't complete reviews of these sites and everything each has to offer. These are only reviews of their community discussion forums. I tried to stick to sites running traditional forum software, like phpBB and vBulletin, as opposed to comment blogs, with a few exceptions here for notorious blogs like Daily Kos, Huffington Post and Free Republic. Here you'll find forums on the left, forums on the right, and forums in the middle.

Thanks to everyone who took time to build forums and recruit members. Your efforts have helped foster debate.

1. Whistle Stopper Political Forums
Membership: mixed

2. Democratic Underground
Membership: left

3. Bartcop Nation
Membership: left

4. Daily Kos: State of the Nation
Membership: left

5. The Huffington Post
Membership: left

6. Political Crossfire
Membership: mixed

7. Political Forum
Membership: mixed

8. Debate Politics Forums
Membership: mixed

9. Free Republic
Membership: right

Simple but effective blog layout with comments posted on daily news items. Militantly territorial community, impatient with strangers, particularly left-leaning ones, but very active community. The "Freepers" are notoriously aggressive in print. If you're not ultra-conservative and you're aching for a fight, you'll find one here. The site excels as a breaking news source as well. Just know that you'll catch hell from the locals if you aren't ultra-conservative or libertarian. You've been warned.

10. U.S. News - Political Hotwire
Membership: right

11. Politics Forum (.org)
Membership: mixed

12. U.S. Politics Online
Membership: mixed

13. George Bush Forums - Topix
Membership: mixed

14. Democracy Forums
Membership: left

15. Political Forum - It's All Politics
Membership: mixed

16. 4Forums
Membership: mixed

17. Revolutionary Left
Membership: left

18. NoPC Forums (Nation of Political Conservatives)
Membership: right

19. Defending the Truth
Membership: mixed

20. Liberals Only
Membership: left

[Sleeping Beauty]

Hope it's okay if I post this.

I left the review for Free Republic (the top online Conservative forum) intact. If you want to read the rest, you'll need to go to the link.

Have fun.

[MaryFromMichigan]

#9?

[2banana]

What is a local on the internet?

[trisham]

9. Free Republic

The Freepers!

Membership: right

Simple but effective blog layout with comments posted on daily news items. Militantly territorial community, impatient with strangers, particularly left-leaning ones, but very active community. The "Freepers" are notoriously aggressive in print. If you're not ultra-conservative and you're aching for a fight, you'll find one here. The site excels as a breaking news source as well. Just know that you'll catch hell from the locals if you aren't ultra-conservative or libertarian. You've been warned.

***********************

Heh.

[mmichaels1970]

Boy...we’re pretty mean.

[NeoCaveman]

DUmmies at #2????

I just can’t take this seriesly.

[LantzALot]

[ #9? ]

As in "Love Potion ..."
That's us.

[M1Tanker]

The left hems and haws about a “Fairness Doctrine” for radio but says nothing about the Internet where their sites, university sites, and Islamic “Death to the Infidel” sites have huge leftist support, funding, and reach.

But then, to the left, “debate” means we all try to be as Stalinist as possible.

And no, a troll probably will not be banned unless they break the clearly stated rules of posting. All they have to do is READ and follow the rules of the house.

But then, as leftists often prove: Rules are for us ‘little people’.

[RegulatorCountry]

What is a local on the internet?

The author uses it in the same sense as "native." The membership. FReepers, in the instance of Free Republic.

[pogo101]

The description sounds askew to me. Although FR has some ultra-conservatives (as I would describe them), for the most part it seems to me a “center OF the right wing” sort of place.

Maybe the writer saw us during the Giuliani Purge. I did see quite a bit of vitriol back then. But I don’t think it’s the norm.

[ClearCase_guy]

Apparently politics on the internet is overwhelmingly Leftist. Who knew?

[CaptainK]

Seems to have the membership and hit stats for everyone but Free Republic. Wonder why.

[Liberty Valance]

Number 9? Number 9? Number 9?

[clamper1797]

What a crock ... FR after DU ... suuuure

[mmichaels1970]

Author claims that “Liberals Only” (at #20) is his personal favorite and that he’s a fan of several contributors.

[MarineBrat]

Ping to come back after someone posts the real numbers...

[I'm ALL Right!]

LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCE IN THE FR REVIEW AND THE DUH REVIEW

Democratic Underground
A traditional forum layout. Needless to say, it's easy to get lost in the crowd at DU. The users are territorial too, guarding their particular categories/rooms. Most members choose one room and stick to it without venturing out into the DU no-man's land for fear of angering the locals. If the site suffers from anything serious it's bloat and an extremist membership. Dozens of different rooms, from General Discussion to Civil Liberties, Economy, Education, Science -- you name it. Site claims to have 104,221 registered users, and about 30 million posts since January 2001. Yes, that's huge.

The reviewer forgot to mention the liberal use of the F-word and other ugly words over at that site....and the hateful attack mongers and tin-foil hat wearing activists over who live there. Odds are the Reviewer is a duh-er.

[I'm ALL Right!]

Because it would have put FR over DUH.

[Tribune7]

It sounds like a list cooked up by some kids as part of a high school project. DU number 2???

FR v DU

[tumblindice]

“If you’re not ultra-conservative and you’re aching for a fight, you’ll find one here.”

Our children bite the heads off animal crackers.