Yeah. It was awesome. I'll look back on those flame wars with huge nostalgia as you point out. I also helps that Jerome Banned me for a while, in the Bob Johnson Battle, so I proudly wear the purple heart of my current sock puppet.

I'm probably going to write an article in a British publication about the Primary Wars and the Flame Battles of yesteryear. I think it's changed political discourse for years to come. Brits have no idea of the passion, vitriol, and rhetorical bullets expended. I'm a screenwriter/dramatist, and I have hundreds of great put down lines which will last me for a decade. One day I might write a diary with my favorite insults included. Thanks for posting this.  

I think we all went through hell, especially here where both sides were represented, and trolls could troll with relative impunity. We're battle hardened now, and I still think of my colleagues in arms with great affection. I could roll call them here, but especially under my old username Brit, they came to my defense in some intense firefights. They had my back

But you know what the oddest thing is. The people I've really bonded with now are the genuine Hillary supporters, especially Sricki. In this way it was more like some huge sporting tournament, where competition leads to respect and even sympathy. It was a weird and wonderful season in the sun, and I'm still digesting it.

Battle hardened, picture links at the ready, put downs loaded, logical fallacies primed, I'm ready for whatever McCain and Redstate want to send over.

And I still love squishing trolls.

Bob Johnson on one hand, people like SusanHu, Universal, Alegre, TexasDarlin...all posted prolifically until one big event or another got them banned or pissed off.

It's also a little illuminating to see how many of the most vocal MyDD Clinton supporters have continued their crusade well after the primary is over.  During the primary, their arguments were hard to swallow for me, but the past few weeks have kind of confirmed their extremism, as most of them are now peddling their wares on sites that are purely anti-Obama, passing along any rumor, and criticizing him for being everything from too liberal to too centrist to too conservative.  If they see the irony in constantly quoting Fox News, it's not apparent.

I like this place again, though.  The primary wars were vicious, but thank God they're gone.

You know, in a weird way I miss Universal, Algre, TD and the rest.  

I didn't post much during the primary wars, (the one time I did get into the middle of it, I found it completely unproductive), but it was exciting reading nonetheless.  And, it was an historic time:  A woman, and a black man making a real run at a major party's nomination.

I haven't been that worked up in a long time.  It shows you how much passion everyone brought to the debate.

The intensity of the primary diary battles could only have been produced by people who at some level really really cared about their candidates, and McCain just hasn't been able to generate that kind of enthusiasm, much less the kind necessary for a sustained foray onto an opposition blog's diary pages.

This is the most fair and logical point ever addressing the primary wars.  

I'm apparently a minority, in that I really, really hated the primary wars.  

The 2004 wars were over so quickly that there wasn't time for the bitterness to build (and there was also the fact that neither candidate with strong netroots support actually won, those being Clark and Dean).  This time, there really is lasting bitterness, to the point where some Obama supporters continue to take shots at Clinton, and some Clinton supporters are supporting McCain and say "la la la I can't hear you" whenever anyone mentions that on the issues Clinton and Obama were pretty close.

A mixed legacy at best.  If Obama had won NH, I don't think groups like the PUMA would exist, and I don't think NQ would be quite where it is.  I supppose there would have been less organizing and fundraisng, but those funds were largely spent on becoming the presumptive nominee.  

I suppose it may have been necessary, and I can understand why some people miss the passion.  But I'm glad its over, and I don't miss it.    

the wars were as bad as the '04 Clark V Dean flame wars on Dkos were.

They just lasted longer sometimes.

I won't miss some of them.  TexasDarlin now writes at noquarterusa where she is engaged in a snipe hunt about Obama's Birth Cirtificate.

The primary wars was serious business, son, and not for joking around. I remember getting cut off from my unit of Obama supporters, deep in Clintonian diary territory- I was surrounded, receiving ferocious incoming cult-comparison fire, and for awhile there, I thought I'd bought the farm.

Luckily, reinforcements showed up at the last second and we blogged a hole in their rhetoric, allowing me to narrowly escape.

But at what price? WHAT PRICE?

* sob *

The Primary Wars© became so vicious here that I stopped visiting for a while. Sure there were lots of people with valid points about either Clinton or Obama, but there was even more pure hate and vitriol being tossed around - by both sides.

Being an Obama supporter I found myself drawn into the flame wars at first, even posting and saying things that I now regret. But that was why I left. Engaging in those intense flame wars was entertaining on the one hand, but it also left one feeling a bit dirty afterwords.

One thing is clearly true. It was definitely the most interesting period I've ever been witness to in the reality-based community...

Such as when Universal was at his peak, with his crazy rants on the rec list.  That type of thing was over the line, and several Obama supporters got banned because of over the top responses to that type of unmitigated bull.

There was a lot of admin pressure in favor of some Hillary supporting diarists, which led to the rec list being populated by Hillary diaries alone despite the relatively even population of supporters.

This is just rehashing old battles, I did love that this place actually had debate instead of being a true echo chamber either way.  I also love that this place had a pretty smooth transition to supporting the nominee.

Salute to all the posters here, and the admins.

I miss the passion, but there have certainly been times when MyDD seemed like it was more trouble than it was worth.  I mean, as a result, we even had a few people talking about physically assaulting a formerly prolific Clinton diarist.

But the passion was, at times, truly invigorating.

I came here because it was slightly more Clinton than Obama, and with good arguments bubbling up through the fray.

I miss Universal.  I still go to His44 just to read his shit.  He's a fascinating personality type.

I'm hoping that some of the good-faith Clinton people keep posting here.  Unanimity is boring and also dangerous.

I am actually bored now that the primaries are over.  I have toned down my politics obsession.  I am planning to save up energy for when it gets closer to the general.  

But I do not check blogs that much anymore and have actually tried spending time with my family and even socializing.  Oh, and I have resumed shooting lots of people on Call of Duty 4.