The history of GC&RKBA

[Kang Colby]

Hi folks,

I have some questions about this group. Would someone be interested in explaining relevant history to us new folks? Were GCRA and GC&RKBA ever a single forum or group? If so, when did the split occur? Were gun discussions ever outright allowed at all times in GD? I know today gun posts sometimes get locked and sometimes they don't.

Did GC&RKBA ever have a "hey day" - a period in time where there were dozens of posts daily? Who controls the SOP for the group? Is there a reason we don't allow topics that only focus on guns...like range reviews?

I'm not trying to stir the pot, I'm just curious about the history of this group. Understanding more about this group will help me put these discussions into better historical context.

I enjoy our discussions and appreciate this group. I joined DU in 2010, didn't post much and never ventured into the Gungeon.

[CompanyFirstSergeant]

1. I have only been here 2 months myself.

Posted several pro-gun messages on RKBA, and then tried to put in my $.02 on GCRA and was banned immediately.

The anti's come here to argue regularly.

[Kang Colby]

6. Me too.

I accidentally posted in GCRA, I immediately deleted the thread and was notified of the block a short while later.

[DashOneBravo]

15. Ask the host

I joined both Gun Groups at the same time.

I post over there with no problems as does Lizzie. It isn't the place to argue that what this group is for. I chime in on issues that are common ground with my view as a gun owner.

[Renew Deal]

2. I don't know all the answers but...

I believe everything was permitted in GD early on. This includes 9/11 topics, conspiracies, Isreal/Palestine matters, and guns. The dungeons started some time after the beginning so these other topics wouldn't overwhelm GD. This ended up being a positive change because it focused DU on politics.

The gungeon was traditionally very active. Don't know if it still is.

Gun porn, reviews, usage tips haven't been permitted here for a long time. I think it's because they want to stick to policy. There used to be a place to post about usage tips, etc. I think it's some "Outdoors" group.

[Kang Colby]

3. Thank you

Last time I checked, the Outdoors group was essentially inactive.

[petronius]

4. GCRA was created in March 2013 - you can probably

find threads in GC & RKBA as well as ATA from around that time (and once you know the usernames to search for, the whole discussion can probably be dredged up with a bit of searching).

The 'no guns in GD etc' thing goes back to DU2, back when there was just a Guns group (which became this one on DU3).

It was more active early in DU3, with ~5000 posts per month as I recall, dropped a bit after GCRA started, and has swung back up in past months.

'Outdoor Life' is the group for sporting activities, and other discussions not fitting the GC & RKBA SoP. There have been discussions about expanding that SoP, which met resistance from some DUers as well as the Admins...

[Kang Colby]

5. Thank you, that was very helpful. n/t

[DonP]

7. A handful of gun control supporters asked Skinner for their own group

I guess they got tired of having their clock cleaned in arguments.

Shortly after it opened with a decent number of posts, the novelty wore off. All three of the "hosts" that founded it quickly drifted away and for about a year and a half it just kinda languished with 2 regular posters going on ego trips and getting increasingly shrill and aggressive.

After they got their safe haven group the 2 posters kept going to Skinner in ATA and demanding e all be banned and the Gungeon closed as a "Right Wing Cesspool". One of them got Tombstoned, the other is still skulking around.

Then a new host took over in 2015 (?) and it became "Castle Bansalot" banning over 45 people in short order. Any disagreement with a hard core gun confiscation/control at all costs world view got you banned. They even had big disagreements among themselves and some posters took their ball and ran home crying.

Finally the new host, like most of the 3 or 4 people that post there, started posting here more than his own group. Itls what you do if you actually want to get a response.

Then he managed to piss off even our genial and patient host and got himself banned from here. One of a very few that managed to be that rude.

Now it's become a ghost town again with metaphorical tumbleweeds blowing past the 3 people that post there infrequently. Actually it's become a pretty accurate metaphor for gun control as a movement in general.

[Kang Colby]

8. Your posts always seem to hit the nail on the head.

Very interesting stuff. Question though, was GCRA always a safe haven?

[Lurks Often]

9. For all intents and purposes it is

Anyone who does not agree with the hosts over there find themselves banned from posting rather rapidly. Some have been banned after a single post.

[Kang Colby]

10. I was blocked after one accidental post that I immediately deleted. eom

[beevul]

13. As was I. A beacon of ethics, that group. N/T

[ManiacJoe]

11. If the RKBA SOP is restrictive to your topic,

bring it over to the Outdoor Life group.
For example, range reviews would be better suited to OL.
It would use the traffic.

RKBA group is about the laws and politics of guns, self defense and crime.
OL takes on the hunting, target shooting, and everything else.

RKBA group is used to keep the gun posts out of GD. Everyone is welcome here as long as they behave.
DUers seeking knowledge are always welcome.
Drive-by posting is discouraged.

The gun controllers started their own group because they wanted a safe haven to lock most of us out of.


ManiacJoe
Outdoor Life group host

[Kang Colby]

12. Thanks Joe. It's nice to meet you. Eom

[Marengo]

21. LOL! It seems your post has generated some...interest

Really does beg the question who exactly are the delicate flowers 'round here.

[beevul]

22. If they get to interpret their own SOP in bansalot...

If they get to interpret their own SOP in bansalot to mean what ever is convenient rather than what it actually says
then so does every other group host, including you.

Its amazing how they hate turnabout (fair play).

[Duckhunter935]

23. It seems Skinner agrees with you

Keep up the great work

[Kang Colby]

24. I feel like breathing some life into Outdoor Life.

[ManiacJoe]

25. Yes, SecMo and I butt heads every now and then over my hosting.

I can live with it.

[DonP]

26. (Shhh, he thinks he runs this group too)

He can't stand to see anybody having a good time I guess?

[Eleanors38]

14. I believe "Guns" was at one time a full-blown Forum...

...with the posting numbers to justify that status.

GCRKBA, from the time that the great bifurcation started, has been an open group, not a safe haven. Castle Bansalot is strictly protected, and appears to brook little deviance in its postings.

GD, IMO, has a persistent power struggle among its hosts as to what gun topics qualify for exemption under its SOP. Many gun threads are successfully posted, such that regular check-ins of GD are required to address all of them. IMO, few of these successful posts originate from pro-2A members; the lion's share come from anti-gun "activists" who seem to work the peculiar system of "consensus" decision-making. Put another way, if most hosts think a thread should be locked, but one thinks it should remain open, guess who wins out?

[beevul]

16. Kang...

If you ever get bored, and would like some laughs, search DU for the words "steaming pantload" and "festooned", and you'll encounter hours upon hours of pre-bansalot goodness.

[Kang Colby]

17. Thanks beezul..question though?

I searched but couldn't find much. Would you happen to have an example link you could share with me? I did find one post that looked like DUers joking about being festooned with guns.

I did spend some time yesterday reading through old DU2 posts...it was fascinating.

[beevul]

18. This should get you started.

This is an oldie but a goodie, that should give you some idea of how things used to be:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x22031

As for festooned, that was a favorite word of iverglas, the dearly departed former Canadian barrister and full time cat lady:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x251773

In general, you could just search for 'iverglas' and 'mrbenchley' if you want real eye openers.

[DonP]

19. Do not miss those days or those two weasels

Their only goal was to shame and bully DU gun owners here into silence and project a false image where everyone agreed with them.

But when you finally get canned from DU, and there's a 500+ post thread titled "Ding, Dong, the witch is dead", you should at least be able to figure out you aren't really winning any popularity contests.

[beevul]

20. Nor do I.

Their only goal was to shame and bully DU gun owners here into silence and project a false image where everyone agreed with them.

Very true, and even though they serve as examples of where that sort of behavior leads, others who remain follow in their footsteps.

[TeddyR]

27. Hah!

So I just got banned from the bans-a-lot group for the posts I made in this thread - http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1262&pid=10824.

Note that the person I was conversing with had 2 of his posts hidden by jury decision (I did not alert on them - never do) yet I was the one banned. That's a thin skinned bunch that don't have any interest in actually debating issues related to the RKBA but simply want to silence any dissent.

[Kang Colby]

28. I'm not sure why they always seem to have a hysterical reaction over discussion on a discussion...

forum.

[TeddyR]

29. I think the "discussion" part

Confuses them. They are more into toeing the line than debating.

[Kang Colby]

30. Controllers gotta control...n/t

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

31. There's this quote...

The most successful tyranny is not the one that uses force to assure uniformity but the one that removes the awareness of other possibilities, that makes it seem inconceivable that other ways are viable, that removes the sense that there is an outside.

I like it so I made it into my sig-line.

[Kang Colby]

32. I'd much rather read Bloom than Bloomberg. eom

[Duckhunter935]

33. Surprised, no

Join the blocked club. They can not stand having someone just ask a question. I do not see how the SOP was violated at all with that. They are just scsred, all three of them that still bother to post there.

[gejohnston]

34. the hidden posts were one of the hosts

chances are, he or she blocked you. Which reminds me of this You Tube clip

[oneshooter]

35. That was not a Host

Just a resident hater.

[DonP]

36. Geez, even 2 neutral juries think he's a weasel, 5 to 2 to hides!

But Skinner said he's setting all the hides back to zero when the primaries are over next week.

I'm pretty sure a few of our "friends" wont last long once the amnesty is off though, especially ones with 10 or 11 hides in 60 days.