Rorschach Test

Be judicious about joining existing Obama groups rather than beginning you own on Obama's website, unless you habor a secret ambition to be a Rorschach test. The problem is, most groups have few blog articles, and you cannot read the listserv's email until you have joined. The Obama site has approved all my requests for starting new groups.

Since I joined my Long Island Obama group, I have annoyed one of the regular posters who had been for Obama all along.

This is my high crime and misdemanor::

A reference librarian, I have already realized that the mybarackobama website is not quite state of the art. My only being able to send a message to ten friends at a time is frustrating. I keep losing what I write on blogs, group descriptions, and messages because suddenly another page opens up. Communicating through messages on your website is cumbersome.There is no real word processing functionality, no way of easily linking within messages and blog comments. Google offers much better alternatives--gmail, reader, chat, groups, calendar, docs and spreadsheets where you can collaborate in real time. Google Apps is another possibility for organizers. There is a wonderful world of opportunities and the Obama campaign is not making impressive use of them. Has anyone considered exploring them?

I was astonished by this women's letter to the whole group.

I have watched w/ sadness as this group has been virtually ripped
apart over the past several days mostly by the actions of a newcomer.
Now we have a posting using this list serve to attack the campaign
website & invite people to use other alternatives.
So whoever it was who "busted us" is there any way to exclude a
person who obviously has some agenda other than supporting Obama.

Appalled, I temporarily left the group:

I hope you're proud of driving me from this group. My sharing my internet and librarian expertise is seen as attacking the website rather than improving it. I do have my own agenda--growing a revolution that will make America a family-friendly society for my grandchildren. I consider Obama an essential leader of that revolution. I have no idea if you speak but the group, but I have no interest replacing Hillary as your personal Rorschach test.

Criticizing your candidate's inadequacies and making helpful suggestions is the best way of supporting him. At least have the courage to name names. You certainly proved how
sound my instinct was on the necessity of separate Hillary groups.

Later, I realized that I had cut off my nose to spite my face. Unless I was a member of this blog, I couldn't tell my Long Island blog about what's happening. I am sure things will get better, but we are all a bit raw still. I must have done something to this poster in a previous lifetime. She asks me to leave another group as well. I wish I could remember my crime. Mary is generally well behaved, but Joan gets somewhat unruly::)