Frequently Asked Questions
Who can join Democrats.community?
We are a community of Democrats, so if you are a Democrat you are welcome to sign up.
There are two levels of participation. Anyone on the Internet can visit our site and subscribe to one of our newsletters. But to participate in our online discussions you need to register here.
What are the rules governing Democrats.community?
To ensure that Democrats.com is a friendly, positive place for Democrats we have set up the following rules:
- Members must generally support the Democratic Party's principles and its candidates. Individuals who are hostile to Democrats or core Democratic principles will be invited to find someplace else on the Internet to express their views.
- Members are responsible for their own conduct. You may not incite criminal acts, post messages that are indecent, impersonate any other person, engage in personal attacks, post fundraising or commercial messages, or collect member names for harassment or any form of unsolicited communication via e-mail. Violators of these rules will be warned, and persistent violators will have their membership revoked. If you feel you have been a victim of violations of our terms of service please contact us.
Why are you organized as a for-profit company?
Most non-profit groups are supported by foundations. However, foundations are not permitted to support partisan political organizing, which is our true passion in life.
So to support our full-time efforts - and our technical expenses - we rely on a number of sources of income, including selling Internet campaign services to Democratic candidates and committees through our campaign store, and selling advertising on our web site and through opt-in e-mail. A non-profit group would not be permitted to raise funds this way.
From time to time, we engage in "issue advocacy" to promote important issues of concern to progressive Democrats. To fund these efforts, we appeal to our members for contributions. Contributions for political organizing, like campaign contributions to candidates, are not tax-deductible. We are extremely grateful to our members for their generous support, which has enabled us to make an enormous difference through grassroots Internet organizing.
What is your privacy policy?
We are proud of our privacy policy because we see it as the foundation of our commitment to treat our members with the respect they deserve. In addition, our privacy policy has been encoded in accordance with the recently announced P3P privacy system, which will permit you to set your own privacy rules and easily compare yours with our policies through your browser.
What is your relationship with the Democratic Party?
We are ardent Democrats who see the Democratic Party as our country's most important force for political progress and reform. Almost every significant achievement in social progress in the 20th Century - including the Social Security Act, civil rights and environmental protection - was first debated and discussed among members of the Democratic Party before gaining wide support from the American people.
As a business, we sell Internet campaign services to a number of Democratic candidates and party committees. We operate as a vendor, which means we provide technical services but do not influence policy. The positions we take are entirely our responsibility, and are not the responsibility of any candidate or committee who purchases technical services (like Web site hosting) from us.
In other words, we are completely independent of the Democratic Party. The views we express are our own and not those of the Democratic National Committee. Only the DNC's site at www.democrats.org publishes official statements of the party's actions and policies. We respect and appreciate its role as the authoritative voice of the Democratic Party. We are proud to count ourselves as one among thousands of places on the Internet where Democrats gather. If we do our job well, we will be able to unify some of these disparate sites, lists and discussions into a far more cohesive and powerful force.
I like what you are doing. How can I help you?
Jump right in! Here are some specific suggestions. But we're always open to new ideas!
- Tell your friends about Democrats.com
- Keep up with important news and actions by subscribing to our newsletters
- Share your opinions in our lively and informative discussions
- Join a local chapter in your area, or create a chapter if none exists
- Make a contribution to help us reach more Democrats and build the most powerful political organization on the Internet
- If you have a web page, link to Democrats.com using our logo below (right-click to download)
