Is it just the election season?

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I don't visit this site nearly as frequently as I used to, particularly since the move to DU3, the new rules and well, many hear are familiar with the nastiness and the purges. However, I have checked a few times in the past week--for different reasons--sometimes just clicking a link from somewhere else and seriously, every time I check in, I am asked to participate in jury service. Now, I know that this site's traffic significantly increases during election season so I am perplexed. Have things been unusually contentious lately? I have no way to measure. I usually always participate when asked because I do use the site and consider myself to be a good web citizen. I also feel I have some impartiality as I have no emotional investment in particular cliques of members. I also have a respect for free speech and discussion (don't like censorship) but at the same time have no patience for personal attacks and bullying. So anyhow, either there is a really high influx of trolling or very thin skin on DU or both--it is a little disconcerting to be asked not once but multiple times to be a referee when browsing the site for about 15 minutes or so ....