Democracy is a social news aggregator and discussion platform built for the diverse political landscape of today. Unlike traditional social platforms that create echo chambers, Democracy embraces viewpoint diversity and makes it visible.
Political Transparency
Users can declare their political affiliations, and you can see how different political groups engage with content.
We believe political biases should be acknowledged, not hidden. This creates more honest discussions where you know
where people are coming from.
Two-Phase Voting System
Articles can receive votes for 48 hours after creation, then enter a 6-hour "grace period" where votes still count but with reduced impact.
After 54 hours total, voting is disabled. All votes are final - once you vote, you can't change your mind.
Comments don't have voting - they're ordered chronologically (oldest first) to encourage reading full conversations.
Personal Customization
Registered users can customize their experience with custom site names, personalized color schemes,
font family selection, and custom banner images.
Anonymous Participation
Don't want to create an account? Anonymous users can submit articles, comment, and participate in discussions.
Anonymous submissions require reCAPTCHA verification to prevent spam.
Collapsible Comments
Comments are organized in threaded conversations. Click the [−] button next to any comment to collapse it
and all its replies. Click [+] to expand it again.
Submitting Content
Click "submit" in the header, add a descriptive title, and either provide a URL to an external article
or write your own text content. Anonymous users need to provide name/email and complete reCAPTCHA.
Voting on Articles
Click the ▲ arrow to upvote articles you find valuable, ▼ to downvote. Articles accept votes for 48 hours,
then have a 6-hour grace period where votes count with reduced impact. After 54 hours, voting is disabled.
All votes are final. You must be logged in to vote.
Commenting & Discussions
Comments appear in chronological order (oldest first). Reply to comments to create threaded discussions.
Use [−]/[+] buttons to collapse/expand comment threads. Both registered and anonymous users can comment.
Political Affiliations
Registered users can set their political affiliation in their profile. Political tags appear next to usernames,
and progress bars on articles show which groups are engaging with content.
Customizing Your Experience
Go to "theme" in the user menu to customize colors, fonts, site name, and add banner images.
Your customizations only affect your view.
Democracy was built on four core principles:
1. Transparency Over Hiding
Political biases exist whether we acknowledge them or not. By making them visible, we can have more honest conversations.
2. Quality Over Quantity
Final voting encourages users to think before they click. No spam voting, no gaming the system.
3. Personalization Over One-Size-Fits-All
Everyone should be able to make their digital spaces feel like home.
4. Inclusion Over Barriers
Good ideas can come from anyone, whether they have an account or not.
Democracy is built with modern, open-source technologies: Rails 8.0, PostgreSQL, Turbo & Stimulus, reCAPTCHA for spam protection, and Markdown support for rich text formatting.
Ready to join the conversation?
Democracy: Where diverse perspectives meet thoughtful discourse.