Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

A valedictory

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UPDATE: A slight reprieve. The new date for shutdown will be 12/31/22.

Plans are afoot for the site to be thoroughly crawled and archived. It won’t just disappear. The site will stay up, at least for a while, but for the purpose of archiving, commenting and posting will be disabled on 12/31/22.

Hello friends —

Last call.

Sadly, for those who are remaining on this site, I am taking the site down on December 6, 2022. That is the day that the LLC that gives me some legal protections is dissolved by the Secretary of State; the cost of keeping the LLC ($525/year) for a mostly-moribund site is prohibitive for me right now. It’s a shame that the archive of content will come down; it’s an illuminating history of an era. But such is the way of things; most state-level political blogs of our vintage have vanished. I’ll keep a copy of the archive, of course.

I hope that our readers and participants have long since found satisfactory outlets for their political thoughts and activities. It seems that what constitutes “political activity” will be radically re-shaped in the next 24 months, in any event. All best of luck and good courage to all.

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  2. I didn’t realize there were costs beyond to the host/server such as WordPress. BMG has sadly become a shadow of its former self and I miss the heyday. I really appreciate all the work you have done and am sure we will meet again.

  5. Is there a way for the posts and comments to be archived somehow before it all goes away? Perhaps talk with a library (BU? Tufts? UMass? Brandeis?) about hosting it as an internet archive?

    • Charley has assured me that he will keep a backup of the entire site. I think it’s a near certainty that the archives will be maintained somewhere safe.

      Questions about how accessible that archive will be to the public are above my paygrade.

  8. Thanks Charlie. I had a lot on my plate when we last met for beers and I appreciate you reaching out to the existing crew to try and right the ship. I have even more on my plate now after a recent move, more grad school, and my expected Christmas baby looking more like a Thanksgiving baby which explains my most recent absences.

    But I appreciate you, David, and Bob for getting the ball rolling when there was a paucity of local progressive political coverage. When the only folks covering politics were Hiller, Keller, and Carr-your voices were a much needed correction.
    Now #mapoli is a vibrant space largely on Twitter (although who knows for how long) and even Politico has a Beacon Hill beat. Adam Reilly, Mike Deehan, and a host of other strong (and fair) reporters. There’s also the Markeyverse and my former students. the disruptive G Zers who are taking the reins from my more establishment Obama loving generation. Onward and upward. Hopefully we can have an in person last call.

  10. Thank you Charlie (Bob and David). Frank Skeffington and Pogo had a lot of fun here and I wish you the best.

  11. Well, it’s been a good ride. My first introduction into politics on the Web was back in the MSN days of chat rooms and newsgroups, around 1990. I was a conservative in those days and was given the position of “Conservative Moderator” in the chat room on Saturday evenings, for which I received free MSN dialup service. I can still hear the tones of the phone as my computer logged on. I was also involved in various newgroups that were accessed on Outlook. I’m still friends with many I met online.

    Blue Mass Group was a welcome change to all that and I am grateful to Charlie and all who made it possible I have fond memories of that night when we all had free pizza at restaurant I can no longer recall.

    If we can somehow keep this together, I’d be willing to help out. If not, may I suggest that someone open a subreddit on Reddit and maybe we can all migrate there?

    BTW, JohnYMay55@gmail.com

  12. Well, I suppose this was inevitable, given the decline of the site in recent years.

    I started reading during the 2004 presidential election, and posting afterward. For a long time, this site was a great place to read thoughtful posts and arguments, and I appreciate the effort that Charlie, Bob, and David put into it.

    I will fondly remember arguments that were actually enlightening with KBusch, brookline/somervilletom, sabutai, Porcupine, and raj.

    I will also fondly remember the Hindenburg– and wish that it had more opportunities to fly in recent years, and, of course, poor Seamus Romney and the guy who had to clean out the car wash stall after the Romney visit.

    Adieu.

  13. On Sunday 12/11 from 12 to 4 the Westborough DTC and now Rep.-Elect Kate Donaghue are co-hosting their annual holiday party. This seemingly local event evolved over the years as a place of statewide pilgrimage for MA Dem activists and politicians. I mention this here because as BMG winds down this would be a great excuse for us to meet up.

  14. I joined BMG late – 13 years ago next month and three days before the Brown/Coakley special election. As a 20 year old kid with no political experience beyond phone banking, you guys gave me a platform beyond Twitter to sling some mud and have some fun, and I sure had a lot of fun. The thrill of Rachel Maddow reporting a story I broke here on air and WaPo, etc. running with another post both stand out and would never have happened without BMG. I give a lot of people credit for helping me get to where I am today, and BMG is high on that list.

    So, with a dozen years of working for a member of the delegation and six years as a DSC member under my belt, thank you to Bob, Charley, and David for making this place happen and giving me a voice – and a shoutout and thanks to Pogo for always encouraging me along the way and to Rep-Elect Kate Donaghue for encouraging me here on BMG to apply to be an add-on delegate in 2010.

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