# A question about Pit thread-starting etiquette **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 27, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848 "2008-12-27T15:39:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/1 "2008-12-27T15:39:12Z")
jayjay tells me that it is rude to respond to an original post in a negative way within the original PIT thread. He says everyone here knows the polite thing to do is to start _a whole new Pit thread_ for your on-topic, about-the-original-post flaming of the first Pit thread. He doesn’t think the same is true for off-topic flaming of people you think are being rude, however. Every time I see someone do as he says should be done, they get slammed for cluttering the board with unnecessary threads, and told they should have handled it in the original thread. Am I wrong about this, or is it actually expected that only agreeable posts are to happen in Pit threads, and anything in dissent should be made into a whole new thread on the same subject? I can’t force you all to stay on topic, but there’s no link because _this is about the question of when and where to politely voice one’s opinion about OPs in the Pit_. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/2 "2008-12-27T15:44:32Z")
A substantial number of Pit threads wind up “turning against” the OP. In fact, it is almost a given that a poorly presented Pit thread, or a Pit thred in which the OP takes an unpopular stand, will result in an internal, (to that thread), Pitting of the Original Poster. Unless I have misunderstood something in this OP, I really do not understand the opinion attributed to jayjay, here. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/3 "2008-12-27T15:46:49Z")
That’s not what jayjay said. He said this: > [@](#): > > My read is that EE spent Christmas without any family at all, with nothing to really eat, and no money to buy anything, let alone a monitor. Or at least EE is trying to point out that some people have Christmases like that. And, while he has a bit of a point, it’s kind of rude to threadshit like that. If he wants to pit his Christmas (or even if he wants to pit HD for starting this pit thread) he needs to start his own thread for it, because HD’s pit thread here isn’t exactly a travesty of justice or anything. “It’s kind of rude to threadshit like that” is not invoking a SDMB rule; jayjay was expressing an opinion, one I read as, “Ensign was being kind of a cunt _in this instance_.” You have now missed the point in two separate threads. Nicely done. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/4 "2008-12-27T15:48:23Z")
> [@Ensign\_Edison](#): > > jayjay tells me that it is rude to respond to an original post in a negative way within the original PIT thread. He says everyone here knows the polite thing to do is to start _a whole new Pit thread_ for your on-topic, about-the-original-post flaming of the first Pit thread. He doesn’t think the same is true for off-topic flaming of people you think are being rude, however. He said [no such thing](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10618208&postcount=48), you lying sack of shit. Or maybe you just can’t read. Which is it? ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/5 "2008-12-27T15:49:52Z")
That is not the only post he made on the subject. He made it very clear that he thinks it was rude of me not to start a new Pit thread. > [@jayjay](#): > > And I’m saying that it was the DEFINITION of threadshitting. If HD had committed some horrible defamation of someone or something, sure, it’s okay to flame him in his own pit thread. He clearly said that it was NOT OKAY to flame the OP on the topic of the post within the thread unless the OP was inflammatory enough in his personal view. Please, show me how the above sentence can be twisted to mean he didn’t think it wasn’t rude to flame within the thread. His whole point in attacking me was that it was rude to flame within the thread. That is the question I want answered, and I will ignore any off-topic posts in this thread from here on out. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/6 "2008-12-27T15:51:53Z")
In his opinion! He was not invoking a rule, he was telling you you were being a jerk off. Why is this so difficult? ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/7 "2008-12-27T15:53:24Z")
Well, **Ensign** , what was the purpose of your post in that thread? Did you have a point to make about people whining about not having a perfect Xmas when some people have nothing at all? If so, then you really should start a new thread so we can talk about that. If your purpose was to shit on \*\*HD \*\*for whining that his Xmas sucked a wee, then you are welcome to comment in his thread. With that choice comes that possibility that the rest of us won’t jump on your bandwagon and may in fact say: Hey, you’re being a douche by doing a drive-by threadshit. Sometimes the Pit will turn on the OP. This time it appear that the majority of the Board agrees that what happened to \*\*HD \*\*sucked and we don’t think he should be castigated for whining when in fact it does suck to have an expensive chunk of meat ruined by someone’s dog. IMO, you were being a dick this time. And I frequently like your posts, even though you can be an ass, so don’t think I’m just taking this chance to shit on you. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/8 "2008-12-27T15:53:57Z")
Why is it so difficult for you to read my post? I never said anything about whether it is a rule. In that thread, I apologized to jayjay for mistakenly thinking it was a rule already. The title says ETIQUETTE and the OP is VERY CLEARLY about whether it is RUDE, not whether it is against the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/9 "2008-12-27T15:54:14Z")
At least have the stones to post the _whole_ quote: > [@](#): > > And I’m saying that it was the DEFINITION of threadshitting. If HD had committed some horrible defamation of someone or something, sure, it’s okay to flame him in his own pit thread. But he did nothing of the sort. He explained why his Christmas sucked. And it did. The fact that it did not suck as much as the homeless guy’s who lives under the bridge is immaterial. > > **I’m pretty sure we had this discussion on this board before, that coming into a “my \_\_\_\_ sucked!” thread to say that the OP’s \_\_\_\_ didn’t suck half as much as some people’s so he should just shut the fuck up is actually threadshitting, even in the Pit.** Bolding added. This is rather a more specific complaint than you outline in your OP. ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/10 "2008-12-27T15:55:07Z")
> [@Ensign\_Edison](#): > > Why is it so difficult for you to read my post? I never said anything about whether it is a rule. In that thread, I apologized to jayjay for mistakenly thinking it was a rule already. The title says ETIQUETTE and the OP is VERY CLEARLY about whether it is RUDE, not whether it is against the rules. Are you asking me? You were RUDE! Not against the rules but RUDE as fuck. Do you get it yet? ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/11 "2008-12-27T15:55:55Z")
Look, the question IS NOT WHETHER YOU THINK MY OPINION IS RIGHT OR WRONG. It is whether it is rude to post an opinion in dissent of the majority in the Pit regardless of what that opinion was or what the OP was about provided the opinion was ABOUT THE OP. You can think I’m a dick for my opinion all you want, but what I want to know is if it is actually accepted as rude regardless of the objective dickishness of the on-topic post. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/12 "2008-12-27T15:57:24Z")
> [@stretch](#): > > Are you asking me? You were RUDE! Not against the rules but RUDE as fuck. Do you get it yet? So you think it is rude to post on-topic dissent within a Pit thread, and that I should have started a whole new thread and made an even bigger deal of it. Okay, I’ll mark your vote down. Unless you were answering some other question entirely? ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/13 "2008-12-27T15:59:03Z")
> [@Ensign\_Edison](#): > > Look, the question IS NOT WHETHER YOU THINK MY OPINION IS RIGHT OR WRONG. It is whether it is rude to post an opinion in dissent of the majority in the Pit regardless of what that opinion was or what the OP was about provided the opinion was ABOUT THE OP. You can think I’m a dick for my opinion all you want, but what I want to know is if it is actually accepted as rude regardless of the objective dickishness of the on-topic post. YES!!! It is RUDE to threadshit. What you did was threadshit. The rest of the thread was about how it sucks to have your ham stolen (unless you don’t like ham in which case it is a blessing). The thread was not about how it sucks to only have a few items on Xmas. I guess your post could, if I squint at it, have been an attempt to steer the conversation another way. But it looks more like threadshitting to me. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/14 "2008-12-27T16:00:47Z")
Nobody is saying it’s rude in general, you disingenuous shitweasel. They’re saying it’s rude **in this case** and others like it. Fuck me, but you’re as willfully obtuse as **brazil84**. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/15 "2008-12-27T16:01:58Z")
Okay, if that is what you believe, then you do think the only polite way under Pit rules to express my view was to start my own Pit thread, as jayjay said. That’s all I wanted to know, thank you. Tom disagrees, so it’s one to one. Hopefully some more posters will be capable of controlling their urge to shit on and hijack this thread too and be able to answer the actual question. The gratuitous personal insults still being flung my way are pretty funny from people simultaneously complaining about just-cuz use of the Pit’s laxness in such areas, though. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/16 "2008-12-27T16:04:22Z")
> [@Ensign\_Edison](#): > > Tom disagrees, so it’s one to one. Re-read Tom’s post. That’s not what he said. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/17 "2008-12-27T16:05:38Z")
Why are you mentioning Pit rules again when everyone, including YOU, has already agreed that what you did **wasn’t against the rules**? FFS, you just did so in post #8 of your own goddamned thread! Are you brain damaged? Really, it’s a serious question. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/18 "2008-12-27T16:07:02Z")
Unless you’re suggesting that by this: > [@](#): > > In fact, it is almost a given that a poorly presented Pit thread, or a Pit thred in which the OP takes an unpopular stand, will result in an internal, (to that thread), Pitting of the Original Poster. he meant to suggest that it’s only acceptable if the stand is generally unpopular, then I suppose I need him to clarify. Otherwise I don’t see where I misunderstood him – he seems to be saying it is normal practice to respond to an OP in dissent within the original thread. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/19 "2008-12-27T16:08:06Z")
Pit mores, I should have said. I just typed too quickly, QED, it’s obvious from context that I’m still talking about etiquette. Is it necessary to continue derailing this thread over every little twitch I make that you object to? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848/20 "2008-12-27T16:11:05Z")
> [@Ensign\_Edison](#): > > Pit mores, I should have said… When you “threadshit”, that’s a rule. When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s a more. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-pit-thread-starting-etiquette/478848.md?page=2)