# Acceptable conduct in the Pit - NON-PIT RULES APPLY **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 17, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615 "2008-12-17T19:33:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615/241 "2008-12-21T19:37:29Z")
> [@buns3000](#): > > I think the “non-pit rules apply” idea is fucking ridiculous. If people want to go each other in the Pit, so what? I do not understand why the Mods care what happens in the Pit. As (many) others have noted, the whole purpose of the Pit is defeated once you start trying to clean it up. If a thread is going around in circles or has run its course, then just close it. > [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/481129/13): > > The thread that gave rise to the present controversy clearly went too far. This sums up the controversy. One says anything goes, the other says things can go too far. Incidentally, **buns3000** , this isn’t about the Mods caring about what happens in the Pit, but about **Ed Zotti** caring about what happens to the Mods in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![ambushed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615/242 "2008-12-22T05:10:54Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > Incidentally, **buns3000** , this isn’t about the Mods caring about what happens in the Pit, but about **Ed Zotti** caring about what happens to the Mods in the Pit. Is that truly accurate? My impression was that this is about more than just that. Are you sure that the new rule boils down to _ **nothing** _ but “Don’t overly abuse the mods in the Pit”? It will have _ **no** _ other effect? If that’s so, why couldn’t Ed have just written “Don’t overly abuse the mods in the Pit, but everything else still goes”? Why did he feel he needed to write a thousand-word treatise on the matter if that’s all this is about? **Ed** : Is that _ **all** _ you really meant? Just “Don’t overly abuse the mods in the Pit”? ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615/243 "2008-12-22T10:24:32Z")
> [@ambushed](#): > > Is that truly accurate? My impression was that this is about more than just that. Are you sure that the new rule boils down to _ **nothing** _ but “Don’t overly abuse the mods in the Pit”? It will have _ **no** _ other effect? > > If that’s so, why couldn’t Ed have just written “Don’t overly abuse the mods in the Pit, but everything else still goes”? Why did he feel he needed to write a thousand-word treatise on the matter if that’s all this is about? I really believed it to be truly accurate, but you obviously don’t see that way, so maybe I’m wrong. What I don’t think is that there some conspiracy or hidden agenda attached to this. I think that Ed has said that he has brought in only one new rule (Non Pit Rules Apply) which is to be invoked by Mods (or him) if they feel a pitting of a Mod is getting out of hand. He has left the precise conditions to be met to invoke that rule to the Mod’s discretion. He has also said that discussions about the SD should be in ATMB. Anyway, that’s how I see it. Whats your interpretation? I think he felt he needed to write so much about it, because he’s been questioned so much about it. It was one specific incident that raised a lot of hackles. He stepped in to address an issue raised by that incident. Hence the new rule. ---
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615/244 "2008-12-22T14:03:06Z")
> [@ambushed](#): > > **Ed** : Is that _ **all** _ you really meant? Just “Don’t overly abuse the mods in the Pit”? To expand on a point made above, all I ever mean with some new explication of the rules is “don’t be a jerk.” If I could leave it at that I would happily do so, but experience has shown things need to be spelled out. To summarize, we have one sorta new rule and one experimental one, both of which I’ll add to the permanent Pit rule post when I get a minute. The new rule, in simple terms, is that when a mod admonishes you in the Pit, cooperate and don’t get abusive. If you feel the need to vent about the unfairness of it all, start a new Pit thread for this purpose. If you want a clarification of the rules, post a question in ATMB. The experimental rule is declaring that “non-Pit rules apply” in an overheated Pit thread that for whatever reason we don’t want to close. This will be indicated in the thread title and is to be done only by staff - don’t start a thread with NPRA in the title yourself. We don’t expect to invoke this rule often. ---
**Author:** ![ambushed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615/245 "2008-12-23T03:28:24Z")
> [@Ed\_Zotti](#): > > To expand on a point made above, all I ever mean with some new explication of the rules is “don’t be a jerk.” If I could leave it at that I would happily do so, but experience has shown things need to be spelled out. To summarize, we have one sorta new rule and one experimental one, both of which I’ll add to the permanent Pit rule post when I get a minute. The new rule, in simple terms, is that when a mod admonishes you in the Pit, cooperate and don’t get abusive. If you feel the need to vent about the unfairness of it all, start a new Pit thread for this purpose. If you want a clarification of the rules, post a question in ATMB. I have no problem with that, and it seems uncontroversial to me. But since _something_ sure seems to be considerably controversial here, it must be this part: > [@Ed\_Zotti](#): > > The experimental rule is declaring that “non-Pit rules apply” in an overheated Pit thread that for whatever reason we don’t want to close. This will be indicated in the thread title and is to be done only by staff - don’t start a thread with NPRA in the title yourself. We don’t expect to invoke this rule often. I understand you’re still working on defining the rule(s) for this, so I’m willing to wait and see what happens… ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615/246 "2008-12-23T07:37:25Z")
It would be nice, however, if instead of just issuing a new fiat (for item #1), you could list a few dozen recent examples of occasions so egregious (i.e., posters mouthing off in abusive language to Mods in the Pit upon being rebuked), just to assure people that this is not just an elaborate and highly emotional overreaction to the whole **Lynn Bodoni** incident of early December, and also to provide some examples of just what you don’t want to see anymore in the Pit that has been so widely practiced as to merit a whole new rule that the culture of Pitting has been violative of in recent years. Otherwise this rule will seem to be an ex post facto face-saving rationalization for **TPTB** ’s admittedly botched handling of that incident, and whatever protests against this suggestion ("We don’t have time for this silly nonsense, we don’t want to be too specific here, we don’t want to embarrass posters who couldn’t have realized they were violating some future rules we had no cause to articuate at the time…etc, etc. etc.) will seem like silly and insubstantial hairballs designed to clog transparency and frustrate our understanding. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615/247 "2008-12-23T08:05:52Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > It does seem to me that the vast majority of posters here want the pit to be a free-for-all no holds barred mud fest regulated only by temporary or permanent locking of the offending threads if anything at all. That’s complete bullshit. It’s neither the “vast” or the “majority”. It’s the squeaky wheels that Ed’s addressing. He knows it, they know it and so do the other thousands of satisfied ‘members’. Fuck you crybabys. All of you that think the CR (or CL) needs you more than you need it, take off. Now. I dare you. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615/248 "2008-12-23T09:16:17Z")
> [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](#): > > That’s complete bullshit. It’s neither the “vast” or the “majority”. It’s the squeaky wheels that Ed’s addressing. He knows it, they know it and so do the other thousands of satisfied ‘members’. Fuck you crybabys. All of you that think the CR (or CL) needs you more than you need it, take off. Now. I dare you. I think it works out very nicely for you that you’re able to characterize other people’s opinions as “complete bullshit,” dare them never to post here again, call them “crybabys” and toss off an F-bomb or two, all in the course of denying the usefulness of the Pit being a free-for-all in which posters may vent their frustrations in whatever language seems handy and not worry about offending people. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615/249 "2008-12-23T10:19:41Z")
> [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](#): > > That’s complete bullshit. It’s neither the “vast” or the “majority”. It’s the squeaky wheels that Ed’s addressing. He knows it, they know it and so do the other thousands of satisfied ‘members’. Fuck you crybabys. All of you that think the CR (or CL) needs you more than you need it, take off. Now. I dare you. Reported. let’s see how these rules work. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615/250 "2008-12-23T10:53:10Z")
Oh, yeah, **Sapo**. I hadn’t remembered that this was an NPR Pit Thread and that calling people names and tossing off "fuck you"s wasn’t allowed. Will **Ed** deal harshly with \*\*Don’t fight the hypothetical \*\*, exactly as harshly as he might deal with a poster who used the same abusive language but in defiance, not support, of his new rules? We will all be scrutinizing the degree of harshness he metes out here. ---
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615/251 "2008-12-23T13:22:25Z")
> [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](#): > > That’s complete bullshit. It’s neither the “vast” or the “majority”. It’s the squeaky wheels that Ed’s addressing. He knows it, they know it and so do the other thousands of satisfied ‘members’. Fuck you crybabys. All of you that think the CR (or CL) needs you more than you need it, take off. Now. I dare you. **WARNING: Don’t fight** , non-Pit rules apply in this thread, as indicated in the title. That means no flaming or abuse (“fuck you crybabys”). Don’t do this again or you’ll be subject to disciplinary action. All participants in this thread are reminded to express themselves in civil terms. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615/252 "2008-12-23T21:51:04Z")
I need a cigarette. ---
**Author:** ![Mellivora\_capensis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mellivora\_capensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mellivora_capensis)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615/253 "2008-12-24T07:21:45Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > I need a cigarette. Chill, man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acceptable-conduct-in-the-pit-non-pit-rules-apply/477615.md?page=12)