# Drowning out others is okay in the Pit, but I wish it weren't **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 26, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211 "2026-06-26T21:48:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/182 "2026-07-04T02:57:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > we are talking when a thread is started purely to insult a fellow poster. The not very active thread in question was literally called “a mild pitting” and not much of an insult there: > [@Mild Pitting of Beck](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691): > > Over in CS, Beckdawreck is engaging in what I can only describe as “hotdish trutherism”; I.e., she asserts that Tim Walz must be lying about being a championship-winning hotdish cook, because he doesn’t “look” like he cooks. I barely ever engage with her and I don’t really care one away or another about her Kathy-esque rants, but at some point she really oughta learn that the things her gut is telling her aren’t necessarily true and just because you think it doesn’t mean you have to post it. … Seriously a pretty reasonable thoughtful constructive complaint. And moderately cleverly expressed with the “hot dish trutherism” bit. That’s a thread created to purely to insult her? That’s the savagery of the fearsome Pit? Okay @Mighty_Mouse did a more Pit style insult: > [@Mild Pitting of Beck](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/3): > > If you didn’t learn it at the knee of an illiterate confederate veteran, you don’t need to know it. I give it an 8. Not hateful and cleverly mocks her … thing. And right off Beck was complaining about being offended in the Pit, and @wolfpup was jumping in to call that beyond the pale … “needlessly cruel”? I’m sorry but c’mon … ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/183 "2026-07-04T03:53:05Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > The not very active thread in question was literally called “a mild pitting” and not much of an insult there: > > ``` > Mild Pitting of Beck The BBQ Pit > > ``` True, but the people who are saying “BAN THIS TACTIC!!!” arent talking about just one thread, now are they? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/184 "2026-07-04T04:26:54Z")
Well no one has said that. The OP, who is on record as less sure, only suggested it might be > [@CairoCarol](#): > > worthy of a gentle note And pretty much that’s been the tone of the critique. The moderator instead pretty much celebrated and endorsed it, declaring (foolishly I think) that using it was Beck “winning the thread”. That endorsement of the tactic was the bit that got me to post anyway. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/185 "2026-07-04T13:04:13Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > And right off Beck was complaining about being offended in the Pit, and @wolfpup was jumping in to call that beyond the pale … “needlessly cruel”? Your language lacks clarity. FTR, what I actually said (emphasis added) was “ **some of** the comments above **verge on** being needlessly cruel and were certainly unnecessary”. Which comments also included a pointless gratuitous insult against **Beck** ’s father. What was that supposed to accomplish? And **Beck** didn’t exactly complain that she was offended, she said that the ugly comment was offensive, which it was. > [@DSeid](#): > > I’m sorry but c’mon … Take a look at the the post made just a few hours ago in that Pit thread (Jul 4 5:06 AM, post #1246 in the scroll bar, by **Stratocaster** ). **Stratocaster** is taunting **Beck** to leave the board. So c’mon indeed – this is not mild or constructive criticism, it’s taunting and bullying. I’ve cited examples where we’ve lost valuable posters because of this kind of persistent harassment, and may lose another one who especially values this board as a source of companionship. > [@DSeid](#): > > And pretty much that’s been the tone of the critique. The moderator instead pretty much celebrated and endorsed it, declaring (foolishly I think) that using it was Beck “winning the thread” I repeat for about the tenth time that **Miller** carefully explained the reasoning for the moderation. Any other moderation would have been inconsistent with the way the Pit generally works (for example, tolerant of hijacks including very silly ones like posting recipes to disrupt a thread) and would rightly have been considered an unfair slam against **Beck**. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/186 "2026-07-04T13:10:41Z")
They were not “taunting her to leave the board.” She stated she was going to leave the board, likely hoping people would beg her to stay. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/187 "2026-07-04T14:41:49Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I’ve cited examples where we’ve lost valuable posters because of this kind of persistent harassment No, you haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/188 "2026-07-04T14:48:21Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Your language lacks clarity. Very on form! 😁 The “pointless gratuitous insult” was to my read neither pointless or gratuitous: it was a joking way to mock her folksy style of bringing “either her gut feeling as gospel truth or her grandad’s epigrams as divine truths” into most discussions that she would participate in in all fora. The complaint that the, yes mild, Pitting was about. This is ATMB. Relevance to the thread is simply that the moderation judgement of allowing the tactic is something I can understand even if I would hope it was otherwise; the judgement use in the moderation to encourage the behavior, to not just allow it but to declare it as “winning” was bad judgment. And has not done Beck any favors. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/189 "2026-07-04T14:58:18Z")
Oh, let me have my little gloat. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/190 "2026-07-06T22:08:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It has been made VERY clear that tactic is _only_ Okay in the Pit. And possibly ‘okay’ **only** in Pit threads that specifically Pit the person using the tactic. (Using it as a means of replying in a sort of ju-jitsu\* manner.) I know this hasn’t been decided—but it has been, at least, suggested. . . . \*“_focuses on using an attacker’s own energy and momentum against them rather than trying to overpower them with brute force_” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/191 "2026-07-06T23:31:44Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > And possibly ‘okay’ **only** in Pit threads that specifically Pit the person using the tactic. (Using it as a means of replying in a sort of ju-jitsu\* manner.) It does seem like that. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2026, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/192 "2026-07-07T12:38:58Z")
Since this has been bumped. The abject failure of the tactic has by now been well demonstrated. The point of the recipe post in response to a troll is to briefly signal not taking the bait. Doing a post like that in a Pit thread can be a signal of don’t care. But a series of posts to try to drown out any criticism of you? That isn’t using anyone else’s energy against them; it is lots of work. And the only people who would do that work are people who really care lots: be that hypersensitivity or loving the attention. And while I don’t know which applies here, or if both do, the tactic took a thread that had been briefly revived into full reanimation, with some of us who never had previous strong thoughts about Beck understanding now why so many are so frustrated with her … It is an _allowable_ Pit tactic but it is clearly not a winning one unless you define winning as getting any sort of attention at all. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2026, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/193 "2026-07-07T13:50:04Z")
If you can get six or seven supporters to join you, it lessens the workload. And in fact that is what is behind the [temporary] success of this attempt. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2026, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/194 "2026-07-07T15:13:15Z")
Look. I made my explanation in a thread they decided was so genius(🤪 ) and complete and perfect it should stand alone. They locked it. That was fine with me. I didn’t feel like fielding more and more and much more dissertations on my subversive self. And my apparent nefarious machinations to decieve you all. (🙄) Miller moderated. I think, brilliantly. In the pit thread. I stopped. I have had PMs from a couple mods. Engineer explained how and why ATMB works. I understand it better. Maybe I’m afraid you think I spent hours and days planning this and and setting out to do it(and doing what I’d write somewhere anyway, the stories are already in my head, just tripping off my pen or keystrokes)…because? Well, I don’t know why you’d think I’d do that. Because I didn’t. I did the thing, for sure I said I did. But it wasn’t a manifesto. It was stories that really happen to my boring life. I see these things around here. I think about them. Listen to this bunch prattle on about it. It bounces around in my head. If I think it’s cute or funny and it tickles me. I’d like to tell it. Not gonna happen often in my RL. I do write in journals. Daily. But sometimes I’d like to share it to a broader group. If you hate them, I’m sorry. Don’t know what to tell you. I’m not alone in this world, wanting to tell my dumb stories to others. Umm. Go to the auto-biography section of any library. Oh, and @CairoCarol I want to address you directly; I think your OP was great. I don’t think you were wanting to make this about “Me” as much as the moderation and how it was handled. I think that’s what this forum is for. That’s fair minded of you. Carol you are a bird in this world(that’s a compliment). Not another opportunity to punch ol’beck, again. Some posters think it is for that. They are clever enough to get their digs in hidden in paragraphs of gobbledy gook. Perhaps they do drive by hits, that go unnoticed. Before I slip into a clever anecdote or tales of the crap around here(about 7 things, I think are hilarious have happened just this morning..hey schools out and 6 kids are funny, to me) I’ll shut up. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2026, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/195 "2026-07-07T19:40:04Z")
Thanks for the kind and thoughtful words, @Beckdawrek . You certainly don’t need to shut up. Well, in this thread, maybe we should ALL shut up (I can’t believe we’re up to nearly 200 posts on what I think is a pretty minor matter - I didn’t expect such a surge of opinions), but you know your stories are appreciated by various posters in various parts of this board. Carry on! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/196 "2026-07-08T02:40:13Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I made my explanation in a thread they decided was so genius(🤪 ) and complete and perfect it should stand alone. They locked it. Solid post. > [@CairoCarol](#): > > Thanks for the kind and thoughtful words, @Beckdawrek . You certainly don’t need to shut up. Well, in this thread, maybe we should ALL shut up Good post. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211.md?page=9)