# 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:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [June 27, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/81 "2026-06-27T23:54:57Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > To me that seems utterly wacky. > > Vandalism of the commonweal is fine as long as your vandalistic goal is aimed at people who disagree w you? Really? When someone is Pitted, it’s basically them against the entire population of the board who may seek to pile on. It’s **Miller** ’s stated position that they should be allowed to defend themselves in any way they see fit, subject only to broader board rules that apply even in the Pit – no racism, no threatening harm, no threatening legal action, etc. As long as they’re within those rules I see no problem. Other posters have either ignored their Pit thread or gone to great lengths to engage in arguments to defend themselves. In one recent case, those arguments resulted in renewed pile-ons, and a poster whose politics I strongly disagreed with but who I thought was otherwise a valuable poster was driven off the board entirely, which I think was a loss to the board. I applaud **Beck** for taking a creative approach to being virtually pilloried. > [@TroutMan](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > **Beck** is defending herself in her own Pit thread in a rather creative way, and @Miller has (properly, in my view) acknowledged her right to do so, but only because it’s a thread dedicated to Pitting her. > > Some of us are talking past each other because of semantics – when I say “defending” I mean arguing against the accusations or the accusers. You are using “defending” as protecting her or others from hearing those accusations by discouraging people from posting them in the first place. They are both valid definitions, but she is only doing the latter, not the former, so saying “she has the right to defend herself” (a non-controversial statement on the surface) isn’t productive. It doesn’t get anyone closer to the actual discussion – what kind of defense do we want to encourage? The kind where **Beck** apologized in the relevant thread for a well-intentioned criticism that had been misinterpreted. That should have ended the issue. Instead, your somewhat inexplicable sarcastic post that rebooted the Pit thread brought on a pile-on that was then further driven by incorrect perceptions of what had actually happened. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/82 "2026-06-28T00:15:50Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Instead, your somewhat inexplicable sarcastic post that rebooted the Pit thread brought on a pile-on that was then further driven by incorrect perceptions of what had actually happened. For a whole 5 posts. That’s hardly a pile-on. Then it went back into dormancy. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/83 "2026-06-28T00:51:50Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The kind where **Beck** apologized in the relevant thread for a well-intentioned criticism that had been misinterpreted. That should have ended the issue. Instead, your somewhat inexplicable sarcastic post that rebooted the Pit thread brought on a pile-on that was then further driven by incorrect perceptions of what had actually happened. This is kind of amusing. My comment about Beck elicited a couple posts and an apology by Beck. No pile on, nothing else. Then another poster revived the thread 3 weeks later for some reason, and everyone was commenting on that poster, with nothing about Beck. Until you came in to relitigate the issue from 3 weeks previous, which was what restarted this mess. So don’t blame others for the “pile on.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/84 "2026-06-28T00:59:11Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > When someone is Pitted, it’s basically them against the entire population of the board who may seek to pile on. It’s **Miller** ’s stated position that they should be allowed to defend themselves in any way they see fit, subject only to broader board rules that apply even in the Pit – no racism, no threatening harm, no threatening legal action, etc. As long as they’re within those rules I see no problem. > > Other posters have either ignored their Pit thread or gone to great lengths to engage in arguments to defend themselves. In one recent case, those arguments resulted in renewed pile-ons, and a poster whose politics I strongly disagreed with but who I thought was otherwise a valuable poster was driven off the board entirely, which I think was a loss to the board. I applaud **Beck** for taking a creative approach to being virtually pilloried. Yes. Dont we applaud people who fight back against bullies? I congratulate Beck for doing so. isnt bullying something we should abhor? > [@LSLGuy](#): > > It’s a jerk move and merits censure wherever deployed. So are personal insults- in fact you can get banned for using them. **Except in the Pit.** Okay, let us compromise- no more Pitting of posters- such threads are kinda rare anyway. I mean, the attacks on public figures, raging against the machine etc are 20 times more common. And also ban the use of Becks tactics. Fair? But as long as we allow such bullying, I cant see why we would disallow a defense used against the bullies. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2026, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/85 "2026-06-28T01:07:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Dont we applaud people who fight back against bullies? In the case of the last part of the Pitting she agreed with the “bullies”. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Okay, let us compromise- no more Pitting of posters- But of course . . . like you’ve ever had a different position. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/86 "2026-06-28T01:17:21Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > But of course . . . like you’ve ever had a different position. Obviously, that is not my actual position here. My position is that Beck had a perfect right to do what she did (but ONLY in the Pit) a position that agrees with what Miller and the other Mods have stated/ In other words, I agree with the current state of affairs and the Mod’s ruling. If you want to change rules , then okay fine, I suggest another rule change. But I’d prefer just the status quo. I know, Beck outsmarted the bullies and ruined their fun. Good on her. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/87 "2026-06-28T01:29:32Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I know, Beck outsmarted the bullies and ruined their fun. She was _not_ being bullied. People were responding to chela’s bizarre revivification. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2026, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/88 "2026-06-28T01:29:51Z")
Criticizing someone isnt bullying. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/89 "2026-06-28T01:35:58Z")
A bunch of people attacking someone personally _is_ bullying, especially when they say she isnt allowed to fight back. That is kinda cowardly, isnt it? Shut up and take our insults! ---
**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:** [June 28, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/90 "2026-06-28T01:36:53Z")
Posters can fight back. When was that not allowed? ---
**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:** [June 28, 2026, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/91 "2026-06-28T01:46:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Shut up and take our insults! It was Beck, insulting a new poster, in ATMB no less. She fought back by acknowledging that her behavior was bullying and apologized and then, very shortly thereafter, ~~we all continued to pile on for hundreds of posts~~ the thread went dormant. Her supporters revived the thread and are now justifying what Beck herself said was unjustifiable. (And this lead to one of her supporters admitting that they bump threads solely for the purpose of driving threads they do not like “out of view”.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/92 "2026-06-28T01:54:40Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Posters can fight back. When was that not allowed? That is the new idea here suggested by several posters. “We dont like you fighting back against our bullying, it ruins our fun, so we want a new rule to prevent it.” ---
**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:** [June 28, 2026, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/93 "2026-06-28T01:56:28Z")
I thought fighting back meant saying, What you are accusing me of is wrong and heres why. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/94 "2026-06-28T02:04:33Z")
Posters have tried using that or simply using the truth, and it hasnt stopped the bullying. Becks idea seems to have worked. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2026, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/95 "2026-06-28T02:08:43Z")
I would just exit the thread then. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2026, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/96 "2026-06-28T02:10:02Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > My comment about Beck elicited a couple posts and an apology by Beck. No pile on, nothing else. Then another poster revived the thread 3 weeks later for some reason, and everyone was commenting on that poster, with nothing about Beck. Until you came in to relitigate the issue from 3 weeks previous, which was what restarted this mess. > > So don’t blame others for the “pile on.” Go back and review the history which you’ve obviously forgotten or are hallucinating. It was **you** who revived the thread on June 3 with **[this asinine bit of sarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/893)**. It was then revived again by **Chela** , 5 posts and 16 days later. I had I had no participation in that conversation at all until 19 posts later after that. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2026, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/97 "2026-06-28T02:11:31Z")
IIUC, bullying is against the rules. Have you reported these threads? Also, since you stated before that you don’t read Pit threads, how do you know about these threads? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/98 "2026-06-28T02:15:36Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Also, since you stated before that you don’t read Pit threads, how do you know about these threads? Many rules are not valid in the Pit. Here are the rules for the Pit- > [@Revised Forum Rules for the BBQ Pit: read this before posting](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revised-forum-rules-for-the-bbq-pit-read-this-before-posting/487209): > > The BBQ Pit is the forum for rants about the outside world or quarrels between posters - often the first turns into the second. Although the standards of discourse are looser than in the other forums, the Pit is NOT a free-for-all - you don’t have to be nice, but you do have to be reasonably civil. Please observe the following rules when posting in the Pit: Rants should be suitable for the Pit Cutesy, “I Pit puppies for being sooo cute!” non-Pittings are not welcome here. Put them in MPSIMS. R… I read part of the thread here, for example. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2026, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/99 "2026-06-28T02:17:15Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > It was **you** who revived the thread on June 3 with **[this asinine bit of sarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/893)**. Yes, to comment on behavior that Beck herself said is bullying. > [@wolfpup](#): > > It was then revived again by **Chela** , 5 posts and 16 days later. And it was that revivication that caused the problem. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211/100 "2026-06-28T03:17:57Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Go back and review the history which you’ve obviously forgotten or are hallucinating. Come on, no need to accuse me of hallucinating. It happened as I described. The discussion of Beck had ended and people were arguing with chela. You then responded to a message from 3 weeks earlier, which is what reopened any Beck commentary. It’s fine, you probably didn’t notice you were responding to a 3 week old message. No big deal. But don’t accuse others of piling on when it had died out and then restarted with your contribution. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drowning-out-others-is-okay-in-the-pit-but-i-wish-it-werent/1031211.md?page=6)