The only too far in the Pit is not enough.
…or something. The impression I always got is that this board hates crybabies and hothouse orchids as much as ignorance, so a thick spraying of profane insult is a good way to skim out those too delicate or sensitive or naïve to read hardcore iconoclasm like atheism, reasoned pro-choicery, pro-gun ownership and occasionally pro-war sentiments that would get some people gasping in the Victorian corsets and fainting.
Quite honestly, the Pit is my favorite forum.
[QUOTE=Carlyjay]
Actually, I’ve been confused, too. I agree with the OP, things in the Pit aren’t necessarily as straightforward as they seem.
If it were a case of simple flaming or bitching about things that leave you irate, I’d understand it a heckofalot more. But I’ve started threads in here that were moved, apparently because I neglected to swear, or something.
It’s odd, and seems like a silly thing for a mod to waste their energy on, moving something from the Pit because it isn’t blue enough, or irate enough, or something. I don’t have an irate-o-meter loaded on my PC, so it’s hard to tell sometimes if my thread is “good” enough for the Pit.
The “rules” seem kind of arbitrary. So don’t worry, Harmonious Discord. You aren’t alone.
[/QUOTE]
There are three main categories of Pit threads:
The first two will pretty much never get moved out of the Pit. They are the Pit’s raison d’être.
The third category is more tricky. The general guideline I try to follow is whether or not a rant is likely to inspire strong feelings in others besides the OP, either in the form of ranting of their own or disagreement/mockery. So a Pitting of people who drive too slow in the left lane will stay, as it’s likely to attract either other people angry at the phenomenon or people who like driving slow in the left lane hotly defending their rights. A Pitting of a unique work or family situation will likely get moved, especially if the most likely response is sympathy, advice and support.
Don’t take it personally – we’re just trying to keep threads in the most appropriate forum. It’s hard to be perfectly consistent – I’ll leave threads that I think might be potentially flammable and have them turn into hug-fests, and I’ve moved threads that ended up getting pretty heated.
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord]
I worry , that in trying to make it pittable, I go to far, and it frustrates me.
[/QUOTE]
If it helps, we tend to decide by subject more than by invective, so there’s not much you can do. You might simply not be unpleasant enough for the Pit. 
I’m not getting the angst here. If your thread gets moved out of the Pit because the Mods decide it’s more appropriately placed in another forum – so what? The Pit is not “better” than MPSIMS or IMHO. Arguably, it’s worse, because here you can post some random minor complaint and 600 people may drop by to tell you that’s the stupidest thing they’ve ever heard and how could you be such a complete moron as to have thought that, and my God, it’s a miracle you manage to dress yourself in the morning (“First the socks, then the shoes”), you goat-feltching fuck-wit, you. (Cite.
Post what you like; if you put it in the wrong forum the nice moderators – very nice moderators, GIRAFFE even threw in a smiley face, for crissakes – will move it for you. Discussion continues, kisses all around (prehensile tongues used sparingly), and all’s right in the world.
If you think there’s more to it than that – Well, if you can’t figure out how to run with the big dogs, stay on the porch 'til you figure it out.
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers]
The only too far in the Pit is not enough.
…or something. The impression I always got is that this board hates crybabies and hothouse orchids as much as ignorance, so a thick spraying of profane insult is a good way to skim out those too delicate or sensitive or naïve to read hardcore iconoclasm like atheism, reasoned pro-choicery, pro-gun ownership and occasionally pro-war sentiments that would get some people gasping in the Victorian corsets and fainting.
[/QUOTE]
Oh, and it was only three fucking words, by the by. It may have looked like four, but that was an optical illusion, really it was…
[QUOTE=Jodi]
I’m not getting the angst here.
[/QUOTE]
Hmmm…lemme see.
Oh! That’s 'cause there was no angst.
Sigh…
[QUOTE=Carlyjay]
Actually, I’ve been confused, too. I agree with the OP, things in the Pit aren’t necessarily as straightforward as they seem.
If it were a case of simple flaming or bitching about things that leave you irate, I’d understand it a heckofalot more. But I’ve started threads in here that were moved, apparently because I neglected to swear, or something.
It’s odd, and seems like a silly thing for a mod to waste their energy on, moving something from the Pit because it isn’t blue enough, or irate enough, or something. I don’t have an irate-o-meter loaded on my PC, so it’s hard to tell sometimes if my thread is “good” enough for the Pit.
The “rules” seem kind of arbitrary. So don’t worry, Harmonious Discord. You aren’t alone.
[/QUOTE]
It’s the rage. Not the swearing, the deep, inner rage. You’re raging from your throat; for the pit, you need to rage from your diaphragm. Sit up straight. Take deep breaths . . . in . . . out. Don’t let your shoulders move. Feel the rage reverberating around your solar plexus.
And don’t swear for the sake of swearing. Enough swearing is probably an adequate substitute if your rage still isn’t up to the task, but frankly, there’s only so many times you can see people combine the words “baby-kicking”, “puppy-killing”, and “goat-felching” and still be amused. And don’t do that goddamn “Oh, and since this is the pit: poopoo!” thing either. That’s stupid.
If you’re soliciting commiseration, go to the mindless commiseration forum, MPSIMS. The pit is for your white-hot burning hatred, not your feelings about your pet bunny dying. Concentrate on that rage. Feel it permeate your body. Remember how your parents never really loved you. Let it gather in your stomach. Then release it. You’ll do fine.
Seriously, the word “goat-felching” is no longer even remotely funny.
If moderators move your threads without reason, this is the correct way to respond.
[QUOTE=Giraffe]
If it helps, we tend to decide by subject more than by invective, so there’s not much you can do. You might simply not be unpleasant enough for the Pit.
[/QUOTE]
You forgot to tell him that he won’t get banned for having threads moved from the Pit to another forum.
Anything with a hamster ia way not funny any longer. It’s time to step it up a notch, and go all out with hedgehogs. People can shove that up their ass.
Irate-o-meter That would be a great web page. Have the page give an iratation factor after analysing the web page for word content, ads, and embedded flash.
[QUOTE=Excalibre]
And don’t swear for the sake of swearing. Enough swearing is probably an adequate substitute if your rage still isn’t up to the task, but frankly, there’s only so many times you can see people combine the words “baby-kicking”, “puppy-killing”, and “goat-felching” and still be amused. And don’t do that goddamn “Oh, and since this is the pit: poopoo!” thing either. That’s stupid.
…
Seriously, the word “goat-felching” is no longer even remotely funny.
[/QUOTE]
Can I get a ‘word’? This has been one of my Pit pet peeves ever since I joined way back when.
Barring an extreme circumstance (such as a huge meltdown, I suppose), you’re not going to get banned out of nowhere. You’ll get an official warning from a mod (not just criticism from a mod posting as a normal user; a lot of times they’ll specifically say they’re acting in their moderator capacity, e.g. “mod hat on”) before you get banned. They’ll tell you what you did wrong and give you a second chance. Also, if you do get warned and you’re still unclear why, e-mail the mod who warned you, and I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to explain (as long as you’re polite and rational). The mods aren’t out to get you.
And I’m quoting this bit from Jodi:
because it’s how you’ll learn a lot of the SDMB etiquette, not just in the Pit, but in all of the fora. Lurking is good; observe how other members act, and make a mental note if/when someone gets warned–you’ll know not to do that in the future.
No real advice to offer here, as others have pointed out that I apparently don’t “get” the Pit either. That being said, I find it pretty amusing that in my nearly 6 (7, if you count lurking) years of being here, my first legitimate Pit thread triggered its own Pit thread.
[QUOTE=Anaamika]
Yup. And you were free, Harmonius Discord, to tell them not to complain. And they were free not to listen.
[/QUOTE]
It’s just a circle of freedom.
I don’t hang around the Pit, because what you are exposed to long term influences your outlook, mood, and personality. I decided I should work on being a nicer person, since being sick so long made me so negative. Trying to stop my negativity has gotten easier over time. Hanging around the pit long term can put me into the wrong mind set easily.
I do want to get it right when I post here, but I won’t hang around the Pit much. I think I have a better handle on it. Have a nice day! 
[QUOTE=jay-c]
No real advice to offer here, as others have pointed out that I apparently don’t “get” the Pit either. That being said, I find it pretty amusing that in my nearly 6 (7, if you count lurking) years of being here, my first legitimate Pit thread triggered its own Pit thread.
[/QUOTE]
No your pit thread was just fine. Unfortunately for you, it was destined to cause flaming in your own direction.
All that was said was that if you don’t want to take your licks for being a bit prissy about other people’s smells then a Blog would be better. If you are ready to get called a poncy fancy pants then the pit is the place to rant about such things.
ie. Harmonica Dick Sword said “let him just rant” and the voice of the pit replied "if he just wants to rant, use a blog: If you want to risk all in open discussion then this is the place. aka if you can’t stand the heat don’t use a habanero suppository.
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord]
I’m determined to get it right once and for all.
[/QUOTE]
Taking this sentence in the abstract, with “it” representing any human objective, I gotta say, “good luck with that.”
I seem to recall that some threads have actually been moved out of the pit for excessive niceness. I can’t provide a cite, but I am pretty sure it has happened.
You know, flame forums, asbestos rooms, and similar conventions are very ancient (in Internet History terms). Lots of BBS’s have had them, although few of them are worth reading, and even fewer have any actual exchange of anything other than gratuitous insults. Here at the SDMB the BBQ Pit serves us very well. It is a sort of pressure valve, the part of the device that keeps the rest of the system from exploding, and provides a bit of vulgar humor at the same time.
You don’t have to be rude, vulgar, or even confrontational to use the Pit, though. You can be snide, arrogant, or condescending, instead! Or all three! And for the very few who have the verbal skills, you can be vulgar, rude, confrontational, snide, arrogant, and condescending all at the same time! That requires having actual rhetorical significance hidden somewhere in your rant, though, and should be considered high art.
“As I know more of mankind, I expect less of them, and am ready now to call a man a good man, upon easier terms than I was formerly.” ~ Samuel Johnson, 1783 ~
If you are worried about being an inexperienced pitter, you can practice at home with cherries or olives. For that matter, if you think the words in your reply box won’t add anything to the discussion, you don’t have to post anything.
Preach it, Brother AskNott!
Think how much better this board would be if, before clicking the submit button, every poster read over the random characters in the reply box and asked themselves the simple question, “Would anybody, anywhere in the world, REALLY want to read what I just wrote?”
If you look over those words and realize that there is no possible way they could bring a scintilla of happiness to any sentient being anywhere in the universe, then perhaps you should hit the “Back” button instead of “Submit Reply”.