# Have You Ever Wanted to Pit Another Doper? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 11, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138 "2005-01-11T01:41:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/41 "2005-01-11T21:14:38Z")
I’ve felt the urge to pit a few posters but then I realized that they were too stupid to pit. They would never comprehend either the insults I gave them or just how much the ideas they had posted were completly wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/42 "2005-01-12T01:55:39Z")
Before you pit another doper, do you e-mail them first to try and hash out the difference first, rather than airing the dirty laundry right off the bat for all to see? I don’t recall ever having pitted another doper, and I don’t see myself doing so anytime soon, I’m just curious about etiquette. I have a gentleman’s agreement with another doper to keep differences between us and try to work it out via e-mails or phone calls or large quantities of pizza delivered to each others house and sticking the other with payment rather than going to the pit. Is this typical? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/43 "2005-01-12T01:56:50Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > The only Dopers I can recall pitting offhand (other than by parody) were Desmostylus and Polycarp. Odd, though, now that you mention it… I haven’t been pitted in quite some time. Hm, already forgotten another, more recent incident? :wally ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/44 "2005-01-12T02:45:29Z")
Hey **Casey**! That thing about pizza sounds like a really good idea. Can anyone join in with that particular club? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/45 "2005-01-12T04:35:09Z")
Every time I have wanted to Pit a Doper, someone else beat me to it. I’m not kidding. I have started threads in the Pit, but never about another Doper. Other people are quicker on the draw than I am. I don’t know if I’d actually have the nerve to go through with Pitting someone, though. Do people PM each other before a Pitting, or do they just go straight there? Is there some sort of accepted procedure or is it anything goes? ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/46 "2005-01-12T05:11:51Z")
I’m really still trying to figure out why I have absolutely no desire to Pit anybody. I just don’t. It’s not like I’m afraid to, or have never seen anything Pitworthy. It’s certainly not because I’m too polite or thoughtful. I’m a total ass sometimes. Hell, I quite enjoy the Pit now-and-then anyway, because I can speak so freely. But I just don’t ever get the urge, and really, the idea of doing it just rubs me wrong somehow. You can insult me, tell me I’m daft, make ridiculous statements about things I care about…doesn’t matter. Cripes, what the hell is the matter with me? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/47 "2005-01-12T05:30:04Z")
Yes, I did wanted to pit other dopers. Problem is: I can’t remember who[m]. I’m easily angered, but I forget my anger after two minutes. Then something else catches my attention. Like in real life, I never stay angry for long and I don’t bear grudges. My SO can keep shtum for five days when we have an argument. Terrible! I’m more like: “ **##@!!#$$@!** ” - and then it’s over. Besides, I’m too lazy to type a lot. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/48 "2005-01-12T07:06:52Z")
Not in starting the actual thread no. But in reading some of the pit threads, I find some of the other dopers really interesting to discuss thing with. A few of the ones being pitted, or some of the ones who wind up being pitted because they come in and just make no sense in the thread, or completely miss the point and only use it to tout their one true cause, just become absolutely frantically foaming at the mouth about their “pet” belief. It’s just fascinating to watch them fall apart. Especially if what you and the other dopers are saying isn’t even what they’re arguing against, but it’s just that they’re so frantically glued to their viewpoint that they can’t look away long enough to see that the others aren’t saying what he/she thinks they’re saying. Plus, my big downfall/fault is insatiable curiosity, particularly regarding the one trick ponies. I always hope to discover what makes them tick. And, frequently while in the midst of a really interesting pit debate, I find that even the rabid can make me think, even if they themselves are being dum-dums. It’s a bit of a challenge to try and find a way to break through the void. Of course, most of the time those voids are made of kevlar armor, but once in a while, you can see a glimmer of light dawn. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/49 "2005-01-12T07:16:59Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > I hope the OP will forgive a slight hijack, but I would like to post in defense of the Pit. > > I spend almost all my time in the Pit…I’ve had my most interesting conversations in the Pit…I’ve learned the most about myself in the Pit…and I’ve become (I think) a better person IRL as a result of the time I’ve spent in the Pit…and _all_ of the friends I’ve made here have been in the Pit. > > In the Pit you find out a lot about your fellow posters. You find out if they are reasonable; if they can admit it when they’re wrong; if they will come to the defense of another poster who they think is right but who is being ganged up on unfairly; and if they are the type to hold a grudge or whether they’re willing to let bygones be bygones when you meet again. Often, you find out people you originally disliked or butted heads with are really pretty good people after all, and you become friends through the mutual respect and goodness that you come to perceive in each other. Then, before you know it, emails, gifts and favors are flowing, and you find your life has been enriched. > > The other forums are great for the purposes they exist to serve, and you can have a lot of fun in them, and you can learn the answer to almost any factual question in them as well. They are populated by many wonderful and helpful people. > > But if I spend much time in the other forums at all, I soon find myself fleeing to the wonderful, meaty chaos that is the Pit and the friends and enemies I’ve made there. Well said!! I like the pit for many of the same reasons you said. Yes, there are some horrendously negative vibes occasionally (November?? shiver), but one can avoid the threads that are going to be obvious bloodbaths. Or at least choose the bloodbath that you’ve got some intelligence on 😃 To me, it’s a fascinating potpourri of many different subjects, styles and personalities. IMHO seems to be so similar to me. Sort of like the good angel and the bad angel of the SDMB 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/50 "2005-01-12T10:34:13Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Hm, already forgotten another, more recent incident? :wally And have _you_ already forgotten that, though this is a general discussion about The BBQ Pit, you are not _in_ The BBQ Pit? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/51 "2005-01-12T13:12:41Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And have _you_ already forgotten that, though this is a general discussion about The BBQ Pit, you are not _in_ The BBQ Pit? Sorry – I shouldn’t have thrown in the Wally. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/52 "2005-01-12T16:09:51Z")
I have started two serious Pit threads. One was of a now-banned Dopers, and it was semi-light hearted. Nothing was going to get thru to him, so I might as well have some fun Pitting him before he was booted out. The other was more serious. The person involved made a seriously offensive remark in GD - not an insult to me or another Dopers, but an expression of the kind of off-handedly racist contempt for other people that almost instantly sent me into a rage. So I flamed him royally, and things went down hill from there. I regretted it later, in a way. It went beyond ugly, IMO. My fault. I think I have been Pitted more than I Pitted anyone else. Comes from being oblivious. Or maybe just not bothering to read a lot of the more stupid Dopers. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/53 "2005-01-12T17:44:48Z")
I’ve never pitted anyone, although I’ve been tempted. It’s like I _kinda_ want the confrontation, but don’t do it for fear that people will go back and dig up various stupid things I’ve said and use them against me. Any pit thread I’ve actively been involved in has usually gone badly for me. I tend to speak without thinking, and that’s bad news for me. And yeah, I take it personally even though it’s _just_ a messageboard. I want people on here to like me, not think I’m a troublemaker. ---
**Author:** ![Domokun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c77e96/32.png) [@Domokun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Domokun)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/54 "2005-01-12T18:05:54Z")
IMO biting the… err… keyboard is usually they best option. The rage soon passes. Unless someone says something nasty about ponies. There’re some wrongs that just have to be righted. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/55 "2005-01-12T20:15:19Z")
There was a poster whom everyone seemed to love, but I found extraordinarily irritating. Patronizing, self-aggrandizing, supercilious: a half-assed pseudo-intellectual of the worst kind. When I’d read this person’s posts, I’d be amazed that everyone seemed to unquestioningly accept the assertions of intellectual, moral, spiritual, and aesthetic superiority. I was always tempted to start a Pit thread, but (a) everyone would have jumped all over me, and (b) I knew that even if everyone agreed with me, as soon as I’d clicked “Submit” I would have been sorry for being such an ass, so I never did. And the mods eventually took care of the situation. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/56 "2005-01-12T20:42:26Z")
I’ve been tempted, and though I’ve started pit threads, I’ve never pitted a Doper. There have been ones that I’ve wanted to pit where another poster beat me to it, though I’m not sure I’d have done it anway. Also, I’m not sure how much good it does, besides venting. Most of the dopers I’ve wanted to pit aren’t ones who would benefit from having their faults pointed out, they’ve just been jackasses who are either too arrogant to see the error of their ways, or just plain unwilling to see another perspective. I can’t see myself pitting someone just to pit them. I’m pretty sure most of the people I’ve wanted to pit would just result in a pile-on of the pittee. I’m not averse to a pile-on in general, but I’d feel bad starting one. Also, I don’t hang around in GD all that much, and it seems that quite a few of the pit threads of dopers stem from comments or opinions expressed there. However, given these reasons for NOT starting pit threads, I’d probably start a lot more if I was nearly as good at the insults as some of the posters I’ve seen there 😃 ---
**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:** [January 12, 2005, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138/57 "2005-01-12T21:43:05Z")
I never pit other Dopers. Actually, that’s not true; I did pit another Doper once, and I was gratified to see that it was a [modest success](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=51270). But that’s the only one (and she wasn’t really a “true” Doper anyway). In fact, I’ve started only five Pit threads in all my time here, which is an average of less than one per year (!). (There was a sixth thread, over on the temporary BBBoy host, but it’s gone now.) There’s the one above, and the remainder are for events external to the board; no other Doper pittings from me. I’ve sometimes considered it, but I never follow through. I just don’t need the stress, to be honest; in order to compose a true flame, I have to keep myself in the pissed-off mindset that prompted the decision, and I’d rather just let it go and move on. I will admit, though, to happily joining pile-ons if I think the recipient is deserving. Not sure there’s a lot of honor in that, but it’s the truth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-wanted-to-pit-another-doper/284138.md?page=2)