How should the Pit be changed, if at all?

Sounds good, but this is virtually impossible to prove. Not anyone’s fault, just the way that message boards, particularly where snark is allowed, works. Someone saying something snarky to someone else is just posting in the thread. Posting multiple times in multiple threads to the same person is still just posting in a thread.

If you have suggestions or examples on what would be actionable, I’m seriously interested.

I just noticed this post. It seems like “harsh” only happens to people you like. Everyone else deserves what they get. But this would not be allowed outside the Pit.

Nor this.

Just to be clear, I’m not complaining about this. I’m just pointing this out because you brought it up.

I do, in some cases. Even if it isn’t the sole intention, it gets swept under the rug. No one can read minds about what people’s intentions are.

I just thought it was explanatory. I will also point out that the revised thread in IMHO that I posted on the advice of the mods got exactly 1 reply and 108 views. It’s past dead.

Many posters seem to feel like they like to post outside the pit so they can make their points clearly, without the insults, invective, jokes, off-topic posts and name-calling.

Different strokes for different folks. As I noted in that other thread, I posted solely in the Pit for a couple years. I can see why both kinds of posters have their preferences.

My wag is that Discourse is exacerbating the problem. In the past, the Pit was walled off from the rest of the forum. If you posted outside the Pit, you could be blissfully unaware of it. But now, people can mention you in the Pit or link your post there, and now you can’t ignore it as easily because of the notification system. So now the two worlds are colliding.

As I go out to other forums to see how they’re handling the problem, I’m acutely aware that I’m unaware of their culture and how that colors what I’m seeing. It’s hard to take part without thinking that I’m stepping on some cultural norm I’m not aware of.