# I pit DrDeth **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 28, 2021, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971 "2021-02-28T19:52:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 58
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1145 "2021-08-18T07:09:57Z")
He’s not a conservative, is he? I guess it’s never had a chance to come up in any interaction I’ve had with him, which has generally just been general hostility, unrelated to politics, like his performance art in that _Octopus Teacher_ thread. It does make my question in [his previous suspension thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drdeths-suspension/940813) still relevant, but that’s closed and I don’t see the value of starting a new one. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1146 "2021-08-18T12:24:47Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > He’s not a conservative, is he? My interactions with him show that he’s got an idiosyncratic set of views. He’s super duper anti-gun-control and super duper anti-seeing-racism-in-gaming and super duper pro-Democrats and super duper pro-seeing-racism-in-terms-like-developing-countries. I think every one of his views is something I’m willing to have a conversation about. But he doesn’t ever say, “Interesting point,” or, “Huh, I hadn’t thought of that,” or, “While I understand why you’re seeing it that way, I see it differently.” I do appreciate his apology (I’d posted in ATMB that he’d been rude and supercilious and sneering, and he asked for me to show him where, and when I did, he apologized). If he can really make an effort not to go into those ruts of inflexible sneering thinking, I think he’d be an okay poster. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1147 "2021-08-18T12:28:32Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > He’s not a conservative, is he? > > I guess it’s never had a chance to come up in any interaction I’ve had with him, which has generally just been general hostility, unrelated to politics, like his performance art in that _Octopus Teacher_ thread. > > It does make my question in [his previous suspension thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drdeths-suspension/940813) still relevant, but that’s closed and I don’t see the value of starting a new one. Thank you for reminding me of this. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1148 "2021-08-18T13:45:40Z")
If anything, DrDeth is a case study for when a problematic poster is not a troll. It seems to be a vanishingly rare breed. I have never gotten the impression that DrDeth is trying to get a rise out of people, except in little ways like the a/an stuff. That doesn’t rise to ‘troll’ any more than ‘regards’ or the quarry thing. My hot take: there are people who have lots of trouble picking up on social cues in real life. 90% of those cues are simply not present in a message board. So this hypothetical person lowers their head and bulls forward, well past the point where they may or may not pick up on uncomfortable silence or eyerolling in real life. It’s also easy to skim past stuff you don’t want to read, so they’re not getting the same level of useful input that they need to read the room. And they need **lots** more input than your average bear. When a person like this finally realizes that they’re fucking up, they’re capable of apologizing and correcting their behavior because they’re not **trying** to be jerks. But they’re probably going to backslide eventually, and it’s nobody’s job here to gently remind them over and over again when they’re beginning to approach the line. So that’s how you end up with a poster who frustrates the people around them and who takes up disproportionate amounts of staff time. I think DrDeth values this board and I think he values the conversations that he has here. Whether that’s worth yet another chance ain’t my call, and I’m glad for it. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1149 "2021-08-18T14:05:26Z")
He’s also anti-bike lanes. And seems to hate bicyclists in general. Because we all prefer to ride on the sidewalk 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1150 "2021-08-19T12:31:52Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > I have never gotten the impression that DrDeth is trying to get a rise out of people, except in little ways like the a/an stuff. I assume that’s just being a poor typist, and not intentional. My phone tends to write “your” when i intended “you” and i guarantee you I’m not doing it to annoy anyone. I would guess it annoys me more than anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1151 "2021-08-19T12:36:24Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > As ma ~~n~~ y as an poster ca ~~n~~ get! [And then one more](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drdeth-suspended-30-days/949033/3) … Un-fucking-believable. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I assume that’s just being a poor typist, and not intentional. That would be believable if it didn’t happen all the time, and in both directions (a for an an for a). ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1152 "2021-08-19T12:44:14Z")
This thread will close in 10 hours as **DrDeth** is suspended for 30 days. @Miller might override this though and reopen it. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1153 "2021-08-19T13:36:05Z")
I just want to say I’ve always been more amused by **DrDeth** ’s antics than upset. > [@wguy123](#): > > He’s also anti-bike lanes. And seems to hate bicyclists in general. Because we all prefer to ride on the sidewalk 🙄 …although that gives me pause. There’s a special place in hell for people who would antagonize cyclists. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2021, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1154 "2021-08-19T13:45:37Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > > [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > > > I have never gotten the impression that DrDeth is trying to get a rise out of people, except in little ways like the a/an stuff. > > I assume that’s just being a poor typist, and not intentional. It is **absolutely** intentional. He’s even tried to defend this annoying idiosyncrasy, and persists in it even when told how annoying it is to some of us. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1155 "2021-08-19T13:57:07Z")
The ATMB thread is closed so I guess I’ll ask here… What’s the point of having an timer on when a thread topic is going to be closed (ETA: 9 hours at time of this post)? ---
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1156 "2021-08-19T14:11:37Z")
Nowadays I genuinely believe it is unintentional. He is just too stupid to understand the a/an rule, too stupid to learn how to use apostrophes and too stupid to learn to spell -ough words. He can’t admit this though, so when called on it he tries to save face by claiming he is deliberately improving communication. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1157 "2021-08-19T14:20:57Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > What’s the point of having an timer on when a thread topic is going to be closed (ETA: 9 hours at time of this post)? It gives people a chance to get any last thoughts in under the gun. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1158 "2021-08-19T14:23:00Z")
I’m fine closing it now, if that makes any difference. Hopefully he’ll show some humility and genuine change when he returns from vacation. And if he doesn’t, the “New Topic” button is right there. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1159 "2021-08-19T14:28:49Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > It gives people a chance to get any last thoughts in under the gun. Who would do an thing like that? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1160 "2021-08-19T14:30:29Z")
I thought people would be upset if I just closed it and this would head off another thread. We generally close suspension announcements, though there have been exceptions. So I thought I should close this thread before the day was out but leave it open for comments. _Have you ever noticed, no matter what decision a mod makes, someone will object?_ * * * ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1161 "2021-08-19T14:35:47Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Have you ever noticed, no matter what decision a mod makes, someone will object? I wasn’t objecting. Just curious as I’ve never noticed the practice before. It meets with my approval. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1162 "2021-08-19T14:38:10Z")
I thought it was the best choice in this case. Nothing being perfect. We have these timers which are kind of cool. I usually use them to temporarily close threads that are overheated in GD or P&E. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1163 "2021-08-19T14:53:23Z")
Not complaining! Just curious! Is it common practice to close a Pit Thread when the subject is suspended? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1164 "2021-08-19T14:55:36Z")
Not sure, but if it is a long suspension it seems like the right thing to do. As I mentioned, I might get overruled. Which is fine. We do close pit threads when someone is banned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971.md?page=57) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971.md?page=59)