# If Pit threads for members are allowed, it should only be for things they post in the Pit **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 18, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320 "2018-06-18T14:30:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/61 "2018-06-19T04:09:34Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > YOU DO NOT SPEAK FOR THE WOMEN OF THIS BOARD. > > DO NOT USE US AS AN EXCUSE TO PUSH YOUR PERSONAL AGENDA. > > And do remember that many of our most reliable “Pit jerks” are women. > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > **Moderator Note** > We have already had multiple threads on this topic. We don’t need another one. Let’s not have any more hijacking of this thread. How is it a hijack if **Green Bean** is addressing the specific point that it’s because of the pit that women are leaving? I was going to say the same thing - that the pit is not the reason why there are fewer and fewer women. I’m not trying to be difficult but if **DrDeth** can make the claim that we women don’t like the pit, I think we should be able to respond. I love the pit. Some people just need to be called out for their jerktitude. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/62 "2018-06-19T04:10:06Z")
I don’t think it’s a problem to have the Pit forum. It is a lively place and can be a lot of fun. In no way did I mean to infer that the Pit should be shut down. But I see a difference between name calling between members posting within a Pit thread and a member creating a thread specifically to denigrate another member. No doubt there’s a lot of members who would enjoy having pit threads created about them, but that doesn’t mean everyone would enjoy it. Since a member-specific Pit thread is a personal attack against that member, there should be some limits about creating one. It shouldn’t be just a malcontent creating a thread because they don’t like another member or that member said something they didn’t like. That is, I shouldn’t be able to create a thread like “Soandso is a poopy head and starts stupid GQ threads” without good reason. Just the fact that the thread is created may hurt Soandso’s feelings and they might quit the board because they don’t like being insulted, they feel bullied, or they just don’t like responding to personal insults. So whatever reason for the member-specific Pit should be justified as being appropriate for a personal attack. But a member-specific Pit thread is not the same as a Pit thread to continue an argument from a thread in another forum. That seems okay to me. If the thread is instead “A continuation of the argument Soandso and I were having over in GD”, that seems like a great use of the Pit forum. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/63 "2018-06-19T04:14:26Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > **Moderator Note** > > We have already had multiple threads on this topic. We don’t need another one. Let’s not have any more hijacking of this thread. I respectfully submit that there was no hijack. DrDeth brought up the gender issues. He’s the OP and he was using the gender-based argument in order to support his main point. How could that be a hijack? Unless you are calling me the hijacker…not sure how responding to an on-topic point by the OP is a hijack, but you’re the boss. I will say that it’s sort of interesting that the mod note silencing that aspect of the discussion came when a woman dared to “shout” in response to gender-based stereotyping and Victorian-era paternalism by a male. You’re a good dude, ecg, and I know you didn’t mean it to come off like that, but damn… ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/64 "2018-06-19T04:19:16Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > I respectfully submit that there was no hijack. DrDeth brought up the gender issues. He’s the OP and he was using the gender-based argument in order to support his main point. How could that be a hijack? > > Unless you are calling me the hijacker…not sure how responding to an on-topic point by the OP is a hijack, but you’re the boss. > > I will say that it’s sort of interesting that the mod note silencing that aspect of the discussion came when a woman dared to “shout” in response to gender-based stereotyping and Victorian-era paternalism by a male. > > You’re a good dude, ecg, and I know you didn’t mean it to come off like that, but damn… **DrDeth** isn’t the OP. **filmore** started this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/65 "2018-06-19T04:24:37Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > **DrDeth** isn’t the OP. **filmore** started this thread. Well, that is admittedly a rather good point. DrDeth was the one going to the mat, as usual, so I assumed it had been his idea. I still consider it a non-hijack. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/66 "2018-06-19T04:30:36Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > You forgot dotards. And Doctors. ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/67 "2018-06-19T04:32:13Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > **DrDeth** isn’t the OP. **filmore** started this thread. He may as well have been. He’s been on this “Get Rid of the Pit” crusade for years. Never mind that he’s started his own Pit threads in the past, though they didn’t usually go the way he [wanted](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=690301). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/68 "2018-06-19T04:42:00Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > That is, I shouldn’t be able to create a thread like “Soandso is a poopy head and starts stupid GQ threads” without good reason. Why not? Most of those go South almost immediately. That’s half the fun of The Pit - watching badly constructed/aimed/intended Pittings backfire on people. ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/69 "2018-06-19T04:44:05Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > So the idea is that when someone gets fed up with nasty jerkitude that doesn’t quite break the rules as they stand, we shouldn’t have a place to call it out? We should just leave, perhaps? And the price to be paid for having that option is in addition to the fact people who have no interest in participating in the pit can be gossiped about there, there are few restrictions on defamatory speech directed toward another user. Example, what happened with **Chimera**. ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/70 "2018-06-19T04:52:49Z")
> [@Covfefe](#): > > And the price to be paid for having that option is in addition to the fact people who have no interest in participating in the pit can be gossiped about there, there are few restrictions on defamatory speech directed toward another user. Example, what happened with **Chimera**. That’s kind of a special case, and I think the jury is still out on it. As for the rest of your post - no, that’s not really how it works. The only “gossip” that takes place is talk about other posters’ behavior on the boards. That is, people are held to account for what they post on these forums. That is as it should be. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/71 "2018-06-19T04:54:16Z")
> [@Covfefe](#): > > And the price to be paid for having that option is in addition to the fact people who have no interest in participating in the pit can be gossiped about there, there are few restrictions on defamatory speech directed toward another user. Example, what happened with **Chimera**. Discussing a person’s public board posts is not “gossip.” ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/72 "2018-06-19T04:57:04Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > And leave nowhere on the board for us to call out the dips, dinks, dingbats, dorks, dummies, detestables, dopes, dolts, dimwits, ditzes, dastards, dunces, and deplorables that deign to darken our domain? > > I dramatically disagree! Delightfully dorky! Alliteration always allows amazing albeit academic achievement. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/73 "2018-06-19T04:57:09Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > How is it a hijack if **Green Bean** is addressing the specific point that it’s because of the pit that women are leaving? > [@Green\_Bean](#): > > I respectfully submit that there was no hijack. DrDeth brought up the gender issues. He’s the OP and he was using the gender-based argument in order to support his main point. How could that be a hijack? This isn’t a topic about why women are leaving. This thread was started by **filmore** , and the topic of it is whether SDMB users should be restricted to pitting for things only in the Pit or if pittings should include things done elsewhere. This thread has nothing to do with the way women are treated here. It was **DrDeth** who brought that into the thread, and others have continued it. Let’s focus on the actual topic of this thread, please. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2018, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/74 "2018-06-19T05:28:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Why is is necessary for you to be able to insult other members? Because other members are free to insult me and my kind in other forums, as long as they don’t actually call me nigger while they do it. ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/75 "2018-06-19T05:40:20Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Let’s focus on the actual topic of this thread, please. Point taken. Here’s my take on the topic of this thread: One of the most aggravating things on this board to me are threads started in one of the “fluff” forums like IMHO or MPSIMS that go something like, “What are some of your unpopular beliefs?” It doesn’t take long before some miscreant posts something like, “I’ve always thought Asian people shouldn’t be allowed to drive, because they don’t seem to know what they’re doing. No, I don’t have any hard statistics to back up my opinion, but that’s just what I’ve noticed driving around town. Tee hee.” Due to the rules of these forums, anyone wishing to challenge these statements is limited to making “civil” or “polite” arguments based on statistical data or other objective criteria. But for fuck’s sake! Sometimes posts like this (and the posters who make them) need to be flamed for the undiluted bullshit that the are. That’s why we need the Pit. Because no one is going to reason some ignorant asshole out of an ignorant asshole belief, so the best we can do is shout them down and drive them away with their tails between their legs. Sometimes the only argument is “Shut the fuck up, you asshole.” That is why the Pit is essential. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/76 "2018-06-19T13:04:51Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > So the idea is that when someone gets fed up with nasty jerkitude that doesn’t quite break the rules as they stand, we shouldn’t have a place to call it out? We should just leave, perhaps? If someone is really engaging in nasty jerkitude in non-Pit threads, call in the moderators to handle it. That’s their purpose. The jerk will get a warning and eventually banned if it keeps up. But when a member-pitting threads is about one member expressing their frustration about another member because of a difference of opinion, I feel they should suck it up. I don’t think people should start pit threads like “Soandso is becoming more like ConservativePolitician”. Even if that’s true, so what? This board is a place for people with various backgrounds to discuss various topics. There will be people here on either ends of any spectrum about any topic. People shouldn’t be able to insult people for being on one end or the other. It’s a feature of this community, not a defect. Insulting people for being on one end may make those people leave or be less likely to participate in discussions. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/77 "2018-06-19T14:20:08Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > If someone is really engaging in nasty jerkitude in non-Pit threads, call in the moderators to handle it. That’s their purpose. The jerk will get a warning and eventually banned if it keeps up. While we absolutely encourage reporting of anything you’re concerned about, not all bad behavior breaks the rules, and not all rule breaks get warnings (some get mod notes). You can be unhappy with someone’s behavior/attitude/posts and yet they do not rise to the level of a rules violation. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/78 "2018-06-19T15:13:43Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > You can be unhappy with someone’s behavior/attitude/posts and yet they do not rise to the level of a rules violation. Yankees fans, for example. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/79 "2018-06-19T15:14:14Z")
> [@splatterpunk](#): > > Point taken. > > Here’s my take on the topic of this thread: > > One of the most aggravating things on this board to me are threads started in one of the “fluff” forums like IMHO or MPSIMS that go something like, “What are some of your unpopular beliefs?” It doesn’t take long before some miscreant posts something like, “I’ve always thought Asian people shouldn’t be allowed to drive, because they don’t seem to know what they’re doing. No, I don’t have any hard statistics to back up my opinion, but that’s just what I’ve noticed driving around town. Tee hee.” > > Due to the rules of these forums, anyone wishing to challenge these statements is limited to making “civil” or “polite” arguments based on statistical data or other objective criteria. > > But for fuck’s sake! Sometimes posts like this (and the posters who make them) need to be flamed for the undiluted bullshit that the are. That’s why we need the Pit. Because no one is going to reason some ignorant asshole out of an ignorant asshole belief, so the best we can do is shout them down and drive them away with their tails between their legs. Sometimes the only argument is “Shut the fuck up, you asshole.” > > That is why the Pit is essential. But you see, as has been pointed out, posters can just ignore the Pit. So, you’re not gonna “shout them down and drive them away with their tails between their legs” for a post they made in IMHO. And honestly even if they do come to your Pitting, and if they really are a troll, all you are doing is feeding them, and making them happy. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320/80 "2018-06-19T15:23:21Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Yankees fans, for example. Hey! There are limits to toleration, dude! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-pit-threads-for-members-are-allowed-it-should-only-be-for-things-they-post-in-the-pit/816320.md?page=5)