# Is it a bad thing to never be pitted? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 7, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541 "2014-12-07T01:13:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/21 "2014-12-07T13:11:48Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Everything being said about being pitted could also be said about getting warnings. If you don’t get some warnings once in a while, you’re being too bland. I don’t agree with that really. Any unimaginative idiot can get warnings. To me, it’s the same distinction I talked about in the OP with the two different kinds of pittings. ---
**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:** [December 7, 2014, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/22 "2014-12-07T15:18:48Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > i’m no talking about \*those \* pittings. What do you mean, “_those_ pittings”? If we were in a different forum I would take off the gloves and give a proper response. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/23 "2014-12-07T15:24:51Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I think it is because I tend to focus on Music, Art and Philosophy type threads. I mean, I will assert that Jim Morrison is a douchebag or that the Grateful Dead are sloppy and dull, but that rarely leads to Pittable exchanges. There was just a thing on TV last night about Morrison and the Doors. Yes, major douchebag. > [@Disposable Hero](#): > > Well they do say that a man without enemies is no kind of man at all. > > I wouldn’t worry about it, it probably just means that you’re a nice guy. Is there anyone here with more enemies than a “nice guy”? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/24 "2014-12-07T15:26:12Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > What do you mean, “_those_ pittings”? If we were in a different forum I would take off the gloves and give a proper response. :mad: _Those_ pittings for people who are not following forum rules and guidelines - (think etv78). The other kind is for people who follow the rules, but work people into a frenzy. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/25 "2014-12-07T15:45:52Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Is there anyone here with more enemies than a “nice guy”? That’s kind of exactly what I meant 😉 ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/26 "2014-12-07T15:47:17Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > That’s kind of exactly what I meant 😉 So, wait: sorry, I don’t want to make this about me, but are you saying that I’m basically a nice guy, and, kinda…ew…?? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/27 "2014-12-07T15:49:36Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > **Is it a bad thing to never be pitted?** A lot of people don’t read or post in The Pit regularly & they’ll probably never know (or maybe care). Probably everyone in IMHO is going to check The Pit now to see if there is a thread about them, unless there’s a link to one that you want us to look at. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/28 "2014-12-07T15:51:38Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > So, wait: sorry, I don’t want to make this about me, but are you saying that I’m basically a nice guy, and, kinda…ew…?? Well you know what they say, if the hat fits… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/29 "2014-12-07T16:11:46Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > How would you know if you WERE pitted? I’m new here, and I’ve wondered how that works. It’s considered bad form to open a pit thread and not inform the person of interest about it. Generally, one does that in the thread where the offense has taken place. But, of course, there is no rule enforcing that behavior and sometimes a person is Pitted for offenses that occur over time and in several threads. A member might post something like this in GD: _You’ll find my response to that post here._ Where “here” is a link to the Pit thread. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/30 "2014-12-07T16:12:59Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > Sounds like a dumb question on its face, I know. However (and keep in mind I only started reading the dope a year ago), it seems to me that if someone posts for a long time and never gets pitted it might mean they have nothing to say that is cutting or intelligent enough to rattle the sensibilities of people who have an opposing ideology. I am well aware that many pittings are not about that; they are justified frustration at disruptive posters who can barely follow the rules, but i’m no talking about \*those \* pittings. > [@ddsun](#): > > Well, that’s one way to look at it. Or, the poster is able to share thoughts and debate with others in a manner that avoids gratuitous insult, repetitious nonsense and general spewage. I suspect if you can stick with sane, rational, and reasonably intelligent, you’ll find many in the community who appreciate you just fine. There’s also the problem with posters whose brains have been so eaten away by syphilis that they must pit someone, anyone, in a desperate, crazed attempt to make the burning go away. I know that’s pretty much been the case with every single person who has pitted me. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/31 "2014-12-07T16:19:27Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > _Those_ pittings for people who are not following forum rules and guidelines - (think etv78). The other kind is for people who follow the rules, but work people into a frenzy. Here for a moment I was about to Pit you ------- but that explanation makes perfect sense. Hey! That could be the secret! Stop making sense! :smack: ---
**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:** [December 7, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/32 "2014-12-07T16:24:41Z")
I’ve been here since 2003, with a daily average post of over 10 for most of that time, and I’ve only been Pitted 3 times as I recall. One was entirely deserved, one was the result of another poster getting his panties in a bunch (we worked things out and are on quite friendly terms these days), and one backfired massively on the person who tried to take me to task. The vast majority of the posters here have never been Pitted. More than that figure have never been warned. But when your post-count gets past a certain indeterminate number and neither of those things has happened, you might want to examine your life. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/33 "2014-12-07T16:31:15Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > it seems to me that if someone posts for a long time and never gets pitted it might mean they have nothing to say that is cutting or intelligent enough to rattle the sensibilities of people who have an opposing ideology. Those bastards! I think you should go ahead and Pit “everyone who’s never been pitted.” Issue resolved. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/34 "2014-12-07T16:36:50Z")
I am of the opinion that if everything you say is 100% agreeable to your audience, you’re not contributing anything. We need dissenting voices to keep the conversation around here lively and to lessen the echo-chamber effect. But I think that’s different than being “Pittable”. Most people get dragged to the Pit when their posts are intentionally provocative, aka “trollish”. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/35 "2014-12-07T17:17:59Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever been pitted in my 7 or 8 years on the SDMB, but, as others have said about themselves, I tend to stay out of the political and religious discussions. I am mildly surprised that no one has ever pitted me for my frequent mentions of Kesha, though. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/36 "2014-12-07T17:18:04Z")
Not being pitted doesn’t mean you never say anything worthwhile. It seems mostly reserved for people who subtly troll or are persistent in clinging to a factually-disproved belief. That said my one big problem with the place is that some people seem to think “insults are allowed in the Pit” is the same as “insults are compulsory in the Pit.” ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541/37 "2014-12-07T17:55:12Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > How would you know if you WERE pitted? I’m new here, and I’ve wondered how that works. Do a search for threads with your name in them. You could search just for thread titles, but then you’re at the mercy of the spelling ability of somebody who doesn’t like you, and that’s not a good bet. Once people get down to brass tacks in the actual Pit thread, there should be at least one person who can spell your username right. Going on 14 years here and no Pitting for me. That I know of. :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-bad-thing-to-never-be-pitted/706541.md?page=1)