# Moving threads to The Pit **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 17, 2018, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357 "2018-05-17T18:14:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [May 18, 2018, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/61 "2018-05-18T13:01:11Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > I don’t think it’s about a poster _maybe_ getting insulted or being _forced_ to participate in a thread, but rather about a poster having agency over the content that he or she consumes. > > I do think it’s a reasonable expectation that if I post in [anywhere but the Pit], the responses I read will conform to a certain set of parameters. Those parameters are reasonable because they are the board’s default rules. The rules in the Pit are exceptions to our norms. > > I’m not personally up in arms about this, but I get the OP’s point. I get it too. And for clarity’s sake, the OP is using phraseology like “being forced to participate” in the Pit, if someone responds to an earlier post in a Pit-worthy way. So “maybe insulted” and “forced” come from that part of the OPs complaint. I believe that’s where a lot of the pushback is coming from. Again, no one is saying it should be the main way to handle threads. But other actions have downsides too (as I posted earlier) and a prohibition on this moderation tool is overkill and unnecessary. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/62 "2018-05-18T13:08:13Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I’m still trying to figure out how often this happens… At least [once](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=854463). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/63 "2018-05-18T13:12:43Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, more or less. > > And because posters are now free- nay _encouraged_- to personally insult the early participants, even tho they may eschew the PIT in general for that very reason. Question: Couldn’t one do that anyway indirectly? So, an OP is NOT moved to the Pit, but I really have a bone to chew with you. Can’t I copy your post, start a new thread in the Pit, paste it as a quote, and then rag on you anyway? Or is that not allowed? ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/64 "2018-05-18T13:15:19Z")
I don’t think this is a big deal at all (and I personally have no qualms about the Pit), but I think the OP may have a small point. Sometimes a poster has already invested a lot in a conversation outside of the Pit, based on the rules in place in that forum. Now it gets moved to the Pit and the poster is forced to either participate under ground rules that he finds distasteful or drop an ongoing conversation in which he’s already invested a lot of time and effort. Again, not that this is a huge deal, and that’s how things go on MBs and elsewhere. But I think it should be a consideration. The way I see it, if a thread has devolved to the point where all posts are Pit-worthy, and there’s virtually nothing else going on other than snark, then that’s the time to move it. But as long as some people are participating in the manner appropriate for the forum, then the thread should be allowed to remain where it is, and any non-conformers warned off. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/65 "2018-05-18T14:07:30Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > The way I see it, if a thread has devolved to the point where all posts are Pit-worthy, and there’s virtually nothing else going on other than snark, then that’s the time to move it. But as long as some people are participating in the manner appropriate for the forum, then the thread should be allowed to remain where it is, and any non-conformers warned off. And fortunately, that’s the way it works. . ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/66 "2018-05-18T14:17:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, however your post before moving is still there, thus you have been forced into participating in a Pit thread. > [@Miller](#): > > That’s not how linear time works. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/67 "2018-05-18T14:24:24Z")
> [@andros](#): > > And fortunately, that’s the way it works. > . Not always, from what I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/68 "2018-05-18T14:28:11Z")
> [@Wakinyan](#): > > I somewhat agree with the OP. If one starts a thread on a ”hot topic”, it may be fairly easy for others to have the thread derailed into the pit, as it were, where the OP is insulted instead of the argument debated. Understood, but it was mentioned (hopefully correctly) that someone can simply quote a poster in the original thread and put it in a new thread in the Pit and roast them anyway. If true, then one can be dragged kicking and screaming into the Pit regardless, but just in a different manner from that of moving the entire post itself. Since that is the case, not moving the post itself really isn’t going to accomplish anything in terms of protecting a poster. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2018, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/69 "2018-05-18T14:40:24Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Not always, from what I’ve seen. For example…? ---
**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:** [May 18, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/70 "2018-05-18T15:12:49Z")
Also, if someone were to start a Pit thread with the title “posters in the threads above and below here are poopyheads”, then when I hit New Posts the Pit insults could escape into the non-Pit zone. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/71 "2018-05-18T15:22:52Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I agree with the OP. > > If a poster starts a thread on a polarizing issue like Trump, sexism, or whatever. And they happen to have an unpopular opinion, Mods shouldn’t be allowed to move the thread to the Pit just so the other posters can bag on him or her with impunity. > > Close the damn thread and let someone else start a pit thread if they feel they must. I’m quoting this here because it seems like a bunch of you have not read it. I think it expresses the problems the OP is concerned about a little clearer maybe than the OP did. I think this is a valid issue and that for the most part a thread should not be moved to the pit very often and not if there are more than a couple of replies in it. I hope the mods read this and consider it. I’m sorry so many of you don’t seem to understand the OP’s concerns but some of you are leaning toward illustrating the problem of “bag on him or her with impunity” sort of behavior without actually crossing the line. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/72 "2018-05-18T15:23:56Z")
Maybe we could offer group pit therapy with actual supervised trips to the pit for our meeker members? ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/73 "2018-05-18T15:26:04Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > I’m quoting this here because it seems like a bunch of you have not read it. I think it expresses the problems the OP is concerned about a little clearer maybe than the OP did. I think this is a valid issue and that for the most part a thread should not be moved to the pit very often and not if there are more than a couple of replies in it. > > I hope the mods read this and consider it. I’m sorry so many of you don’t seem to understand the OP’s concerns but some of you are leaning toward illustrating the problem of “bag on him or her with impunity” sort of behavior without actually crossing the line. I think it would be informative to focus on the responses from the actual mods in this thread. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2018, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/74 "2018-05-18T15:26:29Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > I’m quoting this here because it seems like a bunch of you have not read it. I’ve read it, but I would still like to see a good example of it happening. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/75 "2018-05-18T15:32:21Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I think **DrDeth** is ascribing magical powers to the Pit that don’t actually exist. Well, the Pit is a magical place, that’s all I’m saying. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/76 "2018-05-18T15:40:54Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > I’m quoting this here because it seems like a bunch of you have not read it. I think it expresses the problems the OP is concerned about a little clearer maybe than the OP did. I think this is a valid issue and that for the most part a thread should not be moved to the pit very often and not if there are more than a couple of replies in it. > > I hope the mods read this and consider it. I’m sorry so many of you don’t seem to understand the OP’s concerns but some of you are leaning toward illustrating the problem of “bag on him or her with impunity” sort of behavior without actually crossing the line. Seconding **Czarcasm**. I’m not dismissing or denying your (and **Grrr!**'s and **DrDeth** ’s) points. I’m just wondering if this ever actually happens. . ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/77 "2018-05-18T15:41:58Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Well, the Pit is a magical place, that’s all I’m saying. 😉 I’ve seen threads just vanish into thin air there. Not a trace. Never happened. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/78 "2018-05-18T15:42:14Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Understood, but it was mentioned (hopefully correctly) that someone can simply quote a poster in the original thread and put it in a new thread in the Pit and roast them anyway. If true, then one can be dragged kicking and screaming into the Pit regardless, but just in a different manner from that of moving the entire post itself. Since that is the case, not moving the post itself really isn’t going to accomplish anything in terms of protecting a poster. I don’t agree. For instance, if I create a thread where I want to debate a say controversal subject, it would (in the words of the OP, though we might not discuss exactly the same thing) actually be “unfair” to move it to the pit, because I may not want to be insulted, but discuss the topic. If the thread is not moved, I get a discussion that is moderated, but if it is moved, I do not. But if a lets pile on Wakinyan thread is created in the pit, I can simply ignore it and keep discussing the topic as civil people. That is the problem with moving threads to the pit, in my opinion. (The “protection” you speak about is not relevant, in my opinion. ETA: I wouldn’t mind if I was pitted, but I would mind if I was unable to discuss a topic that interests me.) ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/79 "2018-05-18T15:43:32Z")
I thought that was Tahiti. I’ll admit, I’m not seeing the huge issue here. Does it besmirch one’s reputation or sense of self to have a post - made in another of our fora - appear in the BBQ Pit? I’d argue it doesn’t. Similar, in terms of being insulted or flamed in the Pit. As Robert Heinlein said, an insult is like a drink, it can only affect you if you accept it. I fail to see how being insulted can be a personal issue. As far as I’m concerned - and I don’t post in the Pit much for this reason - an insult delivered says far more negatively about the one delivering the insult than the poster being insulted. But different strokes and so forth. As the Coen brothers have written, “It’s a fool that looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart.” ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357/80 "2018-05-18T15:45:49Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’ve read it, but I would still like to see a good example of it happening. Here is the perfect example! [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9605308&postcount=17](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9605308&postcount=17) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-threads-to-the-pit/814357.md?page=5)