# New Rule about Thread Titles when Pitting Other Posters **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 18, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549 "2021-06-18T15:06:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/1 "2021-06-18T15:06:20Z")
Discourse has a feature where if you put a link to another thread into a post, it creates a back-link in the linked thread. Which has caused a minor issue with the Pit forum when someone Pits another poster, and the thread title contains a personal insult: the insulting thread title appears in the linked thread, effectively subverting the rule against insulting posters outside of the Pit. As there is no ready technical solution to this, we’re implementing a new rule regarding Pit threads that target other posters: **Pit threads targeting other posters cannot contain direct insults in their titles.** You can say stuff like, “Poster X, I’d like a word,” or “I pit Poster X.” You can include the reason for the Pitting, provided it’s not pejorative. “I Pit Poster X for his opinions about the Treaty of Ghent,” is fine. “I pit Poster X for being a racist,” is not. This rule does not apply to threads that are not about other posters on the board. “Politician X is a giant asshole!” remains a perfectly acceptable thread title. I think this will be a fairly straightforward rule change, but there might be some adjustments made as we put it into practice. We’ll be changing the titles of any currently active Pit threads to conform with this new rule. If you’d prefer a different title to the one we pick for your thread, feel free to IM me and I’ll change it to whatever you prefer - provided, of course, that it comports with the new rule. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/2 "2021-06-18T15:07:20Z")
---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/3 "2021-06-18T17:15:02Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > You can say stuff like, “Poster X, I’d like a word,” or “I pit Poster X.” You can include the reason for the Pitting, provided it’s not pejorative. “I Pit Poster X for his opinions about the Treaty of Ghent,” is fine. “I pit Poster X for being a racist,” is not. What about “I pit Poster X for his views on race”? ---
**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 18, 2021, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/4 "2021-06-18T17:16:10Z")
What about the omnibus Troll thread? Don’t see how that can stand without a title change, but I can’t think of a title that would be meaningful at all. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/5 "2021-06-18T17:29:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > What about the omnibus Troll thread? Yeah, omnibus Pittings are an issue with this new rule, and I’m not sure how to handle them. One possibility is just not allowing them, and enforcing a “one Pittee per Pit Thread” rule. I’m open to other suggestions, though. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/6 "2021-06-18T17:31:53Z")
Fair question. The actual phrasing is relatively benign, but the meaning is obvious - its unlikely anyone is getting pitted over their _support_ for racial equality. I’m inclined to say it’s acceptable, though. ---
**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 18, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/7 "2021-06-18T17:32:20Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > One possibility is just not allowing them, and enforcing a “one Pittee per Pit Thread” rule. I’m open to other suggestions, though. I’d say better to find some title that works, myself, even if it takes some thinking. Hell, just a “This Is An Omnibus Pitting” could work for the Trolls 'R Us one. Although I’d hate losing that lovely title. > [@Miller](#): > > Fair question. The actual phrasing is relatively benign, but the meaning is obvious - **its unlikely anyone is getting pitted over their _support_ for racial equality.** I’m inclined to say it’s acceptable, though. If it flies in GD, it should fly as a title. But I think that particular “views on race” phrasing would be very dependent on the surrounding sentence… Also - the bolded bit is kind of directly contradicted by one current Pit poster, and my previous pittings. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/8 "2021-06-18T18:14:24Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I’d say better to find some title that works, myself, even if it takes some thinking. Hell, just a “This Is An Omnibus Pitting” could work for the Trolls 'R Us one. Although I’d hate losing that lovely title. My concern there is that the title is so generic it’s almost meaningless. Just going off the title, it looks like the whole Pit forum, but in the form of a single thread. There’s also the thread currently titled **I Pit damariajashi and DemonTree** , which is also an omnibus thread, but for racists instead of trolls. Since the original thread title called out those two specifically, I didn’t spend a lot of time worrying over the title change, but it’s since been pointed out that it’s not exactly descriptive of the thread anymore. Two thread named “An omnibus pitting,” and “Another omnibus pitting” isn’t ideal. Although, considering **Babale** ’s question, I could go with “I Pit posters for their opinions about racism,” or something similar, and change the Trolls’r’Us thread to “An Omnibus Pitting,” relying on the thread’s length and history to make the context clear. Actually, I’m going to walk back my response to **Babale** temporarily and bring it up in the mod loop. Since the issue is Pit titles showing up in non-Pit threads, I should see what sort of titles the other forums’ mods are comfortable with. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/9 "2021-06-18T18:28:16Z")
I generally discourage linking fromt he troll’r us thread, not because of potential for insult, but because it often means that the troll ends up following it back and trolling the troll thread. ---
**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 18, 2021, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/10 "2021-06-18T19:42:16Z")
But that’s led to more than one sock banning, so I’d say is serving its purpose. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/11 "2021-06-18T19:54:50Z")
While the bigotry itself is definitely part of the issue, the main reason I made that thread was the disingenuousness. That’s why it was the first word in the title. So I would prefer a title that covers _how_ they discuss it. Personally, I wouldn’t actually waste time pitting someone who is openly racist. Nor would I pit someone for legitimate disagreement (i.e. Miller and I on one recent topic). But it’s when they are using rhetoric and junk to try and pretend they’re not being racist (or otherwise bigoted) that gets so under my skin. That’s not to say I’m opposed to a more generic omnibus thread about racism or bigotry in general. Just that it wasn’t my reason for making that thread. (Also, I wish I’d noticed this thread before PMing you.) ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/12 "2021-06-18T21:07:34Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Pit threads targeting other posters cannot contain direct insults in their titles. Well, at least I can still pit myself with vulgar titles. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/13 "2021-06-18T21:09:22Z")
I should bring back my Doofus pit thread name. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/14 "2021-06-18T21:35:48Z")
I was thinking this would become a problem some day. About the technical solutions. 1. [It is possible](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-linked-to-pit-threads/915314) to blur or hide backlinks with the site theme but it’s all or nothing. There’s currently no way to only blur/hide links to the Pit. And that’s it. ☹ It is theoretically possible to hide only Pit links, but as far as I can tell this would require changes to Discourse itself. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/15 "2021-06-18T22:23:05Z")
How about “I pit Poster XXX for his demented views on race”? “perverted views”? “Unenlightened views”? “Misbegotten views”? “Crummy views”? All OK? Some and not others? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/16 "2021-06-18T22:26:12Z")
No, none of those would be acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/17 "2021-06-19T08:42:21Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > One possibility is just not allowing them, and enforcing a “one Pittee per Pit Thread” rule. First off, thanks for the rule change, and for rolling it out so quickly. Hopefully most posters will cooperate with the intent of the rule, and not hassle you with a bunch of rule lawyer posts. Good luck! That said, I think the " one pittee per thread" is a great idea. If you are angry enough to pit someone, make the effort write out a paragraph. If you can’t put that much effort into it, maybe you weren’t that angry after all. ---
**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, 2021, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/18 "2021-06-19T09:26:08Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > That said, I think the " one pittee per thread" is a great idea. If you are angry enough to pit someone, make the effort write out a paragraph. I don’t see how the two relate. Sometimes you can come into a thread after several idiots have already made tag-team posts that require pitting (especially if you’re in a way different timezone to the USA’s ones) - why should you not be able to pit all of them for their collective idiocy in that thread? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/19 "2021-06-19T09:42:09Z")
Given the complaint that the Pit is just ‘attack other posters and not much else’, a claim easily dismissed by actually counting the fucking titles in the fucking Pit, a _One Pitee, One Subject, One Thread_ ‘’‘rule\*’’’ just gives them more ammo. \*I don’t think that rule is in place . . . yet. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549/20 "2021-06-19T11:21:30Z")
An illustration for techno-peasants… > [@What is this linking issue Miller is mentioning?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linking-issue-miller-is-mentioning/944605): > > The techno-peasant needs guidance. @Miller has started a thread in thePit about a new rule about linking threads. I’ve read his intro to the thread a few times and I’m afraid I don’t understand it. Back-linking? I don’t want to derail the discussion about the new rule, so thought I’d ask here: what is the technical issue about linking? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-about-thread-titles-when-pitting-other-posters/944549.md?page=2)