# Piling On **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 11, 2007, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572 "2007-01-11T17:01:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/41 "2007-01-12T03:32:07Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] **ETF** , I got the ponytail right in my image of you, but I never imagined a _platinum_ blond! Hey-hey-hey! [/QUOTE] Heh. It’s more the snows of age than platinum glamor. In fact, once past the sunny blondeness of youth, I was a [rather dark dishwater blonde.](http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/1371574575000735275bNIAaj) The silver threads have invaded deeper and deeper into the gold over the years, until now they dominate, leaving but a sad remnant of darkness huddled in the back beneath the [mud-streaked snowfall of my ponytail.](http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2945484430000735275tTTqBs) Now, how do I picture you? Hmmmm… Roundish glasses framing bright eyes that can offer a penetrating stare or a warm welcome. Short but well-coiffed gray hair framing an angular face given character by laugh lines. So, how far off am I? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/42 "2007-01-12T05:06:43Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] The subject of this thread is those posters who maliciously and dishonestly pile onto a poster for the sheer pleasure of torture. So . . . trust _who_? [/QUOTE] I don’t know what you mean by “dishonestly.” I don’t think there’s much dishonest about pile-on posting; the intent seems to clearly be to hurt. **Zoe** , like **Left Hand** , I left a different board recently when I was shouted down about hate speech being condoned under the guise of free speech. I didn’t leave because I felt my voice wasn’t being heard; I left because I didn’t want to continue contributing to a board that allowed hate speech. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/43 "2007-01-12T05:45:50Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] I don’t know what you mean by “dishonestly.” I don’t think there’s much dishonest about pile-on posting; the intent seems to clearly be to hurt. [/QUOTE] No; honest would be “I’m piling on here just because I want to make you dance like a monkey.” Dishonest is to pretend to contradict the pile-ee because you disagree, when your position is entirely irrelevant: you would contradict no matter what position the pile-ee has taken. See? Dishonesty. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/44 "2007-01-12T07:50:10Z")
**Liberal** I’ve seen quite a few Type 2 “pile-ons” and on rare occasions have been the target of a few. You stated: > [@](#): > > … in all likelihood, many of those who piled on did so for no reason other than having fun, supporting their friends, venting, or taking advantage of an opportunity to dump on someone they dislike. > \ > I doubt that piling on of that type will ever be forbidden unless the powers that be see it the same way. Sometimes, the emotional effect of a pile-on cannot be appreciated without being the object of it. Powers seldom are. (With notable exceptions.) But I think that the membership, at the very least, should recognize it for what it is, and call people on it when they do it. The viewpoints of Poster A are being suppressed by nothing more than noise. Sometimes, these pile-ons do go horribly out of control - even by Pit standards. I wish the moderators would be a little stricter in shutting such threads down. Don’t you think after 3 or 4 pages of “Doper XYZ is an idiot”, “Doper XYZ is a jerk”, etc that there is no point in letting that “discussion” continue? For a message board that is populated by some extremely knowledgeable, cultured and intelligent people, it is regrettable that these same folks do not exhibit a commensurate amount of maturity and good manners. (Heck I’ll admit that I sometimes have posted an immature or impolite comment.) And I’ve said about a zillion times - “hey folks, it’s only message board”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/45 "2007-01-12T07:59:21Z")
[QUOTE=wolf\_meister] Sometimes, these pile-ons do go horribly out of control - even by Pit standards. I wish the moderators would be a little stricter in shutting such threads down. Don’t you think after 3 or 4 pages of “Doper XYZ is an idiot”, “Doper XYZ is a jerk”, etc that there is no point in letting that “discussion” continue? [/QUOTE] Depends on if the Fuckwit of the Moment is fighting back, or not. If the mods start trying to pass out standing 8 counts or declaring TKOs, they just open themselves up to charges of bias for not allowing somebody to defend themself fairly. And charges of bias for not calling the TKO soon enough on posters they dislike. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2007, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/46 "2007-01-12T12:06:12Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] You can’t really be shouted down. That’s an illusion. You can continue to speak what you believe. You will probably be out-numbered, but your voice is still heard. _And maybe your words are more respected than theirs._ (It’s great to see you again!) [/QUOTE] Thanks–it’s good to be around again! And you’re right–“shouted down” is a figure of speech. What it really was, was that I was attacked in some vicious ways that upset me, and I didn’t want to be feeling upset any more, so I shut up. I should not have done so, I think. **lissener** , although I believe I have seen you believe you were subject to the sort of pile-on you’re describing, I do not believe I have ever seen such a pile-on on these boards. I expect you think I’m lying, but I’m not. And that’s all I’ll say in that direction. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/47 "2007-01-12T12:23:51Z")
I tried dealing with the pile-ons I sometimes attract by opining “Okay, I get that you disagree, as do several other posters–is this news to me or something? Would someone care to, you know, argue with me, or are you just going to be repeating ‘You’re rude,’ ‘you’re mean,’ ‘you suck’? I get it that I’m rude, I’m mean, I suck, but could I hear some kind of counter-argument?” It seems to me that votes for “PRR [or anyone] sucks.doesn’t suck” are hijacks of a sort–they turn the OP from “Discuss my controversial views on X” into “Discuss my character flaws.” Not so interesting–I can analyze my own character defects without your help, thank you very much, but if you don’t have much to say beyond that, could you maybe clear the room so we can talk? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/48 "2007-01-12T13:10:08Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] The reason I don’t participate as much as I used to is because of the pile-ons described in the OP. Specifically, the kind that are, indeed, related to trolling, because they’re not honest reactions; they’re malicious in intent, and designed only to elicit a specific reaction, with zero intent of making any actual point. [/QUOTE] **lissener** is the type of troll who believes that purposely bad films with sentient squid are logical proof of God’s existence :mad: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/49 "2007-01-12T14:41:15Z")
[QUOTE=El Cid Viscoso] The burning question is _when’s Guin gonna chime in_?!11 [/QUOTE] What the fuck did I do? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/50 "2007-01-12T15:01:13Z")
Pseudo, I participated recently in a pile-on with you on the bottom. It was a mixture of types 1 and 2. A lot of people were taking swipes at you just because they could and because Tom is a fairly popular mod. But some people were making legitimate points and asking you legitimate questions that you ignored. For example, you maintained that faith is a choice, but when asked whether you could choose to believe in God, you dodged. And so you were asked repeatedly, and I believe your last comment about it was that you could indeed so choose, but just didn’t want to at this time. That’s a complete copout. You should have admitted that the argument destroyed your premise. Because it did. But I don’t blame you completely. It’s a shame when “God, you’re an idiot” posts drown out “Here’s an experiment that proves you wrong” posts. Especially when they amount to nothing more than pulling up lawn chairs, which in all other contexts is prohibited. I think someone said that there’s no real way you can drown people out here (presumably because there’s a scroll bar and links to other pages). But in fact, people often complain that So-And-So is an attention whore or that they’re tired of reading about This-Or-That. And what they mean is that finding what they want to read in the middle of a lot of what they don’t is a chore. ---
**Author:** ![Leviosaurus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Leviosaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leviosaurus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/51 "2007-01-13T00:23:53Z")
Just want to jump in and point out that **Maastricht** had a [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8147280#post8147280) going about his family’s inheritance practices and how it seemed unfair. I had a post I worked on for a while to add to the conversation, but found he had closed it after getting piled on. I think there could have been an interesting and insightful discussion there, but it was killed because everyone had to tell \*\*Maastricht \*\* that they thought he was whiny. I mean, come on, people! The practices people use to deliver inheritances is a valid topic of discussion! The comments which amount to “It’s not your money, so don’t complain” are not adding value - it’s \*never \* the inheritor’s money, it’s the deceased’s money. Sheesh! Should we _never_ talk about these things? I don’t think a pile-on rule is a good idea, because it’s too vague to define. On the other hand, no-pile ons should be a SDMB **best practice**. **Maastricht** , if you want to re-open your thread or start a new one, I’d love to participate. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/52 "2007-01-17T11:56:06Z")
[QUOTE=Leviosaurus] **Maastricht** , if you want to re-open your thread or start a new one, I’d love to participate. [/QUOTE] You’re welcome to start such a thread. It might be best to keep it a GD thread though, abstract and impersonal; inheritances are a topic in which emotions can easily run high, as the money symbolizes both independence, and love and care (or, in the case of my thread, the lack thereof). ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/53 "2007-01-17T21:50:29Z")
I really don’t know why mods allow the piling on. And perversely, when people pile on the mods seem to assume the OP is “at fault” and he will get the warning and not the hecklers. I’ve seen this many times and fail to comprehend it. Hecklers should be banned, expecially if they are “old timers”, serial hecklers as it were, who for some reason get even more latitude. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/54 "2007-01-17T22:12:02Z")
[QUOTE=According to Pliny] I really don’t know why mods allow the piling on. [/quote] Because it doesn’t break (or even bend) any board rules. I personally don’t choose to behave like that because it makes for some pretty boring and unpleasant threads, but not because it’s forbidden. > [@](#): > > And perversely, when people pile on the mods seem to assume the OP is “at fault” and he will get the warning and not the hecklers. I don’t recall seeing the OP get a warning for people piling on in his thread. When I’ve seen OPs get warnings, it’s usually for a real board violation (reacting to the pile-on by slinging personal insults outside of the Pit), but not because of the pile-on. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/55 "2007-01-17T22:14:02Z")
[QUOTE=According to Pliny] I really don’t know why mods allow the piling on. [/QUOTE] Well, there could be any number of reasons based on my own experience: (1) The mod is unaware of the pile-on. (2) The mod is aware of the pile-on, but believes the user deserves it. (3) The mod is aware of the pile-on, but believes it does not violate any rule or guideline. (4) The mod believes that allowing the pile-on is a politically expedient move. (Yes, there is politics in any hierarchical command structure — even one this small.) (5) The mod fears interfering on behalf of an unpopular poster. And I’m sure there are others. Some good rationalizations, and some weak ones. But your analysis is insightful because it is true that the popularity of a pile-on can be a complete illusion. It could be only posters X, Y, and Z posting repeatedly and loudly in tandem with one another, driving the appearance of landslide opposition. It’s even worse when they later refer to their antics as confirmation of history to justify even more pile-ons. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/56 "2007-01-17T22:19:28Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] Because it doesn’t break (or even bend) any board rules. I personally don’t choose to behave like that because it makes for some pretty boring and unpleasant threads, but not because it’s forbidden. [/QUOTE] But it _is_ forbidden. Not directly, perhaps, but indirectly by virtue of both the no lawnchair rule and the no trolling rule. A “me too” post that is the third in a series repeating that a poster is an idiot is nothing but munching the popcorn or pulling out the lawnchair. And it’s trolling because its only point is to pile on another straw, in hopes of pushing the right button. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/57 "2007-01-17T22:29:02Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] But it _is_ forbidden. Not directly, perhaps, but indirectly by virtue of both the no lawnchair rule and the no trolling rule. A “me too” post that is the third in a series repeating that a poster is an idiot is nothing but munching the popcorn or pulling out the lawnchair. And it’s trolling because its only point is to pile on another straw, in hopes of pushing the right button. [/QUOTE] Hmm - gonna have to cogitate on that one. I can see what you’re saying. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/58 "2007-01-18T01:58:40Z")
**Lib** , I wonder if I could trouble you to link to one or two of what you consider to be really egregious examples of type 2 pile-ons. I ask for two main reasons: 1. I found these items on your list: > [@](#): > > (4) The mod believes that allowing the pile-on is a politically expedient move. (Yes, there is politics in any hierarchical command structure — even one this small.) > > (5) The mod fears interfering on behalf of an unpopular poster. to be particularly provocative, and I find myself wondering if this isn’t a new instance of you trying to shame the rest of the board into modifying our behavior to suit your notions of ethical treatment of one another.\* 1. I might have missed an especially juicy one, and when I’m in the right frame of mind, those can be _highly_ entertaining to read. 😃 \*I struggled with how best to word this – usually a sign to me that I’d be better off not posting at all, but I _did_ want to judge for myself if I could discern the validity of your concern, and how serious the problem is. I hope all is well with you and **Edlyn**. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/59 "2007-01-18T06:29:16Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] **Lib** , I wonder if I could trouble you to link to one or two of what you consider to be really egregious examples of type 2 pile-ons. I ask for two main reasons: 1. I found these items on your list:to be particularly provocative, and I find myself wondering if this isn’t a new instance of you trying to shame the rest of the board into modifying our behavior to suit your notions of ethical treatment of one another.\* 2. I might have missed an especially juicy one, and when I’m in the right frame of mind, those can be _highly_ entertaining to read. 😃 \*I struggled with how best to word this – usually a sign to me that I’d be better off not posting at all, but I _did_ want to judge for myself if I could discern the validity of your concern, and how serious the problem is. I hope all is well with you and **Edlyn**. 🙂 [/QUOTE] This will never be a productive line of inquiry. First of all, it is likely to draw attention to threads that have been mercifully allowed to fall off the front page. Second, it’s highly unlikely that a thread that brings out the mob-mentality in a bunch of Dopers will suddenly inspire them to go a 180 and agree that it was, in fact, a pile on. In other words, I find it highly unlikely that there is any thread, in the history of these boards, that will ever be designated by any kind of consensus, to be a true “type 2” pile on: the pilers on will always be a noisier bunch than the more reasonable among us; that’s the nature of a pile on. In other words, **Lib** , I believe **kaylasdad** ’s request for a “cite” is a lose-lose proposition, and I urge you to ignore it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572/60 "2007-01-18T06:56:05Z")
Fuck the rationalizations, I post in ways that amuse me and I hope the other posters strive to do the same (without being childish about it) because funny is better than polite. > [@AHunter3](#): > > Poster A: Where do you think the word “conservation” comes from? Whatever. This made me chuckle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piling-on/387572.md?page=4)