# Pitting Dodgy\_Dude **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 6, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264 "2023-04-06T17:40:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/1 "2023-04-06T17:40:57Z")
I know we’re not supposed to accuse other posters of being trolls, but what else do you you call someone who starts threads with quasi-provocative OPs and then never responds to any of the replies? Someone like @Dodgy_Dude. With threads like this: > [@I don't understand the intensity of the hatred for Trump](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-the-intensity-of-the-hatred-for-trump/982150): > > I understand the left and the right not liking each other; that’s just business-as-usual for a two-party system. But when he was president it seemed as if I heard “Trump is literally Hitler!” every day of his presidency. Can someone explain - calmly and without exaggeration - exactly/specifically/precisely what Trump has done to drive his haters into such a frenzy? It’s in P&E, but if we take him at his word that he “doesn’t understand” then it’s pretty clear he’s never read any of the hundreds of threads about what we Dopers don’t like about Trump. But fine, OK … once a few (or a few dozen) people reply, how do you not respond? Unless you’re just sitting back laughing at all the libs taking your bait. And this seems to be his whole MO. For instance: [Now that the dust has settled on the Trump's Russia Hoax](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-the-dust-has-settled-on-the-trumps-russia-hoax/952952) Therefore, @Dodgy_Dude, consider yourself pitted. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/2 "2023-04-06T17:57:15Z")
> [@How is this not trolling?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/982215): > > In P&E, a poster wrote an OP that sure impresses me as an attempt to troll. When numerous people responded/engaged respectfully, the OP never returned. When I and another poster questioned the OP’s behavior that, we were told our remarks are improper. Don’t at least the more serious forums - GD, P&E - expect an OP to be written with the expectation that the OPer desires and intends to participate in a discussion? I’ve been told in the past that OPs of mine have been “too ranty.” In a simi… ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/3 "2023-04-06T17:58:34Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > [How is this not trolling?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/982215) Saw that thread but didn’t dive in. Didn’t realize it was about the same poster. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/4 "2023-04-06T18:07:40Z")
Not just the same poster, the same thread. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/5 "2023-04-06T18:10:42Z")
On the other hand, the thread by the troll in question did serve to summarize all of the reasons that Trump is a shitty human being and was an even shittier president. All the responses were pretty well written and thought out. Some excellent reasons were given. Great summary of Trump’s complete worthlessness. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/6 "2023-04-06T18:16:48Z")
[Exactly What It Says on the Tin](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin) ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/7 "2023-04-06T18:17:33Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > On the other hand, the thread by the troll in question did serve to summarize all of the reasons that Trump is a shitty human being and was an even shittier president. > > All the responses were pretty well written and thought out. Some excellent reasons were given. Great summary of Trump’s complete worthlessness. I agree. The responses were so good I bookmarked the thread for future reference. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/8 "2023-04-06T18:18:00Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > On the other hand, the thread by the troll in question did serve to summarize all of the reasons that Trump is a shitty human being and was an even shittier president. Well, I didn’t say it wasn’t a worthwhile thread. 😀 But if the OP had been genuinely interested in why people hate Trump, he would have followed up or maybe even challenged some of those excellent responses. If he’s not genuinely interested, he’s just a troll. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/9 "2023-04-06T18:20:21Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > And this seems to be his whole MO. For instance: [Now that the dust has settled on the Trump’s Russia Hoax](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-the-dust-has-settled-on-the-trumps-russia-hoax/952952) I thought this example was particularly bad because the OP never came back to clarify exactly what the Russia hoax was that was being referred to. And in general, I don’t like it when posters don’t return to their threads. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/10 "2023-04-06T18:27:26Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > If he’s not genuinely interested, he’s just a troll. Oh, absolutely. This fuckwit had no other purpose starting that thread. I would genuinely like to know why Trump is _loved_ by a segment of the population. I mean, those people who think he is The Best Ever. Those that think he is a Kind, Compassionate, Brilliant, LEADER. I think it’s been tried before here. But the folks who deify Trump don’t participate, mainly I think because they’re not here. SDMB (fighting ignorance, working in a reality based world, demanding cites, calling people on logical flaws in reasoning…) Is just not a venue that they do well in. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/11 "2023-04-06T18:30:22Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > But if the OP had been genuinely interested in why people hate Trump, he would have followed up or maybe even challenged some of those excellent responses. Not that I disagree with the premise of the thread, but you are giving him a lot of credit for being reasonably well informed and of at least average simian intelligence, neither of which I’m quite willing to grant just yet ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/12 "2023-04-06T18:49:14Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I would genuinely like to know why Trump is _loved_ by a segment of the population. I mean, those people who think he is The Best Ever. **Those that think he is a Kind, Compassionate, Brilliant** , LEADER. - They love him because he’s _not._ ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/13 "2023-04-06T19:08:40Z")
I’m of many minds about the subject of the (earned) pitting. When we discussed this in the Trolls thread, I said that this didn’t quite fit our normal troll profile. The poster in question interacts pretty rarely, practically doesn’t _read_ anything by the read time and number of posts reviewed, just drops in to pop off weird thoughts about movies and the universe, and disappears again. I’d think a troll would stick around and stir the pot, or at least read the outrage and gloat. Instead, and as I said there, I think a low-information poster with limited impulse control, that never thinks deeply about much of anything. Which would explain the clueless nature of the recent thread in question. Note, this is ALSO not a good look, because around here being ignorant (willfully so) and clueless aren’t particularly admired traits. So could be a troll, or just has the intellect and empathy of a box of rocks, final judgement pending on IF they ever come back to actually discuss. Since their prior history of said responses is pretty much zero, I have no problems calling them an intellectual coward at least. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/14 "2023-04-06T19:42:23Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I mean, those people who think he is The Best Ever. I once read a post on another forum that said “I’m 80 years old and trump is the best president in my lifetime!” And I replied, “you mean of FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, Obama and Biden, fucking trump is the best of all of them? None of them did anything worthwhile?” Shit, man, I rank Nixon higher than trump! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/15 "2023-04-06T19:47:53Z")
I don’t think he’s literally a troll, but he’s a Trumpist and his Trumpist posts fit the troll profile. Specifically, the typical troll tactic (apparently inspired by the game show _Jeopardy_) is to phrase their lunatic claims in the form of a question. The trolling arises from the implication that the question is genuine and the troll has a sincere interest in an answer. Thus, his earlier thread, which I hadn’t seen before, he trolls with the question: “Now that allegations of Trump links with Russia have been proven to be a hoax, what really happened?”. The current one asks the equally fascinating question “Why do leftists hate my orange hero so much?”. That one he is content to let lie there, like a steaming turd on the living room floor, and not even address the many replies, thus demonstrating how (un)interested he really was in a genuine answer. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/16 "2023-04-06T19:54:07Z")
Hey, he’s just asking questions. Don’t be so suspicious. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2023, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/17 "2023-04-06T19:56:21Z")
You have to feel sorry for the guy, really. He probably thinks he’s an American patriot, but his cult leader recently tried to overthrow our democracy. It can be hard to reconcile those two things, and his brain must be a little broken. I mean, I never had any Obama gear, Obama flags, etc., but I thought he was a good president with good ideas. Not my hero, by any means. However, if he tried to overthrow our representative democracy, I would have been a little shaken up. Now, imagine if I was the type to sink my boat because I loved him so much, or threw away my reputation in order to be in his cabinet or whatever. And then he tried to destroy the country I love? Man, that’s gotta leave a mental mark. So, don’t Pit d\_d, pity him instead. But, yeah, he can fuck right off with his habit of not returning to threads. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/18 "2023-04-06T19:56:21Z")
Politely, too. ---
**Author:** ![NinthAcolyte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ninthacolyte/32/13676_2.png) [@NinthAcolyte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinthAcolyte)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/19 "2023-04-06T20:04:48Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > > > I would genuinely like to know why Trump is _loved_ by a segment of the population. I mean, those people who think he is The Best Ever. **Those that think he is a Kind, Compassionate, Brilliant** , LEADER. - > > They love him because he’s _not._ [Freddie DeBoer did a piece recently bemoaning](https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/may-destroy-my-enemies-be-all-of) that for an astounding slice of the electorate, right _and_ left, the only relevant promise of politics is this: "_I will destroy your enemies."_ (Article is paywalled.) My friends and allies on the left are manifestly uninterested in workable concrete solutions to social ills, they want politicians who will shine a righteous light upon the evil workings of our political enemies and destroy them with glorious and lofty rhetoric. It’s even worse on the right, where the desire is to see their political enemies expelled from the country or thrown in jail. Donald Trump is extra-appealing because he’s willing to say it openly and out loud: “I will destroy your enemies.” ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264/20 "2023-04-06T20:10:32Z")
Yeah - I just thought it kinda dickish for someone to post what sure seemed like a disingenuous OP intended to rile people up, and then not even have the courtesy to stop back in and observe, “Hmm, I see what you mean” or “I still don’t understand the hatred.” I’ve posted OPs in the past and, even when they went off in a direction I had not intended and did not particularly cared for, I felt it incumbent on me to stop back and sat, “Thanks for your responses.” I guess I mistakenly thought an OPer has SOME MINIMAL obligation regarding the thread they initiated. My impression is the mods have gotten a tad more touchy-feely lately. Made me wonder if they would monitor what appeared to me pretty apparent trolling - especially as a mod was active in that thread. But they have a tough job to do, and a modded forum is preferable to un-modded. Sorry - don’t spend much time in the pit lately. Do I have to cause someone of goat felching? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-dodgy-dude/982264.md?page=2)