# Pitting in Obituary Threads? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 30, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054 "2018-06-30T16:40:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/21 "2018-06-30T20:43:03Z")
This is one I’d like clarified in regards to posting something negative in a thread about a dead celeb. E.g., I really, really wanted to point out some points about Barbara Bush when she died, but the thread was all (baffling) glowing glurge. Some counterpoints are really needed sometimes, esp. with regard to someone like her. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/22 "2018-06-30T21:29:17Z")
> [@Missy2U](#): > > I would agree. After reading the entire thread, I’m reversing my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2018, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/23 "2018-06-30T21:57:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > She touches him without permission, pus her arm around him\* > > […] > > - and why isnt that out of line? If someone put their pus around me I’d think it definitely out of line. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2018, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/24 "2018-06-30T22:54:20Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > This is one I’d like clarified in regards to posting something negative in a thread about a dead celeb. > > E.g., I really, really wanted to point out some points about Barbara Bush when she died, but the thread was all (baffling) glowing glurge. Some counterpoints are really needed sometimes, esp. with regard to someone like her. Why not open a Pit Thread for that purpose? If you think about a situation IRL, if a bunch of people were discussion someone who recently passed and sharing their memories about that person, would you think it was a good idea to jump in and tell them how awful that person really was? ---
**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:** [July 1, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/25 "2018-07-01T00:11:22Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Wow. I don’t know anything about Mr. EllisOn and don’t have strong opinions about the question in the OP in general…but I am 100 percent with Emiliana here. The guy supposedly sexually assaulted a poster’s mother and we want that poster to shut up about it in a thread about the assaulter? Damn straight that’s fair game. If it were my mom I’d be shouting it from the rooftops too. Which is also part of what I said. > [@](#): > > But this appears to have been about an event that affected the poster personally–that their mother was raped by this man. I would find it extremely callous to tell that person that they were out of line for their very understandable, emotional reaction. As long as people don’t freak out about, I’d just leave it alone. Emiliana seems to disagree. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2018, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/26 "2018-07-01T00:21:56Z")
Do we want the rule to be: Don’t threadshit in RIP threads unless you claim to have a personal reason for doing so. And if you do make that claim, feel free to offer other negative comments like: > [@](#): > > Has anyone ever been more full of themselves, go watch is video review of Saving Mr. Banks sometime and see how long you last be fore walking away in disgust. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2018, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/27 "2018-07-01T00:35:37Z")
Harlan Ellison died? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2018, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/28 "2018-07-01T06:16:56Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Harlan Ellison died? Wait, he was still alive? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2018, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/29 "2018-07-01T12:53:32Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Why not open a Pit Thread for that purpose? If you think about a situation IRL, if a bunch of people were discussion someone who recently passed and sharing their memories about that person, would you think it was a good idea to jump in and tell them how awful that person really was? A: I don’t do the Pit. B: People post quite negative things about famous people all the time in other forums, why should such comments be limited to the Pit? C: Why start a new thread at all? People post good and bad things about living people all the time. Why should the recently deceased be excluded? ---
**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:** [July 1, 2018, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/30 "2018-07-01T12:56:26Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Because that same reason why you dont mention that Gilligans Island is a piece of shit comedy in a thread about how fun the show was. It’s called "threadshitting’. I wouldn’t go into a thread about Gilligan’s Island to describe how much I disliked the comedy, but I might mention in a thread about the Cosby Show that a certain actor’s behavior made it hard for me to enjoy the show any more. And when Cosby dies, I sure as hell hope the death thread doesn’t have “no mentioning his rapes” rules appended to it. It’s not threadshitting. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2018, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/31 "2018-07-01T13:11:57Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Wait, he was still alive? Death finally got up the nerve to confront him. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2018, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/32 "2018-07-01T13:21:00Z")
Posting the good and bad about someone in a memorial thread has been allowed on and off in this boards history. It has depended on the Moderator in question over the years but it’s generally been allowed. It’s certainly not threadshitting to give your opinion on the person especially if their behavior was egregious. If the thread was “what is your favorite Ellison book?”, I would agree. That’s not what this is. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2018, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/33 "2018-07-01T14:29:38Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Posting the good and bad about someone in a memorial thread has been allowed on and off in this boards history. It has depended on the Moderator in question over the years but it’s generally been allowed. It’s certainly not threadshitting to give your opinion on the person especially if their behavior was egregious. > > If the thread was “what is your favorite Ellison book?”, I would agree. That’s not what this is. That said, I don’t disagree with Chronos’s moderation. He allowed for criticism so long as it’s within the general rules for the forum. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/34 "2018-07-01T14:53:20Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > A: I don’t do the Pit. That’s a problem you have created for yourself and not something the board needs to adjust itself to. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2018, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/35 "2018-07-01T16:41:47Z")
No, that’s saying that the only place to criticize a deceased public figure is the Pit. That’s far too restrictive. If a public figure dies and I want to comment on that person’s negatives in the thread discussing his/her life, why not, in the general discussion? You shouldn’t have to go to a separate forum to comment on the negatives; that’s not fighting ignorance. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/36 "2018-07-01T17:16:21Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > No, that’s saying that the only place to criticize a deceased public figure is the Pit. No, it’s not saying that. It’s saying that under the very narrow situation where the thread is an “RIP thread”, don’t be a jerk by coming into that thread to take a crap. If we are discussing the evils of slavery in GD, there is nothing stopping me from criticizing George Washington for being a slaveholder. > [@](#): > > That’s far too restrictive. If a public figure dies and I want to comment on that person’s negatives in the thread discussing his/her life, why not, in the general discussion? You shouldn’t have to go to a separate forum to comment on the negatives; that’s not fighting ignorance. It’s not a “general discussion”. It’s an RIP thread. The overriding rule on this MB is don’t be a jerk. There are no GET OUT OF JAIL FREE cards for being a jerk, no matter what you are doing otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2018, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/37 "2018-07-01T17:23:22Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, it’s an \*obituary. \*You dont speak ill of the dead in a obituary. Ok, now I’m confused. Is it, “an obituary” or “a obituary”? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/38 "2018-07-01T17:32:34Z")
So when Charles Manson died, the only posts permitted in his RIP were praising him for his family values? We’re not allowed to say that “Rest in Peace, Charles” was in itself a horrible abomination? Just kitties and unicorns in MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/39 "2018-07-01T17:38:33Z")
Bill Cosby is another example, mentioned upthread. When he shuffles off this mortal coil, can I start an RIP thread that says how much I enjoyed his comedy records, and his two different shows, because they all brought me a lot of pleasure at the time (which they did), but then if the next post is “but he was a rapist!”, it’s out of line and warrants moderation? Just putting “RIP” in the title doesn’t exclude the truth from being said about the deceased. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2018, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054/40 "2018-07-01T17:42:53Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > So when Charles Manson died, the only posts permitted in his RIP were praising him for his family values? We’re not allowed to say that “Rest in Peace, Charles” was in itself a horrible abomination? Just kitties and unicorns in MPSIMS. Of course not. An obituary on a message board is to discuss their life; good and bad. You just can’t be a jerk when doing so. You can say that Ellison was an ass. You can’t say that anyone who supports him is an ass. That’s how it’s generally always been here. An honest evaluation of the life of a celebrity it completely fair game and not at all threadshitting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-in-obituary-threads/817054.md?page=3)