# Pitting Uzi's useless claim about the SDMB being an echo chamber **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 8, 2025, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060 "2025-02-08T21:24:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [February 8, 2025, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/21 "2025-02-08T23:47:12Z")
> [@Culling\_The\_Herd](#): > > Serious Question: Is there really an actual menu of topics on which dissension is forbidden here or were you being facetious? I’ve never heard of that anywhere either but I’d like to see what’s on it if it exists. [Here ya go.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rules-for-great-debates-and-elections-january-2020/845726) Scroll down to the " Thrice Told Tales are off limits " section. ---
**Author:** ![WalterBishop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@WalterBishop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WalterBishop)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2025, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/22 "2025-02-08T23:52:06Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Yes. Explicitly so. When you claim that the 2020 election was stolen or that Biden was a master criminal and can’t get anyone to agree with your total lack of evidence to support your case, you’re losing. Who’s claiming that? Was that a real example? Can you link to it? ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2025, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/23 "2025-02-08T23:52:12Z")
> [@WalterBishop](#): > > > [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > > > But wouldn’t sites like Breitbart and 8-chan expressly forbid things like, say, DEI advocacy? I’m unfamiliar with those sites, so hopefully I can get clarification on this. > > I’m afraid I’m unfamiliar with them too, so I can’t say either. To be clear, I’m not stating as fact that the SDMB is the only board with a forbidden topics list, just that it’s the only one I’ve come across. Actually, every conservative message board I’ve ever visited will immediately ban anyone that posts a non-conservative point of view, and they all have rules like “attacking and insulting other conservatives is forbidden, but liberals are fair game”. They may not have rules forbidding the discussion of any given topic, but they don’t need them….because any opinion that doesn’t toe the right wing party line is immediately deleted and the poster banned. They are absolute echo chambers. If you don’t like it here, go there and don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out. You’d fit in better there. Personally, I think this board goes way too far in its appeasement of conservatives. While conservatives may not understand the nuances of the various liberal POV’s and write them off as an echo chamber, to me that’s what makes the board interesting. Instead, every thread turns into the constant debunkment of Fox News bullshit talking points, and it’s tedious. If all the conservatives on this board disappeared tomorrow, I would be very happy and I might come back and start posting more again. TL/dr……..Go Away ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/24 "2025-02-08T23:54:04Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > If this place is such an intolerable echo chamber then why in God’s name are you guys wasting your time here? I didn’t understand that at all. It’s part of how the right takes places over. They browbeat people into being “fair and open minded”, which in this context means “admitting” that right wing ideas like the inferiority of non-whites and women, the innate evil of non-Christians and so on are reasonable positions to take and bashing anyone who disagrees as “close minded”. This drives away anyone who _isn’t_ right wing, and either they end up in control or the forum/club/newspaper/whatever shuts down entirely for a lack of traffic. ---
**Author:** ![WalterBishop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@WalterBishop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WalterBishop)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/25 "2025-02-09T00:01:01Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Calling this place an “echo chamber” is what a loser whines about when they have an unpopular opinion, especially one based on total misinformation. It’s not something to be “embraced”. You wish that’s all it is. More than once, I’ve been reading a thread and I’ve seen a person express a reasonable, defensible view, only to be piled on repeatedly by a half-dozen or more other posters (many of whom are just polluting the thread with witless snark) and I’ve thought “Jesus, this place can really be an echo chamber”. I’d be very surprised if I was the only member who ever felt that way. ---
**Author:** ![WalterBishop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@WalterBishop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WalterBishop)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/26 "2025-02-09T00:04:31Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > They are absolute echo chambers. If you don’t like it here, go there and don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out. You’d fit in better there. You’re very defensive about your precious board. I think I’ll stay, thanks, if for no better reason than that it seems like it would mildly irritate you. Please feel free to block me if you don’t like it. It would have absolutely no effect on me one way or the other. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/27 "2025-02-09T00:06:05Z")
> [@WalterBishop](#): > > You wish that’s all it is. More than once, I’ve been reading a thread and I’ve seen a person express a reasonable, defensible view, only to be piled on repeatedly by a half-dozen or more other posters (many of whom are just polluting the thread with witless snark) and I’ve thought “Jesus, this place can really be an echo chamber”. I’d be very surprised if I was the only member who ever felt that way. Well, I have seen from you only a one line defense of an opinion, an opinion that I already showed examples about how that was not “well said”. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/28 "2025-02-09T00:10:09Z")
> [@WalterBishop](#): > > You’re very defensive about your precious board. I think I’ll stay, thanks, if for no better reason than that it seems like it would mildly irritate you. Please feel free to block me if you don’t like it. It would have absolutely no effect on me one way or the other. About that, there are also rules about not trolling others, so. Yeah, there can be effects on you for not following rules. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![Culling\_The\_Herd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Culling\_The\_Herd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Culling_The_Herd)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/29 "2025-02-09T00:19:25Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > About that, there are also rules about not trolling others, so. Yeah, there can be effects on you for not following rules. Just a thought. Since someone was kind enough to recently direct me to the rules of the site, I see too that posters are expected to encourage and enhance the ability to participate in discussions without distracting or discouraging others from reading and participating…Things that … that detract from those goals are discouraged. “Don’t try to shut them out because they have a different opinion or belief.” I see some of that behavior going on here. “If all the conservatives on this board disappeared tomorrow, I would be very happy and I might come back and start posting more again.” “If this place is such an intolerable echo chamber then why in God’s name are you guys wasting your time here?” “They are absolute echo chambers. If you don’t like it here, go there and don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out. You’d fit in better there.” ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/30 "2025-02-09T00:22:41Z")
If you think I’m breaking rules then you should report my posts. Passive aggressive whining won’t result in much. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/31 "2025-02-09T00:25:08Z")
> [@WalterBishop](#): > > Who’s claiming that? Was that a real example? HoneyBadgerDC in particular is fond of such claims. And he’s a long-time poster (though a controversial one). > [@WalterBishop](#): > > Can you link to it? It’s probably better to link to his Pit thread. > [@Pitting Honeybadger](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183): > > So, according to you [here](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=850594), I can finally hang out in mixed company having learned the way to comport myself after generations of being, well, too black. It only took a president and some athletes to show me how to act more like a white person. I wonder how many will come in here and claim that calling this bullshit racist is going too far. Especially since he can’t be a racist since he’s dated quite a few blacks (although, heaven forbid, not AMERICAN blacks). No, your head isn’t in the sand,… Oh, a two-fer there; Sam Stone is in that thread to not only defend HBDC’s unsubstantiated claims but in the process to call everyone a bully and potential murderers for driving people to suicide. > [@Pitting Honeybadger](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/944): > > I defend Honeybadger because I don’t like bullies. I have stood up against bullies my entire life. In fact, that’s how I met my wife. She was being bullied by a couple of men at a baseball game, and I stepped up and told them to get stuffed. And make no mistake: You ARE bullies. You punch down at individuals from a position of being part of the dominant group. You don’t stop at just correcting people, but you continue to mock them and publicly discuss their failings and lack of intellige… This is the kind of thing we’re usually dealing with as these “echo chamber” accusations get tossed around. (Or as Octopus likes to call the board, “the hive”.) ---
**Author:** ![Culling\_The\_Herd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Culling\_The\_Herd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Culling_The_Herd)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/32 "2025-02-09T00:25:56Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > If you think I’m breaking rules then you should report my posts. I would RATHER everyone just engage in a polite discussion, which seems to be what this site is for. Urging people to leave in unfriendly terms only seems to support the ‘echo chamber’ argument. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/33 "2025-02-09T00:26:55Z")
> [@Culling\_The\_Herd](#): > > I see some of that behavior going on here. Because this is the Pit. Some of those rules don’t apply here. And some people avoid this place because of it; I did for years myself so I understand and even respect that. If that disturbs you, you should also avoid it, and again I’d not think less of you for it. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/34 "2025-02-09T00:28:47Z")
I am just mentioning that this site seems to be too suppressive for your liking. Life seems too short to waste on things like that when there are thousands of other social media sites that won’t offend your sensibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Culling\_The\_Herd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Culling\_The\_Herd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Culling_The_Herd)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/35 "2025-02-09T00:30:45Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > And some people avoid this place because of it; I did for years myself so I understand and even respect that. > > If that disturbs you, you should also avoid it, and again I’d not think less of you for it. Thanks for the clarification. I guess I’m still figuring out the nuances of SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/36 "2025-02-09T00:33:15Z")
> [@Culling\_The\_Herd](#): > > I guess I’m still figuring out the nuances of SDMB. No worries, this place can be a little weird. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/37 "2025-02-09T00:34:26Z")
[didn’t read all the responses] The people here, who – in my assessment – lean right tend to be thoughtful, erudite, and articulate. I somewhere between value and cherish their presence on this board. When we get the stereotypical red hat conservative who can’t go any deeper than what you might hear at a MAGA rally, who never leaves their own information silo, and either _can’t or won’t_ fact-check what they’re endlessly being told, for me it’s the intellectual version of nails on a chalkboard. They seldom last, and I celebrate their departures jubilantly. I’ve said it before: I wish we had/there were more intellectually honest, principled, logical, rational, and articulate conservatives, both here _and_ in the really real world. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/38 "2025-02-09T00:57:07Z")
> [@Culling\_The\_Herd](#): > > “If all the conservatives on this board disappeared tomorrow, I would be very happy and I might come back and start posting more again.” Because most people don’t like associating with people who hate them, and want to torture and murder them. And that’s the essence of conservatism; rabid hatred for the majority of humanity. The presence of conservatives somewhere tends to drive everyone else away because most people don’t want to listen to speeches about how they are subhuman and deserve to suffer. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/39 "2025-02-09T01:08:17Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And that’s the essence of conservatism; rabid hatred for the majority of humanity. That’s not conservativism; that’s authoritarianism or fascism. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2025, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060/40 "2025-02-09T01:13:02Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > That’s not conservativism; that’s authoritarianism or fascism. And in real life that’s what conservatism _is;_ authoritarianism and fascism. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-uzis-useless-claim-about-the-sdmb-being-an-echo-chamber/1014060.md?page=3)