# Revisiting the BBQ Pit- Boon or Bane? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 16, 2021, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413 "2021-06-16T17:43:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/302 "2021-06-19T21:00:41Z")
Civility would frankly prevent a lot of the leftists on this forum from their posts alleging anyone they dislike is a racist, to be fair. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/303 "2021-06-19T21:01:57Z")
You’ll have to visit your Pit thread to see my answer to that. ---
**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, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/304 "2021-06-19T21:05:54Z")
Civility would also prevent someone from saying that another poster was a rapist. ---
**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, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/305 "2021-06-19T21:08:30Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Discussion cannot be had when one side claims that any disagreement with them makes them the victim. It’s a constant refrain from the right, “I’d be reasonable with you, if you’d just agree with me.” That’s what is seen as “compromise”. It’s hardly a problem unique to the right. @BigT wrote a whole post about how politely disagreeing with people victimises them, and they apparently need to be able to insult and abuse others to deal with it. And the constant refrain on the left is “I’d stop calling you a bigot and be reasonable, if you’d just agree with me.” Seriously, no one here is criticising the Pit because it allows others to disagree with them. You can do that in any forum. People are criticising it because it enables abuse of other posters. ---
**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, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/306 "2021-06-19T21:12:15Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Civility would frankly prevent a lot of the leftists on this forum from their posts alleging anyone they dislike is a racist, to be fair. > [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Civility would also prevent someone from saying that another poster was a rapist. Really not seeing a downside here, guys. ---
**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, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/307 "2021-06-19T21:14:45Z")
Well, see, some folks are called racists based on what they post and some people are accused of being rapists because of where they’re from so that’s the ‘downside’. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/308 "2021-06-19T21:16:40Z")
FWIW I don’t mind the pit, my simple opinion was it lowers the actual quality of the discussion here primarily by keeping low quality posters on the board. A lot of these people who crutch on the pit simply aren’t capable of civil discussion, so without the pit they would be warned and eventually banned due to lack of control. People who cannot control themselves are generally not good posters. ---
**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, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/309 "2021-06-19T21:24:06Z")
If you attack someone’s mental health problems are you low quality poster? Asking for a friend. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/310 "2021-06-19T21:25:59Z")
In the pit insults are allowed, if you have an issue with that you should advocate for the Pit’s removal. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/311 "2021-06-19T21:43:52Z")
So, discussing mental health problems is insulting? ---
**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, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/312 "2021-06-19T21:45:21Z")
Using someone’s post about their mental health issues to attack them in the Pit just might be. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/313 "2021-06-19T21:50:09Z")
Much as calling someone a racist is an insult. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/314 "2021-06-19T21:57:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > If I’m allowed to openly call posters racist, misogynist etc here, rather than just posting behaviours like sealioning, then it would have merit. I mean, I think it could work effectively that way, in my hypothetical. The way it could work would be, if you see individual posts that you believe are racist or misogynistic, you would report them, as I believe we are supposed to do now. If you see repeated behavior like this, particularly if it goes unmodded, then you could open a thread in ATMB and say: “I’m seeing a lot of racism/misogyny in these posts. I’ve reported them but they keep coming, I think this is a problem.” Etc. Others could chime in with agreement or disagreement. The person accused could come in and explain why the posts are not racist or whatnot. And the issue could be hashed out, just as it is right now for moderator complaints. What would be out of bounds in this scenario, is something like: “Poster X is a racist motherfucker who deserves to be buried neck deep in a pile of shit. Long may they rot.” It seems like a lot of people are committed to that kind of commentary, though, so I suspect my idea will go nowhere. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/315 "2021-06-19T22:06:12Z")
People can’t (or at least shouldn’t) get away with rules violations because of mental/emotional/social problems. And making someone with said issues “angry” is not trolling. That’s on the person who can’t control themselves. ---
**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, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/316 "2021-06-19T22:14:39Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > People can’t (or at least shouldn’t) get away with rules violations because of mental/emotional/social problems. {…} Who said they should? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/317 "2021-06-19T22:21:25Z")
That’s the history of the moderation on the board. It made me _angry_ has been used as an excuse for poor behavior, and an excuse to call others trolls in the wrong forums. ---
**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, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/318 "2021-06-19T22:25:21Z")
Right, and that makes using someone’s mental health issues to attack _them_ in the Pit OK somehow? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/319 "2021-06-19T22:27:27Z")
I have no doubt that the Pit often gets used not just because of racism or sexism or other morally bad behavioyr, but as an attempt to simply mock other posters or make some subjects off-limits. As a personal example, there’s this: > [@Donald Trump Declassifies all Documents Related to Russia/Collusion and Hillary Emails](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-declassifies-all-documents-related-to-russia-collusion-and-hillary-emails/922448): > > This is quite something. Donald Trump tweeted today: This follows a number of releases of some newly-declassified documents which at least suggest that not only was Russia/Collusion invented by the Hillary Clinton campaign to distract from her E-mail scandal, but that the CIA knew that Hillary was planning this and briefed President Obama about it beforehand. If true, this means that all the principles involved in the three year investigation of Trump knew that it was a political hit job r… I tried my best to add all the caveats to that - it was speculative, yes Trump lies, Maybe this isn’t true, but let’s have a discussion about the ramifications if it is. I thought it would be an actual interesting topic for debate. Instead, it triggered so much vitriol that the thread had to be closed, then it went to the pit where it has so far generated 855 posts, mostly attacks on me, my character, etc. As a side note, even though that original thread got closed for the number of personal attacks, not a single person got an official mod warning. The same thing happened when I asked questions about Hunter Biden’s laptop. Even though I qualified it carefully, (“It may be disinformation in whole or in part”), I still got pitted for it. I do believe there are some users here who have made it their mission to drive off as many conservatives as they can, or at least make their time here difficult and unpleasant unless they stay in a very narrow lane of tolerated topics. Kind of like we are seeing everywhere else these days. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/320 "2021-06-19T22:32:58Z")
No, of course not. But at the same time, they shouldn’t be allowed to repeatedly violate board rules/norms because of “issues.” ---
**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, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/321 "2021-06-19T22:39:36Z")
I’m so glad we’ve been able to discuss this totally unrelated point you want to make. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413.md?page=17)