# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/81 "2021-06-17T04:06:59Z")
Rather than the Pit making things better by letting people vent their wrath, it may actually make Dopers and the Dope worse off: > **[Sorry, But Venting Online Just Makes You Angrier, Scientists Find](https://www.sciencealert.com/sorry-but-venting-online-just-makes-you-angrier-scientists-find)** > > In today's interconnected world, we've all done it. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/82 "2021-06-17T04:30:47Z")
Yeah, and a previous warning prior to harpy of all things that.was a complete farce since it was allowed behavior previously. The fact that folks now use links to pit threads as a way to insult others outside the pit is another problem. The pit doesn’t serve any good purpose other than to enable online bullying. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/83 "2021-06-17T04:36:48Z")
> [@Dark\_Sponge](#): > > I like this idea a lot. Banish them to the Boo Box for 6 months instead of a perpetual ban. Added bonus of getting to watch the trolls troll each other if one is so inclined. There’s even a movie precedent for “putting trolls in a box” > **[The Boxtrolls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boxtrolls)** > > The Boxtrolls is a 2014 American stop-motion animated fantasy comedy film directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi (in their feature directorial debuts) loosely based on the 2005 novel Here Be Monsters! by Alan Snow. It is produced by Laika. Set in the fictional European country of Norvenia in the late-19th century, the film tells the story of Eggs, a human boy raised by trash-collecting trolls, known as "Boxtrolls", as he attempts to save them from Archibald Penelope Snatcher, a pest ex... ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/84 "2021-06-17T04:51:53Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > There’s a poster, in this very thread, who has admitted to getting multiple, if not in fact, double digit warnings. Yet, s/he’s still here. Who is it? Don’t be coy, just speak up. For everyone’s convenience, here is a list of who has posted in this thread so far (in order of appearance) - one of them is presumably the “double digit” warning individual that D\_Anconia refers to: Czarasm ParallelLines Velocity Tricoteuse Spice\_Weasel JohnT RitterSport wolfpup Sam\_Stone Acierocolotl Deeg Joey\_P CairoCarol filmore Oredigger77 MrDibble Velocity mordecaiB Frodo BigT Babale ThelmaLou Elmer\_J.Fudd Exapno\_Mapcase Sam\_Stone DemonTree Gatopescado Darren\_Garrison dalej\_42 DrDeth Kron Dark\_Sponge Jackmannii D\_Anconia octopus ---
**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 17, 2021, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/85 "2021-06-17T05:07:23Z")
I shouldn’t have said anything. Personally, I don’t feel it’s appropriate to call out another poster in ATMB. I was referring to the moderation, i.e., the fact that some posters get a longer leash than others. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/86 "2021-06-17T05:15:12Z")
> [@Dark\_Sponge](#): > > Banish them to the Boo Box for 6 months I beg your pardon! 😱 leave me out of it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/87 "2021-06-17T05:19:29Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Eh, I’ll accept a Pit if the pitting of other SDMB posters is no longer allowed, but evil politicos, corps, and other assorted newsmakers can still get dragged mercilessly. That’s an acceptable compromise. Absolutely. Some out our best rants are there. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/88 "2021-06-17T05:20:39Z")
Being the subject if a pit thread always brings to mind Mark Twain’s comment about being tarred and feathered: " If it weren’t for the honor of the thing, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it at all." If someone had to resort to the pit to make a point, who would want them as an ally? It’s useful to congregate them all into one place. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/89 "2021-06-17T05:51:22Z")
When I first started posting here, I never went to the Pit and wondered why people needed a place to be mean to each other. Over time, I found some valuable threads there, including one where a huge group of us found incredible support and understanding. I’m strongly opposed to temporary bans. Bans don’t happen unless there’s a long list of serious transgressions, usually over an extended period of time. Is the idea that during the months away, the recalcitrant poster is going to reform and stop being a racist or misogynist or whatever? Based on what? And if the guilty party _is_ allowed back, how many transgressions before they’re banned again? How many times will they skate juuuuust to the edge of what’s allowed? It took a long time to get rid of some persistent misogynists who continually made this place seem less hospitable toward women–so much so that we lost quite a few women who used to post here. Why would we want to go back to that? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/90 "2021-06-17T05:54:42Z")
Because they improved their behaviour and their warnings stopped. Rather than accelerated in pace, as they did for **Shodan**. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/91 "2021-06-17T06:14:03Z")
As to whether the Pit is a boon or not - it generates posts like [this](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-genocide-defined-with-an-emphasis-on-cultural-genocide/944198/144) (that that poster can’t put in the MPSIMS thread he’s been banned from). I’d say that’s a positive. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/92 "2021-06-17T06:40:21Z")
I would prefer a two-stage pit. One for just complaints and rants. Another place (inner circle?) for pitting people. I have very little interest in pitting people, whether Dopers or politicians, but a little ranting can go a long way. I had muted the Pit for a long time, and will probably do so again, but I like the monthly mini-rant. So I’ll should subscribe to the monthly rant, and then mute the rest of it. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/93 "2021-06-17T07:10:47Z")
**Moderator Note** > [@CairoCarol](#): > > Who is it? Don’t be coy, just speak up. Treat others with respect in ATMB. Don’t try to call people out. Note to all: This is ATMB, not the Pit. Post accordingly. Things that fly just fine in the Pit are not welcome here. Further Pit-style behavior in this thread will result in warnings. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/94 "2021-06-17T07:43:31Z")
Okay, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/95 "2021-06-17T09:01:56Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Also, um, **Shodan** admitted years before he was banned that he would often post to get a rise out of people. Like, flat out. I remember, because I reported him as a troll when he said it. > > (I’d find it via search, but Discourse doens’t let you search by a banned user’s name.) > **[@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shodan/summary)** You can search using the search bar on that page and then use the advanced features to refine it. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/96 "2021-06-17T09:16:53Z")
I don’t really go to the Pit except for a rare post in a Mini-Rant thread. I think it’s a good place for letting off steam about things, big ideas that are real problems, and some prominent dangerous people. We all need to do that sometimes. But the way that members can get piled on, often with no resolution or changing of minds, doesn’t seem healthy to me. I would hate to be targeted this way, even if I earned it. So I would shut down the Pit, and replace it with a Rants, with some restrictive guidelines to limit what’s reasonable. I don’t mind the language free-for-all, but the specific targets should not get personal about fellow members, but instead (aggressively) debate the merits, or lack thereof, of their ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/97 "2021-06-17T09:56:59Z")
Keep it. This place has a long-term problem with people weaponizing the rules to pick fights that can’t be honestly responded to in the threads where the misbehavior occurs. The moderation of these events _has_ gotten better over the last couple of years, but there should still be a place where telling the plainly-observed truth\* isn’t against the rules. \*_I_, of course, only say correct things, but in the interests of fairness the wrong people should also be allowed to access this venue. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/98 "2021-06-17T10:21:24Z")
I cannot support any policy change that would have prohibited me from posting, in exactly the form I posted it, my Telemarketer thread, or punished me afterward for having posted it. Full stop. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/99 "2021-06-17T12:21:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Now, Ianal. And I can not point to _any one specific law_ that says the BBQ pit would qualify. But do we know all 50 states laws? All international laws? I do not think so. Why take the risk? Just so a few bullies can be happy? So this is your idea of a good policy? We can’t prove that it’s illegal anywhere, but it _might be_ illegal somewhere, so rather than take a chance let’s ban it. Anything not compulsory is heretofore forbidden. That’ll attract a lot of authoritarians, but is it what we’re looking for? ---
**Author:** ![keeganst94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@keeganst94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keeganst94)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413/100 "2021-06-17T12:51:39Z")
Keep it. I’m not certain if I would continue lurking here as much if it was shut down. For one thing, **Lord\_Feldon** is absolutely right - the pit is pretty much the only place to deal with the “I’m-not-touching-you” type of troll, disingenuous arguments, and thread hijackers. The mods give a lot of leeway to this sort of thing, which is fine as long as there is a place for posters to respond without getting a warning themselves. Besides, it’s not unusual for the discussion in a pit thread to actually be better than the original - fairly often the discussion continues either without the offending party, or with the offending party being directly called out. As for the idea that the vitriol **in the Pit** is excessive or drives off posters…have you guys been on the internet? The Pit is a very, very mild place, and complaints are usually substantive, even if there’s a lot of invective thrown in. Go take a look at Youtube, or Tumblr, or 4chan, or hell go on Twitter or Facebook sometime. All of those places are significantly worse than the pit. And for all the complaints of the Pit being primarily for vitriolic attacks against other posters, that has not been the case for years, if it was ever the case. Currently only 5 of the top 40 threads in the pit are about a poster at all - so 12.5%. The rest make up some of the best, most entertaining and longest-running threads on the boards: the stupid republican idea of the day thread, the controversial encounters between law-enforcement and civilians thread, trolls R us, Living while black in America, the Bundy thread, the Antivaxxer thread, and on and on and on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revisiting-the-bbq-pit-boon-or-bane/944413.md?page=6)