In all the non-Pit forums (Elections, IMHO, Cafe, Game, etc.) there is one set of expectations: You can post what you like and you won’t be flamed for it. Posters can thus feel freer to express their thoughts without being subjected to verbal abuse for it.
But when moderators proceed to move a non-Pit thread from IMHO or Great Debates to the Pit, then suddenly all of the previous prior comments that were made by Dopers in that thread under one set of expectations, are now subject to Pit flaming and verbal abuse under the Pit’s set of expectations.
I don’t think this is right. This is something akin to taking things out of context; all of the comments and posts that were made in Forums X under the expectations of Forums X are now being shifted into Forum Y and subjected to the rules and expectation of Forum Y. The whole point of keeping the Pit and the rest of the forum separate is that posters who don’t want to wade into the mudfight that is the Pit can stay out of the Pit.
If the mods don’t like the direction a thread is going, they can issue warnings that the thread will be closed if the behavior persists, but to shift it to the Pit is not fair to those who posted in the thread with the expectations that it was a non-Pit thread.
The second issue I see with this practice is that, sometimes, 90% of posters in a thread may be behaving themselves, and it’s only 10% of posters who are flaming and insulting each other, but a mod will then step in and say, “That’s it, moving this thread to the Pit now.” Then you’ve allowed the minority’s bad behavior to override the majority’s good behavior.
Can you point to examples of this? Because I don’t think that’s usually what happens. If a thread is fine except for a couple of posters, mods will note/warn the offenders and in extreme cases order one or more people not to post in the thread any more.
As to the first issue, if people perceive a problem they can speak up, but in practice I don’t think it’s bothering anyone. First of all, threads that get moved to the Pit tend to be inflamed from the get-to, so like it or not the Pit is indeed where they belong. A poster who truly finds that objectionable can simply drop out of the thread and not read it any more, and if they want they can start a new thread in a more “civilized” corner of the SDMB. If that won’t work because the topic will become heated right away, well then … the reality is, the topic really does belong in the Pit.
Anyway, what would you suggest when a non-Pit thread generates invective? Just close it? Delete the offending posts? That’ll bring howls of protest from a lot of people, and it’s a lot more censorial than moving a thread. (Plus, there is a strong tradition here of not deleting posts under almost any circumstances.) Sometimes, there’s no one solution that’s perfect. But we all manage somehow.
Have mods put in notes that thread will be closed and warnings issued if behavior continues, and then, if it continues, then the thread can be closed. Posts don’t have to be deleted.
I see - the OP put a self-described “rant” into GD; naturally it got moved to the Pit. Honestly, any experienced poster contributing to that thread should have known it was only a matter of time until it was moved.
Beyond that, I don’t think it is persuasive regarding Velocity’s issue. True, he posted early in the thread, while it was still in GD, and then got singled out for some Pit-style commentary after the thread was moved. But, you’ll note that the comment in post 28 by septimus isn’t even a direct response to Velocity’s earlier remark:
That could just as easily have been the OP of a Pit thread specifically created for Velocity. It’s not really a thread-specific criticism, so I’m still not seeing the problem.
(Not that I am particularly invested in this discussion; I’m not. I just don’t see a lot of evidence to back up Velocity’s argument. But if it exists, then by all means a change in policy would be in order.)
For the record, I wasn’t making this thread about that thread. Sure, that might be an example, but I already was planning to start a thread in ATMB about this topic beforehand.
When the OP posts something that obviously belongs in the Pit, it should either be closed or moved to the Pit at the Mod’s Discretion, in my opinion. If the OP feels that the Pit is beneath her/him, then they should have posted appropriately.
Mostly because if someone starts a thread, it indicates they want to discuss something. Closing the thread and requiring someone to go through extra hoops for the simple reason they posted in the wrong forum seems to add unnecessary hurdles to discussion.
This is compounded because we can move threads quite easily. And for the most part, this works. It’s always indicated when this happens so readers are aware. It seems that having your name present in a thread that got moved bothers you, but I don’t see that as a significant enough issue to change the way we direct traffic.
