# The Pit is awesome - it's those Great Debates that suck! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 10, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964 "2003-06-10T21:05:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/41 "2003-06-11T05:27:00Z")
I seem to recall posting in GD when I was new here. Good news is, I haven’t had a problem with irregularity in ages… ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/42 "2003-06-11T11:50:31Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by FranticMad \* > **Oh, now that really hurts. That’s just cruel and inhuman. In reference to other threads, I don’t mind if you call me a c** _ or a f\*\* or a b\*\*\*der, but not a spammer. I’m leaving and NEVER posting here again. \*\* I’m sorry. I apologize. You’re not a spammer. You’re a c\*\*\* or a f\*\* or a b\*\*\*der. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/43 "2003-06-11T12:35:53Z")
Ok, I’ll bite. What the heck words are those asterices hiding? ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/44 "2003-06-11T12:40:16Z")
When I first came abourd, I tried posting in GD quite a few times in threads that I actually knew stuff about - namely things about wars and the histories thereof. I was soundly ignored for months. So now I just come on down to the Pit where nobody will hesitate to say, “Fuck off, **Gorgon Heap** , your head is so far up your ass your words sound like flatulence.” Ah. Brings a tear to my eye. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/45 "2003-06-11T12:43:42Z")
3 … 2 … 1 … ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/46 "2003-06-11T13:10:00Z")
> [@](#): > > _Origianally posted by dantheman_ > **Ok, I’ll bite. What the heck words are those asterices hiding?** c **yst** , f **ly** , b **lad** der. And who the fuck is **Gorgon Heap**? ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/47 "2003-06-11T13:41:53Z")
I like the Pit b/c, in addition to the colorful language and fascinating cast of characters, people actually have an emotional investment in their positions; they’re living with it. Whereas in debating something abstractly it’s possible to construct all kinds of perfectly respectable logical structures that have no bearing on real life. That’s what got me, and I can’t figure out how people have that kind of time for posting either - I felt like I was arguing with some extremely gifted 20-yr-old college students who haven’t yet had to use their abstract knowledge to support their humanity. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/48 "2003-06-11T13:45:02Z")
I dunno, I think a lot of the GD folk feel they’re emotionally invested in a position. Sure comes across that way sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/49 "2003-06-11T13:54:34Z")
The Giant Squid Boy, for example. 😉 (Though he hasn’t posted for a while.) ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/50 "2003-06-11T13:54:55Z")
If you’ve concluded that most GDenizens don’t have emotional investment in their positions, I hypothesize you’ve been reading some other board entirely and confused the two. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/51 "2003-06-11T13:56:25Z")
“Emotionally invested” seems to be an understatement in some of the cases I’ve seen. More like “fanatically consigned.” ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/52 "2003-06-11T13:59:27Z")
I almost never read GD. First of all, it is a major time drain. I just don’t think I have the patience to follow a long thread, dig up cites for my arguments, dig up _new_ cites when people whine that the first ones were too biased, and still retain my sanity. Secondly, my main area of expertise that actually gets debated (Israel/Palestine) is a very, very controversial topic and threads often turn really ugly. I just want to avoid that. On the other hand, I adore the Pit. All the good debates end up here in the end anyway! ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/53 "2003-06-11T14:07:03Z")
Love the Pit, but can’t deal with GD. Once I post to a GC thread, I get a sinking feeling that I’ll have to spend LOTS of time dealing with it later. It all just seems so IMPORTANT. While I enjoy reading everything and posting on occasion, I don’t want to get into a heavy discussion, and I tend to get way too emotionally invested once an argument starts. The Pit, OTOH, has a lot of fun stuff going on, with the occasional knockdown/dragout fight that I can watch from the sidelines. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/54 "2003-06-11T15:00:22Z")
Maybe “invested” was the wrong word. Because they are fully committed to their views. Maybe I’m just not as abstract as I used to be, and I appreciate the “human” angle more than I did as an undergrad, when I was a complete existential. I used to see people as an extention of an abstract notion of reason - now I appreciate Grandma advice & fluffy kittens a lot more. I think that over time a person learns to experience and rely on a variety of aspects of being human. At a younger age I wouldn’t have seen the point. ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/55 "2003-06-11T15:06:14Z")
That forum is a continual train wreck in progress. While some of my favorite posters do a lot of good work there- some of the biggest lying sacks of shit hide there as well. Remember- if you believe in the cause, it is fine to lie about your Cites, personal background, other’s positions and anything else which is either inconvienent or directly contradicts your lunatic beliefs. Fuck that. Via The Pit! ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/56 "2003-06-11T15:18:06Z")
The pit is great. Instead of saying: Surely, **elf6c** , you mean “Vi **v** a The Pit!”, or “Vi **v** a **La** Pit”. I can say: “What the fuck are you smoking, **elf6c**? Learn to spell, asshole.” This comes in handy, particularly when dealing with some of the GD freaks. Plus, **elf6c** can respond with: I _meant_ **through** the Pit. Fuckwit. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/57 "2003-06-11T15:21:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fessie \* > \*\*Maybe “invested” was the wrong word. Because they are fully committed … \*\* Perhaps they oughta be. ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/58 "2003-06-11T15:33:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Desmostylus \* > \*\*The pit is great. Instead of saying: > > Surely, **elf6c** , you mean “Vi **v** a The Pit!”, or “Vi **v** a **La** Pit”. > > I can say: > > “What the fuck are you smoking, **elf6c**? Learn to spell, asshole.” > > This comes in handy, particularly when dealing with some of the GD freaks. > > Plus, **elf6c** can respond with: > > I _meant_ **through** the Pit. Fuckwit. \*\* Nah, he would post “oops”! 😃 Then I would post a link to those donkey porn flicks you starred in. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/59 "2003-06-11T15:44:41Z")
How’dja know I was a donkey? ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964/60 "2003-06-11T16:06:07Z")
It’s written all over your face. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pit-is-awesome-its-those-great-debates-that-suck/180964.md?page=4)