# The rule about not mentioning the other board should be lifted. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 2, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712 "2008-09-02T17:41:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/1 "2008-09-02T17:41:23Z")
It’s just plain silly. It lends the “other place” an air of mystery and importance, when it’s really the internet equivalent of conversation via mens’ room wall. It leads to transparent cloak-and-daggerism which allows those in the know, which is everybody but the very greenest newbs, to pretend like they’re supersecret spies with inside information. We can mention it, we just have to use cute nicknames for it? I can understand not wanting to link to it directly, but treating it like Voldemort is juvenile. I say let it go. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/2 "2008-09-02T18:01:07Z")
Was there ever a rule against mentioning the Snarkpit? I thought it was just linking that was discouraged, and then people started referring to it with cutesy names like “The Board That Shall Not Be Named” just to show that they were in the know. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/3 "2008-09-02T18:10:11Z")
Agreed. We had links to there all weekend and nothing happened, except some people figured out what some inside references meant. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/4 "2008-09-02T18:12:56Z")
Yeah, it’s fine to say “SnarkPit” when referring to the site. If we wanted to ban all reference to it, we’d also have to ban references like “the board that shall not be named” and that seems like a pain in the butt for everybody with no real benefit. We do ask that you please not directly link to it, to maintain a clear separation between the two sites. Also, please keep any drama that results from stuff posted on there off the boards, i.e. if someone posts something shitty about you there, don’t Pit them here for it. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/5 "2008-09-02T18:13:15Z")
Because the rules were off this weekend? And if it’s not a rule, then y’all should cut the cutesy crap and call it what it is. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/6 "2008-09-02T18:13:48Z")
I read through parts of it and couldn’t figure out why people could get upset about anything that was posted there. I’d call it the internet equivalent of snickering about your classmates in a grade school bathroom, but that would be an insult to grade school bathrooms. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/7 "2008-09-02T18:14:18Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > except some people figured out what some inside references meant. Yeah, and apparently people think I’m fat and a woman. Maybe I am, maybe I ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/8 "2008-09-02T18:14:27Z")
i had never read the other board before this weekend, but it certainly seemed like it became “no big deal” pretty quickly. Some people appear to take it too seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/9 "2008-09-02T18:16:03Z")
I feel so uncool. I have no idea what any of you are referring to, but since none of you can tell me, I guess I’m destined never to know. I can’t say that I’m terribly concerned with that. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/10 "2008-09-02T18:18:05Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Yeah, it’s fine to say “SnarkPit” when referring to the site. If we wanted to ban all reference to it, we’d also have to ban references like “the board that shall not be named” and that seems like a pain in the butt for everybody with no real benefit. > > We do ask that you please not directly link to it, to maintain a clear separation between the two sites. Also, please keep any drama that results from stuff posted on there off the boards, i.e. if someone posts something shitty about you there, don’t Pit them here for it. Thanks very much for the clarification. Now I can Pit people for being pansies about it! Also, can you remind everyone that swearing is 1. acceptable in moderation outside the Pit and 2. not actually mandatory within the Pit? Because this “oh I better add a few fucks to the end of this OP” business is cringetastic. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/11 "2008-09-02T18:18:08Z")
Meh. I know what you guys mean, but we don’t need to give attention whores more attention by cross-posting/fighting. The sniveling morons can have their burn book if they want it, but enough’s enough and it should be kept separate from here. As far as mentioning it, I don’t know why anyone does that in the first place. What could be sillier than talking on this message board about a lamer message board where people talk about this message board? (We’re through the looking glass, people!) The mystique you reference doesn’t come from us, it comes from the notion in these people’s heads that they’re just too Bad for us to handle. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/12 "2008-09-02T18:21:52Z")
They’re trolls. It’s our policy not to publicize what trolls do. Why give them the attention? ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/13 "2008-09-02T18:22:46Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > I read through parts of it and couldn’t figure out why people could get upset about anything that was posted there. I’d call it the internet equivalent of snickering about your classmates in a grade school bathroom, but that would be an insult to grade school bathrooms. Word. I popped over there just to see what the fuss was about and…wow. That’s the fastest I’ve been bored by a board is a long time. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/14 "2008-09-02T18:24:54Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > They’re trolls. It’s our policy not to publicize what trolls do. Why give them the attention? If they were doing it here they would be trolls. How is it trolling when they do it on their own board? They talk a lot of shit over there, but I don’t see how it qualifies as trolling under any meaningful definition of the word. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/15 "2008-09-02T18:27:24Z")
I’ve been reading, off and on, since its earliest inception and the attention now paid to it is due to its former viciousness. It’s nothing more than parody now but two or three years ago, topics of substance were actually discussed, however cruelly. If I remember correctly, the **Kaitlynn** / **Number 6** banning was actually the result of someone there digging through that user’s posting history and finding lots of glaring inconsistancies. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/16 "2008-09-02T18:28:29Z")
> [@Ensign\_Edison](#): > > Also, can you remind everyone that swearing is 1. acceptable in moderation outside the Pit and 2. not actually mandatory within the Pit? Because this “oh I better add a few fucks to the end of this OP” business is cringetastic. I can try, but it never seems to stick. Some people seem pretty convinced that the Pit is for swearing and the other forums aren’t. Eh, what are you gonna do? (Besides move their threads to MPSIMS, I mean.) And to add on to **Tuba** and **Marley** ’s comments, we certainly would be happier if the SnarkPit wasn’t ever discussed over here, simply because we prefer not to give sites like that the attention they crave. But, as many have pointed out, making something taboo can generate far more interest than simply having things out in the open, so if you must talk about it, I’d say just call it by name. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/17 "2008-09-02T18:49:44Z")
I had a thread closed once for bitching about another message board. It was closed because of a policy of not instigating “board wars.” Makes a certain sort of sense, I suppose. It doesn’t apply to the Snarkpit though. They practically are us, and I can’t see how any sort of “war” could break out. It’s almost like saying “don’t mention the BBQ Pit when you’re in MPSIMS, wouldn’t want to start a fight.” We should put a sticky at the top of the BBQ Pit with a link to the Snarkpit. That’d be funny. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/18 "2008-09-02T18:52:53Z")
> [@Jayn\_Newell](#): > > > [@LurkMeister](#): > > > > I read through parts of it and couldn’t figure out why people could get upset about anything that was posted there. I’d call it the internet equivalent of snickering about your classmates in a grade school bathroom, but that would be an insult to grade school bathrooms. > > Word. I popped over there just to see what the fuss was about and…wow. That’s the fastest I’ve been bored by a board is a long time. Of course, now I’m debating whether I should pop in there later today to see if they’re whining about being compared unfavorably to grade-schoolers. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/19 "2008-09-02T18:58:17Z")
> [@5-HT](#): > > If they were doing it here they would be trolls. How is it trolling when they do it on their own board? They talk a lot of shit over there, but I don’t see how it qualifies as trolling under any meaningful definition of the word. She said they ARE trolls, which is apt, not that they are trolling by talking about what happens over here. When it comes over here, it’s trolling. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712/20 "2008-09-02T19:02:42Z")
I’m getting some good press there, though. Woo-hoo! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rule-about-not-mentioning-the-other-board-should-be-lifted/461712.md?page=2)