# Thread shitting? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 23, 2018, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401 "2018-07-23T02:24:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 24, 2018, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/21 "2018-07-24T00:27:12Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > The civility bar seems to have gone up a couple of hundred notches. > > Trolling accusations aside, there’s a fine line between wisecracks and threadshitting. > > Trolling accusations inclusive, this indirect insult is pretty damn oblique. I could easily interpret this as an attack on the post, i.e. “Your OP is nonsensical noise pollution: here’s a recipe.” > > This is the first time I’ve encountered this meme. After I see it 50 times or so, I’ll probably feel a little different. For the present: Is this really where we want the civility bar? I mean, I can defend any civility bar; I’m just suggesting that higher levels curb beneficial humor and rhetorical standards. > ETA: Oh yeah. I haven’t had the opportunity to give Bone a general high five for his moderation. I do so here. I just think some discussion of where we want GD and Elections to evolve is warranted. This closer call seems like as good an example as any. > > ETA2: In basketball, skilled players make judicious use of the elbow. It makes for a livelier game. Thankfully, basketball isn’t American Ice Hockey. It’s obviously a threadshit and this posting tactic to spam a thread and imply a poster is a troll is a common tactic in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/22 "2018-07-24T00:29:10Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > I have been here for more than 18 years and a moderator for five and this is the FIRST time I’ve ever run into a recipe thing. > > I admit, I got the report last night and was, frankly, bewildered by it. **Like it was some sort of Dali-esque surrealism that was supposed to wrong foot me and make me re-evaluated my stance of things**. I’m lucky it didn’t invade my dreams last night. Actually, that bolded bit is pretty close to the origins of it, IIRC. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/23 "2018-07-24T14:10:20Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Is your understanding different? Yes, it is. I’ve seen it more as a way of blatantly conveying an “I’m not going to respond to this trash” message. For one thing, it takes near-unanimity for a technique like this to effectively shout down the discussion, and except on certain sites where everybody thinks alike, that’s a rare thing on the Internet. Second, in only two of the three examples you gave was the discussion effectively crowded out by the recipes. My WAG would be that there are plenty of other non-CS threads where Dopers posted recipes to a thread that had no connection to recipes, without being part of a concerted attempt to crowd out the dialogue the OP had sought. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/24 "2018-07-24T15:10:03Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Yes, it is. I’ve seen it more as a way of blatantly conveying an “I’m not going to respond to this trash” message. That’s not a reasonable interpretation IMO. It’s explicitly an attempt to drowned out a voice, rightly or wrongly. It’s not always successful but the intent is very clear. I think your interpretation doesn’t hold up to examination, at least not as used on this site. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/25 "2018-07-24T16:30:57Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …“troll posts” in the pit. That thread wasn’t in the pit. If you consider the OP to be a “troll post” then the correct thing to do is report it. The OP is a genuine perspective from people outside of the “mainstream” feedback loops. It wasn’t, IMHO, posted to be provocative. I disagree. Fake news & everything. And, fyi I did report it. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/26 "2018-07-24T19:02:57Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Yes, it is. I’ve seen it more as a way of blatantly conveying an “I’m not going to respond to this trash” message. Threadshitting is also conveying “nobody should respond to this because it’s trash”. If a thread isn’t interesting, I either ignore it, or try to make it interesting. Threadshitting isn’t interesting, which might be why it isn’t allowed. > [@](#): > > For one thing, it takes near-unanimity for a technique like this to effectively shout down the discussion, and except on certain sites where everybody thinks alike, that’s a rare thing on the Internet. I don’t think it takes that much unanimity. I can think of a certain Doper, no longer among us, who could hijack a thread all by himself, and he didn’t need recipes. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/27 "2018-07-24T20:33:41Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Yes, it is. I’ve seen it more as a way of blatantly conveying an “I’m not going to respond to this trash” message. It seems to me that there is an easier and less rule-breaking way of conveying the message that “I’m not going to respond to this trash” ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/28 "2018-07-27T02:45:27Z")
A serious question of etiquette - could a recipe be posted that attempts to make a humorous point even as it mocks the op some. Say like these Baked Cheburekis - Easy Russian Turnovers (with Information) based off of [this recipe](http://girlandthekitchen.com/baked-chebureki-easy-russian-turnovers-with-meat/) (with meat): 8 raw tortillas 1 pound fresh information, as much red meat as possible 1 cup fresh parsley 1 medium onion 2 tbsp of water plus more if necessary salt and pepper to taste olive oil for oiling pan Instructions Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processor combine parsley, onion, salt and pepper. Combine until processed finely. Combine the information with the onion parsley mixture until fully combined. Add in water into the mix 1 tablespoon at a time until information starts leaking. Fry up a small piece of filling and taste for seasoning. Adjust as necessary. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling into the tortilla shell. Spread the filling out so that it is even across ONE HALF of the tortilla. Brush the ends of the tortilla with water lightly. Press down the side of the tortilla without the filling towards the side with the filling. Using a fork, press down on the edges creating a tight seal. Take a sheet pan and place about 2 tbsp of olive oil or butter on it. Place the chebureki on the sheet pan, making sure they do not overlap with each other. Brush the top with olive oil or butter. Place into the oven and bake until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. May be served hot, or as a side with revenge, cold. But remember, these were never cooked, they are only a hoax. Release only one at a time. And you know it is not a GOP recipe because … tortillas. But one that was actually you know funny, by someone more creative and clever than I am. The question is actually serious. A recipe joke can serve to comment on an op in ways other than being an accusation of trolling. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/29 "2018-07-27T05:16:44Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Did you happen to see the multiple links I offered in post #14? I skimmed them. Upon a second review, I noted a number of things missed: I have to back-peddle. Oops. > [@](#): > > This tactic has been common place on the board, though if you aren’t a frequent reader of the Pit it’s easy to miss since trollery accusations are not allowed outside the Pit. Rick Kitchen is definitely aware since he has participated in it as I indicated in post #14. I should have caught that. I’ve seen recipes before, but only in isolation and I thought they were implying that the argument is nonsense. RK had the trolling interpretation in mind. > [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …yep. Are you willing any thread in elections or great debates to be hijacked by recipes or haiku’s just because someone doesn’t like the subject matter or considers the OP to be a “troll?” Well since you asked, I wouldn’t mind 1 or 2, since they could be interpreted as an accusation of trolling vs being a troll. It could be a useful heads up. I wouldn’t like to see an avalanche outside of the pit. Yes, a ban has the virtue of being a bright-line criteria, and no this isn’t a hill I want to die on. Frankly I’m good with a range of clearly communicated civility bars. OBTW, notwithstanding the above, I’m actually a powerful mod mentalist, on par with Uri Gellar. Let me show you my powers: > [@DSeid](#): > > A serious question of etiquette - could a recipe be posted that attempts to make a humorous point even as it mocks the op some. _::solemn face::_ It depends on context. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/30 "2018-07-27T07:22:55Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …yep. Are you willing any thread in elections or great debates to be hijacked by recipes or haiku’s just because someone doesn’t like the subject matter or considers the OP to be a “troll?” I think the moderation make the line crystal clear which isn’t a bad thing. I just don’t think that would happen, any more than I see accusations of trolling fly on any other forum without such a rule (excluding the Pit, where it being forbidden here makes it more attractive there). People just bringing up ideas don’t speak in the same way as trolls. It is commonly held that this board is one of the easiest to troll, and I think the lack of being able to say anything about it outside the Pit is part of the problem. You can’t even PM someone who you think is being taken by a troll and warn them, since PMs follow same rules as the rest of the board. At most we can post in that one Pit thread, but the people most taken in by trolls don’t check there. I like the recipe thing since it seems to work–but only if everyone agrees that the person is a troll, which is not easy for a non-troll to cross. If it can reduce trolling in the Pit, then I think it must be pretty powerful. So I would think at least a trial run would be beneficial, to see if it can help outside the Pit. As for the actual Warning: I only have a problem with it because I think a reasonable person might think that the recipe technique was the right side of the line, since it contains no direct accusation. It doesn’t clearly fit the board definition of threadshitting, either. I have consistently said that I prefer a Note for the first time anything comes up that is debatable, until the mods establish the actual lines. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/31 "2018-07-27T09:15:45Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > At most we can post in that one Pit thread, but the people most taken in by trolls don’t check there. The one troll thread isn’t official or anything, there’s nothing stopping anyone opening a new thread about an individual troll. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2018, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/32 "2018-07-27T12:48:17Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I just don’t think that would happen, any more than I see accusations of trolling fly on any other forum without such a rule (excluding the Pit, where it being forbidden here makes it more attractive there). People just bringing up ideas don’t speak in the same way as trolls. > > It is commonly held that this board is one of the easiest to troll, and I think the lack of being able to say anything about it outside the Pit is part of the problem. You can’t even PM someone who you think is being taken by a troll and warn them, since PMs follow same rules as the rest of the board. At most we can post in that one Pit thread, but the people most taken in by trolls don’t check there. > > I like the recipe thing since it seems to work–but only if everyone agrees that the person is a troll, which is not easy for a non-troll to cross. If it can reduce trolling in the Pit, then > I think it must be pretty powerful. So I would think at least a trial run would be beneficial, to see if it can help outside the Pit. > > As for the actual Warning: I only have a problem with it because I think a reasonable person might think that the recipe technique was the right side of the line, since it contains no direct accusation. It doesn’t clearly fit the board definition of threadshitting, either. I have consistently said that I prefer a Note for the first time anything comes up that is debatable, until the mods establish the actual lines. How about people report and let the pros decide? A board full of unholy hybrids of Betty Crocker and Jr. mods sounds bad. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/33 "2018-07-27T12:55:09Z")
> [@Teuton](#): > > The one troll thread isn’t official or anything, there’s nothing stopping anyone opening a new thread about an individual troll. By “there,” I basically meant the Pit. Plus making a new thread for them gives them more recognition. The troll thread, while not ideal, seems a useful balance, since at least some of the trolls never seem to find it. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/34 "2018-07-27T13:39:22Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It is commonly held that this board is one of the easiest to troll, and I think the lack of being able to say anything about it outside the Pit is part of the problem. You can’t even PM someone who you think is being taken by a troll and warn them, since PMs follow same rules as the rest of the board. At most we can post in that one Pit thread, but the people most taken in by trolls don’t check there. The first thing, the best thing, you can do if you suspect trolling is to hit the ‘report’ button. That PM is the one place outside the Pit one can call another poster a troll without potential for consequence. Every report is reviewed by more than one person - GD and Elections get looked at by all three of us - and we frequently discuss the reports. Obviously, if we don’t act we disagree with your assessment. One person’s trolling is another persons fervently and honestly held opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/35 "2018-07-27T16:52:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > You can’t even PM someone who you think is being taken by a troll and warn them, since PMs follow same rules as the rest of the board. A poster can’t call someone a troll in a PM to another poster? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/36 "2018-07-27T17:07:19Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > A poster can’t call someone a troll in a PM to another poster? Nope. > [@TubaDiva](#): > > Private Messages > We offer the private message function as a convenience for our members and guests. It is not the goal of the Straight Dope Message Board to operate a mail server. > > A private message is a posting intended, but not guaranteed, to be read only by the recipient you specify. Neither the moderators nor the administrators of the SDMB have any access to PMs exchanged between members, unless a PM is specifically forwarded to a moderator or administrator by either the sender or the recipient. > > Although it’s called a “private” message, remember that once it is sent, the sender has no more control over its further use and distribution than he or she would a public posting on the message board. There is no guarantee of privacy in these messages, and you assume the risk that any PM you send might be made public by the recipient. > > \*\* Since they are treated as postings, the rules of conduct for private messages are the same as those of the general forums of the Straight Dope Message Board, starting, but not ending, with our most basic rule: Don’t be a jerk.\*\* [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11650330&postcount=8](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11650330&postcount=8) ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/37 "2018-07-27T17:13:14Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Nope. > > [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11650330&postcount=8](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11650330&postcount=8) Strange, but okay. Thanks for the link. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/38 "2018-07-27T17:45:02Z")
I can understand that PMing someone to call them a troll is jerkish, but privately letting someone else know that you think they are being trolled … I don’t get how that is so jerkish. If I as a poster do not know poster XYZ’s history I might even appreciate the heads up that I _may_ be feeding an infra-overpass dweller. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/39 "2018-07-27T19:17:16Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I just don’t think that would happen, any more than I see accusations of trolling fly on any other forum without such a rule (excluding the Pit, where it being forbidden here makes it more attractive there). People just bringing up ideas don’t speak in the same way as trolls. > > It is commonly held that this board is one of the easiest to troll, and I think the lack of being able to say anything about it outside the Pit is part of the problem. . I have seen boards where you can accuse anyone of being a troll, so of course whenever someone is disagreed with they are called a troll. So, sure, if that person really is a troll, it would be OK, imho, but since that defintion is hard to pin down, it is useless. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401/40 "2018-07-27T19:28:44Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I can understand that PMing someone to call them a troll is jerkish, but privately letting someone else know that you think they are being trolled … I don’t get how that is so jerkish. > > If I as a poster do not know poster XYZ’s history I might even appreciate the heads up that I _may_ be feeding an infra-overpass dweller. Maybe it would be OK if you just said ‘you are being trolled in such-and-such a thread’, while saying ‘so-and-so is trolling you’ is not OK. Of course, if you never report it to the mods, they won’t see it. Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-shitting/818401.md?page=1)