# To Pit or Not To Pit

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-pit-or-not-to-pit/306146>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [May 30, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-pit-or-not-to-pit/306146 "2005-05-30T23:44:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-pit-or-not-to-pit/306146/1 "2005-05-30T23:44:21Z")

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The Pit is the annex of the boards for things too volatile to fit  
anywhere else. This includes discussion about rules and/or moderator  
decisions, complaints about a poster’s behavior in another thread, and  
discussions of topics which are (or are likely to become) too heated  
for the other forums. Although ranting is allowed in the Pit, it is  
not the place to complain about minor annoyances with a token ‘fuck’  
thrown in at the end “since this is the Pit”.

A major component of what makes a rant appropriate for the Pit is the  
expected response. Ranting about things that upset you which are  
likely to generate only sympathy and/or good-natured advice should go  
in MPSIMS. (Made-up examples: “my sister was rude to me again”, “my  
dad died”, “I Pit my poor taste in boyfriends”, “I’m bored”.) Rants  
based on genuine anger or which can be expected to generate Pittish  
feelings in others should go in the Pit. (Made-up example: “my rage  
burns with the fire of five hundred suns”, “I Pit SUV drivers who eat  
fast food and use their turn signals too often”.)

While eloquent swearing and creative ire are often a welcome addition  
to a good Pit thread, swearing is by no means a requirement.  
Excessive profanity in itself is not sufficient to make a thread  
Pit-worthy.

Please note that these are guidelines to help people choose the right  
forum for their thread, not iron-clad rules. If you start a thread  
that is deemed unsuitable for the Pit, the moderators will move it to  
another forum or close it, as appropriate. Don’t take it personally.

Lynn Bodoni, Giraffe and TVeblen