The thing is, though, that when other posters don’t push back against troll-like tactics, the tacticians then try to invoke that as evidence that disciplinary action against them is unwarranted and unfair. Witness the recently closed ATMB thread regarding one of the other recently closed threads, where one of the posters is arguing that the criticized behavior can’t really have been so bad because it hadn’t already provoked a Pitting.
I give jerkish or trollish behavior a pass around here all the time because it’s not worth it to me to be jumping on every single instance that I see. But I recognize that giving such behavior a pass is to some extent passively enabling it. There’s no magic cure for jerkish/trollish behavior, not even by ignoring or avoiding it.
Yes, and I will respond to that here because I’m not about to start a Pit thread about it (at least not now.) The reason nobody’s ever pitted that poster is because the people who get the brunt of her ire are not the kind of people who start Pit threads. I think I’ve started two in my entire time here. But I did express my upset in one of those threads before I bailed, so it’s not like it’s hard to figure out when a poster is upset with something you said. A lot of people got upset in those threads. A lot were so upset they left the thread. They just aren’t the pitting kind. I’ve thought about starting a Pit thread not to call anyone out in a mean way but just to discuss the… er, communication issues that keep coming up around this issue. But now is definitely not the time.
With a few exceptions, I really do try to refrain from personal attacks, even in the Pit.
Even if we assume the least charitable interpretation of the posters behavior as being trollish - which I do not - there is also the matter of greater context and the entirety of contributions made on other subjects that needs to be considered before accusing someone of being a troll. Find it, show it and make the case, in the pit if you must. Else, grow a thicker skin and consider the possibility that strong disagreement should not lead to accusations of questionable motives.
As someone who has gotten the brunt of her ire many times already, I’m certainly not pitting her. And I just don’t think it’s productive and not really in my nature. I was advised in a PM to maybe take it to the Pit but I said no way! I don’t want to deal with her saying whatever she wants to about us without any kind of moderation.
Yes, people who deal with discrimination and bigotry against them should just “grow a thicker skin”…
Disagreement is fine for some things, like should we raise taxes, or should we have Medicare For All. Not for someone’s gender. Not being told you aren’t the gender that you actually are.
I think that’s a very poor characterization of the arguments made. We can get into detail about it but I don’t think it would be productive at this stage. I think you’re past listening and I don’t know how much more convincing I have left in me on this subject. I think we could probably all use a break.
Just because it’s not trolling, there’s a lot of Pit material there, nonetheless. The breaking point for me was when I was compared to a goddamn anti-suffragist and one of the villains of A Handmaid’s Tale. I’m sparing you the full rant. But believe me, I have a lot to say.
