# What is "threadshitting"? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 11, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387 "2007-07-11T17:08:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/1 "2007-07-11T17:08:54Z")
Is there a general consensus as to what constitutes “threadshitting” on this, or any other board? For instance, if someone starts a thread about a movie, book or television show, that thread will likely attract the attention of people who are interested in, or even rabid fans of, that topic. A majority of the posts may well be positive in nature, as a fan of the topic is more likely to be motivated to contribute his/her opinions. Is anyone who posts a dissenting, or negative, opinion considered to be a “threadshitter”? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/2 "2007-07-11T17:11:05Z")
The next post will be an example. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/3 "2007-07-11T17:17:08Z")
Well, I see threadshitting as thowing in a needless negative comment, in a hijacking way. Let us say the thread is about a recent film. Certainly, even if the OP has started out raving about it and the thread is mostly about how fucking _great_ it is, you can state your opinion conversely without being a threadshitter. The thread is about a certain film, and like it or not, opposing viewpoints have their place. But let us say the thread is about “List your five favorite films”. In this case, when someone **lists** _Showgirls_ or _Starship Troopers_, and you come in with a rant about what a peice of crap either is- then you are a theadshitter. The thread is about “Listing \*YOUR \*five fave films” not dising other dude’s lists. But that is just how I see it. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/4 "2007-07-11T17:19:34Z")
**DrDeth** , you’re too much of a know-it-all, and in any case your analysis sucks. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/5 "2007-07-11T17:22:00Z")
My own definition is when a thread about topic x which has a tangential connection to another topic attracts negative comments about the secondary topic, as opposed to hewing to the original. This seems to be particularly popular when there’s even a whiff of politics. Example being: a general question about war, followed by threadshitting by those who hate Bush, and decry the US position in the mideast. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/6 "2007-07-11T17:22:54Z")
I see it as not contributing to the topic of the thread like what\*\* DrDeth\*\* said. An example would be for me to come in and say, “DrDeth is a lame-ass screen name.” (Which I disagree with because I think it is a cool name.) There was no contribution to the topic at all just some stupid ass remark. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/7 "2007-07-11T17:24:34Z")
That’s how I see it, too (what **DrDeth** said) and I submit that **Balthisar** has just avoided being a “threadshitter” by making an obviously comical retort to demonstrate the point of what would be “threadshitting” if the comment wasn’t quite so funny – and quite so “on point” to the current thread’s intent. Now if somebody else comes along and shits on this post, then that post becomes more likely to be an example of “threadshitting” since the issue has already been accounted for. Selah. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/8 "2007-07-11T17:25:05Z")
And anyone who’s seen five films is a loser who needs to get a life. I can’t believe anyone would start a thread supporting this kind of thing. It just goes to show how the values on this board have fallen. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/9 "2007-07-11T17:25:08Z")
What kind of idiot goes around asking about “consensus” on what terms mean on a “message board” fer crying out loud? It’s the freakin’ internet! What, are you retarded? So’s Bush. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/10 "2007-07-11T17:27:33Z")
This is one of those thread topics that virtually insures that there can be no “threadshitting” at all. Anybody disagree? ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/11 "2007-07-11T17:30:26Z")
Does it count as threadshitting if I move the thread to About This Message Board? **Gfactor** , General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/12 "2007-07-11T17:31:12Z")
[QUOTE=Tahssa] There was no contribution to the topic at all just some stupid ass remark. [/QUOTE] It is a liitle more than just assholishness. If the topic is movies directed by Paul Verhoeven, and someone posted, “Anybody who likes Verhoeven is a moron!”, that would be threadshitting, because it is not just assholish, it shits on the topic and anyone posting to it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/13 "2007-07-11T17:31:28Z")
[QUOTE=Balthisar] **DrDeth** , you’re too much of a know-it-all, and in any case your analysis sucks. [/QUOTE] A good example, thanks! 🆒😛 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/14 "2007-07-11T17:34:53Z")
[QUOTE=Gfactor] Does it count as threadshitting if I move the thread to About This Message Board? **Gfactor** , General Questions Moderator [/QUOTE] I propose another identifier for such action: Threadabortion or Transthreading or Threadhiding or Easterthreading. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/15 "2007-07-11T17:46:18Z")
Oh come on, **don’t ask** , did you really think people were going to follow the tired old trend of coming in and displaying exactly the behavior mentioned in the OP? That they’ll be so strident in their attempt to steer the debate away from the topic at hand to their own personal issues that the original discussion never even gets underway? :rolleyes: Turning the thread into, most likely, the same debate that’s been held, most likely, countless times all over the internet, with the same lack of conclusion? Would they stoop so low as to denigrate anyone who expresses any attempt to explain to them why they should take their complaints with the topic into a new thread if they really want to air them? Slinging personal insults at them until their rudeness and annoying behavior finally goads someone else into engaging them at the same base level, and the rational talk is finished!!! Everyone else rolls their eyes, or watches the fireworks go down, occasionally sniping at so-and-so for starting it, or at the other guy for taking the bait. But now I see the usual suspects :rolleyes: have indeed done that … I say you’re the threadshitter here, since you poisoned the well against any reasonable response, to turn this thread into yet another slime-filled stream of acrimony, skirting closer and closer to the edge before finally tumbling headlong into the Pit! Then the next someone else wants to discuss **threadshitting** , they may relent for fear of releasing the same sort of self-indulgent meta-posting that derailed the last one — until the mods have to step in, and someone gets BANNED for trollish behavior. Then the topic becomes taboo, for reasons unclear to any newbie, and when some guest or low-post-count fellow brings it up, they’re shouted down and treated with suspicion, suspected of being a sock, and warned, without really knowing what’s going on. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/16 "2007-07-11T17:54:50Z")
It might be useful to compare and contrast other terminology for objectionable or at least questionable behavior while posting: 1. Hijacking 2. Trolling 3. TMI 4. Ad hominem attacks 5. Non sequiturs 6. Idiocy 7. Drunken or substance abusing posts 8. Posting while under the influence of a Pagan Deity or an Extraterrestrial ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/17 "2007-07-11T18:23:16Z")
But, what if you _are_ a pagan deity? ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/18 "2007-07-11T18:24:45Z")
To be serious, from the [Glossary](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=320298): **Threadshitting** – basically, shitting on a discussion, by belittling the topic or the people discussing it. It typically takes the form of a dismissive comment, like “Who cares?” or “This is stupid!” or similar. The implication of the threadshitter is that discussion of such a topic is beneath them, and should be beneath everybody else. If you really do think that a discussion is inane or pointless, the appropriate thing to do is to not participate in it. And, of course, if you see someone threadshitting, please do not respond in kind, but REPORT the post to a Moderator. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/19 "2007-07-11T18:32:22Z")
[QUOTE=NoClueBoy] But, what if you _are_ a pagan deity? [/QUOTE] Then, no doubt, you Rule! ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387/20 "2007-07-11T19:50:51Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] Then, no doubt, you Rule! [/QUOTE] YES! I do. I am the proud owner of the **Remote Control of the Fates** that [**Mnementh**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=149285) gave me for nefarious and sundry (but sexy!) purposes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-threadshitting/411387.md?page=2)