Frankly, I don’t understand why I am not frequently pitted. I’m confrontational, arrogant, and sarcastic. In addition, I hold some rather unpopular opinions…not interfering in other people’s relationships being a recent example.
I’ve been pitted twice that I can remember, but I don’t think I actually participated in either thread.
I can see why you would get pitted.
Men are right, women wrong?
The more recent pitting was quickly resolved and was a quick reconciliation as you stated. That was the one I classified as a misunderstanding, I like your term better.
There was one I had forgotten about from before that one, where it backfired on you. I would have to go searching and I doubt it is worth it, but someone pointed out to me that you had pitted me once before. It would have been quite a while ago, maybe 18 month or more. Should I bother to find it? I doubt it is worth the bother and strain on the hamsters. I don’t recall what it was about.
Jim
The things I do that might annoy people are mostly of the sort that you’d look silly pitting me for – overexplaining, adding seemingly extraneous detail, and making overly long “Lincoln-Douglas debater” posts in general – so I’ve escaped unscathed thus far.
If Pitted, I could quite easily defend the reasons I post this way (long story short, it deters nitpicking douchebags and makes sure I’m understood if you have a decent attention span)…but then, if I were Pitted for this, I’d probably be too busy laughing to respond.
Now, if I participated in more political or “is it moral if…” threads, I could see a Pitting forthcoming pretty quickly…but, pissing people off on the internet for no discernible gain not really being my game, I stay out of those things unless I just can’t help myself.
Without hijacking- is it even worthwhile defending yourself if pitted? Especially if it is as trivial as some of the posters suggest?
I’m a Republican on the SDMB, and I give as good as I get. It’s gonna happen occasionally.
I don’t get Pitted as much as I expect, which must mean something or other. I don’t Pit others very much either, which probably doesn’t.
It’s all in good fun, mostly.
Regards,
Shodan
Cicero, IMNSHO, it’s going to depend on a lot of factors that can’t be laid out ahead of time.
First off, is the Pitting one you believe to be a valid criticism? If it’s not valid, I’m not sure it would be worth defending against.
Is the person Pitting you someone who appears open to reason? If they’re not likely to listen, why make the effort?
OTOH, I have had an experience in a Pit thread where something I thought was fairly unexceptional got read in a way very different from how I’d meant it, and I felt I got attacked for it. At first I just ignored the criticism, because from where I was sitting it looked like it was both an invalid criticism, and that the poster involved was showing signs of being irrational. (And believe me, I know what irrational looks like! I see it too often in my mirror.;)) As things in that thread continued, my view of the poster changed, and I took a risk to try to explain my position more thoroughly - it worked very well, and left both of us with a much more positive view of the other.
I don’t think you can come up with a hard and fast rule.
C’mon, remember when they shut off the search about two months ago and we had to become more clever to try and dig stuff up. Set options to thread starters, jump a couple pages (like to #258) and you can easily browse all 145 of the Pit threaqds that Lib has started (it was easier counting the number of threads he didn’t write on each page then subtract from fifty). 
What Exit, could you clarify something, please?
Since I already stated that I doubt I will be pitted, I must live vicariously through you two.
Of course you shouldn’t bother. Who can be bothered to research something they don’t recall but bring up anyway? There was the thread with this post, and the thread with this post. I guess you’d be describing the first one as “backfired”. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll just withdraw both threads in their entirety.
[Channeling Steve Carell]
I HEREBY DELARE BOTH THREADS TO BE NULL AND VOID!
[/Channeling Steve Carell]
There ya go. We’re right back where we were in March, 2007.
I hereby declare my post null and void. Tea and cookies for everyone.
I hereby declare myself null and vo
I declare myself full, and am off to void.
Sounds good, not remembering the first pit thread, I see I remembered it wrong anyway. It was hardly a pitting and no backfire. Thank you bbs2k.
I apologize for my mistake in this thread. I see no backfire in that earlier thread. I misremembered it.
Jim
I was Pitted once, but I agreed with the OP so it died fast. I get flamed in threads all the time, but I suspect I’m like one of those noseeum gnats that folks swat away and forget until it buzzes in their ear again. Not worth calling in the exterminators over.
Or search by thread title for “Exit” in the Pit, if you want a really hard way.
How the frick am I supposed to remember/know that you included his name in the titles of your pit threads you cryptic bastard?!
Eh, never mind me, I usually end up doing things the hard way anyway.
Verbosity.
A slight hijack - I’m still relatively new here. Would you know you’ve been pitted if you never visit the pit, and if so, how? GD and the Pit are the two forums that have never interested me, even before I joined…
Observationally, someone will give you a helpful poke in the shoulder. Whether by link or email.
You’d know if someone posted about you in a thread like this.
- calling Blackwater troops mercenaries
- suggesting the US deserves to lose in Iraq
- general anti-militarism
- generally being anti- American-exceptionalism
- defending Der Thris
- no tolerance for argumentum ad semanticum