I have to say I have only been into the Pit once, and am never going back in there. Its just horrible! And I find it ironic that its the place where rules are more flexible but yet at the moment its the forum where all hell is breaking loose (or so I’ve been told!).
I’ve been pitted two or three times, I think. I don’t remember over what, though. It probably mattered to me at the time, but apparently not enough to be offended long-term or care long-term.
I’m a non-Pittee, as far as I know.
Once, for about 20 posts, three years before I was born.
Closest I’ve ever come is getting a sub-pitting once. Someone (Excalibre, maybe?) posted a thread titled, “Poster X is an idiot!” and in the first line said, “And so is Miller for agreeing with him!”
I don’t quite recall what it was that I agreed with that made me an idiot, though.
I’d be bummed if I got pitted now since no one can tell me to go fuck myself now.
4 or 5 times. I got fans.
Never Pitted. I’ve had a few sharp exchanges with other posters, but they never got so out of hand as to deserve their own thread.
It does!
I don’t think I have. Don’t suspect I ever would, unless someone takes offense to overly-verbose guitar geekiness (hey, waitaminnit…). I just don’t see myself engaging so hard that Pitting becomes an issue in either direction - I can’t see the value in investing that much emotion or identity into a message board community - I enjoy the casual conversation with y’all, but…
I got pitted by “Johnny Hildo” for my odd “superheroine-in-peril” fetish.
He basically accused me of being “a serial killer waiting to happen”. I thought it was funny. I had a good time being pitted!
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=429558&highlight=gytalf2000
I was pitted once, bacin in late '05. I had gotten a Bloodhound from rescue and he turned out to have sudden rage syndrome, and I had to have him put down, not only for my own safety but more importantly (to me) for the safety of my other pets. He weighed 135 lbs. and went after one of my 10 lb Papillons.
Evidently someone found it offensive when I said he would be waiting at the Rainbow Bridge and I was pitted for it, which turned into pitting me for putting him down at all, insinuating that I didn’t try hard enough.
I was emotionally distraught already, and it really, really upset me.
This is an example of something I’ve never really understood about pittings. Is it the intention of pitters to ‘really, really upset’ the pittee? Is the intention to actually cause distress? Is the pitter short-sighted enough not to be aware of, or does he/she not care about, the pain they may cause? I appreciate that there are many who are not upset by pittings, but how can you tell who will be, and who won’t?
It’s this issue that makes me favour Ed’s new rule. It’s down to which is more important: pleasure for some, or pain for others.
I think it depends, doesn’t it?
To me, Pittings should be offered and taken in only a semi-serious way. And it helps if the Pitting is obviously over-the-top, with lots of references to how the Pittee has sex with non-human companion animals and such like. ISTM that the Pittings which are intended primarily to cause harm/offense are inappropriate, and the ones that are done “well” are the ones that have a lot of creative insults and rhetoric but are not nasty.
If that distinction makes any sense.
But, as you correctly state, you can’t be sure which Pittings will really cause hurt, and that means (to me) that the Pit is not for everybody. You really do need a thick skin, because many Dopers (myself not necessarily excluded) will attack whatever they see as weakness. And do actually intend harm.
If you do have a thick hide, as (I think) Bryan Ekers mentions, it can be fun to be Pitted by people who are creative in their insults, or whose opinions you genuinely don’t care about or find amusingly silly.
If you don’t have such a taste, you should make use of the ignore list (IMO).
Regards,
Shodan
Only once, many years ago. At first I was excited but it turned out to be pretty lame.
I was pitted once for a rather ill-advised attempt to drum up conversation about my daughters ADHD (future note: don’t ever start a thread with “I bet my kid takes more drugs than yours!” even if it’s a dark humor thing). That one was split about 50/50 if I recall.
I was pitted again once by our own Airman_Doors, which quickly turned into a gushfest about who could apologize more, since it turned out he had totally misunderstood what I was saying. Fun, but just about the opposite of a pitting.
There may be more, but I am unaware of them.
Not that I’m aware of, and I occasionally do a vanity search to see if I’m being mentioned anywhere. I was obliquely referenced (not by name) in the Pit thread about the naked pic thread, but I think that’s the closest I’ve ever come. I actually do hold a couple very pitable opinions, but I generally keep them to myself. I think it would be kind of fun to be pitted, but I don’t tend to get in people’s faces, so it seems unlikely.
Apparently not… but I had to search.
I almost never LOOK at the Pit, and have never pitted any of the people on the SDMB.
A few times, in the distant past, somebody (David B comes to mind) would write “Consider yourself pitted,” but apparently it took too much time and effort to create an actual Pit thread lambasting me.
Never been. And frankly, it kind of shocks me. I am not, nor never have been, a shrinking violet.
upon reflection, it must just mean that I am always right.
Yeah, I got pitted…oh, a little before they started the Google ads, I guess. Some dingleberry claimed the message board already had ads, great big ones, at the top of the main page. I asked if he meant the big logo across the top, and pointed out that the Reader got no revenue from that. Evidently, that made me a stupid bitch with no reading comprehension, because obviously he meant the link to the boards on the column’s homepage. (Which still isn’t an ad, but whatever.)
Lameass reason for a pitting, innit? It didn’t really pick up a lot of steam.
Nine to the Sky, I think it depends. Someone who is already obviously distraught about something–there’s only 2 reasons to Pit somebody like that. 1) You don’t mean any harm, but you’re too damn clueless to live. 2) You’re trying to twist the knife as much as possible. The rest of the time, I think people are mostly just blowing off steam.
An example: I think it is interesting how much venom kanicbird receives. In a Great Debates thread he was even abused by a Mod. Not only against the board rules but an example of how I feel that abusing people because of their religious views is completely uncalled for. Argue with him, disagree with him - fine, but rude name calling only shows up the paucity of imagination and reason of the pitter. He was also the subject of a Pit thread, the title of which called him an idiot, and the contents of which elaborated on that. I’ve no idea how he feels about the invective because he doesn’t react to it, which I think shows him in a better light than the pitters. Yes, they’re blowing off steam - but to what purpose? Making themselves feel better at the expense of someone possibly feeling worse? In my book, that’s not the sign of a civilized society.