# Why so many socks/trocks? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 21, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871 "2023-08-21T17:21:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/41 "2023-08-30T15:42:49Z")
Without the Pit, an outlet for many people, I believe that we’d have banned alot more people. People generally feel like they can say anything they want from a place of anonymity. The Pit gives folks an outlet to do that raging. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/42 "2023-08-30T15:46:36Z")
Well, I think you’re wrong, and it’s weird that you’re trying to mock me by using the same words as my post. It’s good to know where you stand, though. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/43 "2023-08-30T18:29:44Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > If it weren’t for The Pit, we’d not have a significant % of the current membership here and that would be an embarrassment. If people are only here for the Pit, then the board would be a better place with them gone. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/44 "2023-08-30T18:35:22Z")
If the BBQ Pit disappeared, I would stick around. How about you? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/45 "2023-08-30T19:24:54Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > If people are only here for the Pit, then the board would be a better place with them gone. You miss the point. I don’t believe that people are only here for the pit, but absent the pit, we’d have a lot of people banned for being “dicks” to each other. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/46 "2023-08-30T19:25:27Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > If the BBQ Pit disappeared, I would stick around. > How about you? I rarely post or even peruse the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/47 "2023-08-30T19:25:55Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > If the BBQ Pit disappeared, I would stick around. I wouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/48 "2023-08-30T20:32:14Z")
For those who don’t participate in the Pit and think it’s awful, what kind of threads do you think are there? You make it sound like an eternal flame war between posters. In the last week, there are 31 Pit threads with at least one post. How many of those do you think are attacking other posters? 90%? Half? A few? Post your guess before reading: there is one thread attacking another poster, one additional thread that is not about a specific poster but has a lot of vitriol directed at them, and one where we try to identity socks and trolls. The rest are ranting about external things, with some very fun and even informative conversations happening. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/49 "2023-08-30T21:13:42Z")
'Zactly. The Pit is not the highlight of my view of SDMB. But by and large it’s where we can let go full force about the shit out in world that is bugging us. More importantly, iIt is socially acceptable for each of us to have two Doper personas: the Pit one, and the genteel one. Absent the Pit we’d lose that vital feature. If someone was to be one set of behaviors in IMHO and a different set in MPSIMS we might think that weird or fake. But with the Pit we can take off our civilized veneer when the circumstances fit without being viewed as hypocritical. Those of us who are comfortable at the Opera and at the biker bar ought to be able to how both those sides of ourselves. Very few people are Pit-only denizens. And those few are not assets to the club. But the idea the SDMB is or should become nothing but a safe space for hypersensitive special flowers of whatever age is flat wrong. It wasn’t in our charter way back when and it should not be incorporated into it now. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/50 "2023-08-30T21:20:50Z")
I’m not sure we have pitizens left. I know they use to exist but I can’t think of any currently. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/51 "2023-08-30T22:55:05Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > More importantly, iIt is socially acceptable for each of us to have two Doper personas: the Pit one, and the genteel one. The Pit is where I post when I feel like removing my monocle. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/52 "2023-08-31T12:25:14Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I’m not sure we have pitizens left. I travel extensively, but I’m registered to vote in the pit and maintain a residence there. (I see it is also my top category, by topics and replies) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/53 "2023-08-31T12:29:50Z")
I just ranted in the pit about my health insurance, and got some helpful replies. I suppose i could have ranted elsewhere, but i prefer the style of the pit for that kind of thread. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/54 "2023-08-31T15:21:39Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > but i prefer the style of the pit for that kind of thread Some things in this fucked up world can only be fully addressed in the Pit. If the Pit did not exist, we would have to create one. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/55 "2023-08-31T18:35:32Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > The Pit is where I post when I feel like removing my monocle. Where do you go when you feel like removing your helmet? ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/56 "2023-08-31T18:37:05Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > If the Pit did not exist, we would have to create one. The Pit is other people. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/57 "2023-08-31T18:52:19Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Where do you go when you feel like removing your helmet? My meditation chamber. [https://thumbs.gfycat.com/BoilingWeepyAcaciarat-size\_restricted.gif](https://thumbs.gfycat.com/BoilingWeepyAcaciarat-size_restricted.gif) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/58 "2023-08-31T20:35:17Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Post your guess before reading: there is one thread attacking another poster, one additional thread that is not about a specific poster but has a lot of vitriol directed at them, and one where we try to identity socks and trolls. The rest are ranting about external things, with some very fun and even informative conversations happening. Even if there was one, it would be one too many. For example here we have [Severe Hijack, about US borders, moved to pit - #311 by The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-hijack-about-us-borders-moved-to-pit/988949/311) which started out (as a total hijack, admittedly) as a couple of us trying to gently educate a poster about undocumented aliens. Once moved to the PIT, it turned into a hate and attack fest on that poster. People do not change behaviors because they are called names. People MIGHT change after being educated. Okay, not very often, but maybe others who read the thread. And no, the “troll” thread is not "_where we try to identity socks and trolls._ " its where posters call other posters troll for posts they disagree with. It is the job of the Mods to ID socks and trolls. If you want to help them, they say they appreciate you flagging the post. Sure, the thread has IDed a couple before the Mods gave announcements, but a couple out of nearly 6000 posts means it is mostly there for name calling. Yeah, the minirants are great. But you do not need the ability to call posters names to make a good rant about life, etc. But you are right, The Pit could exist and do well without the personal insults and schoolyard name calling. So why not get rid of that aspect? why is it needed? > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I just ranted in the pit about my health insurance, and got some helpful replies. I suppose i could have ranted elsewhere, but i prefer the style of the pit for that kind of thread. Absolutely. But did we need the ability to _insult other posters_ in order to get your point across? Most Pit thread dont. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/59 "2023-08-31T20:42:31Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > For example here we have [Severe Hijack, about US borders, moved to pit - #311 by The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-hijack-about-us-borders-moved-to-pit/988949/311) > > which started out (as a total hijack, admittedly) as a couple of us trying to gently educate a poster about undocumented aliens. Once moved to the PIT, it turned into a hate and attack fest on that poster. People do not change behaviors because they are called names. People MIGHT change after being educated. Okay, not very often, but maybe others who read the thread. I’m afraid I disagree; speaking _as_ the poster you just mentioned, I’m willing to learn regardless of whether someone is also calling me a name. Granted, I don’t much see the need for the namecalling — but I don’t see it as stopping the information, the thing speaks for itself. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871/60 "2023-08-31T20:49:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But did we need the ability to _insult other posters_ in order to get your point across? It could have come up in my thread, if I’d inadvertently been doing something stupid and someone wanted to tell me that. It’s nice to be allowed to be blunt. I rarely out-and-out insult posters, or say “fuck you, poster”. But i like knowing it’s allowed. And i like a thread where it’s okay to say, “i think this poster is a troll”, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-socks-trocks/988871.md?page=4)