meow1917's Moshpit Etiquette!!

So, you'd like to participate in a moshpit. I don't blame you because it's super fun! But there are a lot of misconceptions around it. In addition, not everyone in the pit knows the etiquette all that well. These are all unwritten rules you're expected to follow, but mostly just common sense. I wasn't quite satisfied with any other page on the Web that explained the moshing etiquette so I tried my hand at it myself. :3c

What is moshing? :o

Let's start by what moshing is not: Moshing is not a brawl, nor any other form of violence. Nobody's supposed to get hurt or injured. Moshing is not more dangerous than attending a concert at all. Moshing is a set of aggressive dances performed by the audience of a live performance. It's a way to express the energy and power the aggressive music evokes in you, shared with your fellow concertgoers. It's mostly limited to extreme metal (death, thrash, black etc) and hardcore punk, including grindcore. Due to public misconception of metalheads and punks as violent people, it's viewed as harmful by people outside the scene. Some venues outright ban it and bands of outsider genres like post-hardcore, metalcore, post-grunge and alt-metal (nu metal et al) are known to completely misunderstand it. I personally suggest not attempting to mosh outside metal and hardcore concerts. With that out of the way, let's see what this is all about...

Nomenclature

The pit: An open space in front of the stage where the moshing takes place. You can very easily tell it apart at a glance.
Headbanging: You're almost certainly familiar with the solo version of this, since it becomes almost instinctive once you're immersed in the music. The more elaborate version involves bending down a bit, putting your hands on your knees and headbanging in circles to show off your luscious locks. You can do it with someone else by standing face-to-face and putting your hands on each other's shoulders instead. The collective version involves people (often complete strangers) putting your arms on each other's shoulders and headbanging together as a chain.
Slamming: Slam dancing is what people usually call moshing. It involves the audience running around and indiscriminately slamming into each other and shoving them in arbitrary directions. More on this later.
Pogoing: This is a variant of what is sometimes called the pogo dance. The idea is quite similar, except pogoing is done collectively in the pit. The dancers run and jump up and down in a circle in the pit (sometimes called a circlepit). Quite harmless and lots of fun.
Wall of death: Walls are usually orchestrated impromptu by the band in the middle of a concert, if there's a large moshpit and the crowd appears to be willing. The pit is split into two groups who line up about ten metres away from each other, then break into a stampede towards the opposite group on the band leader's mark. After the collision, the now-reunited crowd instantly begins to mosh. Walls of death are rather rare because they can be dangerous if done by unexperienced moshers, potentially leading to serious trampling injuries.
Stagediving: The invention of this act predates punk or metal. A performer jumps on the audience with the intention to perform a crowdsurf. This is a rather risky move and should only be done from low stages onto willing crowds. Some venues allow audience members to climb the stage to perform stagedives.
Crowdsurfing: Yet another controversial act, involving a person being carried over the stationary crowd from in front of the stage all the way to the back. If you aren't stagediving (you shouldn't), you need to signal someone strong to hoist you up to initiate the surf. Very difficult to pull off with small audiences, very risky with large ones if you don't trust your city's scene. You can take refuge in audacity and bring an inflatable boat to a huge concert to do this safely. One genuine use of this act is transferring injured and/or unconscious people in the middle of the crowd to safety, as paramedics mightn't be able to reach them as quickly.

How to mosh

Read the concert rules the establishment sets forth beforehand. If there's any express ban on moshing, forget about it.
The area in front of the stage requires you to pay attention to your surroundings. A moshpit could open up, the performers could throw their guitar picks or drumsticks at the audience, or even perform a stagedive. Keep your distance if you don't care for such interactivities.
Refrain from moshing if you have any physical issues, such as injured ankles. Remember: People are going to shove you around and there's a chance you're going to fall.
During the concert, you'll see people (more experienced concertgoers) clear a region in front of the stage to establish the pit by pulling tables and chairs out of the way and asking people to leave by hand gestures. People will begin to walk up to the pit to participate. This is your chance to get out if you don't want to join.
Remember: You don't have to participate if you don't want to. It's usually a minority of concertgoers performing the dance at any given concert.
Refrain from establishing the pit yourself if you aren't too familiar with the band, the local metal/hardcore scene and the venue you're in. If no one does so, it's most likely for a good reason.
It begins when someone runs up to and bumps into someone else (both experienced moshers), usually at a time when the music is particularly aggressive. People will then begin to aggressively bump into each other and shove each other around. It's a good idea to stay out for a while and watch before joining in yourself to get an idea of what's going on. It's quite simple to understand when seen and experienced in person.
There's a loose barrier of people around the pit that don't participate in the moshing but will push anyone stumbling outside back into the pit to prevent them from bumping into people outside or hitting furniture and getting hurt. This is a good place to watch the pit. Do not shove anyone into the pit from outside and do not mosh into them from inside on purpose. The latter is known as crowdkilling and it's highly frowned upon. If you see someone crowdkilling, tell them off.
The pit will fizzle out with low-energy music and soar back with high-energy music. There's always a flux of people coming to dance and leaving to take a breather. You can leave the pit at any time and come back later. Do not ever prevent anyone from leaving the pit and don't insist on moshing when everyone else stopped.
Do not ever use your fists, elbows or kicks whilst moshing. Again, moshing is not a brawl. You're only meant to bump into people and shove them around. You aren't supposed to hurt anyone or get hurt. If you see someone hitting or tripping people in the pit, call them out of it or tell the security.
If you see someone in the pit who shouldn't be there, like a concertgoer too transfixed by the music to notice they wandered in the pit or even an unattended child, escort them out.
Make sure to take your glasses off before moshing. Unless they're strapped to your head with an elastic band, they're most certainly going to come off and get trampled over. Entrust your glasses and the valuables in your pocket that could fall off to a friend outside the pit. Even a stranger could be willing to hold onto your glasses in a particularly small venue. If you drop anything, stop moshing immediately and gently stop the people around you from bumping into you. People will notice something's wrong and stop. If the scene in your area is particularly nice, they will even help you search for your items. You should do the same to someone in a similar situation.
If you see someone fall near you, stop immediately and help them up and make sure they're okay. It's not too uncommon to fall in the pit but it can be dangerous if they can't get back up. 99% of the time they will just flash an 👌 or a 👍, or fistbump you and go back to moshing. On the 1% chance they're hurt, escort them out of the pit and take them to a security guard if they're injured. Do not ever abandon someone injured in the pit. Injuries are quite rare but they can still happen.
Pick your targets well and adjust your movements accordingly. If you're large and bulky and slam a skinny kid to the ground in the pit, you're just a mean bully. Call out bullies out of their act and report them to the security if they don't stop. You should pay extra caution to this during walls of death due to the increased risk of injury.
If you ever notice someone using the pit as a way to get away with groping people, make mental note of that creep's appearance and tell a security guard.
Do not start fights in the pit. If some people are fighting in the pit, get them to stop and leave, or simply call the security.
Do not attempt to crowdsurf 'against the grain' (ie from the back to the front of the stage). You'll most certainly hit unwitting concertgoers too busy watching the show to notice you coming from behind.
Do not pick up someone and force them to crowdsurf without their consent, nor let then fall on purpose. Beware of moshlobbing, where crowdsurfers are stripped of their personal items and chucked out. Simply don't crowdsurf if you don't trust the crowd in your region's scene.
Don't mix up your dances. Slamming into someone pogoing in a circlepit or people headbanging will get you in big trouble.
...and most importantly, don't forget to listen to the music and have fun. 🎸 You're here for the music, after all, and dancing is only incidental to it. Stay hydrated and don't forget to bring your earplugs~!

More to come...

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