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PaperclipPerfector  10mo ago (text post)   2706 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 30, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Does anyone else feel "there's no other place like home" sort of way about this place?

I do. It's funny, I'be become somewhat prominent elsewhere, yet I never feel such warm rush as when writing for you guys. And that despite being not an amicable type. I've been among you, what, five years? And made maybe three friends. Even so.

It's a damn shame that Zorba didn't do good on his promise of establishing a recruiting pipeline. But that's hard, and now clearer why it's hard.

I'be become somewhat prominent elsewhere

Where?

It's a damn shame that Zorba didn't do good on his promise of establishing a recruiting pipeline.

Well, if you're prominent, linking back to here every once in a while could help.

It wouldn't be good either for me or for us, unfortunately. Guess a few others are the same.

Not Trace though.

What is this place?

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The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

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Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


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