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PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   1997 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 22, 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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How do you use voting systems on social media/fora? (likes, upvotes/downvotes, etc.)

Personally, I almost only upvote/like posts when I'm sorting by newest - as that's when my upvote has the most marginal value to promote a post - and I virtually never downvote/dislike. Past the point where my individual vote has substantial value to the algorithm, I simply don't care to leave my petty display of opinion. For those of you who do use your votes, here are some questions to reflect upon:

  • Are you selective with your votes or do you vote on most/all posts you see?
  • Do you find yourself upvoting people you disagree with due to the quality of their argument, or vice versa?
  • Do you downvote people you're arguing with or do you leave judgement entirely to the masses?
  • Do you remove the auto self-upvote on your posts/comments?

I only use it to downvote people I disagree with. There's an addon for Reddit that shows total down/upvotes for users, and it's nice to see how many total downvotes I've given them. I wish that was a thing on the motte too.

But I'm not very argumentative so I use it more for specific people rather than in general.

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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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