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PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   2711 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 13, 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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I see some posters that for some reason can't stay civil here and get routinely banned, but then are able to keep a civil tone over in the ACX open threads, even when talking about politics.

What gives???

Do we still have posters like that? Most people who can’t stay civil got weeded out already.

Are the exact same political issues being discussed at ACX?

I don’t think there’s anything about TheMotte that’s particularly conducive to uncivil discourse, outside of the emotionally charged topics that get discussed.

Man, I miss TPO…

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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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