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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3766 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 27, 2022

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 many of you have a blog?

I'm thinking of starting to collect my random Motte posts / ones from others that inspired me and editing them a bit to make articles. I know a few Mottizens have blogs like @TracingWoodgrains and @ymeskhout have blogs, but how common is this strategy?

Mine is more of a newsletter with a website — but I suppose most are these days. Here it is: https://www.sonyasupposedly.com/

I like the hosting platform Ghost a lot, but Substack is probably better if you don't have an established audience yet.

Loved your brutality of life reading list. Now I have something to satisfy my pessimistic morbidity.

I've thrown a few longer-form posts up at clockworkthought, but I've not been as consistent about doing so as I should. It was originally at PMMeYourObsidian's request, but it's since been moderately useful as a way to repository drafts or hold longer-form pieces without having to depend on someone else's hosting services.

((On the downside, it's also turned into a holding spot for drafts that sometimes sit there for over a year.))

Not sure how common it is, even among our longer-form writers.

I have a blog, much of which consists of editing forum posts and snippets (not necessarily just here, but commonly here) into material.

What's your end goal? And what are you trying to optimize for?

Starting a blog is trivial nowadays, you don't even need a website, just get a Substack domain.

Eh, basically just to practice writing and get myself to do more research. I enjoy commenting here so figure a blog would be a more productive use of time but also scratch the same itch so to speak.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

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!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


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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