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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3265 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 11, 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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Is Holocaust denial becoming a more tolerated topic on this forum? Revisionists occasionally popped their head up at the subreddit, but as far as I remember, their comments were always downvoted. Not so anymore.

I think people on The Motte upvote quality contributions even if they don't agree with them, except for progressives (and even then, sometimes). There's no doubt that SecureSignals put a lot of effort into his posts, including detailed citations. That's true even if you think he's completely full of shit and a terrible person.

Notice also that the SecureSignals' opponents in that thread, especially johnfabian, also got upvoted, and that the net-upvotes turned to net-downvotes only when he started to get snarky. What does that tell you?

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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!

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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