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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3104 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for December 23, 2022

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Dreading spending Christmas talking to your family while bored? Looking for a distraction?

Well look no further! Now is the perfect time of year to join us playing Blood on the Mottetower. It’s a fun little social deduction game where you get to lie about who you are and try to bluff others, while solving a murder.

And don’t worry it’s entirely text based so you don’t have to talk to internet weirdos at Christmas. @SubstantialFrivolity

Just click the link, go to the recruiting channel and hit the Christmas tree reaction to sign up, and join soon! Game starts later today.

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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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