And there were offshoots of the offshoot. Some users moved to a more "right" version of The Motte called (I think) /r/culturewar (it's banned now, so that would make sense...). One prominent moderator on The Motte started a more "left" version.
Ah, a retrospective of someone who hasn't even been following closely enough to know /r/culturewarroundup and /r/theschism exists, surely they'll have a balanced reading on the place.
A few days ago I saw a top-level comment wondering why prostitutes don't like being called whores and sluts, since "that's what they are." Some commentators mused about why leftist women are such craven hypocrites.
I read at least the top post on every thread and don't know what this could even be referring to. Why is it whenever people critique this place they always come up with the threads that don't represent the modal motte thread at all? This all comes off as a thinly veiled /r/sneerclub post trying to keep /r/slatestarcodex users from visiting us.
I feel like I did see that post, but I genuinely can't remember the actual content, so who knows. I'd rate the Motte as a whole pretty much sex-neutral and any sex-negativity is more a side effect of the women-are-not-wonderful mindset that does find purchase here.
The tendency towards labeling neutral discussion of women as hostile towards women is yet another example of "When you are used to privilege, equality feels like oppression".
Amadan
"I would put a screwdriver through your eyeballs if I could"
f3zinker 1yr ago
There are some genuinely hostile-to-women people here. We haven't had a "are women actually sentient?" post in a while, but those people are still around, as well as some other folks who are pretty seething on the topic.
If I remember that series correctly I don't think you've accurately summarized the, still quite objectionable, post. It was morning that women were sentient, not questioning whether women are sentient. I know that doesn't make it all that much better but I've seen it summarized the way you put it a few times and it always strikes me as wrong. If you agree with his premises, which I don't, the pity seemed reasonable.
Amadan
"I would put a screwdriver through your eyeballs if I could"
aqouta 1yr ago
We might be remembering different posts, and I don't want to call out the OP in question, but the one I am remembering was definitely more along the lines of "Is it possible women are basically p-zombies?"
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.
New post guidelines
If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it.
A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts
such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a
submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).
Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or
significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Ah, a retrospective of someone who hasn't even been following closely enough to know /r/culturewarroundup and /r/theschism exists, surely they'll have a balanced reading on the place.
I read at least the top post on every thread and don't know what this could even be referring to. Why is it whenever people critique this place they always come up with the threads that don't represent the modal motte thread at all? This all comes off as a thinly veiled /r/sneerclub post trying to keep /r/slatestarcodex users from visiting us.
I feel like I did see that post, but I genuinely can't remember the actual content, so who knows. I'd rate the Motte as a whole pretty much sex-neutral and any sex-negativity is more a side effect of the women-are-not-wonderful mindset that does find purchase here.
The tendency towards labeling neutral discussion of women as hostile towards women is yet another example of "When you are used to privilege, equality feels like oppression".
There are some genuinely hostile-to-women people here. We haven't had a "are women actually sentient?" post in a while, but those people are still around, as well as some other folks who are pretty seething on the topic.
If I remember that series correctly I don't think you've accurately summarized the, still quite objectionable, post. It was morning that women were sentient, not questioning whether women are sentient. I know that doesn't make it all that much better but I've seen it summarized the way you put it a few times and it always strikes me as wrong. If you agree with his premises, which I don't, the pity seemed reasonable.
We might be remembering different posts, and I don't want to call out the OP in question, but the one I am remembering was definitely more along the lines of "Is it possible women are basically p-zombies?"
Perhaps so, or maybe different posts in the same thread.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link