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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   2123 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 2, 2025

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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The Motte is very, very slow… again.

Anyone know if this is a new problem, or just a recurrence of the old?

In the spring/early summer of 2024 we had similar complaints, with most of the CWR activity being extremely dry (and high-effort) SCOTUS roundups. Then two weeks later Trump came within inches of having his face shot on live tv.

There's ups and downs. Almost like this website is breathing.

I think he was referring to the loading speed of the site. There was a hardware problem a week or two ago that has since been fixed, but some of the lag was back over the weekend.

Oh whoops lol. I have noticed this also! Especially on mobile.

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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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