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PaperclipPerfector  18hr ago (text post)   566 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 28, 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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Married Christmas Celebrating Mottizens: what did you and your spouse get each other for Christmas?

I got my lady a wooden thread spool holder, a couple of ring necklaces, and a salt shaker from IKEA.

She got me a whittling kit, complete with knives and blocks of wood and a book that teaches you how to whittle.

What's a ring necklace?

Basically a necklace to hold a ring. If you google ring necklace you can find a lot of images, can't remember how to embed them here.

My lady works in a lab so she has to frequently take her ring off, and the necklace helps her not lose/forget it lol.

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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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