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PaperclipPerfector  14hr ago (text post)   528 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 30, 2026

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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Video Game thread! What are you playing?

I've been replaying Terraria, this time with a bunch of friends and some light mods. It's a blast. We got five people on at once one time, and we may be able to do six this weekend. A great game for curling up by the fire while it's snowing and just gaming all day with friends on.

I'm looking forward to Menace launching on the 5th of Feb. Finally a game that scratches that XCOM itch, while expanding the scope from 6 dudes fighting an entire alien army by themselves to... 40 dudes doing the same thing. Scale counts.

Maybe you and @FtttG should play together. Would be fun to have a motte gaming group again.

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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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