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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2028 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 6, 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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I don't think I have it in me at this point in my life to run a writing-based platform.

It's a lot easier to proffer amusing/interesting comments when first prompted by amusing/interesting posts/comments of other Mottizens than to have to bake the whole cake from scratch. I also comment relatively infrequently, like my median number of comments per day is likely literally 0 (for the mean is less than 1), which is probably not the kind of work-output conducive to running a Substack.

I do find it quite wholesome and heartwarming that you have at least one sibling receptive to wrongthink. Send him a referral link to the Motte!

My brother and I are very alike along numerous axes, but he's significantly less Online than I am, and often mocks me for wasting my time arguing with strangers on the internet. (Something I do on multiple platforms, not just this one.)

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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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