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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2135 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 22, 2026

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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Did theMotte get DDoSed in the past couple of days? I wasn't able to access it for quite a while.

Relatedly, is there a designated off-site “rallying point” in case this place ever goes down indefinitely? Maybe my time on imageboards has made me too paranoid of a permanent site closure, but I feel like it would still be useful to know to, say, check the ACX open threads if this site is ever gone for more than a week.

Two chats (Telegram and Discord) are "recommended" in the sidebar of the front page (which is not visible if your browser window is too narrow, including mobile browsers).

which is not visible if your browser window is too narrow, including mobile browsers

So that explains why I can’t see them. Maybe it’s good to keep us phoneposting hordes out, though. Thanks!

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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."

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