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PaperclipPerfector  16hr ago (text post)   617 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for April 10, 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'm obsessed with tvtropes.org and r/TopCharacterTropes.

What are your favorite tropes and examples in media?

Reminder: TVTropes is censored (1 2). An alternative is AllTheTropes.

That site is close to unusable due to the spoilers being hidden unless you make an account. All for no good reason.

You can highlight the spoilers to reveal the text.

That's easy to disable. Just right-click on some spoilered text, select the "inspect" option, and turn off the CSS rule .spoilerhidden{color:#fff!important;}.

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The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

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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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