site banner
PaperclipPerfector  25d ago (text post)   27089 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of April 20, 2026

This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.

Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.

We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:

  • Shaming.

  • Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.

  • Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.

  • Recruiting for a cause.

  • Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.

In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:

  • Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.

  • Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.

  • Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.

  • Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.

On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.

5
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Why isn't Polymarket a darknet site that runs on Monero? Why is it run by that kid with the afro? What does he add to it? Expertise in making CRUD slop? Did he make the decision to do this? All of it seems so poorly done and thought out. The economy is fake; people will literally do anything but meritocracy.

Why isn't Polymarket a darknet site that runs on Monero?

Because it wants to be a successful business that could eventually make lots of money for the owners.

Why is it run by that kid with the afro? What does he add to it?

He is the founder, he created it. He is the world's youngest self-made billionaire so clearly he's added a lot.

Did he make the decision to do this?

It's possible he personally did, but he might not be that directly involved in most individual markets either. Even if he did personally sign on it, he has a bunch of lawyers and management types advising him as well so maybe he felt it would cause too much legal hassle (refer back to them wanting to be a successful business).

He is the founder, he created it. He is the world's youngest self-made billionaire so clearly he's added a lot.

Circular argument. Was it necessary to line his pockets? What good comes of it? I doubt it.

Because it wants to be a successful business that could eventually make lots of money for the owners.

Right. Instead of a good website that can run honest prediction markets. Great.

Circular argument. Was it necessary to line his pockets? What good comes of it? I doubt it.

Just because you don't see a value doesn't mean there isn't one. I don't care about going to concerts but I can understand that other people do and that's why the industry makes tons of money off of it. I don't like soccer, but I understand that lots of the world does and that's why they make tons of money.

Right. Instead of a good website that can run honest prediction markets. Great.

This might be shocking to learn but people generally like to have money. And most things in the world get done because people want money to trade with, not just to do "good honest work".

This might be shocking to learn but people generally like to have money. And most things in the world get done because people want money to trade with, not just to do "good honest work".

So greedy people who like to scam instead of doing quality work and letting money come along?

Just because you don't see a value doesn't mean there isn't one. I don't care about going to concerts but I can understand that other people do and that's why the industry makes tons of money off of it. I don't like soccer, but I understand that lots of the world does and that's why they make tons of money.

Circular argument. If anyone makes money, it's legitimate. What about Bernie Madoff? Geez.

If anyone makes money, by providing a service that clearly has both utility and high demand, it's legitimate

Bernie Madoff was not providing a service, Polymarket is

Gambling has no utility.

But prediction markets are a non-central case of gambling. They offer information into the external world. Hence, there are concerns about insider trading and leaking of secrets.

The issue is that the exotic markets are a small and dwindling portion of turnover

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

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!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


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.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats