site banner
PaperclipPerfector  12hr ago (text post)   404 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 17, 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.

Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

What kinds of pets do you all have? And why are dogs the best?

I have a female cat, and have so far been resistant to other pet project ideas. I do cooperate with the neighbors to make sure there's food out for the neighborhood strays, but that's mostly not on me, it's a village cats policy.

Your kids don't want puppies???

Of course they do. I'm simply not onboard with the idea(or my wife's many other pet ideas).

How come? What's the block for you? With dogs specifically.

Though I am curious about your wife's other ideas now, lol.

Dogs of the sort I would be ok with smell bad, and I don't want to add to my list of yard chores by cleaning up after them, and they're expensive to get one I'm ok with having. They are also loud, and unlike cats(which strictly speaking need water, food, and litterbox- and that can be delayed for a day or two) we would need to make arrangements for walking etc if we went out of town. It's possible that someone I know might rehome a dog because of moving and I would be ok with getting it, but I'm not trusting a shelterpet, not with a dog(that's where cats come from though), and I do not wish to spend hundreds of dollars on a purebred, nor am I thrilled about the puppy stage.

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