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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   3375 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 14, 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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Has anyone else led a somewhat more solitary existence and prioritized only themselves over connections with others (outside of the connections you make at work anyway in a team, although those connections are more transactional in nature)?

There is some historic precedent.

Broadly speaking, there's a limited window for family formation (yes, even for men), so that's something that needs to be prioritized if that's something you want.

Thank you for directing me to the concept of anchoress; I wasn’t previously familiar.

I understand the obligations of starting a family early enough but imagine if you weren’t bound by that

Out of curiosity, how did you find this forum?

someone on a private discord told me about it, it’s a bit overwhelming but intriguing!

What is this place?

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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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