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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   2540 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 19, 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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Emulators

It's been a long time since I've emulated anything. Hell, I don't even think I have a torrent client installed on any of my machines these days. How, ah, concerned should one be about malware and such when it comes to ROMs these days?

I am extremely far from an expert on the topic, but I believe that many emulators automatically verify the ROM's checksum against trusted checksum databases like No-Intro, and will warn you if no match is detected.

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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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