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.
- 171
- 1
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
- Courtesy
- Content
- Engagement
- When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
- Proactively provide evidence in proportion to how partisan and inflammatory your claim might be.
- Accept temporary bans as a time-out, and don't attempt to rejoin the conversation until it's lifted.
- Don't attempt to build consensus or enforce ideological conformity.
- Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
- The Wildcard Rule
- The Metarule

Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Video Game Thread
What are you playing?
Only a couple hours of Deus Ex this week:
Then I started a new Civ V game, intending to go wide. I finished the Liberty tree and ended up having only 3 cities by midgame. Whoops.
Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord. I've been leading a band of captured bandits this time, turning them into a legitimate mercenary force. I smithed myself a swingable polearm right at the start and I feel like I'm playing Dynasty Warriors with how easy combat became.
I recently played a campaign, tried to climb the ranks in Vlandia, but was snubbed when King Derthert died just barely before I made it to Clan Tier 6 (even though all the Lords loved me and I hard carried the whole kingdom militarily). And that was after I also did not get the town I wanted, which I personally captured after giving back all but one of my held fiefs! So I left the Kingdom in disgust, renounced my remaining fief, and started a civil war from the outside, taking outlying castles and working my way in. And won it, of course, because the AI is useless. And then I quit, because what more can you do in Bannerlord? Map-painting is just too repetitive.
Yeah, once I take a land on my own thats usually when the countdown to growing bored sets in and I start back over.
More games need the old Sid Meier Pirates thing where you choose when to retire and are graded on your achivements against the cost in your character's health in the time spent in the game.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link