site banner
PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   1643 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for September 4, 2026

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.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

He probably has. My uncle had a friendly relationship with him before this and I can't imagine them not having talked about the situation

Wouldn't that in itself be enough to bury the case even if all the dictionaries of the land agreed that biannual means twice per year?

If there was a clear shared understanding of what the parties were agreeing to, confirmed by 20 years of practice, then should it even matter that the wording of the contract says something different according to common English usage?

(Your cousing lawyer seems to think so, but you say he's a bit pompous so maybe he's too focused on showing off or something.)

EDIT: Actually, shouldn't the uncle be suing the guy he bought the land from? Presumably, he was the one who agreed with your uncle that buying the land will involve the transfer of rights and obligations of the easement agreement so he was the one who misled the buyer about the terms of that agreement and who could've benefitted from that by having the buyer agree to a higher price under the assumption that there's an extra $7500 of revenue attached to the thing over the next 10 years.

I hope one of the Motte's resident lawyers comes and explains how all of this is wrong and my notions of common sense don't apply.

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