site banner
PaperclipPerfector  9mo ago (text post)   2578 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 21, 2023

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.

3
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Twitter's backseat CEO has announced his intention to rename twitter:

And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds

If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make go live worldwide tomorrow

He then reposted an animated X

There's a delirious, fantasy quality to Elon's management of twitter. Is this a joke? Does anyone know? Why make consequential business announcements on your personal account, mixed with memes and joke business announcements? Either way, it's hilarious.

I wonder how Linda feels about all of this. Does she have much internal responsibility?

I think the rename is a poor business decision, if not that consequential of one - a lot of people really like the 'Twitter' name. And 'X' is not a very distinct name, if that's what he'll rename it to.

Imagining a future neoreactionary tech-CEO deciding to rename the United States during a manic episode

If X is closest in style to anything, it should, of course, be Art Deco

A man of culture...

X.com now points to https://twitter.com/. Interim X logo goes live later today.

Bold!

One of my favorite things about Elon's takeover is that it's a natural experiment on the limits of the network externality. Just how much can an established social media company get away with? So far the answer seems to be: lots.

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