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PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   2625 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for September 15, 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.

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Isn't Sufficient Velocity the science fiction version of Resetera? Didn't they schism from the spaceballs forum over not being radical enough?

Sufficient Velocity was created because moderation on Spacebattles wasn't enough.

I heard they schismed over some so-dull-its-totally-unmemorable dispute over modding. Much prefer 4chan modding drama which is at least exciting.

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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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