site banner
PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   1904 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 1, 2023

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.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Okay, I'm in a tricky spot.

I made a group for a niche'ish hobby and got like 20+ members. However, I wanted the group to actually not die and serve as a place to socialize so I made sure the m:f ratio was no worse than 60:40. (Simply don't let all the guys in, dick move I know.)

Anyway, had the first meetup. Everyone was "okay" other than this 1 guy. This guy gave me the heeby jeebies. Had 0 charisma, made the lamest jokes, and just ruined the vibes all around (oh he also keeps on flirting with all the females, and fails at it really badly). I'm not being judgemental or biased here, he looks normal physically, but his personality is just off.

Now I get it, you make a group for randoms to join, you will get oddballs. I mean they are joining random groups online for a reason. But seriously, fuck this guy, I don't want him in my group. He is a ticking time bomb. He brings down the average status of our group himself single-handedly.

I would just... kick him. But that might make me a pariah with the rest of the group who are not wise enough to see that this mf will literally make things marginally awkward enough over the long term that the entire enterprise dies.

What to do?

Man, this type of shit is the worst. It's why I don't host local groups anymore. Just kick him if you have the authority the autists will ruin your damn group quicker than you think.

Any experiences/stories to share?

Mainly just autistic rationalists hitting on women in front of a whole group in really cringey ways, totally oblivious. Said women never come back of course. Try to talk to them about it and they deny it ever happened.

Then of course having trans or 'non-binary' folk show up to another meetup and start talking every time about how reality is socially constructed. Going to space doesn't matter because if we focus on social reality we have everything we need on Earth, etc.

Oh and this one time a homeless girl showed up and I think she was subtly trying to find places to stay? Anyway. You run into some weird types running a group.

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