naraburns nihil supernum
2yr ago
(text post)
31310 thread views
Israel-Gaza Megathread #2
This is a refreshed megathread for any posts on the conflict between (so far, and so far as I know) Hamas and the Israeli government, as well as related geopolitics. Culture War thread rules apply.
Assuming you're not outright trolling, a glance over your brief post history here suggests that you have not yet really grasped the spirit of the rules.
This is not the place to wage the culture wars; this is the place to discuss them with people who disagree with you. That means making your claims less-than-maximally-inflammatory, furnishing evidence in proportion to how inflammatory they are, speaking about specific rather than general groups, writing in a way that invites everyone to participate in the conversation, not building consensus or recruiting for a cause, and so on. Your post should evidence some measure of asking yourself "why do I believe what I believe" and "what would it take to change my mind?"
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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
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Notes -
Assuming you're not outright trolling, a glance over your brief post history here suggests that you have not yet really grasped the spirit of the rules.
This is not the place to wage the culture wars; this is the place to discuss them with people who disagree with you. That means making your claims less-than-maximally-inflammatory, furnishing evidence in proportion to how inflammatory they are, speaking about specific rather than general groups, writing in a way that invites everyone to participate in the conversation, not building consensus or recruiting for a cause, and so on. Your post should evidence some measure of asking yourself "why do I believe what I believe" and "what would it take to change my mind?"
Basically, please don't post like this.
It is now deleted. Maybe post author should be banned next time they do this?
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