site banner
PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   4225 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 10, 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.

3
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Does The Motte share data with google? Topics I've read about here (and only here) keep showing up on youtube.

Yup, it uses Google Tag Manager for analytics.

Does that not seem problematic to anyone else?

It does sound creepy. Not my site, but I think the less we're hooked into the spyware that makes up the majority of the web the better. I wouldn't have made an account here if I'd had to link an email, for example.

DSL has zero search engine indexing, if that is of interest.

How?

Everything you read and write here being collected to your real name profile at Google and whoever else they share/sell it to?

If you're not blocking 3rd party cookies at this point, you're kind of asking for it.

If you're not blocking 3rd party cookies at this point, you're kind of asking for it.

Too many websites cease to function properly without 3rd party cookies, unfortunately. Yeah, in principle I could troubleshoot each individual case (is the website or content distribution network down? Is it a script that I'm blocking? Is it because I'm using a lesser-known browser? Is it a 3rd party cookie issue? Is it my antivirus software?) But I'll probably more likely say fuck it and close the tab in frustration.

Too many websites cease to function properly without 3rd party cookies, unfortunately.

Which ones? I've literally never ran into one. Safari blocks them by default, I really doubt any website would risk cutting off the entire Apple ecosystem.

Which ones? I've literally never ran into one. Safari blocks them by default, I really doubt any website would risk cutting off the entire Apple ecosystem.

It's been years, but I recall it being more common when attempting to login or make purchases. I don't remember exact sites. However, googling the phrase (including quotation marks) "Your browser is blocking third-party cookies" reveals many people struggling on various platforms to do various things, including Google and Microsoft, and receiving that error message.

More comments

I thought I was. I'm using ublock origin and privacy badger.

That should be more than enough. Even if you only blocked cross-site cookies while loading Google's scripts, that should still scramble their user-recognition ability. I don't know exactly what ublock does, but if you look up the GTM script in developer tools, with ublock on, you'll see there's a comment block with ublock's license at the top. Presumably they're intercepting Google's scripts, and replacing them with one that doesn't break the site's features, but disarms the analytics.

Everyone’s going to be doxxed eventually. Not that I don’t care, because I do, but I doubt this Google analytics stuff is going to make the big difference.

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