site banner
PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   1950 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for December 22, 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.

4
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Is there any solution to Youtubes algorithm thinking I'm retarded or a boomer or a 3 year or old from the third world?

There's this class of videos out there produced by content farms I don't want near me with a 10 foot pole. I'm talking those nursery song videos where the adults are cosplaying, or those "satisfying" compilations, or those that are even worse and skip reality altogether and just animate the entire thing. My search sometimes gets literred with this shit.

There's a way to get into your Google profile and view what it thinks of you, and make changes if you wish. I don't remember how, exactly; the last time I tried, I got so annoyed that it thought I only graduated high school that I nearly added my education history, before remembering that I don't actually care for Google knowing everything about me. I think it's something something accounts.google.com, but, it's also Google, so there's probably some encantation that will convince the search box to send you there.

I don't much watch YouTube, but for what little I do the YouTube recommendation algorithm was bonkers. For years I would get lots of Marvel and Star Wars breakdown/reaction video recommendations. I never have and never will watch one of those or anything remotely similar.

Checking now the algorithm appears to have corrected course. It recommends Blippi and Super Simple Songs compilations, which are actually relevant to my current typical use of YouTube as a song player for little kids.

Are you marking all that as "not interested"?

Yes, but a new channel from vietnam shitting up the search results pops up every two days.

Do you look at weird shit on your YouTube account? These days if someone sends me a bizarre YouTube I copy it into Firefox and that seemed to end the uncanny valley bullshit for me. Alternatively do you fall asleep with youtube autoplay on? After a few hours of "random" videos (like not all woodworking or all spider bites or whatever floats your boat) it can start to get pretty weird, and although it's not supposed to treat autoplay videos with the same weight as your picks, it still has an influence.

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