site banner
PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   3700 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 7, 2024

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.

4
Top Bottom New Old Controversial
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

This is a website I built, and mostly designed:

https://www.mpsbrettonwoods.org/

My disdain for empty space has probably created the opposite problem of things being too cramped. But the audience is monetary economists. The kind of people that read books, and write books.

A book is nothing but a wall of text and it's a design that has endured for hundreds of years. I think as long as a design isn't more dense than a book then it's fine.

I don't think things are too cramped at all and I would prefer even less white space. I don't even like the big title page that makes you have to scroll down to where the content starts. I would rather have the "It is our pleasure ..." start the top left of the page, with a narrower top banner.

I think Gwern probably one of the best designed websites I've ever seen, though I'd be tempted to reduce the font size a bit.

This is the kind of design I'd argue against:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=beck+and+stone&atb=v390-1&ia=web

The throughlink to a search engine is intentional. Please don't direct link.

I "mostly designed" it. I did operate on concessions to other parties, and things that "look good" that "most website do" are hard to argue against.

Part of my original question is looking for a design group that says "obscene amounts of white space is stupid" because I constantly have to have these arguments.

Gwern's website is closer to my preference.

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