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PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   2322 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 23, 2024

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.

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I don't see a feedback thread, but can we make the comment scores/votes visible internally instead of having to wait a day? The score would be visible to whoever made the post but invisible externally, until the 24 hours has passed. This would be useful feedback so I can delete the post if it gets downvoted too much instead of having to wait a day. Sometimes it's hard to predict how unpopular a post is just by the replies, like about my posts on cities and crime which was heavily downvoted. Had I seen the vote count sooner I would have deleted it. I feel bad about having posted it and regret it.

I'm against this proposal.

The point of hiding likes and dislikes is to discourage echo chamber dynamics. Whether consciously or unconsciously (it appears to be conscious in your case), getting immediate feedback on how well your post was received by the community will influence you to write (and hence think) in that way in the future: making points or asking questions which you predict will be well-received by the community, and avoiding ones that don't.

That's not the kind of space the Motte is supposed to be. Before posting, you shouldn't be asking yourself "will other posters like this?" You should be asking yourself "is this a productive contribution to the community, and does it adhere to the rules?" As long as the answer to both of the latter questions is yes, you should post it, regardless of how popular you expect it to be.

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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.


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