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PaperclipPerfector  17d ago (text post)   2907 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 19, 2025

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.

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The big players are slowly moving to effective whiteallow lists. It's already the case that most isps block outbound port 25 traffic by default. Then, if you get that unblocked, you need them to modify your pointer record to pass the spamhaus DNSBL, which requires static IP and a business class isp contact. This is table stakes. Then, it's all about meeting security and finally reputational requirements, but even that is IMO inching from "trust but verify" to "distrust until proven". Though if spam really is declining then this may ease.

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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."

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