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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   1528 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 24, 2025

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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If you were writing a story (a book, movie script, video game lore, anything) and wanted to include a cameo/reference to The Motte, what would it be?

This is not a “My friend has an embarrassing problem” expression where I actually am doing the said thing, I just want to hear some positive moments and impressions.

QUite a bit given I spent a fifth of my life here and documented it publicly.

You could name the forum “One zillion witches” or “OZW”.

@SkookumTree succeeding at the Hock, obviously.

I'm totally throwing this into the next chatbot scenario, thanks.

"the Hock?"

That’s a good one.

Or have a minor character who mentions it be banned from there for life but still lurking. You’d have your pick of the litter as to who that is.

Leviathan shaped hole perhaps

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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.


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