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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2187 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 9, 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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There is a leader board, that AFAIK only mods can view. Last time I checked, which was a while back, I think I was tied first for most blocked user. Not that I mind, I prefer high variance and strong appeal to a minority over blandness in an effort to be slightly liked by everyone.

Watch me racket right up there with you lol. We can be blocked buddies.

I feel I have a similar stance to you. In my opinion I don’t consider upvotes and downvotes relevant on a site that is trying to be a debate club because the spirit is in the arguing not the applause. Plus, everyone was praying to the stars for some liberals on here and the blue in my blood heard the call.

This stance is incongruous with your previously stated objectives:

I myself have very little interest in “pushing back”; I find it would be absolute waste of time, and likely why you won’t find the discourse you are looking for. In my opinion, the value of a forum like this is that it allows progressives, at least such as myself, to observe a rich diversity of right-winged thinking to identify the more insidious and subtle dogwhistles indicating the traits of a conservative, so one may steer clear of them in IRL interactions.

Taking that comment into consideration, the rational course of action, whatever the site is trying to be, is to minimize communication with you as much as possible.

Then block me? I don’t know what to tell you. Those are my opinions, yes. I still have to follow the rules here anyway.

My best move is not to block you, but to remind anybody who wishes to interact with you of your opinions such as:

I do think conservatives are uniquely repugnant, and therefore do not consider discrimination against them bigotry, much less in a similar vein as sexism and homophobia.

Yeah and some people here think anal sex is degenerate and people who do it should die, women don’t belong in the workforce or in education and white folks are just kinda better than everyone except the Asians. Join the club, admission is free and we have popcorn.

And yet, many of us are here to interact with people we disagree with, and even people whose views and behavior we find repugnant. For purposes of conversation here, I do not care if someone finds me repugnant and advocates discrimination against me. In fact, it is directly to my benefit to have such people speak freely here.

Five or four years ago I respected you.

I weep at the loss. Yet, this forum has a specific purpose, and we have instituted rules to achieve that purpose. I know better than anyone that there is a point past which further discussion is fruitless, but when one reaches that point the proper thing to do is to leave for greener pastures. And there is, I think, still a fair amount worth discussing; note all the blackpill predictions in the runup to this last election; while those predictions came very close to being correct, "very close to being correct" is still a synonym for "incorrect".

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.


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