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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3561 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for December 23, 2022

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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For a few days now, I've been volunteering for the Motte by rating comments, and I have no idea if I'm any good at it, but I realize the rating effort is changing how I read comments on the site. Where is the line between a crass joke and mean-spirited comments that don't belong here? Does that well-written effort post faithfully report the current state of knowledge and research? Or is it just a bad take that wears the skin of well-reasoned argument? Before, I would occasionally upvote or downvote, but the vast, vast majority of the time I would do neither, so I wasn't forced to have an opinion, I'd just chuckle at a joke even if it's bad without caring if it belongs here or note a novel idea without deciding if it's well-reasoned. Now, I find myself reading more carefully, even when I'm not rating.

I have a new respect for the moderators and admin. It's a tough job.

I have a new respect for the moderators and admin. It's a tough job.

Maybe this is was the real motive all along...

What is this place?

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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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