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PaperclipPerfector  8mo ago (text post)   3499 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 17, 2024

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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Screenshots without links, or even a URL in the screenshot itself? We'll be lucky to get 10 new users from that.

It's something of a pet peeve of mine with the posters that struck out on their own, and are now acting like they're to cool to admit to ever hanging out with us. Though in Trace's case he might be trying to protect us from being flooded.

I freely admit association with the Motte as appropriate. This place was a big part of my own intellectual journey and I have nothing to hide about it. In this case, Twitter throttles Substack links as if they're ads, so I couldn't link the Vitalist's blog without my posts getting throttled into oblivion. I even mention my connection in the replies to that post.

In the thread there’s the tweet:

dude is The Vitalist on the site that must not be named

And I think this phrase alone will bring a few thousand to the forum

acting like they're too cool

I think it’s totally reasonable to deny association with the forum given the content that is sometimes posted

And I think this phrase alone will bring a few thousand to the forum

He's talking about Substack. Substack is the site that can't be named on twitter, not here.

Trace had massive reservations about the state of The Motte even in 2020, and we're further down the rabbithole now. Besides, Substack and even X have improved as platforms for mottelike effortposts.

While I maintain my reservations, I also generally enjoy the company of the people here and have nothing to hide in terms of associations. In this case, I was referring to his original posts and to Substack, as @FirmWeird accurately noted. I'm mostly just too distractable to post to multiple platforms simultaneously with any regularity, and yeah, Twitter is in a bit of a golden age for Mottelike effortposts atm, so I've been enjoying my time there.

Trace had massive reservations about the state of The Motte even in 2020, and we're further down the rabbithole now.

Our local progressives will have to speak for themselves, but I'm somehow getting the feeling that the reservations have decreased despite the skew of this place increasing.

As a whole the community has become more polite offsite, I think because the leakage from/to various places with lower standards was reduced. Even if you’re a shitposter or troll elsewhere, coming here, to a separate site, kind of has a calming or separating effect on one’s internet persona.

dude is The Vitalist on the site that must not be named

And I think this phrase alone will bring a few thousand to the forum

Except on Twitter that phrase means "Substack". Actually, now that I look at it, the screenshots aren't even from the post on The Motte, they're from the guy's Substack.

I think it’s totally reasonable to deny association with the forum given the content that is sometimes posted

"I don't want my niche hangout to be overrun by normies" is a perfectly fine sentiment and I'm not going to hold it against anyone who made it big, but "I'm going to cash in on a post from my niche hangout, and not give credit, because I'm afraid I'll get cancelled" is very, very low.

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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