+ + ++
+ 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.
- - No doxing
+ The weekly Culture War threads host the most
+ controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of TheMotte. 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.
+
+ 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."
- - Supporting free speech is an immediate ban
+ On TheMotte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.
+
+