The (now-fixed) modlog indicates that no ban actually happened. I tried to ban FCfromSSC and it showed up in the mod log, I'll ping him on Reddit to see if he can try posting.
This suggests that either you clicked the wrong thing (possible), or that the ban feature was broken before and we accidentally fixed it (frankly, also possible), or that it's broken for you but not for me (similarly possible!) Can you try banning someone else and let me know?
Okay, I just banned Devon again, and that seems to show up in the mod log.
I note that last time, when I clicked the "Ban" button, it just went back to its previous state - i.e., it did not look like anything happened. This time, I saw "banned" after I clicked it.
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.
New post guidelines
If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it.
A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts
such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a
submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).
Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or
significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
My neck suffers no tyrant's blade! Do your worst!
(checking edit function too while I'm here.)
Accelerate this.
Also testing the flair function.
Try to reply to this, also (when I unban you) tell me if you got a banned message.
you can't ban me, I'm invincible!!!
Huh, well, that's embarrassing.
@ZorbaTHut, is the ban feature supposed to be working here?
The (now-fixed) modlog indicates that no ban actually happened. I tried to ban FCfromSSC and it showed up in the mod log, I'll ping him on Reddit to see if he can try posting.
This suggests that either you clicked the wrong thing (possible), or that the ban feature was broken before and we accidentally fixed it (frankly, also possible), or that it's broken for you but not for me (similarly possible!) Can you try banning someone else and let me know?
Okay, I just banned Devon again, and that seems to show up in the mod log.
I note that last time, when I clicked the "Ban" button, it just went back to its previous state - i.e., it did not look like anything happened. This time, I saw "banned" after I clicked it.
I'm gonna assume that something was broken before and is now unbroken, then :)
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
Huh.
Probably, yeah!
I'll see what's going on.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
hmm, or am I?
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
Try it, punk
BANNED until the heat death of the universe, or until I unban you.
Try to reply so we can see if this stuck.
replying
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link