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Rules & Guidelines & F.A.Q.'s; Formal Debates
Topic Started: May 6 2009, 02:49 PM (5 Views)
Saruman
Administrator
General Rules
Participants in a debate will need to abide by the usual TOS.
Copying material from another site or source to help explain yourself is only allowed in moderation.
You cannot make up an arguement entirely out of quoted material.
You will also need to cite all sources.
Participants will not be allowed to edit their own posts in a debate thread, in doing so, you may be disqualified on the spot, and the other participant will automatically be declared the winner.

A debate thread with status "[Debate]" is currently live and only the Debate Participants may post there.

The "[Open]" status means that a debate has ended and other members may post comments in the thread. If you are not a participant of a given debate then please do not post in that thread until the "[Open]" status is showing, we will remove any outside comments posted in the middle of a live debate and hand out appropriate warnings.

In addition to our standard forum rules, for Formal Debates, we ask:

No ad hominem attacks: Always attack the points being presented based on the merits or otherwise of the argument, do not personally attack, insult, mock or otherwise make derogatory comments aimed at the person who is presenting that argument or with whom you disagree.

Source citation: If you are relying on an unsubstantiated claim to support your side of a debate you must always back up such claims with a logical argument or with a relevant publication citation or source link should one be required or requested in order to validate the accuracy of the claim being made.

Fact vs opinion: If you are presenting a claim that is personal opinion only then please state as such; personal opinion, speculation or hearsay should not be presented as supporting evidence in a debate.

For more information on how the debates board works please view our Formal Debates FAQ.




F.A.Q.'s

Q. What are formal debates ?
A. A Formal Debate is essentially a structured debate between two people advocating opposing viewpoints. Unlike normal discussions, formal debates will be purely one on one, other members will not be allowed to enter a debate and post while it is running. Each participant of a debate will need to take it in turns to post an introduction, a set number of main body posts and finally a conclusion. Debate threads will be restricted to our 'formal debates' board to keep them apart from the rest of the forum.

Q. How are the debates judged?
A. A debate will be judged by just that, Debate Judges, who will assign points depending on how persuasive each side of the argument is.
For a total of 100 possible points.
These points will then be totaled, and the Participant with the highest score will win the debate.
A Scoreboard of past debates will be made available to show who the top debaters are.

Q. How do the debates work?
A. Once a debate has started, the Participants will be allowed 7 total posts, in order to put their views forward, take on opposing views from their opponent, and make their own side of the argument heard.
They will take turns posting, and be able to counter their opponents’ arguments as best as possible.
Once the debate is over, the arguments of all Participants will be judged, and the winner announced.

Q. How many posts are allowed in a debate?
A. Per Participant;
1 Introduction
5 Body paragraphs
1 Conclusion

Q. How are Debates structured?
A. Debates are composed of an introduction, 5 body posts and a conclusion. Assuming "Member 1" has been chosen to post first, the structure of a debate would be as follows:

- Debate thread opening post by a Debate Organizer.
---- Member 1 introduction
---- Member 2 introduction
------- Member 1 body post 1
------- Member 2 body post 1
------- Member 1 body post 2
------- Member 2 body post 2
------- Member 1 body post 3
------- Member 2 body post 3
------- Member 1 body post 4
------- Member 2 body post 4
------- Member 1 body post 5
------- Member 2 body post 5
----- Member 1 conclusion
----- Member 2 conclusion
- Debate thread closing post by a Debate Judge with the scores.

Q. What is the time scale for posting in a debate?
A. Participants will be allowed to take their time to formulate their next response and post it in the debate.
If a Participant fails to respond for more than 7 days however, 2 points will be subtracted from 100 for each day the Participant fails to post.
Once the “No-Show” Participant hasn’t responded in the last 50 days, the other Participant(s) will automatically be declared the winner(s.)
You can avoid having these points taken off if you simply let the Debate Organizer know in advance that you will be late in responding.

Q. Can more than 2 people participate in a debate?
A. Eventually Yes, when we have a lot more active members and Participants, we will be hosting 1v1v1, and 2v2 debates.
Until then, only 1v1 debates will take place.

Q. How many debates can I take part in?
A. As much as you feel comfortable with, although please make sure you have the time to devote to it.

Q. Can everyone else watch a debate as it happens?
A. Yes, all debates will be open for public viewing.

Q. Can I include links and quote external sources in a debate?
A. Yes, however please avoid making posts consisting of nothing but links or quoted material to represent your argument, make sure a source link is provided with every quote and try to keep the quotes as short and as relevant as possible.

Q. How can I join a debate?
A. You can register that you're interested in a debate on the Debates Board in the Debates Registration topic.
These will be posted on a regular basis, and will be of a variety of subjects.
If you'd like to take part, simply make a quick post in the thread, and you will be counted in for that debate.
Don't post in a thread that has already been started by someone else however, once the Participants have been picked and the debate has begun, you have missed out on that particular debate.

Another way to join a debate is to come up with your own.
Chose a partner to debate with on the forum and discuss the idea with them.
Once you have decided who you'd like to debate with and that person has agreed, contact a Debate Organizer and we will start a debate thread for you.

Be sure to state which side of the debate you will be on.
Don't start debating at this point, however.
Once the required number of Participants has registered, the Organizer will allow the debate to proceed.

Q. Can I resign from a debate?
A. For your benefit and the benefit of other Participants, we feel that to fully participate in a debate it needs to run smoothly and in a time frame, so that it remains fun and exciting for each Participant and the viewers. However if you must resign, please make a post in the debate thread to state that you are bowing out, this allows us to close the thread and prevent the debate from waiting indefinately for your next response.

Q. We've finished our debate, now what?
A.Once you've both posted your conclusions a Debate Judge will be along to set it to complete, if you've opted to allow comments from other members a post will be made by the associated Debate Judge, inviting others to comment. If you've opted not to allow member comments then the thread will be closed, and archived.

Q. How will I know which debate threads are open/closed for comments?
A. A debate that is open/closed to member comments will have "[Open]" or "[Closed]" in the description.

Q. What does the other debate title tag mean?
A. "[Debate]" means the debate is currently running and only the participants can post there.




If anyone has any other questions regarding the debates, please feel free to post them in this thread.
If you do not wish that others see your questions, simply contact a Debate Staff member.
The F.A.Q.’s will be updated to include any other commonly asked questions that pop up.
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