[Rasczak]

Basically it would go something like this:

A topic for debate would be thought up.

Two people would somehow be selected to debate the issue (or maybe teams - 2 on 2 - something like that. Or maybe someone could put out a challenge and pick among people willing to accept the challenge.

One thread would be dedicated to the debate and some sort of structure would be agreed upon. There could be annother thread later for discussion of the debate.

No winner needs to be declared. I can't imagine anyone being seen as neutral enough to judge it so it would be up to readers to decide who they though won.


Those are just rough ideas, curious what everyone thinks and whether the mods would support it. Think of it sort of like a sport. We come up with some rules, then play.

[mmccarthy]

I don't see why it can't be supported. I don't want to create any new forums at the moment but no reason you can't create the threads in existing forums.

It's worth an experiment at least. You will need to draw up rules of debate before starting though. I recommend you include something like a max words per reply, the way you have a time limit in normal debates.

[narayan]

It would also need some co-ordination of members to engage at a similar time. Time zones would come into account here but this would assist enable the debate to flow nicely. It would also take a fair time commitment for the debate but I think the result would make a great read for members. Nice idea

[mmccarthy]

It would also need to be clearly defined as being confined to the participants so new members wouldn't jump in on the thread.

[MRiGnS]

we could make pod casts discussion the results! \o/

[mmccarthy]

Nice idea ...

[mmccarthy]

Suggest you create the debate titles as

Debate: Topic vs. Topic

I'm lying . It was actually sdkub's suggestion

[bns]

Great. Why don't we come up with some basic "groundrules" for the debates---might as well use this thread. I suggest that Rasczak begin suggesting rules, since he brought it up. It sounds like a lot of fun.

[OrangeCrate]

Originally Posted by bns It sounds like a lot of fun.

"You betch 'em Red Ryder!" - Little Beaver

Edit:

Before you ask...

Red Ryder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Rasczak]

I never had time limits in mind- that sort of thing is better for chat.


Will any stray posts by people not part of the debate be considered "off topic" and removed or moved?

I think a fairly standard format is each side opens, then each side makes rebuttals, then each side closes. That could be handled either as a series of posts, or one post for each part.

[bns]

Originally Posted by Rasczak Will any stray posts by people not part of the debate be considered "off topic" and removed or moved?

Yes. In addition, I think a statement to that effect should appear in an introductory post. Something like:

Debate: $Issue
$Name1 v. $Name2

Brief Description of issue.

This is a formal debate between the participants. Please do not post in this thread if you are not a participant!

Then, if it warrants, we could have another thread to discuss the debate.

[mmccarthy]

I think a second thread to discuss the debate would be appropriate. That way anyone can still post on the topic just not in the thread.

[mmccarthy]

Its probably best to try it out as a test on some fairly innocuous subject and iron out the wrinkles as you go along.

[bns]

Rasczak: Do you want to go at it for one round with me as a test run? We'll pick a non-important issue if you like.

[Rasczak]

Originally Posted by bns Rasczak: Do you want to go at it for one round with me as a test run? We'll pick a non-important issue if you like.

I can't turn down a challenge, what topic?

[pkslot]

Originally Posted by Rasczak I can't turn down a challenge, what topic?

I like the whole idea of this, and second what's been said so far. Also the thread rules;

one thread for signing up / making rules and topics
One thread for discussion
and finally, one thread for sidecomments by other members, that follow the debate.

But i think there's one more thing. This board is multinational, so i think the topics ought to be "universal" and not about national politics or things like that.

[fuscia]

i think there are already too many sections. there are a lot of forums that could be combined (i don't mean eliminating topics, i mean eliminating seperations of topics). if this site is worried about attracting new members, or losing existing members, making new sections increases the likelihood of people losing interest. when i come here, i only visit the forums i'm interested in. this keeps me from accidently stumbling onto a thread i never even thought of looking for. fewer sections would mean me stumbling across threads i hadn't known about.

[mmccarthy]

The idea at least initially is that the debates will take place in the appropriate existing forums.

[fuscia]

i was thinking it might be better if there were only three forums: serious topics, silly shit, and 'other'.

[Big Dave]

This makes a lot of sense. I'd be more than happy to partake in one of these debate threads once or twice.