Who here wants a formal debate section? Two members who have a disagreement would make say 20 arguments each, and at the end of the debate a Moderator or other respected member would decide who has won the debate. any one like this idea?
I have seen either this proposal on every site I have been to, or the actual 'debate room' sitting there I have never seen it actually used. No one is going to want to actually do this, whether they think they would or not. This is not a popular feature, if you get it.
i think it could be a useful and interesting tool. especially if both participants respect the judgement of the judge
I don't really care for this idea because at least one of the mods here has very questionable judgement. Second, there would be a lot of pressure to never rule in favor of anyone that disagrees with political correctness, for example, because then that mod will forever be known as a racist, or misogynist, or whatever.
I'm happy to be a debate moderator/judge, we had some a while back, but I think the *20 arguments is a bit much. If you have a good point, you shouldn't need a word wall to make it. And if you need a word wall to make all the connections, then you're making too many and it's pointless. Also, this is a forum - people are going to want to read a debate. Debates should be short, sweet, and good. I like the form of introductions, main arguments, and closing arguments - 3 posts from each (with the rule that you can't respond to a point made in the same phase, out of fairness - so if you and I were having a debate, it's unfair if you post your main argument first and I get to use my main argument phase to counter your main argument points).
btw, idk if we still do, but we had a debate section. I tried to feed it and offered to debate people on any topic, but the few requests were childish - like, "we'll debate x topic, and I'll take y position and you have to defend z" (<--artificially stupid position that no one takes). I'd be open for it still, if people were genuinely interested.
Formal Debate section? Such a section already exists, doesn't it? It's at the very bottom of the Main Topics page: Debates & Contests. Doesn't look like it ever drew much interest.
Nope, terrible idea ! You can't debate with the fake news crowd . I won't mention any names but you know who you are.
I too would be happy to be a debate judge. I debated in college and was on the NCAA varsity team. Please note that you don't need "20 arguments". The prescribed format is as follows, and it is the same as in your voters' handbooks for election propositions: 1 - Preliminary argument by Team A. 2 - Rebuttal by Team B. 3 - Counter-proposal by Team B and closing statement. 4 - Rebuttal by Team A and closing statement.
I'd be happy to participate in an official debate, links and such lol. It's been a long time since I sourced my material. Actually, since I was in College.(Reminds myself to get back in, at some point.) So yeah, I'll join that subsection and give it a go. It's a far better use of time than the current political controversies lol. Hell, I'd rather beat my head in the Abortion issue rather than the current "issues".
