• Where can I find the debates ?
• What are the general rules for debating ?
• How do debates work ?
• How do I join a debate ?
• How do I register my interest ?
• How many people can take part in a debate ?
• How many posts are allowed in a debate ?
• Can everyone else watch the debate ?
• What is the posting time scale for a debate ?
• How are the debates judged ?
• Can I resign from a debate ?
• How many debates can I take part in ?

Our debates board is a subsection of our forum. To view it - Click Here.

Participants in a debate will need to adhere to the usual forum rules and guidelines. Bad language, personal insults and other such behaviour will not be permitted. Copying material from another site or source is only allowed in moderation; i.e you cannot make up an argument entirely out of quoted material. Participants will not be allowed to edit their own posts in a debate thread, returning to a previous post and editing something out for example could result in you being disqualified.

Once a debate has started, the participants will be allowed a specified number of posts in order to put their views forward, take on opposing views from their opponent, and make their own side of the argument the most persuasive. They will take it in turns to post, 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.

To take part, you need register you're interest in a debate that a debate organiser has started on the debates board. 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 to the thread to say so, 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. Look out for special debate events which also require participant signups.

To register your interest in a debate thread, simply make a short post to the thread to let the debate organiser know you want to take part. You may also state which side of the debate that you would like to participate. Don't start debating at this point, as you will not have yet been assigned which side of the debate you are on. Once the required number of people have registered an interest in a debate, the debate organiser will flip a coin to determine who is arguing for which side. Once this is established, the debate can proceed.

It is not necessary for a debate to happen 'live', participants will be allowed to take their time to formulate their next response and post it to the debate. If a participant fails to post anything in the debate for more than 7 days however, 2 points will be taken off for each day the participant fails to post. You can avoid having these points taken off if you let your organizer know in advance that you will be late in posting.

A debate will be judged by a panel of members who will assign points depending on how persuasive each side of the argument is. These points will then be totted up and the participant with the highest score wins the debate. A scoreboard of past debates and results will be made available to show who the top debaters are.

For your benefit and the benefit of other participants, we feel that to fully participate in a debate it needs to run smoothly and to a time frame so that it remains fun and exciting for each participant and the people following. Please be sure you are fully committed from the start. If a person then resigns from a debate without a valid reason and without notification to the organizers an automatic suspension of any participation within the debates will occur for three months.

We are requesting that members participate in no more than 2 separate debates at any given time. This will not apply if one or more of a participant’s debates are on hold.