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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 arguement 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do debates work ?
A. 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 oponent, and make their own side of the arguement the most persuasive. They will take it in turns to post, and be able to counter their oponents arguements as best as possible. Once the debate is over, the arguements of all participants will be judged, and the winner announced.
Q. How can I join a debate ?
A. You can take part in either one of two ways. The first, is to 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.
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 either myself or a debate organiser and we will start a debate thread for you.
Q. How do 'Register my interest' ?
A. 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.
Q. How many posts are allowed in a debate ?
A. Each participant is allowed to make a maximum of five posts making up the body of their arguement, as well as one introductory and one conclusion post.
Q. Can more than 2 people participate in a debate ?
A. Yes, we will be hosting 1v1, 1v1v1, and 2v2 debates.
Q. Can everyone else watch a debate as it happens ?
A. Yes, all debates will be open for public viewing.
Q. What is the time scale for posting to a debate ?
A. 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.
Q. How are the debates judged ?
A. A debate will be judged by a panel of members who will assign points depending on how persuasive each side of the arguement 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.
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 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.
Q. How many debates can I take part in ?
A. 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.
If anyone has additional questions regarding debates, please feel free to post them in this thread. This post will be updated to include any other commonly asked questions that crop up.
Edited by Lottie, 17 February 2006 - 10:45 PM.
