General Rules
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.

Question, oh mighty SaRuMaN .

It's up to you really how you want to lay out the quoted material, you could either reference the source site as you go along, or have a reference index at the end of the post, for example

Source (1) says that 'This this and this'

and at the end of the post list your sources

(1) www.xyz.com

What you've done there is fine also.

What if I wanted to start debate? Can I just make a post introducing a new debate and let people apply for it?

You'd have to suggest it in the Debate Suggestions thread. If Burnside or Saucy likes the idea, they'll start a thread for it.

Thank you colorless.

However, you can also sent me a PM explaining the debate you'd like to participate in, and have a debate partner, and i will start the debate specifically on the topic you like with you and your debate partner(s). As long, of course, it is a suitable topic.

Point Deductions - Failing to Post within 7 Day time Frame

Starting now, there will be point deduction for debaters who fail to make a post within the 7 day time frame. The deductions will be 2 points for every day the participant fails to post after the 7 days.

This is to ensure that debates continue in a timely fashion. If for any reason you cannot post within the 7 days, please ensure that you let your organizer know to avoid having the points taken off your debate.

If, however the participant does not then attempt to make a post for upto 2 weeks after the 7 day rule has started an immediate disqualification will occur.


-Lottie and Disinterested

An excellent idea i have to say, good job to both of you for enforcing it! I see some debates do go on for quite a while sometimes, which can be frustrating for the opponent who would like to continue the debate but is unable too.
Enforcing a strict 7-day post rule is really great, and i think 7 days should be plenty of time to make a post.

Yay! What an awesome Idea. Great work Dis, its makes so much sense, some debators just disappear for far too long and drag out debates, with this new rule it will allow debates to proceed at a far quicker rate allowing even more deabtes to be debated!

Yup. And of course if you really can't you can just PM Disintrested or Lottie

Well done folk-ems. I like this rule.

Glad you like the new rules, thanks guys

When the counter hits zero after the 1st 7 days, then the debate should be called over.

Otherwise, this will drag out debate if you do not substract down.



In other words, if there is a possible 40 pnts for each catagory, after the initial 7 days, you would max out after 4 days and then summarily lose the debate.

If a participant fails to post long enough for his/her points to drop down to almost zero, the debate would be over.

Thankyou for your input Quicksand but the new rules are very simple. If after the 7 day rule a participant has not posted 2 points will be deducted from each day forwards. I doubt very much that it will 'max' out, for anyone seriously participating will not want to lose points!

Yeah, I like the idea, but what if you have a serious emergency come up, and you have to scat for longer than the seven day period without having a chance to pm Lottie or Dis? I know it's really unlikely, but it happens from time to time. There should be a penalty for someone who continues to post but just doesn't keep up with the debate separate from the folks who just aren't online for awhile. Just a thought.

You can PM your debate organizer once you have returned, and we can also in that case save you from any point deductions. Of course emergencies happen, it's understandable.

I would like to ask a question.

Are we allowed to quote things from books, even though there are no sources for that book available on the internet?

Yes, but you still need to reference the book. You can do so in the same way you'd reference a website.

Oh, OK thanks.

So, if I was to say something like, "The dictionary says that.... (Source the Oxford Dictionary)"

Would that be OK? Bad example I know, but I don't have any books here right now.

Yes, or you can also do it in this fashion:

Yes, that would be much easier

Thanks dude.

I have a question.

What if someone PM's you on the seventh day to inform you that they are going away for the weekend.

With this in mind, they have had seven days to post, knowing that they would be absent on the seventh, and thereby it is not unreasonable to suggest that they post before the seventh day.

If they can't post, and they let us know, it's fine.

But they have to let the organizers know, otherwise the points WILL be deducted.

A good rule definatly.
But maybe the time frame is to long.
7 days for one post is a long time.
I think it should be shortened by at least half.
just my opinion.

Question: Can I use a documentary for a source, for example if I want to use farenheit 9/11 as a source?

Yes, that's absolutely fine.

I've noticed some debates have five body posts, while some are only allotted four. What is the reason for this difference? Who decides how many posts to have

Regards, PA

Hi PA

The debate organiser will decide how many posts the debate has and the set up of the debates. The reason why you see some debates with four and some with five posts is that we may feel sometimes is not enough material for certain debates and so slightly shorten them so that they do not drag out.

Hope this helps

Lottie

A reminder

There is a point deduction for debaters who fail to make a post within the 7 day time frame. The deductions will be 2 points for every day the participant fails to post after the 7 days.

This is to ensure that debates continue in a timely fashion. If for any reason you cannot post within the 7 days, please ensure that you let your organizer know to avoid having the points taken off your debate.

If, however the participant does not then attempt to make a post for upto 2 weeks after the 7 day rule has started an immediate disqualification will occur.

Suspensions - New Rule Added, Please Read Carefully!

It is with regret that we will be introducing suspensions from participation on the debates board for a period of time that we, the organisers, feel is fit to the person involved. This has not been an easy decision to make but now is a neccesary one for everyone involved.

It has become apparent that a few people have gone jumping with huge enthusiasm into a debate, then decided halfway through that they actually don't like it and suddenly vanish with no notification.
This is not on and is not going to be tolerated anymore. It is unfair on Aztec and myself who organise these debates and on the opponents who actually take time and effort with the debates and on our debate judges.
We all want this debates board to carry on the success it has had in the past and to continue to be a relaxed, enjoyable and informative place for people to come and participate in.

As always myself and Aztec are able to put a debate on hold if any kind of problem arises during that debate and we have done this with no issues many times in the past. However we need to know that there is a problem to begin with so keeping us informed is always good.

In future please note- If you are interested in partaking in a future debate make sure that you have the time and commitment to take it on before you commit. It is in all our interest to make sure that these debates run as smoothly as possible.

If anyone wants more information on this feel free to contact myself or AztecInca via PM.

Regards, Lottie and AztecInca

This is a good idea! It gets frustrating reading debates, only to see them die half way through. I can only imagine how it is for you guys organizing it.

Can you clarify though what you mean by suspensions? Suspensions from debates? Or suspension from UM in general.

thanks.

Regards, PA

You Finally did it YIPPIE!!!

I'll stand behind you Lottie

As both a participant and judge, I whole heartedly agree with this new rule.


Let's hope it works out!

Thanks PA

To clarify the suspension covers ONLY the participation within the debates and NOT the rest of UM.

Lottie

Cheers

I agree with this fully.

It seems people jump right in before realizing what it means to commit to the debate. I have lost count of the number of debates that have simply faded out. Even one I was involved in with UniversalParadox, on the subject of Can Video Games Cause Violent Behaviour? I will be more than willing to continue this debate, if UniversalParadox wants to. And considering we’re both Debate Judges, it would be good to set an example!

Anybody........

What do you mean anybody? Could you elaborate?

i was wondering if you meant we can only debate twice forever or are you talking about at a time

^^^ Hi,

You can participate in as many or as little number of debates as you wish whilst as a member on UM. However we do advise that a person only participate in a maximum of 2 debates at a time.