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How the Debates Work


Saru

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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.

Edited by Lottie
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Question, oh mighty SaRuMaN .

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.

So is it allowed to do something like this:

----

30,000 children die from cooties each year.

While, only 5,000 die from attacks from the boogie man.

I'm just wondering how we show sources for info we provide.

Edited by hunterkiller2001
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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.

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  • 4 months later...

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

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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.

thumbsup.gif

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  • 4 months later...

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

Edited by Guest
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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.

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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!

thumbsup.gif

Edited by AztecInca
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Yup. And of course if you really can't you can just PM Disintrested or Lottie thumbsup.gif

Well done folk-ems. I like this rule.

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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.

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.

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.

Edited by Quicksand
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Guest Lottie

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!

Edited by Lottie
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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. grin2.gif

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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. thumbsup.gif

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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?

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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. laugh.gif

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

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

and at the end of the post list your sources

(1) www.xyz.com

201175[/snapback]

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Yes, that would be much easier tongue.gif

Thanks dude.

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  • 1 month later...

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.

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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.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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

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