Hello everyone.
Now that we have introduced a one-on-one debating subforum, I felt this was high time we also outlined a guideline for those interested in debating smartly and fairly.
Before we commence, let us explore what exactly is a debate.
What is a debate?
Remember that a Debate is not "what do you think about topic X?". You are advised to begin a topic with "what you think about topic X" in a way that others can agree or disagree with your initial post. If you ignore this and post in the former way, the topic will soon be closed and deleted. So please do not make this mistake. A lot of good ideas may get killed this way.
It doesn't matter if you believe in your topic. Just take a side - any side. You can always change later. Put yourself in a lawyer's shoe. A lawyer most of the time does not get to choose his side. S/he is given a side and will defend it to the maximum of his/her abilities. In fact, the best debaters can take both sides of an argument and, after posting, have made several strong points to convince the reader. This brings us to the concept known as "Devil's advocate": If a debate does not have members arguing a certain side (i.e. everyone just agrees, so there is nothing to debate), or if they just want to challenge themselves a little, some members may choose to play the devil's advocate. Devil's advocates take on a position that they may not necessarily agree with solely for the sake of argument. This is, of course, optional, but can be very challenging and lots of fun! Please remember that the members will be holding this position just for the sake of argument. Do not hold any personal grudge against them because of it.
Now let us focus on what makes a well-structured debate. 1. Facts
2. Issue
3. Argument
This also ensures that you have a sense of what you are trying to get across, and makes it easier for others to respond.
For an example of a post meeting these requirements, look here: Model debate
RULES FOR DEBATE Personal attacks
A personal attack is any insult made against a person instead of a person's argument. If you find yourself calling someone names or deliberately trying to think up ways to upset them, chances are you are getting ready to post a personal attack. Instead, step away from the debate for awhile if you are that upset and take the time to do some more research on your position. It's far more satisfying to show your opposition that your opinion is superior than it is to call someone stupid. In the event that you post a personal attack anyway, you will face consequences ranging from an informal warning to permanent moderation, based on the seriousness of the personal attack and/or the number of personal attacks posted. Bottom line: if your best response is a personal attack, you AREN'T debating. I don't care if you feel you've been provoked. Let the moderators deal with that. DON'T BE OBNOXIOUS TO ANYONE!
Example of a personal attack:
"You are dumb"
"That's stupid"
"Your idea suÇks"
etc.
No galigalaj. You will be suspended immediately from posting in this forum if you are caught stooping this low. No matter how badly you disagree with someone, try to show respect in public.
Citations, citations, citations
If you are giving statistics, or any sort of controversial research or claim, make sure you give a citation where others can read up on your source. This allows people to better respond to your points and perhaps even concede a point or two based on your facts. Besides, we all know it's pretty easy to manipulate statistics, and maybe another website has done the same study and found the opposite. If you are quoting from another source, make sure that you include a reference to that source. Otherwise, that's known as plagiarism.
Also, do not simply post a link to some site and expect your opponent or other readers to read all of it. Quote out the salient part and post it along with the source link.
Now, you may be asking what constitutes a good source. Scholastically, good sources are unbiased (i.e. the author does not have an agenda in writing his article or in interpreting his data in a certain way), relevant (they deal with the subject matter and are not outdated), and have thought ahead to and addressed potential counterarguments to their position. Granted, it is not possible to get such sources in all cases, but do the best you can. The better your sources, the better your argument in a debate.
Profanity
No swearing. I've been known to use a word or two and insert a ** in certain places, but again, it is the mark of a weak debater who cannot come up with a response that doesn't involve profanity. And note that "swearing" includes more than George Carlin's 7 Words. Again, if you wouldn't turn it on to your English teacher at school, don't put it here.
Off-Topic Posts
These will be deleted. You want to say, "welcome back" or "great post" to someone, use email or a private topic. No hijacking the debate. And if the entire point of your post is "I agree" or "that's dumb," that's not a worthwhile post either. Tell us WHY you agree or why the idea is dumb, or don't bother posting. This also applies to cries of "Moderate this member." If that's what you want to say, PM the mods, don't post it here. If you do, you'll be warned and it'll be deleted.
Finally, for further information on debating, you can check out these links:
What's the difference between argument and debate?
Debating debates
Things I will remember whilst debating
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