Challenge Debates

[McCulloch]

Currently, any registered member of the site can post any question for debate (within the rules of course). The question can very well be worded in such a way as to give him a decided advantage (leaning towards baiting). (I know, I've done it myself ).

My suggestion is that we have a forum where topics can only be posted by moderators. A topic for debate will begin only after the following conditions have been met:

1. someone has been identified as the proponent to the point to be debated
2. someone has been identified and has agreed to be the opponent of the point to be debated
3. the proponent and the opponent have agreed on the wording of the point to be debated (perhaps there should be a discussion forum for this purpose)

Then, just as in the other topics, anyone could participate in the debate.

[McCulloch]

Recent versions of Microsoft IE and some add-ons to IE (such as the Google tool bar) as well as other internet browsers, protect us from pop-up windows. The spell checker does run in a pop-up window, so you will have to enable this site for pop-ups is you are using pop-up protection.

[harvey1]

Currently, any registered member of the site can post any question for debate (within the rules of course). The question can very well be worded in such a way as to give him a decided advantage (leaning towards baiting). (I know, I've done it myself ).
My suggestion is that we have a forum where topics can only be posted by moderators. A topic for debate will begin only after the following conditions have been met:[*]someone has been identified as the proponent to the point to be debated[*]someone has been identified and has agreed to be the opponent of the point to be debated[*]the proponent and the opponent have agreed on the wording of the point to be debated (perhaps there should be a discussion forum for this purpose)Then, just as in the other topics, anyone could participate in the debate.

I think there's some merit to what you suggest, but I think that it might bi-polarize discussion as well as restrict the number of topics that might entertain many of us. However, I share your vision. For example, it would be pretty nifty if certain debates were "eternalized" in the forum where they became part of an index which many down the line might find interesting. It would be like "this is what this site has produced" kind of thing. That index could be topical with a short description giving some background as to what started the debate, why the subject matter is relevant to the topic, and the positions held by the people having the debate. Someone could then review those debates and could enjoy some of the good discussions that took place. In might even look like this kind of site where people are looking for a specific (good) debate on a particular subject matter. Perhaps it would work best if it was created from the archives rather than current debates.

[Cathar1950]

Thanks for the info on pop ups I solved that problem when I first started.
I use the pop up blockers and have it open for this forum. That doesn't mean that it doesn't fail now and then. Usually if I open another window it works fine.
Your ideas on the index would be nice. There are so many interesting topics I hardly know where I want to begin. A lot of repeating does take place but that might just go with the territory.
I don't always have a side but I do have questions when I see something questionable. Some times I find myself on sides I didn't know I was on.
Don't change it to much I have enjoyed it, maybe more then I should.

[Curious]

Hello, firstly I would like to thank you for such an excellent site.
One suggestion I have is concerning the times shown on the watched topics. While it is not a major problem I think that the use of the 24 hour clock would be better as the appearance of 12 pm being earlier than 1 pm could lead to some confusion. Like I said, it is only a minor point but using the 24 hour clock would make the list of watched topics slightly clearer.

[otseng]

Hello, firstly I would like to thank you for such an excellent site.

Thanks.

One suggestion I have is concerning the times shown on the watched topics. While it is not a major problem I think that the use of the 24 hour clock would be better as the appearance of 12 pm being earlier than 1 pm could lead to some confusion.

I assume you're talking about this:
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/w ... topics.php

Anybody else would rather prefer it in 24 hours versus 12 hours?

[harvey1]

Otseng,

One idea that I think would be cool is if there was a frequently asked questions section like here. Each person would provide their one or two paragraph response to the specific question: no debate. If someone wanted to, they could go back and modify their answer or delete it.

I think this would be helpful to newcomers who are looking to get a larger summary of what answers the internet posters provide to important questions, without all the distractions of a debate.

It's just a suggestion, so I realize that it may not be something that interests others.

[ST88]

I kind of like this FAQ idea, but I wonder how often it would actually be read. It might serve more as a pool of someone's ideas that could be quoted in subsequent debates.

[otseng]

One idea that I think would be cool is if there was a frequently asked questions section like here. Each person would provide their one or two paragraph response to the specific question: no debate. If someone wanted to, they could go back and modify their answer or delete it.

If people would contribute to this, I would not mind setting this up. What do you think about using a wiki for this?

[harvey1]

If people would contribute to this, I would not mind setting this up. What do you think about using a wiki for this?

I'm not really sure how it would appear. I suppose my preference is to keep the same "look" of the current layout...

In any case, it's just a suggestion. There doesn't appear to be much interest in this idea.

[The Happy Humanist]

This may be contrary to the spirit of online debate, but I would like to suggest some kind of process where a debate can be voted on as being "won" or "lost" by someone, just to give a topic some closure. I'm not even suggesting that the topic be closed at that point; perhaps some kind of poll can be taken in mid-topic and the results displayed in a message. This will give us some idea of how each side is doing. I have a particular topic in mind, you might guess which one, where a poster has continually posted the same, ludicrous rhetoric over and over almost like a spambot, even though he was trounced long ago. I trust even most on "the other side" will agree with that assessment, and that is why I would not fear calling for a vote on the issue. It probably wouldn't stop him, but it might give him cause for re-evaluating his position. Just a thought.