[unreality]

Rookie, I think the forum "Other" has become sort of two forums... the original purpose of "Other" and also "Debates". My idea is to make a new forum that is in that same bottom-most subsection- the new forum would be called "Debates", and would be for various debates- you could move the current debates in "Others" to there, such as the religious debate

[Guest]

Would be handy to have a few rules regarding RESPECT pinned to the title.

There are too many comments that are provoking a certain atmosphere!

Lets show some decorum and behave in a civilised manor - though a little dig can be fun, a poke in the eye with a sharp stick goes too far.

[rookie1ja]

unreality, good idea ... let's wait for a few more comments/votes

lost in space, pm me if you spot any posts going too far

[Guest]

I voted "Yes" since it certainly doesn't bother me that to have topics that result in debate categorized separately, but this does pose some difficulties. For example, one member asked a question about why God would permit suffering, and a typical atheist/theist debate ensued after a few posts. Do you prohibit these responses if the original post was in Other, rather than Debate? Enforcing that would be a royal pain for the moderators. Also, while the OP may simply be interested in generating topical discussion, we members will inevitably have strong opinions which collide, and it could quickly get hard to distinguish discussion from debate.

Additionally, there's a negative connotation to "debate". It implies that those who participate are joining purely with the intention of arguing their view, rather than learning from an exchange with others, and that may cause some to shy away, when their not-so-strong opinions would actually be quite welcome in the discussion. With virtually any topic, including the majority of puzzle threads, there are different opinions which are expressed and arguments presented. I wouldn't want to discourage that or imply that such discussion should be limited to a special section.

So, I guess where I'm going with this is ... If there is a desire to separate hot topics from fun topics, then rather than creating a section called "Debate," perhaps we could instead call it something less implicitly argumentative, like "Mind Meld", or "Pundits and Prognosticators", or "Life, the Universe, and Everything", with a tagline such as "Share your opinions on controversial topics, but be prepared for Vulcan puzzle masters to challenge your logic." Ok, so that's a bit over the top, but you get the idea.

[unreality]

Would be handy to have a few rules regarding RESPECT pinned to the title.

There are too many comments that are provoking a certain atmosphere!

Lets show some decorum and behave in a civilised manor - though a little dig can be fun, a poke in the eye with a sharp stick goes too far.

I agree

I voted "Yes" since it certainly doesn't bother me that to have topics that result in debate categorized separately, but this does pose some difficulties. For example, one member asked a question about why God would permit suffering, and a typical atheist/theist debate ensued after a few posts. Do you prohibit these responses if the original post was in Other, rather than Debate? Enforcing that would be a royal pain for the moderators. Also, while the OP may simply be interested in generating topical discussion, we members will inevitably have strong opinions which collide, and it could quickly get hard to distinguish discussion from debate.

With virtually any topic, including the majority of puzzle threads, there are different opinions which are expressed and arguments presented. I wouldn't want to discourage that or imply that such discussion should be limited to a special section.

Yeah, I see what you mean. I guess the point would be in the debate forum (whatever it's called), people would post topics that are INTENTIONALLY debates about a very specific thing. Obviously a 'debate' can spring up anywhere, but not an intentional, specified debate. That's what the debate forum would be for.

And if we see a repeat in a debate, for example in the "why would God permit suffering", any readers would just tell them "there's already an ongoing debate in the Debate Forum about this, stick to the OP"

Additionally, there's a negative connotation to "debate". It implies that those who participate are joining purely with the intention of arguing their view, rather than learning from an exchange with others, and that may cause some to shy away, when their not-so-strong opinions would actually be quite welcome in the discussion.

I agree, as I said to LIS. There would have to be a sticky (or "pinned topic" or whatever) in the forum outlining respect and such things. I will make it like I made the voting guidelines, if rookie1ja wants

So, I guess where I'm going with this is ... If there is a desire to separate hot topics from fun topics, then rather than creating a section called "Debate," perhaps we could instead call it something less implicitly argumentative, like "Mind Meld", or "Pundits and Prognosticators", or "Life, the Universe, and Everything", with a tagline such as "Share your opinions on controversial topics, but be prepared for Vulcan puzzle masters to challenge your logic." Ok, so that's a bit over the top, but you get the idea.

yeah I see how the word "Debate" gives a negative impression and can turn away some people that are just there to share opinions (though certainly some debates are/will get heated, depending on how opinionated people are on different subjects- there are many subjects to debate that are both philosophical and critically important to today's events: religion, politics, scientific theories, stem cell research, abortion, law, etc). So a different name is a good idea. If rookie OK's the idea, we can think of a good name

the person who voted "no": I please ask you to post and give your reasons and stuff- a simple "No" vote doesn't mean much unless you back it up, telling us why this would be a bad idea ;D

thanks,

~ unreality

[rookie1ja]

I agree, as I said to LIS. There would have to be a sticky (or "pinned topic" or whatever) in the forum outlining respect and such things. I will make it like I made the voting guidelines, if rookie1ja wants

rookie1ja wants it

So a different name is a good idea. If rookie OK's the idea, we can think of a good name

OK ... I liked the vulcan version

[Guest]

I like the idea of discussion personally,it already emphasis the unnecessary need to jump down peoples throats, Vulcan sounds too close to home

Rules will be difficult, though the admin have experience of this and should quickly sort out the civilised/respect with a view to 'tongue in cheek humour' to injecta little fun

[unreality]

I'm the one making the rules as rookie said dont worry, they'll be short and sweet and to the point

yeah I like Duh Puck's "Life, the Universe and Everything" idea... I think that's what the forum should be called

wait, rookie, so are we going ahead with this idea or not?

[rookie1ja]

I'm the one making the rules as rookie said dont worry, they'll be short and sweet and to the point

yeah I like Duh Puck's "Life, the Universe and Everything" idea... I think that's what the forum should be called

wait, rookie, so are we going ahead with this idea or not?

going ahead ... I pm'd you

[unreality]

I got it

[Guest]

Sounds good, I’m in.

[Guest]

I'm the one making the rules as rookie said dont worry, they'll be short and sweet and to the point

yeah I like Duh Puck's "Life, the Universe and Everything" idea... I think that's what the forum should be called

Pardon me!

[rookie1ja]

due to the fact that a lot of topics might just graduallly involve into debate and it would be difficult to maintain such split to "others" and "debate", me and Martini have decided to:

1. keep all current and future debates in "others"

2. amend "others" description

3. create sticky with rules for "others" (taking into account unreality's draft)

this thread is locked ... you can pm me further comments if you consider them crucial