Well, I think it would make more sense, and have more activity, if we just simply have one debate hall, and just allow people to apply for being able to post in the debate hall, not unlike the system they had before. Technically, anybody can get in. They then post stuff or make a thread to show their qualifications to stay or not.
I understand on the one hand, you don't just want anyone and everyone being able to say whatever, however, in the debate hall, yet, at the same time, you need to be open to people in order to allow activity and discussions/debates to take place. Maybe, not all the debates will be to the highest levels of intellectual inquiry, but, even then, they could be used to hopefully impart good, critical thinking skills to people.