Debate Hall Sub-Forum Rules (last updated: June 2015)
-Please refrain from making Smash-related topics.
-Please remain on topic. Do not attempt to derail or disrupt ongoing debates.
-Use the Search feature before making a topic, just in case it's already been made. That way we don't have multiple versions of the same debate.
-Please use the CE sticky for discussion of breaking news.
-Discussions regarding sexually explicit material, drug references, and other topics that may otherwise be deemed inappropriate per the standard Global Rules, may still be discussed in the Debate Hall, so long as the topic is approached in a tasteful manner and for the sole purpose of actual debate.
-All other SB Global Rules are of course in effect.
Posting Guidelines
Congratulations on being accepted into the Debate Hall proper! Before posting, there are a few guidelines to follow. Posting in the Debate Hall is not a right, but a privilege and an honor, and as such the conversations here are held to a higher standard than the rest of the forums. It is for this reason that you should take extra notice of the way you post in here.
When coming up with a title for your thread, making it intelligent and relevant to the topic within is especially important. People will form opinions about your topic before they even click the link; the name you decide upon will influence the mindset readers take when entering your thread and most likely the manner in which they post. Colons and / or semicolons are a nice touch, and may be used to indicate a subtitle further explaining the purpose of your thread. Proper capitalization, punctuation, and other grammar is expected; there’s nothing more annoying than having to look at a poorly worded title every time you enter a subscribed thread!
- Posting in a thread or replying to someone else’s argument is to be done with normal Debate Hall etiquette. This is not the General Brawl Forums; make your post body presentable. Copy and past them from your text editing software and spell check if you have to, and make sure to word your sentences intelligently. While one-liners or posts with very little content will be regarded as spam, don’t make your post a wall of text either! Break them up into paragraphs, which are much easier on the eyes. Long-winded rants may be impressive and may show that you took your time crafting a response, you can probably cut down your post by half if you word it concisely and to the point.
- To add extra emphasis to your argument you can use exclamation marks, underline / italicize / bold certain key words, or capitalize. Take a look at how HTML can improve your tone:
However, the key here is moderation, and posts should always be presentable. Do not be the guy who uses fifty exclamation marks and tries to capitalize 90% of his post.
- Use paragraphs. This is very important and distinguishes between different points and ideas very well. Most Debaters, and this post, press the enter key twice to distinguish paragraphs and that is probably the best way for you to do it too. Start a new paragraph every time you come to a new idea in your post. This will help make your post much more readable. Other things can be used to make your post easier to read, but thy are not necessary. Headings can improve the look of your post and are done using the 'sizes' option of the advanced post editor. Bold and italics can also work to stress points.
Here is an example post before and after you apply the rules of spelling, grammar, and formatting.
Before:
After:
- Behavior towards your fellow Debaters should also be done with respect. Flaming or swearing should never be necessary, and will probably be met with an infraction. As a Debater, you represent the Debate Hall no matter where you post on these forums, and tarnishing your reputation by making improper posts is a reflection on this room, as well as the rest of us.
The standard format used when arguing in the Debate Hall is the "point by point" post. Unfortunately, the forum’s quote button does not support this. Instead, just use the quote button like normal but also remember to insert an ending quote tag after each point you want to reply to, and a beginning quote tag before each point, so that your replies show up on the "root" level of your post. This allows people to follow the discussion easily, and also lets the person you’re arguing with use the quote button and pick up just your response.
Here’s an example. Say you want to quote this post:
Delorted: “I am an agnostic.
Therefore, I am an illogical charlatan who is not worthy of Debate Hall status.”
After clicking the quote button at the bottom of his post, it should show up like this:
For posts where there may be more than two points unlike the one above, just surround the sections that you break it up into with quote tags.
In any intelligent debate, there is nothing more important than providing evidence for your claims. Your post has zero credibility unless you are able to back up your assertions with some sort of reasoning or external link. You can easily post hyperlinks at the bottom of your post, after making a specific point, or wherever you need them. To get your link to become embedded in a word in your sentence like this, just use the formatting option in the “Advanced Posting”. It will ask you for a link, and then automatically add it to your post with the customizable sentence selected. Here’s an example:
When using outside sources, make sure that they are credible. Finally, always make sure that you don’t just post a link and nothing else. Explain, summarize, and show what information you want people to know from the link. Don’t expect them to go searching for themselves, but they can if they want to; sources are mainly to be used to show that your argument is credible.
Here is a quick list of logical fallacies that lead to poor arguments. Be sure not to use any of these in your posts!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies
http://www.logicalfallacies.info/
http://www.csun.edu/~dgw61315/fallacies.html
Fun fact: I made this entire post using all the guidelines listed above! Good luck Debating, and remember: arguing should be a learning experience for everyone involved. Even those who have been here a long time don't know everything about everything, so be humble, and make sure to have fun!
-Please refrain from making Smash-related topics.
-Please remain on topic. Do not attempt to derail or disrupt ongoing debates.
-Use the Search feature before making a topic, just in case it's already been made. That way we don't have multiple versions of the same debate.
-Please use the CE sticky for discussion of breaking news.
-Discussions regarding sexually explicit material, drug references, and other topics that may otherwise be deemed inappropriate per the standard Global Rules, may still be discussed in the Debate Hall, so long as the topic is approached in a tasteful manner and for the sole purpose of actual debate.
-All other SB Global Rules are of course in effect.
Posting Guidelines
AltF4Warrior said:
Congratulations on being accepted into the Debate Hall proper! Before posting, there are a few guidelines to follow. Posting in the Debate Hall is not a right, but a privilege and an honor, and as such the conversations here are held to a higher standard than the rest of the forums. It is for this reason that you should take extra notice of the way you post in here.
Making Threads
When coming up with a title for your thread, making it intelligent and relevant to the topic within is especially important. People will form opinions about your topic before they even click the link; the name you decide upon will influence the mindset readers take when entering your thread and most likely the manner in which they post. Colons and / or semicolons are a nice touch, and may be used to indicate a subtitle further explaining the purpose of your thread. Proper capitalization, punctuation, and other grammar is expected; there’s nothing more annoying than having to look at a poorly worded title every time you enter a subscribed thread!
Posting
- Posting in a thread or replying to someone else’s argument is to be done with normal Debate Hall etiquette. This is not the General Brawl Forums; make your post body presentable. Copy and past them from your text editing software and spell check if you have to, and make sure to word your sentences intelligently. While one-liners or posts with very little content will be regarded as spam, don’t make your post a wall of text either! Break them up into paragraphs, which are much easier on the eyes. Long-winded rants may be impressive and may show that you took your time crafting a response, you can probably cut down your post by half if you word it concisely and to the point.
- To add extra emphasis to your argument you can use exclamation marks, underline / italicize / bold certain key words, or capitalize. Take a look at how HTML can improve your tone:
Health care is a right.
Health care is a right.
Health care is a right.
Which one sounds more convincing?
Health care is a right.
Health care is a right.
Which one sounds more convincing?
However, the key here is moderation, and posts should always be presentable. Do not be the guy who uses fifty exclamation marks and tries to capitalize 90% of his post.
- Use paragraphs. This is very important and distinguishes between different points and ideas very well. Most Debaters, and this post, press the enter key twice to distinguish paragraphs and that is probably the best way for you to do it too. Start a new paragraph every time you come to a new idea in your post. This will help make your post much more readable. Other things can be used to make your post easier to read, but thy are not necessary. Headings can improve the look of your post and are done using the 'sizes' option of the advanced post editor. Bold and italics can also work to stress points.
Here is an example post before and after you apply the rules of spelling, grammar, and formatting.
Before:
This post is challenging to read, but if you apply the spelling, grammar, and formatting rules, it becomes much easier to decipher:
After:
- Always, always, always re-read your post before you post it! What you wrote may seem awesome in your head, but until you read it out loud to yourself you won’t know how dumb it actually is. This also gives you the chance to go over any other flaws you may have missed when writing it. It happens to everybody, and saves you the trouble of going back and editing.
- Behavior towards your fellow Debaters should also be done with respect. Flaming or swearing should never be necessary, and will probably be met with an infraction. As a Debater, you represent the Debate Hall no matter where you post on these forums, and tarnishing your reputation by making improper posts is a reflection on this room, as well as the rest of us.
Replying / Quoting
The standard format used when arguing in the Debate Hall is the "point by point" post. Unfortunately, the forum’s quote button does not support this. Instead, just use the quote button like normal but also remember to insert an ending quote tag after each point you want to reply to, and a beginning quote tag before each point, so that your replies show up on the "root" level of your post. This allows people to follow the discussion easily, and also lets the person you’re arguing with use the quote button and pick up just your response.
Here’s an example. Say you want to quote this post:
Delorted: “I am an agnostic.
Therefore, I am an illogical charlatan who is not worthy of Debate Hall status.”
After clicking the quote button at the bottom of his post, it should show up like this:
In order to respond to each point, just insert an ending tag after the first part and a beginning tag onto the second part. The refutation should end up looking like this:Delorted said:
I know.Delorted said:
Couldn’t agree with you more!Delorted said:
For posts where there may be more than two points unlike the one above, just surround the sections that you break it up into with quote tags.
Sources
In any intelligent debate, there is nothing more important than providing evidence for your claims. Your post has zero credibility unless you are able to back up your assertions with some sort of reasoning or external link. You can easily post hyperlinks at the bottom of your post, after making a specific point, or wherever you need them. To get your link to become embedded in a word in your sentence like this, just use the formatting option in the “Advanced Posting”. It will ask you for a link, and then automatically add it to your post with the customizable sentence selected. Here’s an example:
As you can see, it's a simple URL tag; the same exact format as quoting except that URL replaces QUOTE, and instead of the name of the poster in quotations, it's the name of the site you are linking to.
When using outside sources, make sure that they are credible. Finally, always make sure that you don’t just post a link and nothing else. Explain, summarize, and show what information you want people to know from the link. Don’t expect them to go searching for themselves, but they can if they want to; sources are mainly to be used to show that your argument is credible.
Logical Fallacies
Here is a quick list of logical fallacies that lead to poor arguments. Be sure not to use any of these in your posts!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies
http://www.logicalfallacies.info/
http://www.csun.edu/~dgw61315/fallacies.html
Fun fact: I made this entire post using all the guidelines listed above! Good luck Debating, and remember: arguing should be a learning experience for everyone involved. Even those who have been here a long time don't know everything about everything, so be humble, and make sure to have fun!