Formal Debate Discussion Thread
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I think the length and formality of the debate caused a lot of people to lose interest. Maybe we should experiment a bit. Make the next one at the other extreme - a set short time window for back and forth and more of a free-for-all.
Verarde
Pondering Wearing A Hat
I really can't decide who won.
SS-18 ICBM
Oscillator
How about word or sentence limit for arguments? Or if that is too imposing, have a sentence or two in bold that clearly summarizes the point. Those with a mild interest can see the main point easily in a huge paragraph, while those who demand supporting arguments can still read the body of the paragraph.
I agree, the long posts scared me. I would have liked a tl;dr version of each post.
SS-18 ICBM
Oscillator
Ugh, the next topics are all US politics? Well, I'll be back when you have something interesting to debate.
JohannaK
Heroically Clueless
That's precisely what I pointed out in the sign-up thread. 'Tis not much fun.
I thought hobbsyoyo had the most ground to gain on his second claim. He did, and I think hobbsyoyo did better when he was presenting his own claims than countering warpus, mostly about economic and political feasibility. But overall I'd give it to warpus in the end.
I definitely think warpus did a better job in terms of debate style through the latter part of the debate- guiding the discussion, leading his opponent into tough spots. I think hobbsyoyo spent too much time defending/counterclaiming some of what warpus said (I get there were some format/fact quibbles in there though) instead of proceeding with the thrust of his original arguments. That especially came through when warpus brought up criticism on a couple of things other people here already noticed, like how much spending would go to projects like asteroid warning systems and the whole debate over nuclear warheads. Hobbsyoyo, with the limited number of points and refutations overall, could have just let warpus bring up side issues to "waste" his limited posting points and focus more on his own stronger main points.
As an aside I'm also not likely to follow the upcoming politics debates, really not enthusiastic about vague political debates, US centric or not.
I definitely think warpus did a better job in terms of debate style through the latter part of the debate- guiding the discussion, leading his opponent into tough spots. I think hobbsyoyo spent too much time defending/counterclaiming some of what warpus said (I get there were some format/fact quibbles in there though) instead of proceeding with the thrust of his original arguments. That especially came through when warpus brought up criticism on a couple of things other people here already noticed, like how much spending would go to projects like asteroid warning systems and the whole debate over nuclear warheads. Hobbsyoyo, with the limited number of points and refutations overall, could have just let warpus bring up side issues to "waste" his limited posting points and focus more on his own stronger main points.
As an aside I'm also not likely to follow the upcoming politics debates, really not enthusiastic about vague political debates, US centric or not.
SS-18 ICBM
Oscillator
EU integration versus national sovereignty. You could pick another region, or even generalize it to all regional organizations.
JohannaK
Heroically Clueless
Well, that's more interesting than US politics, but it isn't really a big change.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Hey Guys,
I'm finally back from my Thanksgiving long weekend getaway
I have a couple thoughts about how the debate went:
- I think that the moderator should have been involved to some degree both in the rule formulation stage as well as the actual debate or at least some part of the process. We heard feedback from the community about the rules we were proposing, but I was really mostly relying on hobbsyoyo's experience in terms of formal debates and how they work. I think it would have been helpful to have the moderator around to sort of guide us through the process in terms of what sort of online debating experience we were after.
- The peanut gallery was a bit of a failure, IMO. Several people offered very constructive criticism, but there wasn't really any peanut-gallery type stuff going on.
I have also read mostly positive feedback in terms of my debating tactics/prose/etc. I would love to hear from people who voted against me to see where I went wrong and how I can improve.
I'm finally back from my Thanksgiving long weekend getaway
I have a couple thoughts about how the debate went:
- I think that the moderator should have been involved to some degree both in the rule formulation stage as well as the actual debate or at least some part of the process. We heard feedback from the community about the rules we were proposing, but I was really mostly relying on hobbsyoyo's experience in terms of formal debates and how they work. I think it would have been helpful to have the moderator around to sort of guide us through the process in terms of what sort of online debating experience we were after.
- The peanut gallery was a bit of a failure, IMO. Several people offered very constructive criticism, but there wasn't really any peanut-gallery type stuff going on.
I have also read mostly positive feedback in terms of my debating tactics/prose/etc. I would love to hear from people who voted against me to see where I went wrong and how I can improve.
Yeah, I took a backseat to Hobbs during the formation phase as well. Moving forward, if the debaters would like, I can take a more active role. This was our first time trying it, and I think we all learned a little. Debate II is going to be a much simpler affair, and I suspect Debate III will be something in the middle...and then we can figure out what works best.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
I do hope that our guinea pig debate will benefit others 
I signed up mostly because I've never done such a thing before and it seemed like it'd be an interesting exercise.. I deliberately picked a topic I was interested in but a position I might not necessarily agree with.
Based on the amount of banter in the peanut gallery though I'm a bit disappointed.. I'd have hoped for a more community-involved exercise.
I signed up mostly because I've never done such a thing before and it seemed like it'd be an interesting exercise.. I deliberately picked a topic I was interested in but a position I might not necessarily agree with.
Based on the amount of banter in the peanut gallery though I'm a bit disappointed.. I'd have hoped for a more community-involved exercise.
