Welcome to the Debate Forum.
The open discussion of politics, religion, science and philosophy is this forum's charm and charter. It's important that new posters realise that things can get heated, and that it is not always in the debate's interest that that heat be forcibly turned down. A thick skin is as good a virtue here as any.
Debate Moderation
Threads within Debate tend by definition to be more volatile than in other forums. Investing emotion and belief into ones arguments is often a necessary part of discussion. The staff understand and expect that there will be times when passions get the better of people.
For this reason it should be understood by Debate users that moderation will here be more potent than amongst the site's other assets. This forum simply wouldn't function were the staff not on hand to step in when it gets personal.
There are some minor adjustments to the sites
Rules & Guidelines which apply here:
- Any topic of weight which is of interest to a member is open to debate.
- Off-topic replies, that is those which do not respond to the thread on which they are posted, are not encouraged. You may delineate such posts with OT tags, but this is no guarantee that they will not be removed regardless.
- Ad hominem, i.e. appeals 'to person', or any remark that might be construed as offensive to a particular individual, will be removed. Flaming is tolerated nowhere on WF.com, here least of all.
Because of the popularity of this forum and its tendency to encourage steps beyond the line, staff are not always able to spot inappropriate posts in a timely manner. If you see a post you think breaks any of the above rules, use the report post function (an exclamation mark sign in the bottom left of all posts) to bring it to our attention. It would be hugely appreciated if users were to report attacks rather than respond to them.
Posting New Debates
Debate is a moderated forum, which is to say that new threads must be approved by a moderator before they will show up publicly.
If you wish to post a new debate, please do check or search the forum to see if a similar one already exists. If your thread is deemed repetitious or off-topic it will not be approved.
Once you have posted your debate it's a good idea to PM any online moderators asking them to approve it for you. Of course, your debate should be noted and approved fairly quickly regardless, but this cannot be absolutely guaranteed. Contacting a member of staff directly also ensures that in the event of your debate not being approved you are quickly and explicitly informed why.
If you have any comments or queries regarding the Debate Forum please feel free to contact a
member of staff.
