Woozle: Woozle moved page Structured Debate/v2010.03 to Structured debate/rules/v2010.03 without leaving a redirect: post-import reorganization

2013-01-18T15:53:53Z

Woozle moved page Structured Debate/v2010.03 to Structured debate/rules/v2010.03 without leaving a redirect: post-import reorganization

Woozle: 1 revision: more pages that should be here

2013-01-18T14:31:59Z

1 revision: more pages that should be here

Woozle: Created page with '==Terminology== Within the context of a ''formal'' structured debate: * A '''point''' is an argument for or against a claim * Every debate starts with a claim, called the '''keyp…'

2010-03-07T16:09:17Z

Created page with '==Terminology== Within the context of a ''formal'' structured debate: * A '''point''' is an argument for or against a claim * Every debate starts with a claim, called the '''keyp…'

New page

==Terminology==
Within the context of a ''formal'' structured debate:
* A '''point''' is an argument for or against a claim
* Every debate starts with a claim, called the '''keypoint'''.
* Every point has exactly one '''parent''', except for the keypoint.
* Any point can have zero or more '''subpoints'''.
* A '''subpoint''' can either be a '''propoint''' or a '''conpoint'''.
** A '''propoint''' argues that its parent point is true.
** A '''conpoint''' argues that its parent point is not true.
===Earlier equivalents===
Older terminology will still be found in places for awhile:
* '''keypoint''' was "target claim" or "mainpoint"
* '''propoint''' was "support point" or just "support"
* '''conpoint''' was "response claim", "counterpoint", or just "counter"
==Rules==
* Any point with no active '''conpoint'''s is itself '''active''' and is considered '''provisionally true'''.
* Any point with no active '''propoint'''s and at least one active '''conpoint''' is '''inactive''' and is considered '''provisionally false'''.
* Any point with active conpoints ''and'' active propoints is '''unresolved'''.
* Any point with no active subpoints (pro or con) is '''unexamined'''.
** Generally, unexamined ''subpoints'' are considered provisionally true, while an unexamined ''keypoint'' is considered unresolved -- but this rule should probably be subject to community preference.

The word "provisionally" is used to indicate that the final decision regarding how to ''act'' in response to the debate may be determined by other means such as popular vote. This is one of the "loose ends" addressed below.
===Loose Ends===
The following issues are not part of the core design of structured debate, and will need to be addressed for real-world use:
* how best to handle unresolved points
* how to act (or whether to act) in response to the outcome of a structured debate
* how to handle abuse of the system

The rules for handling each of these problems should probably be handled on a community-by-community basis, although we can certainly explore some ideas and lay out some possible options. Some obvious possibilities include:
* Resolution by popular vote
* Resolution by decision of arbiter (e.g. judge) or council (e.g. jury)

Unresolved points might be handled by any of the above methods (if the point is significant enough), or perhaps by reference to a trusted source. It is certainly possible to imagine a community-maintained trust rating system for sources. In general, though, it should ''eventually'' be possible to resolve all points rigorously, by reference to items of fact which everyone can agree on. Non-rigorous methods should only be used in cases where there is a deadline and a "reasonably accurate" decision is better than no decision at all.
==Informal Option==
Structured debates can also be ''informal'', where the point of the debate is more of a preliminary exploration of individual positions and a rough survey of some of the debate "territory" to be covered; in this case, Informal structured debate seems to be a good way of identifying some points of agreement before squaring off over the core disagreements. (It may be that this process itself could be formalized better, once more examples are available.)

← Older revision	Revision as of 15:53, 18 January 2013
(No difference)

← Older revision	Revision as of 14:31, 18 January 2013
(No difference)

Structured debate/rules/v2010.03 - Revision history

Woozle: Woozle moved page Structured Debate/v2010.03 to Structured debate/rules/v2010.03 without leaving a redirect: post-import reorganization

Woozle: 1 revision: more pages that should be here

Woozle: Created page with '==Terminology== Within the context of a ''formal'' structured debate: * A '''point''' is an argument for or against a claim * Every debate starts with a claim, called the '''keyp…'