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Rules for Civil Debate

DailyDebates exists to host substantive disagreement, not conflict. These rules apply to every top-level response, reply, and quoted reference you post.

Attack the argument, not the person

Challenge ideas, evidence, and reasoning - never the person making them. Personal attacks, insults, and name-calling are never acceptable, even if you strongly disagree with someone.

Stay on topic

Each day's discussion is centered on a single topic. Keep your responses and replies relevant to that topic and to the specific point you are replying to. Posts that are wildly off-topic make it harder for everyone else to follow the discussion.

Argue in good faith

Represent opposing views fairly. Don't misquote or exaggerate what someone said to make it easier to dismiss (a "straw man"). If you quote another post, make sure the quoted text accurately reflects what was written - the built-in quoting tool exists to make this easy; see Quoting and referencing other posts.

No harassment, hate, or threats

Content that harasses, threatens, or demeans others - including on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or similar characteristics - is not allowed and may result in your account being restricted.

Be honest

Don't knowingly post false or misleading information to win an argument. It's fine to be wrong in good faith; it's not acceptable to deliberately deceive.

One response, make it count

You may only post one top-level response per daily topic, and only one reply to any given post. Because you can't easily walk it back with a flood of follow-ups, take a moment to make sure your point is clear and well-supported before posting. See Starting a response to the daily topic and Replying, editing, and voting for the details of how that works.

Voting reflects the argument, not your allegiance

When you vote on a post, judge it on its own merits - how thoughtful, on-topic, or well-argued it is - not on whether you agree with its conclusion. See Replying, editing, and voting for more on how voting and karma work.