← Back to Help

Starting a Response to the Daily Topic

DailyDebates features one debate topic per day. Rather than letting anyone start a new thread on any subject, everyone responds to that same topic - this keeps the discussion focused and puts every viewpoint in the same conversation.

Finding today's topic

The current topic is shown at the top of the discussion page. Read it carefully - your response should directly address it.

Posting your response

If you're signed in and haven't responded yet, you'll see a box inviting you to "Share your top-level response." Write your position and click Post to add it as a new, top-level thread in the discussion.

One response per topic

You can only post one top-level response per topic. Once you've posted, the box is replaced with a note that you've already responded. This is intentional: it encourages you to make one well-considered case rather than dominating the discussion, and it keeps the conversation centered on replies and rebuttals rather than repeated top-level posts.

You can still participate further by replying to other people's responses - see Replying, editing, and voting.

Signing in

You must be signed in to post. If you're not signed in, you'll see a "Sign in to respond" link instead of the response box. Anyone can read the discussion without an account.

Editing your response

You can edit your top-level response only until someone replies to it. Once a reply has landed, the response is locked to keep the conversation fair to the people already responding to what you originally wrote.