Online Debate Tips

Online discussion boards, forums, and even comment areas on blogs are a great way to debate current issues. You can share your views and discuss the issues, raise or answer new questions, and see a variety of other viewpoints, all without the pressure of face-to-face confrontation. But a discussion or a debate is more beneficial to everyone involved when the participants have a clear understanding of how to get their points across!

Here are a few pointers that may help make your online debating experience a bit more enjoyable for both you and your reading audience.

1. Proofread your argument.

Check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. Nothing makes an argument weaker than a bunch of sentence fragments, misspelled words, and grammatical errors. (*"Argument" in the sense of like a courtroom argument... your debate's main points.) Use the Spell Check feature if you are at all unsure of the spelling of a word.

Google's search box also allows you to look up the definitions of words by using this format:

define:democracy

Note that there are no spaces in that search query.

When you're trying to have a serious discussion about something important, especially online where replies aren't necessarily immediate, go the extra inch and use real English. Shortened words, acronyms, lack of punctuation or capital letters, excessive use of all caps, excessive use of italics or bold text, text messaging shortcuts, swearing, and slang can all be very annoying to read and, quite frankly, they make you seem less intelligent. It's not fair, but it's true.

Reread your writing before you click the Publish / Comment button. Review for errors or possible holes in your argument. Find additional sources to cite if one of your points seems a little weak. While you review what you have written, imagine that someone else is saying this to you... would it feel insulting or offensive to you then?

2. Add Research and References to the Debate.

Do you have any proof or evidence that what you're writing is true? Back up your argument by citing reputable sources. Be sure to include a link to the source so others can view the entire text (in context) that you're referencing. This will not only help to make your debate look more professional, but it will also allow others to have quick links to the background information of your debate.

Cited / linked sources give credence to whatever point you're trying to make, and help to educate others not only about the topic at hand, but also by showing whether you have done your homework and whether you know where to find expertise and reputable sources of information. These are important traits in any good journalist or competitive debate participant.

If you can't support your argument, you don't have an argument and you've already lost the debate. If you're going to cite studies or statistics or anything of that nature, ideally you should have more than one example from (relatively) unbiased reputable sources because studies and statistics are only as good as the methodology used and speak to the veracity of the source and who funded the study.

By a similar token, if someone points out an unsupported claim in your writing and you can't back it up, don't just ignore it or pretend they didn't call you out. Chances are that other people noticed, too, and this will affect your credibility. Either find some cited support for your claim, or publicly concede the point. Using fake or made-up data destroys your credibility and gives your opponent ammunition and an easy target in later rounds of debate.

3. Passion is Good, Emotion is Bad: Beware of Making Emotional Arguments.

When you are debating try to keep emotion out of your arguments. Losing your head during a crucial moment in an argument can lose the debate for you and weaken your side of any future debates. However tempting it may be, always refrain from using personal or general insults. It is not only rude, but is generally against the rules, user agreement, or terms of service of the forum, and it can get your account terminated.

At Newsvine, you must comply with the Code of Honor and the Newsvine User Agreement, because you agreed to do so when registering for your account.

If your idea of an argument is to sling zingers at your opponent, you've already lost the debate. I'm not saying you can't slide a few in every now and then, but there should be more substance than zingers.

For more information about different styles of debate, check out this Wikipedia article on Debate.

4. Remember to Have Fun.

When talking to people you don't know personally or well, be on the safe side and keep it serious, or else find a way to make it very obvious that you're just kidding around (use smilies or say outright that you're just kidding). Some people also make use of simulated tags: <sarcasm> </sarcasm> because textual communications are devoid of tone of voice.

Newsvine and other discussion forums are here online to harbor a fun, free, and interesting peer-to-peer discussion atmosphere for anyone who wishes to participate and follow the rules. It is up to the users to help maintain this atmosphere. As a member, you are responsible for the success of the site, so try to create a fun atmosphere that you enjoy being a part of.

Note: For more tips and tutorials about Newsvine written by your fellow Newsviners, check out the Newsvine Help Group. Please feel free to clip this to your Groups' or individual columns to help get the word out. Thank you for reading.

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