Putting this in "General Debates" just to be on the safe side.
I didn't want to derail another thread (Coronavirus Facts and Information thread:), but a question came up regarding forums marked for "discussion" as opposed to those marked for "debate." I'm not really questioning the rules here (and I think it's a good rule, actually - and I'm not just saying that to suck up to the mods).
But I'm genuinely curious as to where the line is drawn and what the actual difference might be.
When I was a kid, before my parents divorced, they would have heated shouting matches and say they were "having a discussion."
On the other hand, my initial understanding of "debate" was that it was more of a formal, structured procedure, usually with a judge to give points to different sides. Usually, there's a time limit involved, so people can't just rattle on and on and on (like I usually do).
But in any case, both "debate" and "discussion" generally imply a civilized and sometimes even friendly discourse. Despite my parents' gift at understatement, a "discussion" doesn't generally imply some kind of angry, heated exchange.
I would consider a "discussion" to be less formal than a "debate," but there still might be disagreements within the course of a discussion. But would the disagreement itself automatically make a "discussion" into a "debate"? Some threads might start off as some neutral topic, but a point might be raised which someone disagrees with, and then suddenly there's a debate. But it's not really structured or planned. It just sort of happens.
But then there are other threads which are intended to be debates from the outset.
I was just wondering what others thought about this.
I didn't want to derail another thread (Coronavirus Facts and Information thread:), but a question came up regarding forums marked for "discussion" as opposed to those marked for "debate." I'm not really questioning the rules here (and I think it's a good rule, actually - and I'm not just saying that to suck up to the mods).
But I'm genuinely curious as to where the line is drawn and what the actual difference might be.
When I was a kid, before my parents divorced, they would have heated shouting matches and say they were "having a discussion."
On the other hand, my initial understanding of "debate" was that it was more of a formal, structured procedure, usually with a judge to give points to different sides. Usually, there's a time limit involved, so people can't just rattle on and on and on (like I usually do).
But in any case, both "debate" and "discussion" generally imply a civilized and sometimes even friendly discourse. Despite my parents' gift at understatement, a "discussion" doesn't generally imply some kind of angry, heated exchange.
I would consider a "discussion" to be less formal than a "debate," but there still might be disagreements within the course of a discussion. But would the disagreement itself automatically make a "discussion" into a "debate"? Some threads might start off as some neutral topic, but a point might be raised which someone disagrees with, and then suddenly there's a debate. But it's not really structured or planned. It just sort of happens.
But then there are other threads which are intended to be debates from the outset.
I was just wondering what others thought about this.
