Create Debate
Just checking out a new site called Create Debate, which was drawn to my attention by CitizenSpace.
As Ben at CS says, it’s not the prettiest of sites but the format is interesting. The debates pose a binary question (Has evolution been proven? Is homosexuality wrong?), and you can add arguments on one side or the other. Those arguments can then be voted up or down, Digg style, so the best-rated arguments appear near the top of the list. I like this feature, though it might be open to gaming - what’s to stop you up-rating bad arguments on the opposing side?
Downsides include the research tab, which appears to be an aggregated RSS feed from various sites, and the fact that you’re forced into a two-sided debate from the get-go. The headbutting theme is continued on the profile page, which allows you to build a persistent personality (good), but then identifies your ‘enemies’ and your ‘hostiles’, which sounds rather like the games my five year old plays with his sister.
Finally, rather dishearteningly, the site says that debates ‘will never end’. I know this is the internet, but even so.