Debatism exists to make disagreement productive.
This framework explains how debates are governed, how trust is maintained, and how moderation decisions are made—so participants understand the rules of the system they are engaging in.
This is not a set of opinions. It is an operating model.
Our Core Principles
Debatism is built on five non-negotiable principles:
1. Ideas compete, people don't
- Arguments are evaluated, not identities.
- Popularity, seniority, or volume does not determine outcomes.
2. Persuasion matters more than participation
- Changing minds is the highest signal of debate quality.
- Engagement without substance is not rewarded.
3. Rules are enforced consistently
- Governance applies equally to all users, regardless of viewpoint.
- Moderation is behavior-based, not ideology-based.
4. Transparency over secrecy
- Debate mechanics, scoring systems, and moderation rules are public.
- Hidden manipulation is not part of the platform.
5. Human judgment remains central
- AI assists with scale and safety.
- Humans remain responsible for meaning, persuasion, and decisions.
How Debates Are Governed
1. Debate Mechanics Are Fixed and Neutral
All public debates operate under the same core rules:
- Participants must choose a side before engaging. Debates may have two sides or multiple sides (poll-style).
- Votes are scarce and strategically limited—each participant receives 6 votes per debate total (3 positive, 3 negative), regardless of the number of sides. Side-aligned rules determine which arguments you can upvote or downvote.
- Arguments are ranked by weighted voting, not raw volume.
- In a two-sided debate, participants may change sides up to three times per debate, with increasing cooldown periods (1 week, 1 month, 1 year) to preserve the integrity of persuasion signals.
Side-switching cooldowns apply to two-sided debates. In multi-side (poll-style) debates, participants can change their chosen side at any time, but votes remain frozen until the standard reallocation period (7 days).
In public debates, these mechanics cannot be overridden by users, moderators, advertisers, or sponsors.
2. What Moderation Does — and Does Not Do
Moderation exists to enforce process, not to decide truth.
Content is judged using consistent, behavior-based standards to ensure fair treatment across all viewpoints.
Moderation does:
- Enforce debate rules (spam, abuse, manipulation, bot activity)
- Remove content that violates platform safety standards
- Prevent vote brigading and coordinated abuse
- Flag low-quality or irrelevant submissions for review
Moderation does not:
- Decide which side is "correct"
- Promote or suppress arguments based on viewpoint
- Adjust scores, rankings, or outcomes
- Influence persuasion metrics
Debate outcomes are determined only by participant behavior within the rules.
The Role of AI in Governance
AI is used as infrastructure, not authority.
AI may assist with:
- Content screening (toxicity, spam, relevance)
- Debate seeding to avoid empty discussions
- Optional analysis or summarization
- Cost-controlled experimentation and safety checks
AI never:
- Changes persuasion scores
- Alters rankings or vote weights
- Represents a "mind" that counts in persuasion metrics
- Overrides human governance decisions
AI outputs are always identifiable as AI-generated.
Private Debates & Custom Rules
Private debates are governed differently by design, with flexibility in both moderation and mechanics.
Private Debate Notice
This debate operates under custom rules defined by its creator or organization. Standard public governance rules may not apply. Participation indicates acceptance of the debate's specific rules and guidelines.
Custom Moderation
Private debate creators can configure moderation settings:
- Restrict participation to invited members only
- Enable argument pre-approval queues (Strategist+ tier, available on any debate)
- Assign per-side moderators (Strategist+ tier, private debates only)
*Argument moderation queues allow debate owners to review arguments before they become visible. Platform-level flagging still applies—private moderation is an additional layer, not a replacement.
Custom Mechanics
Private debates may also modify core debate mechanics:
- Adjust vote values or allocation
- Change side-switching rules
- Set argument limits or formats
- Disable or scope persuasion metrics to the group
Public leaderboards and reputation effects may not apply to private debates.
Private governance is explicit, opt-in, and visible to all participants.
Rule Changes & Evolution
Debatism governance is stable, but not static.
- Core mechanics change rarely and deliberately
- Any material rule change is:
- Documented publicly
- Communicated clearly
- Applied consistently going forward (never retroactively)
We optimize for long-term trust, not short-term convenience.
What Debatism Refuses to Optimize For
To maintain integrity, Debatism explicitly refuses to optimize for:
- Rage-driven engagement
- Algorithmic outrage amplification
- Paid influence over debate outcomes
- Hidden ranking adjustments
- Psychological manipulation for retention
If a metric conflicts with meaningful discourse, the metric loses.
Accountability & Escalation
When moderation decisions are disputed:
- Automated systems flag potential issues
- Human review evaluates behavior against rules
- Administrative escalation is available for edge cases
Repeat violations result in graduated enforcement:
- Warnings
- Temporary restrictions
- Permanent removal (last resort)
All enforcement is behavior-based. If you believe a moderation decision was made in error, you can reach out through our Help Center.
Why This Matters
Debatism is not a comment section.
It is not social media.
It is not a popularity contest.
It is an environment designed for:
- Clear thinking
- Honest disagreement
- Measurable persuasion
Governance is what makes that possible.