Goodreads Debate Guild

message 1: by ✩ aurora, ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ-ᴘʀᴏᴠᴏᴋᴇʀ (last edited May 23, 2025 10:29AM) (new)

May 21, 2025 01:58PM

✩ aurora (sunkissedcassia) | 90 comments

debate⠀/dɪˈbeɪt/
noun
1.⠀⠀formal discussion on a particular matter in a public meeting or legislative assembly,
⠀⠀⠀ in which opposing arguments are put forward and which usually ends with a vote.
2.⠀⠀an argument about a particular subject, especially one in which many people are
⠀⠀⠀ involved.

verb
1.⠀⠀argue about (a subject), especially in a formal manner.
2.⠀⠀consider a possible course of action in one’s mind before reaching a decision.

SOURCE, OXFORD LEARNER’S DICTIONARY
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionarie...

This is the Rules: Sign Here topic. We require that you sign your name after
reading the rules carefully as an indicator that you understand and will
comply with all of them.

1.⠀⠀Treat other members of the group with kindness and respect. Nobody is going to
share every single opinion and this group is not here to allow intolerance and cruelty
towards anyone with differing beliefs and ideals than you.
2.⠀⠀Swearing is allowed, although we ask that you try to keep it to a minimum and don’t
use offensive language or slurs. We have a zero tolerance policy for any hateful
language, which does include the use of slurs. If someone requests that you stop
cursing around them for any reason, please adhere to that and be kind. You know
what is considered strong wording and what is considered an insult.
3.⠀⠀Hostility and conflict between members within the group will not be tolerated. If
anything happens, bring it to a moderator before engaging with another member in
anger. If there are issues that arise and you do not stop, you will be removed. We
know that things can get heated in a debate setting, but we will not tolerate any
sort of violence between members. If anything feels uncomfortable or heated, grab
a moderator. We will deal with it accordingly.
4.⠀⠀A moderator’s final ruling is to be respected and followed, but if you have concerns
with a decision made, bring it to both of us so we can discuss it. We are here to
keep a safe, maintained space for debates and learning, not an absolute force. As
such, we are a united front on decisions and hold the same standards for ourselves
as well as members.
5.⠀⠀When engaging in any debate or even in the learning and education side of the
group, you must cite your sources. We aren’t expecting MLA format or anything
super regulated, but we do have an expectation of including a link to a reputable
source to back up any claim you are making. If you do not have access to the greater
internet, you may use the learning and education topics as your source, but we still
want a link to the specific comment or comments you are referencing.
6.⠀⠀Ask a moderator if you have a topic you’d like to see in this group. We, as
moderators, are not here to permit every single topic in the name of “debating.”
There are hard limits that we are not allowing to be put into the world, topics and
phrasings that can really damage someone. There is no “just don’t look at that topic”
justification. This is an educational and genuinely positive learning space. We can
discuss hard topics, but we are not putting hatred and hurtful topics into the world.
7.⠀⠀While we want this to be a space of discussion and learning across the political
spectrum, there are some opinions that are just bigotry and hatred, and they are
not welcome to be shared here. Feel free to share any stance on economics or guns
or healthcare or religion, things that aren’t revolving around human rights or the
existence and freedom of groups of people. But any opinion that is racist, sexist,
homophobic, or the like is not welcome and not valid here. There is a baseline of
respect that we expect from each member. If you have questions, you are welcome
to ask them, but we are not here to act like thinking that any race, gender, religion,
sexuality, or any personal choice such as those are better or more deserving of
rights than another.
8.⠀⠀Any type of discrimination or hate, with or without intent to hurt someone, is
absolutely not tolerated. You will be removed immediately if you are in violation of
this rule. We are not doing strikes, we will ban you at the first sign of a truly harmful
violation of any of these rules. Some can be overlooked with warnings, others
cannot, and you know what those are.