Wikidebates:What Wikidebates is not
Wikidebates is not a discussion forum
Wikidebates is an encyclopedia that aims to objectively synthesize the different opinions that we can find on a given topic of debate. It is not a space in which personal opinions can be indiscriminately expressed for the purpose for convincing others.
Because many debate forums exist already and these spaces do not have the same function as an encyclopedia: a forum serves, above all, to allow people to dialogue, while an encyclopedia serves to relay knowledge.
Wikidebates is not a polling site
Wikidebates is not a site that collects the opinions of internet users on a given topic of debate displaying percentages of opinions for and against.
Because the merit of an opinion doesn’t depend on the number of people who agree with it. We can sometimes be right despite what the majority thinks.
Wikidebates is not an encyclopedia of controversies
Contrary to certain sociological approaches to controversies, Wikidebates is not centered on the actors who take part in a controversey, but on arguments.
Because in order to form an opinion on an issue, it is more pertinent to know the details of the arguments invoked than the identity of the debate’s protagonists. Knowing about the latter, and the interests that motivate them, can in some cases help us to better understand certain arguments, but that is not essential to the objectives of Wikidebates.
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