...and Argument Clinic is Back
No, the overhaul is not a massive April Fool's joke. I wish I had the resources to make this big a change just for one day. Though you might find something if you look close enough...
So after another hibernation, The Argument Clinic is finally back with a new look, and some new features. Things are still rough around the edges, but it's ready to go, and I wanted to get some more use and feedback as soon as I could. Please let me know if you have a complaint or suggestion, I will do my best to update it quickly!
New Features
For a rundown of all the current features, go to the about page.
Supporters
A popular request has been to allow people other than the two debaters to comment on debates, or otherwise get involved. Now we have a role called Supporter. If you see a debate in progress, and you feel you are on the side of one of the debaters, you can sign up to support him or her, and you will be able to make supporting posts attached to any of the debate's regular posts. Supporters will get email alerts when either debater or the mediator posts. You can support a mediator too if you want. (I could use the help!) Here's an example of a debate post with a supporting post.
Bring your friends
If you're in a debate, here's where you can call your friends over to help you out, in a convenient way.
Definitions
A mediator can say, "I think we have an ambiguous definition of the word communism here. Hey Debater A, define the word 'communism' for me." Debater A will define it. Debater B will then decide if he or she accepts the definition, and has a chance to revise it. It goes back and forth until a useful set of definitions is agreed upon. Now the mediator has something to hold the Debaters to. As a bonus, in subsequent posts, the word is highlighted, along with a mouseover tooltip with the definition(s). And a glossary on the left sidebar of the debate. A small example of the process.
Agreements
These are similar to like Definitions. The mediator decides to clarify, "do we both agree on this point"? And forces the debaters to simply say "yes", or explain why not, giving the mediator a chance to revise it. If an agreement is finally reached, it's posted only once, similarly to a debate post. One reason behind this, as well as with the definitions, is that it cuts down on space-consuming back-and-forth posts. Again, a small example, currently still in progress.
Restrictions
Mediators can now temporarily restrict a debater from posting in a given subdebate. The first reason is that the mediator may want an answer only out of the other debater without interruption. Or the mediator may want to prevent any discussion until an agreement or definition has been settled (don't worry, debaters can still post notes about why they disagree with an Agreement or Definition, they're not completely shut up). The second reason is simple to give the mediator enough time to catch up.
Etc
I'm working on some smaller features in the mean time. You can see that debates now have an "overview" link. It currently gives useful info to debate participants, and just a basic map for readers, but I will begin to add more useful details for readers soon as well. Here is an example.
Upcoming Fixes and Features
- Improvements to the Definition editing interface.
- Improvements to debate posting interface, particularly with showing other debate posts and supporting posts on the posting page.
- A site-wide dashboard of sorts, showing you what debates you're involved in, etc.
- Registration improvements. SSL, Password change.
- Wiki Formatting for posts (including quoting other users in the subdebate)
- The ability for proposers of a debate to decline a particular contender.
Please try it out, let me know what you think!
Also please note the new (http://argumentclinic.net/about/tos/)[Terms of Service]. It's a real monster, I know. I will make it less offensive when I get a chance. But note that everything on this site, unless specified otherwise, is now declared CC0.
-Ill Logic