(no subject)

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know we could get more participation than what we've got so far!!

The debate is officially over after midnight! Rally up the troops and lets get some more debaters!!

Comments

[chellemod.livejournal.com]

Midnight by which timezone, if I might inquire.

-Chelle of Slytherin.

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

Uhhh... well, I'm in central time. :) But if the debate is still getting posts on it by then, I'll extend it to midnight in the last timezone to hit midnight. But that's only if we're having participation then. I won't want to stay up that late for nothing to happen. ;)

[avari-elf.livejournal.com]

Just a silly request, as I've never participated in debates who are dependant on time zones.
Could it be possible to indicate the time at which the debate is launched? For example, if you launch the debate, could say: "It is now Sunday the 3Oth, 12:20 AM, Central Time Zone".
It's just that I'm a bit confused about the different times: I'm in France, so I have a 7 hours difference with central time, if I'm correct.

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay. I didn't know we were international!! :)

I think next time I'm going to have it stretch over full 24 or 36 hours in hopes of having more debating. I'm sorry!

[chellemod.livejournal.com]

Ahh, that's good to know. Thank you much for answering AND for running the debate.




...Also, I absolutely love your icon and your layout (I happened to end up at your lj the other day. I have happy clicking syndrome and I believe Bunny linked you as being the debate manager in a post). Haha, Shigure the 'novelist.' ;D Very nice indeed.

-Chelle of Slytherin.

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

Haha, thanks on both issues. :)

My current fan fiction project is Shigure Sohma's Introduction to Noveltry, a multi-part fiction that is set to be Shigure's advise to young novelists wanting to know how to be successful. So.. I thought I'd set the mood with my entire computer and everything I use on it being Shigureish. Gives me more.. uh... inspiration? ^^

[caffienerain.livejournal.com]

I don't like debating, lol. I always feel bad about it because I tend to see both sides. Eh. Must. Earn. House. Points! Gahh...

ally || slytherin

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

Aww! I know, that's the challenge in this one.

[hxcpunkchick.livejournal.com]

Aw, I'm bummed that I missed it. Internet was down...

(frozen)

[pikacharma.livejournal.com]

I was gonna participate, but then I saw I'd have to argue from the side of the morons I'm always making fun of. The thought originally crossed my mind that I could post intentionally stupid arguments to further mock the HARRY POTTER IS SATAN!!1! camp, but then I'd just end up screwing over the people who were trying to get house points for Slyth. No go there, alas.

Any way the next topic could be a little less one-sided? Gryff and Slyth sorta got hosed on this one. I mean, we're all HP fans, so we've all spent a ton of time trying to think of arguments to counter the anti-Potter people. Puff and Claw had a huge advantage from the get go.

(frozen)

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

Have you ever seen a competition debate? You don't always get the side that you want/are prepared for. That's the challenge of the debate. I give huge, huge props to the people who had to debate for the ban because hello, no one in this community is going to want to ban the books. That's why it's a challenge.

And in all actuality, I wanted to put Claw on the pro side just because I know the quality of debaters we've got there and that most of them wouldn't mind going against what they felt. But, when I did the drawing to see who would do what, it ended up that way.

(frozen)

[pikacharma.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've seen competition debates, and I fully realize that not everyone will get the side they were prepared for. That, in and of itself, however, was not the point.

The point was that the topic chosen was one which, when argued in a venue such as this (the HP fandom), would clearly give an advantage to one side. If it had been a generic political topic that did not directly relate to the HP fandom, or even an HP fandom topic that not all fans could agree upon, then this whole thing would have been far less slanted -- various people on both teams would have been equally unprepared and thrown off balance, as there would likely be supporters and opposers on both sides who would be put in a position of agruing against their true opinions. My complaint was not against the standard rules of debate, but merely against the choosing of an issue that, when argued by members of this fandom, will give an unfair and automatic boost to one side.

(frozen)

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

Well, the members that actually chose to support their house and participate didn't seem to mind too much. :)

There aren't going to be any "unfair slant" arguements here. When it comes down to participation, you either deal and do it or complain and don't do it. I would never put up any topic that I, myself, wouldn't want to debate in. Infact, I nearly jumped in myself just to try to egg it on more, but decided to leave it to you guys.

So. If you don't like the topic, that's fine. No one is forcing you to debate. You can, instead, leave it to the people who are in it for the sport or the points, and stop expecting me to suit my topics to what you will and will not debate to.

(frozen)

[pikacharma.livejournal.com]

*yawns* k.

Only reason I cared at all is 'cause there was a chance to earn stuff. Sorry if it was presumptuous of me to assume that you might want constructive criticism for use in organizing future debates.

Good day to you.

(frozen)

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

I apologize, but I don't need any constructive criticism. Had I set the topic of "OMGZ, wich is better beanz ov evry flavr or choc/ frogz?!", then I could see the need for correction. Just because you didn't like it, it doesn't mean I did anything wrong. ;)

(frozen)

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

Oh, and as an afterthought.. I'm sorry that you couldn't think outside of the box enough to participate. I'd rather have hardly anyone debate, but have good arguments than pick something that everyone likes and wind up with a bunch of narrow minded, un-opened crap. :)

See? Since I've been accused of being rude when I wasn't, screw it. I'll just be rude and not care.

(frozen)

[shayuko.livejournal.com]

Since I've been accused of being rude when I wasn't, screw it. I'll just be rude and not care.

You're an official, remember? Please act like one.

She had a very good point and I agree with her. Since we're all HP-fans here it's obvious that we're all on the same side when it comes to this debate topic, so yes, I imagine it was definitely easier for the houses that got that side. Of course the people of the other houses could still come up with good arguments but it was probably harder for them. You wouldn't have that problem with a topic that we don't all agree on. Then there will still be people who get the side that they don't support, but it won't be like this one, where *everyone* who got pro didn't support it and *everyone* who got con did. That's all. And it's good she pointed that out, so we can keep it in mind for future reference.

(frozen)

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

My god, I was until -I- started to be attacked here. I didn't mind. I defended myself in a very, very diplomatic way just to be treated badly by two people in return. Just as you apparently believe that they can be rude to an official, an official can be just as classless right back. I tried the nice response, and they apparently wished to ignore it. So, if I have to sink to their level to get a point across, I'm not afraid to do that.

The way -I- see it is that thinking outside of the box, and against how you might really feel, is good. How can you understand a situation without thinking on both sides? To do otherwise is to be narrowminded and lopsided in your opinions. This would be yet another real world example of why people, as a whole, are screwed. If you can't step back and see both sides of a situation, how are we, as a people, ever going to develope and see past our differences?

I'm sorry that a rare few people of the houses that had to debate pro didn't like the fact that I was asking them to be more open minded. Next time I'll keep in mind that apparently people like being wrapped in their own opinions to the point that they can't see outside of their protect-me-from-the-other-side-of-the-fence barrier.


There. Was that diplomatic and tactful enough for you?

(frozen)

[shayuko.livejournal.com]

I agree that it's good to look at both sides of a subject and think outside the box. I completely support you in that. It's just that these debates aren't just that, just debates. Points can be earned with them, and because of that it needs to stay fair. And it's not fair when an entire house has a more difficult job to do than the others. That's all Pika was saying in her first post, and that's what I agree on. So to keep it fair you could pick a subject like this next time too, only then give the difficult position to the houses that had the easy one this time. Or something. It's not about the topic or the thinking outside the box thing, it's just about keeping things fair.

And yes, that was indeed diplomatic enough. When you think people are attacking you there's really no need to get rude yourself. That will only make things worse, as shown by Tamsin's reaction below.

(frozen)

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

I realized that, and that's why I was seriously considering giving those two houses double points for any valid comments they managed to come up with, just because of the difficulty factor.

But when I am on my own side, and I even have the Prefect getting onto me as well, I think I'm allowed to get defensive. Take a look at the entire post before you comment, please. Note how a certain person degraded me on at least three different occasions. Where was my support? Who was backing me up and telling them to back down?

I don't want to sound like a whiny child, but you expecting me to just take all of the bashing is a little much.

(frozen)

[much-reality.livejournal.com]

You know, someone was making a perfectly reasonable and legitimate point, and yet you met them with rudeness. Nobody attacked you. There's really no need to feel so challenged by polite disagreement.

(frozen)

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

I could have been really rude if I wanted to. I think I handled that rather diplomatically. That was far from rude. Read the black and white on your screen in whatever context you'd like, though.

But in my own defense, it wasn't a perfectly reasonable and legitimate point.. it was someone throwing a fit because she didn't like my topic, and trying to tell me what I need to do.

(frozen)

[much-reality.livejournal.com]

Well, I imagine it depends on whether you regard thinly veiled, passive aggressive snottiness as the epitome of class and manners, or as infantile grade school posturing. Most adults would say the latter.

Politely pointing out that asking turkeys to vote for Christmas does not a fairly balanced debate make is not unreasonable. It's common sense.

(frozen)

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

Dear, if you want me to get snotty, I will get snotty. I really don't mind.

And, if you want me to deduct points from both your houses for sassing me in something you have no right to boss me around on, I don't mind that either.

:)

(frozen)

[much-reality.livejournal.com]

You're really trying to shut debate down and get the last word, by threatening to take imaginary housepoints from a position of imaginary authority in an imaginary school? By all means, feel free. Pikacharma doesn't appear to be here, and penalising her for my actions is beyond idiotic; but I doubt she'll sob herself to sleep over it.

It's amusing that you describe yourself as a goddess of snark, when in reality you're a whining brat with an inferiority complex where a sense of humour should be. You do definitely bring the funny. Just not in a laughing with you kind of a way.

(frozen)

[flimsy.livejournal.com]

1) This debate will not have any effect on ANYTHING.
It's nothing but a challenge to imagination and argumentative skills. That is all.

2) Being snotty/rude/etc to an official or anyone else will have consequences if noticed frequently.

And that is that. If I see ANY more comments concerning this matter, there will be points deducted. End of story.

(frozen)

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Thank you thank you so much.

I was really, really about to ask you or one of the other prefects for assistance here...

(frozen)

[much-reality.livejournal.com]

Oh, and nobody tried to "boss" you. They simply expressed an opinion different from your own. Your inability to distinguish between the two speaks of a truly staggering level of intellectual insecurity, not to mention a thoroughly poor education.

(frozen)

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

This conversation is over. I refuse to be personally attacked by someone who doesn't even know me.

(frozen)

[intotheheart.livejournal.com]

If it had been a generic political topic that did not directly relate to the HP fandom,

Just my opinion...I don't think that we should have debates about topics OUTSIDE the HP fandom-world. It's not the point of this community to bring in current-political topics, (in fact, many people are from different countries who may be unaffected by those topics). In fact, we don't even allow posts off-topic of HP here. I realize it was just one of your examples, you did mention using other things from the HP fandom world, which I think is probably where we want to stay :)

(frozen)

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

I know we shouldn't debate non-HP related topics, and I never have nor ever will hold a debate of that kind. I wasn't saying in that post that I would have, either. I only used the generic political topic as an example because if I had thrown in an example that was HP related, I would have been giving away one of my future debate topics. ;)

So don't worry. I know better than to be OT, and I'm pretty clear on the policies concerning OT posts and such.

[king-bidgood.livejournal.com]

um id like to join this but how do i get in a hous??

[weemumlessmngrl.livejournal.com]

Read the user info. :)