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**Amerion** · 02-05-2019, 10:52 PM

Negotiations for Debate Ongoing

An empty election stage as candidates negotiate a debate forum

By La'li'ma González

6 February 2019

LEGISLATORS’ LOUNGE — Two days into the campaigning period and with a vast majority of campaigns already posted, a debate between the various candidates has yet to take place due to disagreements as to the format.

With Discord having surmounted the forum as the primary means of communication between Islanders, a large proportion of candidates have sought to hold their respective ministerial debates on the platform. As a candidate for Minister of Foreign Affairs, North Prarie, writes, ‘On discord debates you can see who canidates [sic] really are. Can't emphasize it enough, because answers on forum debates are crafted for 30 minutes and is probably seen by multiple people before posting, where discord is heat-of-the-moment.’

Proponents for a forum-based debate have pointed to the benefits of long-form answers over the quick pace of Discord. Glen-Rhodes, who is also seeking the portfolio of foreign affairs, argues, ‘A couple sentences isn’t as informative as a long-form post. Like the question before— what are my thoughts on relations with all GCRs. We can take 1 minute each to say some kind of platitude about cooperation and friendship. Or we could take the time to write out an actual post that explains our views on the state of gameplay alliances and the strategy we should have.’ The current Cabinet Advisor and sitting Associate Justice is well known for their detailed forum posts and is thought to hold an advantage in a forum debate.

The conundrum for debate organisers is how best to reconcile the need for a quality debate between participants whilst considering their different preferences. Candidate for Minister of Regional Affairs, Islands of Unity, had previously stated that they would not partake in an election debate if it were held solely on the forum. Speaking in the Legislators’ Lounge in Discord, the candidate for Minister of Regional Affairs spoke of their ‘difficulty using the forums for conversation.’ However, their proposal for a voice chat debate using Discord’s services is uncertain to eventuate due to time-zone differences and the issue of recording the answers candidates will provide and disseminating that information among voters who could not be online.

Image Credit: David S. Holloway. Large debate stage empty, 2011. CNN. Click here for link.

(This post was last modified: 02-05-2019, 10:54 PM by Amerion.)