[debate] Proposed topic: "Is it possible to create online public forums for constructive debate?"

[Alan Light]

Gadi Evron ge at linuxbox.org wrote:

> I am unsure if I have an answer, but I can suggest direction.
> Perhaps when we are all settled in this list and things are routine, we could create a wiki site where > we store a summary of our conversations, or even the conversations themselves.

In fact, there are already numerous online forums on numerous topics, where the discussions are already available online to the public.  Some of these forums are general purpose, some are devoted to specific topics, some are devoted to one branch of politics or another.

Of course, with this wealth of data (I hesitate to call it information) it can be very difficult to find anything worthwhile.  One could easily wade through thousands of posts without finding a single thought worthy of being called a thought.  In consequence, actual intellectual investigations and dissemination of information is likely to continue to be labor-intensive.

The best solution I have seen so far involves getting groups of intelligent people together for discussions, and then have many of those members belong to more than one discussion group.  Ideas will tend to flow between groups that way, and far beyond the original discussion - propagating slowly but surely across the intertubes.  Of course, this still has some problems, notably timeliness.  Currently there are a few bloggers and journalists who have large audiences, and this results in more timeliness than there would be otherwise, but it involves its own problems of cliqueishness, personal egos, and the like.  However, I'm not sure if there is a better solution.

However, the first step is to find a community or communities of intelligent people with which to discuss various topics, and Gadi's announcement of his intention to create such a community was central to my decision to come here and see what might happen.



Alan Light


      
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