A good post.... By Froggy

To make a good post in the debate section, there are several important things you should keep in mind.

Quoting
In an online debate, things can move away from the original topic rather fast, so someone coming in late may make a seemingly random statement. To ensure that your post reaches its full potential, quote whatever you are responding to. This is unnecessary if you have the next post, but whenever I put too much thought into a post, someone tends to nab my spot

Of course, there are special cases of quoting. Observe:
Quote:
Originally Posted by n00ber Mcn00bington
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncyclopedia Reader
Debate is a secret cult known for its attempts to convert the world to the worship of Cthulhu. Its headquarters can be found beyond the borders of the known universe in the Californian, Texan, and Georgian Galaxies. The loudest, most obnoxious competitor wins, and hand movements are generally wild in an attempt to smack the opponent in the face so their jaw may no longer function.

Debaters advance the cause of the Great Old Ones by speaking in a language which no one can understand and throwing ungodly amounts of paper at the opponent's mouth in an attempt to cause them to choke, die, and stop screaming.

There are many forms of debate including policy debate, un-policy debate, sensible educational debate, Learning Disabled Debate and Executive Debate. No one can understand anyone who does any of them. The members of the debate cult are collectively known as Master Debaters.

First year debaters are trained by locking 20 of them in a closet for a month without food, and allowing the survivors to join the cult. Debaters are strongly committed to free trade in various substances, most notably kittens all of which are 100% legal for anyone at any age.

The concept of Debate originated in Oxbridge University, where it was first played in 1702 as a game to while away time in between tutes, classes, lectures, homoerotic initiation ceremonies, and being vigorously buggered by one's English tutor. The game was quite different back then, being played to settle arguments, win bets and for shiny pennies. While accounts at the time imply that the rules have changed quite heavily, nobody is quite sure what they used to be. This is possibly because the people writing accounts of the game were drunk. Initially Debate was condoned by the university as a means for students to exercise their brainpower and improve their lithe, supple, boyish torsos. It was, however, found to detract significantly from important activities such as study, drinking Pimms, and twatting about in punts. This caused it to be banned, nearly doubling its popularity.
No, they throw the paper to give them paper cuts!

It's not immediately apparent what n00ber Mcn00bington is talking about. Not only that, but there is a great deal of wasted space. n00ber Mcn00bington should have edited the post he quoted by deleting stuff he didn't respond to.
Observe:

Quote:
Originally Posted by n00ber Mcn00bington
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncyclopedia Reader
Debaters advance the cause of the Great Old Ones by speaking in a language which no one can understand and throwing ungodly amounts of paper at the opponent's mouth in an atempt to cause them to choke, die, and stop screaming.
No, they throw the paper to give them paper cuts!

This post gives a much clearer sense of what the poster was trying to say. It also follows a good rule of thumb. The poster posted something around 20% as long as what he quoted. The bigger the thing you quote, the more you should say about it.

In the event that something you've already posted would fit well somewhere else, quote yourself and move it to the other topic. Make a note underneath about how you thought it fit in there. Feel free to do this with other people's posts, so long as it doesn't change their meaning.

The Mega Post
Every once in a while, especially in a topic starter, someone will make a Mega Post. It is generally well organized and spaced, to make it easy on the eyes. It does, however, present a challenge to respond to.

There are several acceptable ways to respond to a Mega Post. All of them follow this guideline: Do NOT tackle the whole thing at once. People will need to reread the Mega Post several times to know what you're talking about, and this will probably get them rather irritated. Instead, tackle it ideal by ideal. Either break apart the Mega Post into many regular sized quotes, or type within their post, bolding, italicizing, or making your words a different color to show where you added stuff.

Content
This is the most important part of your quote. Researchers disagree about what makes for the best comment, but all agree that thought has a positive correlation to good posting. (Source: none).

Content does not mean making a long post. Content means a post that says something meaningful and at least somewhat on topic. If what you are saying in your post is not relatively well known, it may be helpful to link to a source. Links provide great opportunities to share knowledge with others. [/cliché]

Quote:
Originally Posted by n00ber Mcn00bington
The moon does not exist!
This post has potential to be a good post, but it lacks explanation. We are all very sure that that statement is wrong, and with no explanation, flaming will ensue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by n00ber Mcn00bington
The moon does not exist!
This post allows the reader to see the reasoning behind this thought. It also allows them to check whether or not the source is valid.

Quote:
Originally Posted by n00ber Mcn00bington
halo 3 is going to be teribul. bunjy dusnt no wat there doing!1
This post is terrible. n00ber Mcn00bington doesn't know what he's doing. Typos are ok. They happen, and should be corrected after spotted using the handy dandy edit button. Internet slang is also acceptable, so long as it does not obscure the meaning of what you are posting. Blatant disregard for the English language is not ok. It hurts the reader's eyes and his/her brain has to work overtime trying to interpret what the poster meant.

Quote:
Originally Posted by n00ber Mcn00bington
Halo 3 is going to be terrible. Bungie doesn't know what they're doing!!
n00ber Mcn00bington might get flamed to a crisp, but at least he won't get attacked on his spelling. If you have a decent sized post, it may be useful to paste it into Microsoft Word, or any other thing with a built in spell checker.

Word choice is a very effective way to get you ideas across. Keep in mind that that is the purpose of words: to convey ideals. If you go out of your way to use large words, not only will it look unnatural, but the words may give a spin you didn't intend to have on it. Don't use a big word when a smaller one works better there. And NEVER misspell a rare or large word if you're trying to look smart, or it'll have the opposite effect. Spell-check, spell-check, spell-check...

Posting Etiquette
There are a few standard rules for posting etiquette.
1. Do NOT modify a quote to change its meaning without explicitly saying what you did.
2. Do not flame anyone unconstructively.
3. Admit to being pwned if you have been pwned. No one likes a sore, stubborn looser.
4. Attempt to keep the topic on track. Deviations are fine, but bringing up totally irrelevant stuff is not.
5. Respect people's beliefs. This doesn't prevent you from ripping the belief apart. Just do so in a way that doesn't attack the person who believes it.

Humor
This is the big loophole. All of the above rules can be bypassed by a good helping of humor.

Jokes are relative. Something that one person finds funny might not be funny at all to another person. Some might find it offensive. If you believe something you say as a joke may be offensive to some, attach some sort of disclaimer. Remember: Jokes are funny. Jokes that aren't funny aren't jokes; They're one way tickets to flamesville.

Humor is also a great tool for debating. A laughing person is more likely to think about what you're saying than a mad person is. If what you're saying offends someone, it may be helpful to add a veil of humor to ease them into the thought.

Humor is also a major component of ownage. While it is possible to pwn someone in a debate without humor, it makes it oh so much sweeter. When used propperly, not only does it highlight whatever it is you're pointing out, it helps the other person realize the pwnage, enabling him to do the customary ritual of defeat.

Concluding Notes

Don't be a n00b.

That is all.