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Welcome to Cage Match Debates! This is meant to be a fun environment where we can challenge each other's views, practice our rhetoric, and better understand all sides of any given topic. People who step up to debate on any topic are highly respected and appreciated. While there is a competitive nature in this exercise, we all value each other's perspectives and do not take anything personal as we let iron sharpen iron.

The format of this group is changing as we go, but the current plan is as follows:

- If you are interested in participating in a Cage Match debate, you will be able to submit your name, either in the event chat here or during the Zoom call.
- With more than a few entries, we will randomly select two people from the list, and those two can decide on which topic they would like to debate on (ideally one where they hold opposite positions).

Perhaps they will have their own unique topics to offer, or they can choose from this list of topic suggestions:
- Do We have Free Will?
- Is Morality Objective or Subjective?
- Will AI do more good than harm?
- Is equity good?
- Do we need more or less gun control?
- Is climate change a man-made problem?
- Does God Exist?
- Is religion harmful to society?
- Does the the bible contain errors?

These are the Cage Match Debate Rules:
- No prearranged structure. The two debaters decide for themselves how to proceed or whether to involve moderator
- No Time Limit. Cage Match ends when an official winner is declared.

There are 4 ways to win a Cage Match Debate:
1. Opponent concedes their official position.(An honorable victory for the opponent)

2. Opponent quits or abandons the debate.

3. Opponent is unwilling to answer a question pertaining to the topic (they will be given plenty of chances & warning, otherwise it will be treated as abandoning the debate)

4. Opponent receives 3 Logical Fallacy Strikes

  • At any time a debater may accuse the other of a logical fallacy, at which point we immediately pause the debate and hear out the challenge.
  • We identify the exact fallacy and its context, opponent gets a chance to respond, and we then take it to a vote from the audience.
  • If the audience votes in favor of the challenge, opponent receives a Logical Fallacy Strike.
  • If the audience votes against the challenge, the person who accused the other receives a Strike! (So no matter what, when the challenge is made, someone will get a strike)

Logical Fallacy index can be found here, it is highly encouraged to study these fallacies to know what to look for in a debate and how to vote:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTCigOf5RFWwoJMueyNiMQ9b-qvJF5x0u097dUIMZGjNkJzNwusrcT-h1MQ6b7mlMnC2HFQG2uzoFOV/pubhtml

Hope to see you!!

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