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whiteflame

*Moderator*

A member since

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Total topics: 9

I'm writing this message to clarify how moderation will enforce existing rules on the site going forward. The rules of the site are clear: personal attacks and harassment, particularly when they done over a prolonged period of time and target specific member(s) of the site, are ban-worthy offenses. We've given some leeway to allow conversations that include these to proceed so long as both sides were taking part in the same behavior to some extent.

That will no longer be the case. Moderation will now take action against cases of personal attacks and harassment even when both parties are participating. In order to ensure that everyone is on the same page with regards to this change in enforcement, we will not begin enforcement until this weekend ends. While past posts may be regarded as evidence of persistent behavior going forward, we will only enforce bans based on posts made after that period unless they are the subject of ongoing discussions within the moderation team. That being said, members will not have free reign to act with impunity - you will still be subject to a warning and ban within this time period if you push it too far.

To clarify, here are a few examples of the behavior that will result in a warning and, should it persist, a ban or restraining order:

  • Insulting someone's intelligence (as distinguished from attacking a given claim or argument)
  • Posting call-out threads
  • Assigning nicknames that are meant to belittle or harass
I'd also like to note that these will be enforced regardless of who acted first, though that may affect the duration of the resulting ban/RO. "But they started it" or "I was just defending myself" will not be a valid excuse for returning the favor. That being said, while the occasional insult may be tolerated with warnings, a pattern of insults and/or harassment will not.

If you have questions about how this will be implemented, this is the place to ask them. 
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DebateArt.com
82 19
Hey everyone!

Those in the know may recall that we've been involved in an inter-website mafia championship in previous years, and it looks like another one is just around the corner. The link for it is given below, and the tournament is supposed to start on April 22nd. We've participated before and I hope someone will step up to the challenge and join the competition this year. Note that the Google Doc details some of the requirements, including a good amount of activity in a forum mafia game on a daily basis. Let me know if you have any questions and I can relay them.

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Forum games
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Many of you probably won't recognize this account. I had to dig back through The WayBack Machine to find his account, but I still remember my debate against Ajab and the discussions we had all those years ago. He's also one of only a handful of people that I stayed in contact with well after leaving DDO. We spoke with some regularity, despite the fact that he lived in Pakistan, half a world away.

Unfortunately, that ended early this morning when he died. I know his death hit me hard - he was in his mid-20's, and while that alone is a tragedy, he was also a person who had been through a lot in his life and persevered, someone who was thoughtful and passionate, loving and caring. I won't go into details about his death, but his family and friends will miss him dearly. For everyone who knew him or wishes they could have, we are all affected by this loss. Rest in peace.
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DebateArt.com
22 16
After substantial discussion regarding several votes on the election thread (we appreciate everyone's patience), we have determined that the outcome stands as written at the end of the election thread:

RationalMadman: 19 (RationalMadman, AustinL0926, K_Michael, zedvictor4, Lunatic, Sidewalker, Mikal, Intelligence_06, FLRW, SupaDudz, SkepticalOne, Reece101, Skipper_Sr, Barney, anderwee123, Tejretics, whiteflame, MeowRanger, WeaverofFate)
WyIted: 21 (YouFound_Lxam, Sir.Lancelot, Phenenas, Mps1213, Best.Korea, ILikePie5, WyIted, sadolite, Greyparrot, TWS1405_2, BearMan, bmdrocks21, Dr.Franklin, Mharman, SamStevens, Novice_II, rayhan16, badger, Bones, Vaarka, Ramshutu)

As such, after a hard-fought election, Wylted is officially declared the DART President. Congratulations!

There are a number of reasons that several of the votes were not counted. Several instances of multi-accounting were found among the voters, and those were compounded with those accounts having been created during the ongoing election. In one other instance, an account that had been made on the first day of the election cast a vote. While we had not specified rules for voting on this election beforehand, the efforts by several people to create new accounts during the election led us to making a cutoff. The main discussion over the last 24 hours has focused on a pair of votes that came from voters who had joined the site a few days before the election. We made the decision that, since these accounts only became active on the 18th (including both of the debates they posted on that date and the votes they cast), they would be treated the same as other accounts created during the election. While there are instances of accounts that have been inactive for long stretches of time coming back to vote, they all have long-established track records. Their absences did not invalidate their votes.



I recognize that this will be contentious. I suspect many of you will disagree with the decisions we have made. I'll say now that I apologize for the errors that have been made over the course of this election. That includes anything that came up before the voting, during it, and since it finished. It wasn't our aim to disenfranchise voters; we had to set a standard for voting and, frankly, the circumstances described above were not what we expected to see. We are still working things out that, though we should have been prepared to deal with many of these issues by this point. That includes a clear set of requirements to vote and ensuring that everything is run according to the established guidelines, which demands more time and attention to detail than I could provide this time around.

To improve things prior to the next election, and to improve the running of that election, I invite Wylted, Oromagi and RationalMadman to work with us on a new set of standards that we can use for a new MEEP to supplement/modify the existing one, as well as discussing options for oversight over the election process to ensure that it is running according to the MEEP. We leave it up to them to decide if and how much they wish to be involved, and we invite others to contribute to the discussion constructively.
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DebateArt.com
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Greetings DebateArt.

The sites first ever election is officially underway. Before we get started, here are a few quick rules before you vote


  • You may only have 1 vote per person. This means that if you are voting under 2 accounts and are caught doing so, only 1 of the votes you cast will count
  • Please state who you are voting for by bolding who your vote is for, especially if you plan to write out your reasoning as to why you are voting said user
  • Election tampering (which is defined as recruiting people outside the site to vote for a certain candidate) is illegal and WILL result in the votes used by manipulation to be disqualified 
  • Please try to maintain civility in this thread. This is the voting stage, not the argumentative/campaigning stage. While I understand people have strong thoughts about the candidates, people would much rather look at people's reasons for voting a candidate than someone whining for 2 pages
  • YOU CAN NOT CHANGE YOUR VOTE ONCE YOU PLACE IT!!!!! Like in a real election, you can not take back your vote that you already submitted
==============================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================

Below are the following people that you are able to vote for in the election

The voting phase will last from January 16th, 11PM EST to January 18th, 11PM EST. All votes after that time DO NOT count!

As stated before, this election will be a majority vote due to the lack of candidates.
If there is a tie for the winner, the top candidates will go into a 24 hour run off period, where another majority vote will be held with the two candidates.

Finally, I wish the best of luck to both candidates. Both of you are capable and deserving to be president, regardless of how many votes you receive, and your contributions to the site will continue to be appreciated regardless of whether you win this role.
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DebateArt.com
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I feel like we haven’t really had a retrospective on recent anime on the site, really just an assorted set of picks that each of us likes.
 
So, I'm starting something new and ongoing - a series about each season of anime and manga as they're coming out. Rather than starting with the current season though, as I'd like to pace this out a bit, I'll be taking a step back a couple of years and focusing on the best of each season starting in 2016 and going through 2021, hopefully getting through a year of anime and manga each week. I’m up for doing earlier years and 2022 onward, but for now, my focus will be on the more recent past and present.
 
I’m not going to try to be exhaustive about what came out each season, but I will try to cover both what I saw and the basics of the series that I missed and either wish to return to at some point or just think warrant attention for one reason or another. I will provide a rating for each of the ones that I’ve seen/read (on a scale of 10, with a 5 being a weak but average series, a 10 being a basically perfect series, and a 0 having no redeeming qualities) and will include a best-of-year among the ones I watched at the bottom of each post.
 
If I didn’t cover something you liked from any of these seasons, you'd like to provide your own views on what I've covered, or if you just want to interject with something related to anime and manga, feel free to post. My hope is that we continue posting here as new anime come out to give thoughts, or, barring that, just have some further discussions of some recent favorites.
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Show business
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I've watched quite a few anime over the years (full list here: https://myanimelist.net/animelist/whiteflame55), but picking out a top 10 is difficult for me. Used to have a clear set, but now, it's impossible to leave it to even that many. So, while I have a top 10 series (I'm giving those in no particular, though I do have some idea of how I'd rank them), I have to pick some favorite movies for a separate list.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (2008)

Hard not to love this bombastic, over-the-top series by Gainax. You might know them best by the work of another studio that spun off from them, Trigger (BNA: Brand New Animal and Kill la Kill). The animation is colorful and sharp, as in those series, but what really sets this apart is the emotional stakes baked into it and the incredible characters. It's a story of perseverance against impossible odds that always struck a chord with me.

Fate/Zero (2011-2012)                             

The series that would probably top this list, it's a Greek tragedy done up in the style of mages summoning some of the greatest heroes from history to do battle over the Holy Grail. No one in this series is free from guilt, and it's incredible to watch the characters bounce off one another and challenge each other physically, emotionally and psychologically. Never had a series before that just worked on every level so well. To top it off, the studio (Ufotable) is known for their superb animations, having recently done the adaptation of Demon Slayer.

Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World (2016, 2020-2021)

Wouldn't have said this back in 2016, but this series is incredible. It does an amazing job developing its main character, and for a show with one major gimmick (return from death), it gets an amazing out of mileage out of it. The expanding cast only gets more intriguing and the show constantly keeps us guessing as it develops, never letting us or the characters get complacent. 

Made in Abyss (2017, 2020)

Another series that gets a lot of mileage out of a single gimmick, the whole series is built on the knowledge that there is a giant abyss and people go in to explore it for riches and fame. The whole series is built on the absolutely dismal realization that our lead character is after something she cannot obtain without condemning herself to death, it's really more about the journey than the destination, with every new level of the abyss being a tour de force in animation and the music being among the best in any series.

Code Geass (2006-2007, 2017-2019)

This series has a similar vibe to Death Note, though with a grander scale and mech battles to boot. The series gets going fast and focuses on a character who is caught up in a world where the British Empire never stopped expanding, and plays a deadly game of chess with people as pawns to exact revenge. Though it has its low points, it's riveting to watch the series play out, and has an incredible ending.

Cowboy Bebop (1998, 2001)

The absolute classic on this list, Cowboy Bebop is a must-watch for any anime fan. Space bounty hunters who absolutely do not get along going on adventures with an intelligent corgi and an eccentric young computer hacker, all with a dramatic and suspenseful through-line story, some great comedic side-stories, and characters whose interactions are actually more interesting than their personal backgrounds. With one of the best endings in anime and one of the greatest OPs of all time, it's worth your time.

Steins;Gate (2011, 2013)

Time travel is rarely done well, but this series bucks the trend. With a main character who is always a joy to watch and a twist in the plot that starts about halfway in, the series goes from fun exploration of a new technology to a suspenseful, high stakes thriller, this series constantly had me on the edge of my seat.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009-2010, 2011)

Honestly, I can't say anything about this series that isn't commonly known. It's the best all-around series for a reason. Everyone loves it. Watch it.

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (2020)

This is the only series on this list that fits comedy and slice of life, but it absolutely deserves to be here. With some of the most innovative animation of any series, a trio of main characters who play off each other beautifully, and a plot line that never gets stale, this is a series that breaks down the process of making an anime while putting on a master class.

Mob Psycho 100 (2016, 2019)

Almost everyone should have heard of One Punch Man by now, and while that series is great, this one has it beat. Having a nearly all-powerful main character is a big risk, but this series manages to use it in an interesting and relatable way. The animation is incredibly fluid, the characters incredible, and the plot of the series, both in individual arcs and as a whole, riveting. Also, both of the OPs slap.


Onto the movies.

A Silent Voice (2016)

This movie came out at the same time as Your Name and largely got eclipsed by the other movie, despite being (in my opinion), the better of the two. Part of what makes this incredible is just how relatable its leads are, and though it's incredibly hard to watch in places, I don't think I've ever seen such an incredible display of human emotion. The animation is gorgeous, and though this is not an action set-piece, its sakuga is on par with the best shonen has to offer.

Summer Wars (2010)

I didn't expect to love this movie, but it drew me in and kept me riveted. In a story about a young man meeting the family of a friend of his and being introduced as her fiancé, the stakes quickly escalate as this story crosses over with a massive online world where a virtual intelligence basically tries to take over, wreaking worldwide havoc. The family is incredible, the animation brilliant, and the story had me on the edge of my seat throughout.

Howl's Moving Castle (2005)

Another classic and easily my favorite Ghibli film, this film manages its fantastical elements (one of the characters is living fire and another is a sentient scarecrow) while never losing track of the humanity in its leads. It has beautiful animation, and while the story can be confusing in places, it always yields meaningful sentiments that make sense of even the most outlandish of moments.

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14 6
I’ll try something I’ve seen a little of under different topics, though nothing too centralized. I’d like to just have a spot where we can all provide some insights into what we feel needs work and what we’re doing about it in our debating. This can also be an opportunity to provide some constructive feedback, particularly to people who are either unclear on what to improve or just feel stuck for whatever reason.

In my case, I’d say I have two major problems. First is that I’m just generally too verbose. You give me a character limit and I’ll almost always fill it. It normally takes a lot of editing before I have decent word economy. Part of what I’ve idolized from the best debaters I’ve seen (mostly in live debates) is their ability to be concise and incisive, whereas I almost always feel like I’m failing at one or the other.

The second is that I don’t feel I put out good first rounds in debates. They’re all serviceable and they get me where I need to go, but they almost never stand as my best round. I’m much stronger on rebuttals and conclusions than I am on case construction, which is strangely the opposite of where I was in my early days as a debater (when, to be fair, I wasn’t very good at anything). I’ve got a few examples of strong first rounds, but the vast majority are just there to get my points out.

As for what I’m doing about these, I keep challenging myself by enforcing a lower character limit on what I’m writing than the debate requires. I still fill it, but I figure if I can keep moving the limit down and then one day remove it, I can feel a little more confident in using fewer words to make my point. In the case of the latter, I’m mainly just trying to break out of my usual structure for the opening round. I’ve come to be rather regimented there, whereas I’ve made a lot of changes to how my conclusions are structured. I think that the more I experiment, the more likely I’ll find what fits. I’m also trying to make them feel (at least to me) more like rebuttals, as though I’m attacking something rather than making my own stand-alone points. That’s precarious because I’m not at all a fan of pre-rebuttals (anticipating what your opponent will say and addressing it before they say it), but treating it as though I’m challenging a probable mindset of my audience or the topic itself helps me skirt around that.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Interested to see how other people respond to this. If you think you’re perfect, then I suppose that’s a response as well, though I doubt anyone’s so good at this that they couldn’t stand to improve anything about their debating.
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People
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Hey, for anyone who's interested, Virtuoso's interviewing me today. We'll be talking about my PhD research, which I've finally finished, as well as a bit more about me.

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Personal
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