How deb8 works

deb8 is an understanding-first discussion platform. Most social media optimizes for engagement and outrage; deb8 optimizes for clarity, evidence, productive disagreement, and solutions. The guiding question behind every feature is: does this increase understanding between people?

Three big differences: (1) we rank by understanding — changing minds, fair-play from the other side, evidence — not by likes or virality; (2) we moderate behavior, not ideas; and (3) every debate is structured (Position Maps, steelmans, credence, solution hubs) so it actually goes somewhere instead of in circles.

No. Anyone can read everything. You only need to sign in to post, reply, react, vote, or steelman.

Go to Sign in and use Google or an email magic link — no password. The first time, you’ll pick a handle and set up your profile.

Your @handle is your public identity — it does not have to be your real name, and your email/sign-in identity is never shown to anyone. Want to stay anonymous? Use the 🎲 generate-a-pseudonym button in your profile (e.g. civil_heron42).

Browse the realms and categories on the home page, use the search bar (top of every page) to find topics and verticals, or check Live for scheduled debates.

Click your avatar (top-right) → Your profile (public page) or Settings (edit handle, name, bio, avatar color).

• Subject — a thing to discuss (a coin, a film, a person), often auto-filled from a live source.
• Proposition — a claim with sides; gets a Position Map and a credence slider.
• Question — an open problem; opens a Solution Hub (proposals → voting → action plan).
• Event — a scheduled live debate / town hall linked to an external stream.

Open any category and hit “Start a conversation” (or “Fact-check a claim”). Pick a type, give it a clear title, and post. You can also bring a source (paste an article or claim) to debate or fact-check, or pull a topic from Wikipedia / CoinGecko / TMDb, etc.

Type in the composer and hit Post (or Reply). On a Proposition you can optionally pick a stance (which position you’re arguing) and attach a source URL as evidence.

Posts rise for changing minds, earning fair-play from the other side (a reaction from someone who disagrees counts 2.5×), bringing evidence, and being clear — not for being popular. Every post shows its rank breakdown, so it’s never a black box. There’s no way to game it with engagement.

• 🔄 Changed my view — this moved my thinking
• 🤝 Fair point — argued in good faith, even if I disagree
• 📎 Well-sourced — backed by credible evidence
• 💡 Clarifying — made the discussion clearer

There is deliberately no “like” and no public downvote — those reward dunking and pile-ons.

Use the constructive flags on any post: Off-topic, Needs a source, Strawman, or Conduct (attacking a person). Flags from trusted, established members weigh more — so a swarm of new throwaway accounts can’t bury a good post.

On a Proposition, it’s a living map of where the room stands — from Strong Support to Strong Opposition — with each stance’s best arguments and evidence. It lets you navigate a debate by viewpoint instead of scrolling chronological chaos, and grok the landscape in 60 seconds. It’s AI-drafted and community-editable.

Before you rebut someone, you can restate their argument in your own words. The original author then confirms whether it’s fair. A confirmed restatement is a 🌉 Bridge moment — it’s celebrated on the post and earns you reputation. It’s the highest-status move on deb8.

If you steelman someone before rebutting them, your rebuttal gets a small rank boost and an “engaged in good faith” marker. It’s never required — just rewarded.

On a Proposition you can set your confidence (0–100%) that the claim is true. deb8 records it when you arrive and tracks how far the debate moves you. Tip: set it before you read, then see if the arguments change your mind.

It’s the aggregate: how many readers changed their confidence and the average shift. deb8 measures understanding, not who “won” — nobody else reports this.

If your confidence moves materially, you can share a one-tap badge that you changed your mind. It rewards intellectual honesty — and the shared link shows the debate’s “minds moved” stats.

When a topic is a Question, it flows beyond debate: discussion → proposals → community approval voting → an emerging action plan. The most-supported proposal is surfaced as the plan, so the conversation produces something actionable.

Use “Fact-check a claim” (on a category page or the home hero). It creates a Proposition with truth bands (Verified true → Mostly true → Misleading → False). Important: deb8 doesn’t decide what’s true — the community weighs the evidence, and the platform rewards bringing sources.

Paste any URL when creating a topic — deb8 pulls its title/summary/image and seats it in the Evidence Library as the opening source. You can also attach a source URL to any individual post.

Create a topic of type Event: set a start time and paste your stream link (YouTube, Twitch, X, Zoom — wherever you broadcast). deb8 doesn’t host the video; it hosts the structured discussion around it. Viewers watch on your stream and contribute here, where posts are reputation-weighted and fact-checked instead of a toxic free-for-all.

On the Live page — grouped into Live now, Upcoming, and Past.

Public events are listed everywhere. Unlisted events are reachable only by their link — handy for a private group, without building an invite system.

You earn reputation through understanding-positive actions — confirmed steelmans, evidence others mark accurate, clarity, helpful contributions. It’s shown as an itemized ledger on your profile (“+5 — confirmed steelman of @x”), so scoring is transparent. It is not follower- or popularity-based.

Roles are earned, not given, from your activity: Bridge Builder (repeated confirmed steelmans across opponents), Researcher (well-sourced), Educator (clarifying / mind-changing), Problem Solver (proposals that reach voting), and Diplomat (de-escalation).

The progression ladder — it reflects how much you’ve participated, alongside your earned role.

A neutral, draft “what’s been discussed” at the top of each topic. It’s explicitly a draft — editable, never a ruling on who’s right — and it refreshes as the discussion grows. It only summarizes non-collapsed, high-quality posts, so flooding can’t skew it.

A private, optional coach. Before you post, it can suggest a more constructive way to make the same point — it never weakens your argument, never changes your position, and is never shown to anyone or stored. Take it (“Use this”) or ignore it (“Keep mine”).

Only narrowly. An automated safety check acts only on illegal / safety-critical content (e.g. credible threats) — never on your viewpoint. Offensive-but-legal opinions are not suppressed. The vast majority of moderation is community-driven.

Almost any idea — political, religious, economic, controversial, unpopular. deb8 moderates behavior, not ideology: attack ideas, never people. See the full Community Guidelines.

Personal attacks, harassment, doxxing, spam, and impersonation. There’s also a zero-tolerance hard line (CSAM, credible threats, content facilitating serious crime) that’s removed immediately and, where required, reported to authorities.

We collapse, not silently delete: a heavily-flagged post is hidden behind a visible reason with a one-click “show anyway.” A post removed by a moderator shows a public tombstone with the reason. No shadow bans — actions are visible and logged.

Repeated violations can lead to suspension (you can still read, but not post). You’ll see a banner explaining why. To report something, use the flag controls or contact support; to appeal, see the Guidelines.

Just share the link. Every topic and profile generates a share card that leads with understanding stats (contributions, minds moved, bridge moments) — so sharing deb8 makes you look thoughtful, not outraged.

Yes. On any Proposition, click “Embed this map” to copy an <iframe> of the live Position Map (light/dark themable) with a link back to the full debate.

Public: your @handle, display name, bio, posts, and reputation stats. Private (never shown): your email and sign-in identity. See the Privacy Policy.

Avatar menu (top-right) → Settings. You can change your handle anytime.

Use the theme toggle in the header — it cycles Light → Dark → System and remembers your choice.