6 ms·

Show HN: Debatable – Reddit with Results

36 points by robcorn 4y ago

johnathan2365 4y ago
Would you be able to comment on a debate that is “archived”? Let’s say if you had an opinion?
- robcorn 4y ago
  Good question! Archived debates are considered complete so you can't vote or comment...but you can always re-suggest the topic if you feel there's more to talk about.
etr71115 4y ago
Is the vote before/after supposed to be a way to determine the winner?
- robcorn 4y ago
  Exactly. This differentiates the product from other platforms like Twitter/Reddit where you can ask polls.
mikkergp 4y ago
I've had something like this idea for a long time and I have a feeling it's one of those ideas in the idea-o-sphere that lots of people have that is either impossible to implement or get traction on(I have a feeling the latter). Maybe it's because people don't want to see someone win an argument, they just want to vocalize their opinions as loudly as possible? Anyways, what is your strategic advantage? How do you imagine debatable progressing? Could it ever be as big as one of the social media networks, or at least a well known niche? Are there competitors who've done something similar?
- robcorn 4y ago
  Great questions! All consumer apps have a hard time getting traction. We're taking an iterative approach here. The strategic advantage here is focus. Just like there's only one Wordle, or the front cover of NYTimes, per day, we're creating artificial scarcity by focusing peoples attention on just one debate at the day. I would consider this a success if people start asking themselves, "hey, have you heard the debate of the day?" In terms of how big this could get, keeping an open mind and seeing how folks use the site.
colleencorn75 4y ago
Interesting… It would be great if you could see how users voted as you read through comments
- robcorn 4y ago
  Thanks for the suggestion! That's something we have in the pipeline for post-MVP
robcorn 4y ago
Hey HN! My name is Rob and I built Debatable. Very excited to launch on HN, will be here to answer any questions :)
voska 4y ago
Debate of the Day: "Is YC still a good deal?" I'm curious how this one turns out.
- robcorn 4y ago
  Thanks for checking it out. Thought that debate topic was appropriate for launching on HN :)
mtthwcornacchia 4y ago
Interesting idea. I agree with above users in that a better comment management system could be created to make debates more clear. I could see this being used within corporations to debate ideas.
- robcorn 4y ago
  Great suggestions. Think there's definitely a few ways to manage comments better. Any specific suggestions in mind? And +1 to using this in corporations. The hope is that the tool is generic enough for all kinds of use cases!
curlftpfs 4y ago
Some existing alternatives https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Should_animal_testing_be_legal%3F https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Should_animal_testing_be_leg... https://idebate.org/debatabase/environment-animals-philosophy-ethics-science-science-general/house-would-ban-animal https://idebate.org/debatabase/environment-animals-philosoph... What's the difference vs a reddit poll?
- robcorn 4y ago
  Haven't seen these before thanks for sharing. It's different from a reddit poll in two ways: 1) Artificial scarcity - like Wordle or a NYTimes cover photo, there's only one per day. This focuses attention to one topic at a time. 2) Before/after polling. The audience is polled initially and then asked if they've changed their mind after a while reading arguments. The winner is the debate that changes the most minds.
oniridelic 4y ago
I'm interested to see how it evolves! I've been a big fan of ChangeMyView(https://www.changemyview.co/ https://www.changemyview.co/) and Intelligence Squared (https://www.youtube.com/user/iqsquared https://www.youtube.com/user/iqsquared) and this seems like potentially a great combination of both! I think polling people before the debate to get the "initial odds" and then after to see how the consensus has shifted and combining that with some sort of score like CMW does would go a long way to advance the gamification!
- robcorn 4y ago
  Big fan of Intelligence Squared but haven't seen ChangeMyView before, thanks for sharing. Regarding the polling suggestion, that's actually how it works! Clearly need to work on the messaging a bit, to make that more apparent. There's an initial poll and then you're asked if you've changed your mind after a minute of reading the arguments. Let me know if you have any other suggestions.

36 points by robcorn 4y ago

johnathan2365 4y ago

Would you be able to comment on a debate that is “archived”? Let’s say if you had an opinion?

robcorn 4y ago
Good question! Archived debates are considered complete so you can't vote or comment...but you can always re-suggest the topic if you feel there's more to talk about.

etr71115 4y ago

Is the vote before/after supposed to be a way to determine the winner?

robcorn 4y ago
Exactly. This differentiates the product from other platforms like Twitter/Reddit where you can ask polls.

mikkergp 4y ago

I've had something like this idea for a long time and I have a feeling it's one of those ideas in the idea-o-sphere that lots of people have that is either impossible to implement or get traction on(I have a feeling the latter). Maybe it's because people don't want to see someone win an argument, they just want to vocalize their opinions as loudly as possible? Anyways, what is your strategic advantage? How do you imagine debatable progressing? Could it ever be as big as one of the social media networks, or at least a well known niche? Are there competitors who've done something similar?

robcorn 4y ago
Great questions! All consumer apps have a hard time getting traction. We're taking an iterative approach here. The strategic advantage here is focus. Just like there's only one Wordle, or the front cover of NYTimes, per day, we're creating artificial scarcity by focusing peoples attention on just one debate at the day. I would consider this a success if people start asking themselves, "hey, have you heard the debate of the day?" In terms of how big this could get, keeping an open mind and seeing how folks use the site.

colleencorn75 4y ago

Interesting… It would be great if you could see how users voted as you read through comments

robcorn 4y ago
Thanks for the suggestion! That's something we have in the pipeline for post-MVP

robcorn 4y ago

Hey HN! My name is Rob and I built Debatable. Very excited to launch on HN, will be here to answer any questions :)

voska 4y ago

Debate of the Day: "Is YC still a good deal?" I'm curious how this one turns out.

robcorn 4y ago
Thanks for checking it out. Thought that debate topic was appropriate for launching on HN :)

mtthwcornacchia 4y ago

Interesting idea. I agree with above users in that a better comment management system could be created to make debates more clear. I could see this being used within corporations to debate ideas.

robcorn 4y ago
Great suggestions. Think there's definitely a few ways to manage comments better. Any specific suggestions in mind? And +1 to using this in corporations. The hope is that the tool is generic enough for all kinds of use cases!

curlftpfs 4y ago

Some existing alternatives https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Should_animal_testing_be_legal%3F https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Should_animal_testing_be_leg... https://idebate.org/debatabase/environment-animals-philosophy-ethics-science-science-general/house-would-ban-animal https://idebate.org/debatabase/environment-animals-philosoph... What's the difference vs a reddit poll?

robcorn 4y ago
Haven't seen these before thanks for sharing. It's different from a reddit poll in two ways: 1) Artificial scarcity - like Wordle or a NYTimes cover photo, there's only one per day. This focuses attention to one topic at a time. 2) Before/after polling. The audience is polled initially and then asked if they've changed their mind after a while reading arguments. The winner is the debate that changes the most minds.

oniridelic 4y ago

I'm interested to see how it evolves! I've been a big fan of ChangeMyView(https://www.changemyview.co/ https://www.changemyview.co/) and Intelligence Squared (https://www.youtube.com/user/iqsquared https://www.youtube.com/user/iqsquared) and this seems like potentially a great combination of both! I think polling people before the debate to get the "initial odds" and then after to see how the consensus has shifted and combining that with some sort of score like CMW does would go a long way to advance the gamification!

robcorn 4y ago
Big fan of Intelligence Squared but haven't seen ChangeMyView before, thanks for sharing. Regarding the polling suggestion, that's actually how it works! Clearly need to work on the messaging a bit, to make that more apparent. There's an initial poll and then you're asked if you've changed your mind after a minute of reading the arguments. Let me know if you have any other suggestions.