How ratings work
Two separate numbers sit on every profile, and they measure different things.
Every debater is judged on the same eight metrics, each from 0 to 100. The overall score out of 100 is the plain average of the metrics that have been scored — nothing is weighted, and a metric nobody has assessed yet is left out rather than counted as zero.
The list of metrics is fixed on purpose. If each debater were judged on whichever metrics suited them, someone scored on two flattering ones would outrank someone scored on eight honest ones, and nothing in the numbers would show why.
A profile's scores are drawn as a radar chart, so the shape shows where somebody is strong at a glance. A metric nobody has scored is left out of the shape rather than plotted as zero — an unscored debater is not a debater who scored nothing.
4 profiles have been scored so far.
- Logic
- Is the reasoning sound?
- Knowledge
- Does the person understand the subject?
- Argumentation
- Can they build a strong case?
- Rebuttal
- Can they effectively attack and answer opposing arguments?
- Persuasion
- Can they make people accept the case?
- Clarity
- Can they communicate it effectively?
- Etiquette
- How do they conduct themselves?
- Consistency
- Do their positions and principles hold together over time?
Backing is what a reader puts behind a debater in money. It funds this site — it is not forwarded to the debater, who gets the credit on their board and nothing else.
It deliberately does not feed into the overall score. If it did, the score would stop saying anything about how somebody argues and start saying who has the richest supporters. The rankings can be sorted either way, so you can see where the two disagree.
It replaced a free vote button for one reason: a vote costs nothing, so one person with several email addresses could cast several. A backing cannot be faked for free.
If a score looks wrong, say so and say why — the metrics are judged by people and people get things wrong. Scores are also revised as more debates are watched, so a profile you read last month may not say the same thing today.
If a profile is yours, you have a right of reply that we publish on it, and you can ask for a correction or for the profile to come down.