BATTLE ROYALE RULES
Battle Royale OFFICIAL rules:
After contestants for a Battle Royale have been chosen each contestant will submit to me via their Battle Royale thread (which will be created by me for them) three possible debate topics and their summarized stance on each proposed debate issue.
I will then choose ONE of the topics that I feel would be the most interesting and open a new thread and begin the debate. On the debate thread only the combatants and I will be allowed to make posts. I (as moderator) will only make posts for moderation purposes i.e. keeping the debate on track etc. I will not actually participate in the debate. The debate will last a predetermined amount of posts and then I will close the thread.
The details:
Once a topic has been chosen (by the ringmaster or moderator) The moderator will choose one of the combatants to post his opening argument (all posts must follow existing TOL guidelines regarding length, language etc.). Then the next combatant will make his opening argument via a post. After that each combatant will take turns responding to each others posts until all rounds in the battle are complete. The length of the battle (maximum amount of posts will be determined by the ringmaster or moderator - see rule addition #2). The maximum amount of posts (rounds) in a battle will include each combatants opening and concluding argument posts. NO combatant will be allowed to post TWO posts in a row, it's POINT vs. COUNTER POINT - (basically post and then wait for a response and then respond etc.) Therefore the combatant who is chosen to post first will get the benefit of making his argument first, but the combatant who posts second will get the benefit of having the last word.(The total number of posts may be higher based on moderator posts which of course will not be included in the round or post count). The only exception will be if posts are disqualified due to editing (more on that below) or the post is deleted because it was past the post deadline. Therefore a combatant may have less than the maximum amount of posts in the debate if these situations occur.
BATTLE TALK
For each Battle Royale I will also open up another thread so everyone else can discuss the debate in progress. There will also be a poll for you to vote on who you think is winning the debate (you may want to reserve your vote until the debate has evolved somewhat as you will only get one vote).
TIME LIMIT
Each combatant has 48 hours to make his response, after the last response has been made or directly after the moderator has issued the "Let's get in on" command to start the battle.
EXAMPLE: So, let's say a combatant makes a post and his post is clocked in at: "07-06-2002 05:00 PM" the other combatant has 48 hours from that time to post his follow-up or response, after that post has been made the other combatant has 48 hours from the time of the last response and so on. YOU DO NOT NEED TO TAKE 48 hours to make a response, you might only take three minutes! But you cannot take MORE than 48 hours.
If, a combatant takes more than 48 hours to make his response his turn will be skipped - and his post will be deleted if he tries to sneak the post in after the time limit has expired.
The moderator will let the combatants know if a time limit has been exceeded and the other combatant will then have 48 hours to make a new point or post. And therefore that combatant will have the luxury of having two posts in a row, which is normally illegal!
EXCEPTIONS
If, for a some reason you know you cannot make the time limit for whatever reason you can ask the moderator if he/she will extend the deadline for another 48 hours. If you have a compelling reason for the 48 hour deadline to be extended the moderator will inform the combatants of the extended time limit. If the extended time limit is exceeded the combatants turn will be skipped.
If the moderator does not feel your reason for extending the time limit is compelling enough he/she will inform you and you either will have to rush your response or skip your turn. Too bad!
AD HOMINEM ATTACKS
Ad hominem attacks will most certainly be permitted as long as no forums rules are broken i.e.; foul language, blatant blasphemy etc.
(I would hope my combatant would try such a tactic as it might easily back fire!)
NO POSTS CAN BE EDITED
Once a response has been made each combatant will have exactly 2 minutes to make any edits to their post. After that the "last edited by...." message will be posted on the post and the moderator will delete the post and the combatants turn will be forfeited. IS THIS RULE CLEAR? This rule will be strictly enforced and will have ZERO exceptions!
Basically make sure you are ready to post your response when you post it because we do not want combatants editing their posts after they have been posted.
QUOTING YOUR OPPONENT
Please do not quote your opponents entire post in each of your responses. If you wish to quote parts of his posts in your response that is fine and even encouraged.
SUMMARIZE YOUR QUESTIONS AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR RESPONSE
In a post many questions get posed, some serious, some rhetorical. If you have a question you want you opponent to answer make sure to ask in it in a plain and clear way at the bottom of your response i.e,: "Here are my questions for you... 1. bla bla bla? 2. bla bla bla etc.
RULE ABOUT RULES
Battle Royale is young and new therefore the rules may change. I will do my best to make everyone aware of the rule changes and or additions.
-------------------
RULE ADDITION #1
How will the moderator determine which combatant to go first? The moderator of the battle will literally flip a coin! Trust me this is as fun for the moderators as it is you, so I give you my word that the moderators will select the order of the debate based on a REAL flip of the coin.
RULE ADDITION #2
Length of the Battle. Not all Battles will be 20 rounds (20 posts from each combatant). The moderator will determine the length of the Battle AFTER the topic has been selected. That way if a topic is selected that is on the lighter side it can be given a shorter round limit or if a very HEAVY topic is selected the moderator can select a longer battle.
RULE ADDITION #3
The official name of these events shall be "Battle Royale" and not Battle Royal as was first stated. (my bad!)
RULE ADDITION #4
Quoting other sources. If you choose to quote another author or source you must recognize that source clearly in your post. If you use a external source and fail to recognize such source you will be subject to verbal abuse
.
Furthermore.... let's keep in mind that the "BATTLE ROYALE" is a debate between participants at TheologyOnLine, NOT a debate between external authors, or theologians so let's attempt to use external sources sparingly. The obvious exception might be The Bible (Gods true word), due to the fact that many theology debates will be centered around the Bible in the first place.
RULE ADDITION #5
Minimum and maximum battle length. Battle Royales can range from 5 rounds (minimum) to 30 rounds (maximum).
RULE ADDITION #6
All rules already in existence for TheologyOnLine also apply to the Battles. Please refer to the TOL Commandments if you have questions.
RULE ADDITION #7
Do not attempt to make your entire argument in your FIRST post! Please keep the post length to no longer than 6 short to medium sized paragraphs. These debates should be POINT vs. COUNTER POINT style... in other words make a point and then let the other combatant respond and make his point, don't restate your original argument over and over for the length of the battle. A good example of post lengths can be found in Battle Royale II both Knight AND Zakath did good job of keeping their posts to reasonable lengths.
RULE ADDITION #8 - the copyrights!
By agreeing to participate in a Battle Royale you also agree to allow your Battle to be reprinted or reused in full or in part by TheologyOnLine and it's various entities. In short... Battle Royales belong to TheologyOnLine and can be reprinted only with prior approval from TheologyOnLine.
RULE ADDITION #9
Any participant may attach images to their posts if they choose. However, since only subscribers can attach images to posts it is therefore beneficial to be a TOL subscriber. A regular registered TOL member does not have the ability to post image attachments to their posts and can therefore be at a possible disadvantage. To this we say............ SUBSCRIBE!!!
Please use this thread to ask questions about Battle Royale Rules. Thank you.
Battle Royale OFFICIAL rules:
After contestants for a Battle Royale have been chosen each contestant will submit to me via their Battle Royale thread (which will be created by me for them) three possible debate topics and their summarized stance on each proposed debate issue.
I will then choose ONE of the topics that I feel would be the most interesting and open a new thread and begin the debate. On the debate thread only the combatants and I will be allowed to make posts. I (as moderator) will only make posts for moderation purposes i.e. keeping the debate on track etc. I will not actually participate in the debate. The debate will last a predetermined amount of posts and then I will close the thread.
The details:
Once a topic has been chosen (by the ringmaster or moderator) The moderator will choose one of the combatants to post his opening argument (all posts must follow existing TOL guidelines regarding length, language etc.). Then the next combatant will make his opening argument via a post. After that each combatant will take turns responding to each others posts until all rounds in the battle are complete. The length of the battle (maximum amount of posts will be determined by the ringmaster or moderator - see rule addition #2). The maximum amount of posts (rounds) in a battle will include each combatants opening and concluding argument posts. NO combatant will be allowed to post TWO posts in a row, it's POINT vs. COUNTER POINT - (basically post and then wait for a response and then respond etc.) Therefore the combatant who is chosen to post first will get the benefit of making his argument first, but the combatant who posts second will get the benefit of having the last word.(The total number of posts may be higher based on moderator posts which of course will not be included in the round or post count). The only exception will be if posts are disqualified due to editing (more on that below) or the post is deleted because it was past the post deadline. Therefore a combatant may have less than the maximum amount of posts in the debate if these situations occur.
BATTLE TALK
For each Battle Royale I will also open up another thread so everyone else can discuss the debate in progress. There will also be a poll for you to vote on who you think is winning the debate (you may want to reserve your vote until the debate has evolved somewhat as you will only get one vote).
TIME LIMIT
Each combatant has 48 hours to make his response, after the last response has been made or directly after the moderator has issued the "Let's get in on" command to start the battle.
EXAMPLE: So, let's say a combatant makes a post and his post is clocked in at: "07-06-2002 05:00 PM" the other combatant has 48 hours from that time to post his follow-up or response, after that post has been made the other combatant has 48 hours from the time of the last response and so on. YOU DO NOT NEED TO TAKE 48 hours to make a response, you might only take three minutes! But you cannot take MORE than 48 hours.
If, a combatant takes more than 48 hours to make his response his turn will be skipped - and his post will be deleted if he tries to sneak the post in after the time limit has expired.
The moderator will let the combatants know if a time limit has been exceeded and the other combatant will then have 48 hours to make a new point or post. And therefore that combatant will have the luxury of having two posts in a row, which is normally illegal!
EXCEPTIONS
If, for a some reason you know you cannot make the time limit for whatever reason you can ask the moderator if he/she will extend the deadline for another 48 hours. If you have a compelling reason for the 48 hour deadline to be extended the moderator will inform the combatants of the extended time limit. If the extended time limit is exceeded the combatants turn will be skipped.
If the moderator does not feel your reason for extending the time limit is compelling enough he/she will inform you and you either will have to rush your response or skip your turn. Too bad!
AD HOMINEM ATTACKS
Ad hominem attacks will most certainly be permitted as long as no forums rules are broken i.e.; foul language, blatant blasphemy etc.
(I would hope my combatant would try such a tactic as it might easily back fire!)
NO POSTS CAN BE EDITED
Once a response has been made each combatant will have exactly 2 minutes to make any edits to their post. After that the "last edited by...." message will be posted on the post and the moderator will delete the post and the combatants turn will be forfeited. IS THIS RULE CLEAR? This rule will be strictly enforced and will have ZERO exceptions!
Basically make sure you are ready to post your response when you post it because we do not want combatants editing their posts after they have been posted.
QUOTING YOUR OPPONENT
Please do not quote your opponents entire post in each of your responses. If you wish to quote parts of his posts in your response that is fine and even encouraged.
SUMMARIZE YOUR QUESTIONS AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR RESPONSE
In a post many questions get posed, some serious, some rhetorical. If you have a question you want you opponent to answer make sure to ask in it in a plain and clear way at the bottom of your response i.e,: "Here are my questions for you... 1. bla bla bla? 2. bla bla bla etc.
RULE ABOUT RULES
Battle Royale is young and new therefore the rules may change. I will do my best to make everyone aware of the rule changes and or additions.
-------------------
RULE ADDITION #1
How will the moderator determine which combatant to go first? The moderator of the battle will literally flip a coin! Trust me this is as fun for the moderators as it is you, so I give you my word that the moderators will select the order of the debate based on a REAL flip of the coin.
RULE ADDITION #2
Length of the Battle. Not all Battles will be 20 rounds (20 posts from each combatant). The moderator will determine the length of the Battle AFTER the topic has been selected. That way if a topic is selected that is on the lighter side it can be given a shorter round limit or if a very HEAVY topic is selected the moderator can select a longer battle.
RULE ADDITION #3
The official name of these events shall be "Battle Royale" and not Battle Royal as was first stated. (my bad!)
RULE ADDITION #4
Quoting other sources. If you choose to quote another author or source you must recognize that source clearly in your post. If you use a external source and fail to recognize such source you will be subject to verbal abuse
Furthermore.... let's keep in mind that the "BATTLE ROYALE" is a debate between participants at TheologyOnLine, NOT a debate between external authors, or theologians so let's attempt to use external sources sparingly. The obvious exception might be The Bible (Gods true word), due to the fact that many theology debates will be centered around the Bible in the first place.
RULE ADDITION #5
Minimum and maximum battle length. Battle Royales can range from 5 rounds (minimum) to 30 rounds (maximum).
RULE ADDITION #6
All rules already in existence for TheologyOnLine also apply to the Battles. Please refer to the TOL Commandments if you have questions.
RULE ADDITION #7
Do not attempt to make your entire argument in your FIRST post! Please keep the post length to no longer than 6 short to medium sized paragraphs. These debates should be POINT vs. COUNTER POINT style... in other words make a point and then let the other combatant respond and make his point, don't restate your original argument over and over for the length of the battle. A good example of post lengths can be found in Battle Royale II both Knight AND Zakath did good job of keeping their posts to reasonable lengths.
RULE ADDITION #8 - the copyrights!
By agreeing to participate in a Battle Royale you also agree to allow your Battle to be reprinted or reused in full or in part by TheologyOnLine and it's various entities. In short... Battle Royales belong to TheologyOnLine and can be reprinted only with prior approval from TheologyOnLine.
RULE ADDITION #9
Any participant may attach images to their posts if they choose. However, since only subscribers can attach images to posts it is therefore beneficial to be a TOL subscriber. A regular registered TOL member does not have the ability to post image attachments to their posts and can therefore be at a possible disadvantage. To this we say............ SUBSCRIBE!!!
Please use this thread to ask questions about Battle Royale Rules. Thank you.
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