http://www.debate.org/debates/?order=1&sort=&member=PoeJoe Customize this RSS feed by going to http://www.debate.org/rss/ en-us 2013-06-20T07:37:28-08:00 2013-06-20T07:37:28-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/The-debate.org-users-monkeyyxxsun-and-PoeJoe-should-go-on-a-date/2/ (Post Voting Period) I strongly affirm the resolution "The debate.org users monkeyyxxsun and PoeJoe should go on a date". ---- Contention 1: No Practical Problems ---- Let us get the basics out of the way. (1) I am a male, and you are a female. We are both heterosexual. Therefore, there exists no problems as far as sexual preference goes. (2) According to Google Maps, we live (even in 'traffic') within fifteen minutes of each other. There are no problems as far as distance goes. (Although, really: Love has no boundaries.) (3) We are both sophomores who are fifteen years old, which is just about right. Thank God I won't have to go through another rape conviction. I mean, it was terrible the first time around. (4) Often times, an odd situation will occur when a partner meets the other partner's parents. This will not be the case when you meet mine. You see, both of my parents are Buddhist. You are Buddhist. Do I need to spell it out? ---- Contention 2: Likes Attr http://www.debate.org/debates/The-debate.org-users-monkeyyxxsun-and-PoeJoe-should-go-on-a-date/2/comments/ 2008-09-24T21:50:57-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/The-Relative-Pronouns-That-and-Which/1/ (Post Voting Period) I strongly affirm the resolution "that the relative pronouns 'that' and 'which' are entirely interchangeable," and thank my opponent for engaging with me in this delightful debate. Note well that this debate does not directly concern conjunctions, pronouns, or determiners. In this debate, we are merely discussing the uses of "that" and "which" as relative pronouns. For those in the audience not familiar with what a "relative pronoun" is, I recommend this webpage: http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000370.htm Formalities aside, we begin. I shall first set out to prove that there is no historical precedent for such a separation. Let us take for example the first few pages of Orwell's classic novel "1984": ---> "It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move." ---> "Inside the flat a fruity voice was reading out a list of figures which had something to do with the production of pig-iron. The voice came http://www.debate.org/debates/The-Relative-Pronouns-That-and-Which/1/comments/ 2010-01-07T08:55:37-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/The-Pronoun-Yall/1/ (Post Voting Period) I strongly affirm the resolution "that the pronoun 'yall' should be considered acceptable in modern American English," and thank my opponent for engaging with me in this truly controversial and taboo subject. Let's begin. Nowadays, the word "you" can be used for at least three main purposes: 1) Increasingly, even among professional writers and journalists, it is becoming acceptable to use "you" as an indefinite pronoun (e.g. to be emotionally happy, you have to be spiritually happy as well). At the same time, the indefinite pronoun "one" is becoming increasingly awkward to the modern reader, and has inspired much unnecessary debate, such as the one regarding whether subsequent pronouns referencing "one" should be "he," "she," "he or she," or interchangeably "he" and "she." All these absurd debates would be resolved if we simply allowed "you" as an indefinite pronoun. 2) "You" can be a second person singular plural (e.g. John, you are dumb). 3) "Y http://www.debate.org/debates/The-Pronoun-Yall/1/comments/ 2009-12-17T12:04:09-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Prescriptive-Grammar-does-more-harm-than-good/1/ (Post Voting Period) I would like to thank PoeJoe for accepting this debate, as it is something I have been looking forward to debating for some time; it appears I have found a worthy opponent. To start, I shall attempt to make it clear what I mean by prescriptive grammar as opposed to other types. A prescriptive grammar is a set of rules detailing how someone (whoever made those rules) thinks a language should be used, whereas a descriptive grammar is simply a codification of how a language is actually used by its speakers. [1] In the context of this debate, descriptive grammar is an acceptable and less harmful alternative to prescriptive grammar; however, I should not be construed to be arguing expressly for it. My argument is comprised of two stages: First, that prescriptive grammar is largely unnecessary in modern times, and second, that it is harmful to children, and especially to minorities. These conditions (assuming I fulfill my burden in demonstrating them) should http://www.debate.org/debates/Prescriptive-Grammar-does-more-harm-than-good/1/comments/ 2010-06-27T21:57:13-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/PoeJoe-should-immediately-comply-with-the-cease-and-desist-order-sent-to-him-by-debate.org/1/ (Post Voting Period) Earlier today, poejoe received a letter from Phil (owner of this website) ordering him to cease and desist from his part in the website (now closed) "debatedotcom.com", for trademark and copyright infringement. He has 48 hours to comply before it goes to the "next step". Poejoe is not compromising, I suggest he think otherwise. It is my position that he should immediately do whatever Phil says or face the consequences. http://www.debate.org/debates/PoeJoe-should-immediately-comply-with-the-cease-and-desist-order-sent-to-him-by-debate.org/1/comments/ 2008-12-29T21:38:14-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Scooby-Doo-Encourages-Drug-Addiction/1/ (Post Voting Period) (Originally from my blog: http://musingsofjoe.wordpress.com) I've always known the show insulted intelligence. The conclusions given to the mysteries were always flamboyantly fallacious. The dialogues, in an attempt to be both witty and profound, were laughable in their stupidity. What was worse: A talking dog, with the vocabulary of a Pokémon, always ended up saving the day for completely unknown and erroneous reasons. I abhorred the show. Bored of the indolent animation and bored of the contrived story lines though, I've since given up on the show. As the epiphany hit my six-year-old head over, I realized Scooby-Doo was, um, lame. I remembered today my days squatted in front of my television set eagerly waiting for the next episodes. What shame! If only I had the powerful analytical skills I have today. Sigh. I have a point though. Not only do I realize the idiocy of the show, I now know the true intent of its creators: To get kids addicted to mar http://www.debate.org/debates/Scooby-Doo-Encourages-Drug-Addiction/1/comments/ 2008-12-05T13:51:38-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Ad-Blockers-Should-Not-Be-Used/1/ (Post Voting Period) ----Agreed Upon---- Through messages, the following has been agreed on, and should not be disputed. Resolution: "Ad Blockers Should Not Be Used". My burden as PRO: "Ad Blockers Should Not Be Used". John's burden as CON: "Ad Blockers Should Be Used". ----Definition---- Ad blocker: "a program that prevents an Internet browser from displaying online advertisements". ----General Arguments---- The arguments I will use for this debate are as follows. 1) Ad blockers hurt the online industry. Imagine if everyone had ad blockers! Web entrepreneurs like Philip Ferreira would go broke! And many commercial sites like Google, debate.org, Facebook, Myspace, Yahoo, eBay, YouTube, and many more would go out of business!!! 2) Often times, ad blockers disable important Internet browsing functions.[1] 3) Often times, the ads on a website are essential to the layout. Blocking these ads will make the look of a website odd and distorted. A few examples i http://www.debate.org/debates/Ad-Blockers-Should-Not-Be-Used/1/comments/ 2008-09-13T12:48:27-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Marijuana-should-be-decriminalized/1/ (Post Voting Period) I think marijuana should be decriminalized. I will let you start the debate. http://www.debate.org/debates/Marijuana-should-be-decriminalized/1/comments/ 2008-12-14T21:28:59-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Voting-on-Debate.org-Should-Be-One-Point-Per-Vote/1/ (Post Voting Period) I'll start this debate by clarifying the resolution. Currently, Debate.org employs a Seven-Point voting system dispersed across six voting questions. The resolution is that this system should be replaced with a One-Point voting system with only one voting question. In other words, instead of voting in the areas of agreement, conduct, grammar, etc., voters would simply choose a winner. I am for this resolution. The current voting system is admiral in its attempt to make the results of a debate more meaningful. Indeed, few people including myself would argue against the merits of judging a debater on his/her use of good conduct, superior writing abilities, logical argumentation, and use of resources. While good in theory, the practical use of this voting system has revealed several flaws. Voters can be generally classified into three categories: the thoughtful voter, the casual voter, and the dishonest voter. Thoughtful voters independently assess the winne http://www.debate.org/debates/Voting-on-Debate.org-Should-Be-One-Point-Per-Vote/1/comments/ 2008-12-03T16:34:18-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Brian-Egglestons-Breastguard-electric-bras-would-be-a-stunning-success/1/ (Voting Period) Ladies! Are you fed up with being molested by bosom-fondling sex-fiends who surreptitiously grope you in crowded places? Well, fret no more! With Brian Eggleston's new Breastguard™ electric bras your worries are over. These stylish pieces of ladies' underwear look and feel like ordinary bras but there is one two important differences – they are insulated with a revolutionary new electrical insulating material called Aerogel and they are hooked up to a powerful but compact battery which delivers a high-voltage electric shock to any mammary-mashing miscreant that makes the mistake of messing with your melons. And the great news is that these stunning chest supports are available now from only $49.99. But wait. There's more. Order today and we'll mail you an in-car battery charger absolutely free of charge!" This is my idea for the advertising campaign. Rather good, don't you think? And what a great idea! Gropers are so prolific in some cities that http://www.debate.org/debates/Brian-Egglestons-Breastguard-electric-bras-would-be-a-stunning-success/1/comments/ 2008-10-03T22:52:18-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Inheritance-taxes-should-be-abolished./1/ (Voting Period) Lets say you receive an email from a lawyer in Nigeria informing you that a wealthy relative (that you never knew you had) had been killed in a road accident in Lagos and has left their entire fortune to you, and after sending the lawyer a transaction fee of $5000 he transfers $13,530,051 into your bank account. I believe that this windfall, like all unearned capital gains, should be subject to taxation so that society as a whole can share in the good fortune of those people lucky enough to receive large amounts of cash or assets from wealthy benefactors. http://www.debate.org/debates/Inheritance-taxes-should-be-abolished./1/comments/ 2008-08-18T10:45:43-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/There-s-no-porn-on-the-Internet/1/ (Voting Period) One of my mates reckons you can view pornography on the Internet but I don't believe him. If my opponent can prove him right and me wrong by providing a link to a porn site (without this debate being cancelled by support) then I will concede defeat. However, if my opponent fails in this challenge then I win! Good luck! http://www.debate.org/debates/There-s-no-porn-on-the-Internet/1/comments/ 2008-08-06T10:12:59-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/The-users-known-as-Ragnar-Rahl-PoeJoe-beem0r-and-s0m31john-ought-to-play-the-next-mafia-game/2/ (Voting Period) Full resolution: The users known as Ragnar_Rahl, PoeJoe, beem0r, s0m31john and leethal ought to play the next debate.com mafia game. Like my other debate topic, the first round will be the greeting round (unless I edit my first round and put in my argument). The second round will be where I start (my opponent is free to provide an argument beforehand if he/she wishes). Definitions: We're referring to the users who frequent this debate site and go by those names. The "next mafia game" is defined as the one I titled "Debate.com Murder Mansion" mafia in the miscellaneous forum. http://www.debate.org/debates/The-users-known-as-Ragnar-Rahl-PoeJoe-beem0r-and-s0m31john-ought-to-play-the-next-mafia-game/2/comments/ 2009-03-06T21:00:01-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Kongregate.com-is-the-best-flash-gaming-website-on-the-internet/2/ (Post Voting Period) Kongregate.com is the best flash-gaming website on the web for the following reasons: 1. No pop-ups 2. Huge selection of games (11,949 currently) 3. Badges (achievements) 4. Kreds/tips 5. Ad revenue is partly shared with game developers 6. good community and forums 7. Video game-making tutorials Good luck to you, PoeJoe http://www.debate.org/debates/Kongregate.com-is-the-best-flash-gaming-website-on-the-internet/2/comments/ 2009-02-26T22:17:07-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Magic-is-a-Waste-of-Time/1/ (Post Voting Period) ---- Premise / Introduction / Resolution ---- My opponent, SomeKid, is a real-life friend of mine, so be nice to him. Arguably, we started our friendship at a football game. Our high school band was playing in the stands, when, to entertain his peers, SomeKid started performing magic tricks. I was truly mesmerized. Dumb me. In hindsight, I now see how foolish I was being; magic is an idiotic, trivial, futile, supercilious hobby. Hence the reason I strongly support the resolution: "Magic is a waste of time". I'd also like to note that SomeKid is a new user. As such, I'd like to take the time to formally introduce him to all you vultures! He's a good debater. He has a clear head, and has the ability to think things through. He studies psychology in his free time, and can provide you with a good psychology debate. He often labels himself as "ignorant", but as you will soon see, he is far from that. With all that said, I will now begin my arguments. --- http://www.debate.org/debates/Magic-is-a-Waste-of-Time/1/comments/ 2008-09-25T17:03:45-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Racism-Sexism-and-Homophobia-Can-Be-Justified/1/ (Post Voting Period) We've all heard the sob stories. Hell, they are probably occurring as we speak! Somewhere, a homosexual cuddles in a crowded locker as he is beaten and called derogatory terms such as "f*g", "f*got", and "c*cksucker". Someplace, a construction worker snickers at a beautiful blond walking down an adjacent street. Somewhere, an African American's job application is torn for no other reason than his being black. But there is an untold story. And that is the story of the discriminator. He is misunderstood by society, and misjudged. Who are we to assume the personality of discriminators before getting to know them each individually? Perhaps they have a kind heart. Perhaps they work at soup kitchens on the weekends. How do we know? What if a feminist fell on them as a child? What if the KKK saved a young girl from being raped by a bunch of Mexicans? What if a child had two abusive, gay parents? I think it is wrong to prematurely assign personality traits http://www.debate.org/debates/Racism-Sexism-and-Homophobia-Can-Be-Justified/1/comments/ 2008-12-04T21:15:46-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Five-Round-Debates-Are-Inferior-To-Three-Round-Debates/1/ (Post Voting Period) I sincerely hope we can stay away from semantics. This is obviously limited to debate.org, and I really hope we don't get into the definitions of "round", "debate", "inferior", or anything equally absurd. With that said, I strongly affirm the resolution: "Five-round debates are inferior to three-round debates." ---- Contention 1: For the Reader ---- (1) Reading a possible eighty thousand charachters for a debate is absurd. There is a place for extensive discusion, but the sacrifice of readability is far too great. (2) Furthermore, because less people will take the time to read a five-round debate, vote bombing will be more effective. Vote bombing is a plague on debate.org, and five-round debates actually encourage it. (3) Five-round debates can lose readers in a smear war of circumlocution. With eighty thousand charachters to deal with, points will be lost through clever writing, and shyful ignorance. ---- Contention 2: For the Debater ---- http://www.debate.org/debates/Five-Round-Debates-Are-Inferior-To-Three-Round-Debates/1/comments/ 2008-11-08T15:30:04-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Sarah-Palin-See-Opening-Argument-for-Resolution/1/ (Post Voting Period) First, a disclaimer: I don't actually believe anything I say in this debate. It was just a fun idea I came up with as I was walking home from school today; I am in no way a conspiracy theorist. I hope this will be fun. Also, because I have such a huge disadvantage (in choosing such a huge resolution/being the instigator in a two round debate), I request that my opponent not argue semantics--or anything equally absurd--and that s/he address the resolution in its entirety. Thank you. ---- Resolution (I Must Prove the Following) ---- McCain's VP pick, Sarah Palin, was chosen only to boost his poll numbers. Not only that, but the pick was a premeditated bad choice. McCain hoped that his bad choice would stir media attention, and that he would foster more support because of his choice. Indeed, the McCain campaign has purposefully done many stupid/bad things just to receive media attention. ---- Clarification / Argument ---- From the beginning, the McC http://www.debate.org/debates/Sarah-Palin-See-Opening-Argument-for-Resolution/1/comments/ 2008-09-18T18:38:46-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/is-global-warming-entirely-caused-because-of-man/1/ (Post Voting Period) First let ,me tell you that i'am not a critic who likes to insult mankind as i also am a human being.But we must all agree to this that we are the sole responsible cuase of this heated conversation of global warming.If man had'nt made machines pollution would not have been burdening mother earth and its pitful reatures on a sad note i would conclude by saying man has caused these broblems and we should be the ones solving it too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://www.debate.org/debates/is-global-warming-entirely-caused-because-of-man/1/comments/ 2008-09-10T07:16:35-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Violent-media-causes-people-to-be-violent-and-should-therefore-be-banned-or-censored./1/ (Voting Period) With the recent surge of interest in ultra violent video games and violent cinema that is often deemed as 'Torture porn' there has also been in a increase in condemning of this violent media, suggesting that this type of media has a negative effect on the people of today (especially the youth) and causes people to imitate what they see portrayed in the media. I have 3 main arguments why this violent media is acceptable: 1. The majority of this media type is sought out by men, by their very nature men have an intrinsic violent predisposition. When you take away the need to hunt and the need to fight for a mate there is a pent up rage in men that needs to be released. This type of media is an extension of this and can become the catharsis needed for men to fuel their competitive drive(in the case of video games) and allow them to experience the violence in a safe environment. Which will in effect lessen the need for people to be violent in real life. 2. http://www.debate.org/debates/Violent-media-causes-people-to-be-violent-and-should-therefore-be-banned-or-censored./1/comments/ 2008-08-26T18:13:54-08:00