Many new members of DebateArt follow the pattern of making an account, joining a debate, and then leaving forever. I would think that many of these new debaters simply don't know what to do in their first debate, and so run away. ( either that, or the Captchas are too hard for them to log back on )
To solve this, tutorial debates could be used. Here is an excerpt adapted from my "Dragonite is a B tier Pokemon" debate linked.
Semantics:For those unfamiliar with the tier system, it ranks things on a 6 point scale, with the “S tier” being absolutely supreme, and with the “F tier” being absolutely dogwater. Right in the middle, there is the “B tier”, meaning “good”.- - - > Is this an accurate representation of the tier system?This means that if I prove that Dragonite is good, then I win the debate. However, if OPP proves that Dragonite is either better or worse than good, then OPP wins the debate.To measure “good”, I will be using the metrics of gameplay and marketability.- - - > Are these fair indicators of how "good" a Pokemon is, and is there anything missing?The gameplay experience of dragonite is good, but not great:In the games, Dragonite fills the role of a highly offensive physical attacker. Due to “dragon dance”, Dragonite can buff itself to sweep the opponent’s entire team. In generation one, Dragonite was one of the most competitive pokemon. But as the games kept evolving, power creep slowly pushed Dragonite out of the competitive spotlight. This all changed back in the eighth pokemon generation released in 2019, and now Dragonite is powerful once again.- - - > Is this information accurate, and is there anything missing?This brings me to my first problem with Dragonite. Across generations, Dragonite has been inconsistent. Is Dragonite defensive, offensive, or even good? Does Dragonite have many high accuracy attacks? Can Dragonite use dragon dance? The answers to all of these questions have changed across generations.- - - > Does Dragonite encompass all versions of Dragonite from each generation, or does Dragonite only mean ninth generation Dragonite? If the former is true, could Dragonite's inconsistency actually be a strength rather than a weakness? If the latter is true, how does this impact the validity of what I just said?The marketability of Dragonite is good, but not great:Dragonite was the first dragon type pokemon, and so Gamefreak took extra time on its design. The design of dragonite was originally simplistic, with light oranges and round lines. This design emphasized that Dragonite was the good-guy dragon, in contrast to scarier dragons such as Rayquaza. Fans loved Dragonite, and throughout the Pokemon anime, Dragonite’s personality was fleshed out into a Dragonite of loyalty, friendship, selflessness, and honor.- - - > Is this information accurate, and is there anything missing?However, Dragonite is poised in the awkward limbo between a scary dragon powerhouse, and a Snorlax-esque cuddly pokemon. People who like big scary pokemon don’t choose Dragonite, they choose Gyrados. And people who like cuddly pokemon don’t choose Dragonite, they choose Snorlax or Pikachu. Ultimately, Dragonite proved to be not much more than a template for more unique later pokemon.- - - > Is Dragonite really as unpopular as I make it seem?
I do worry that some new players will be off-put by us "going-easy" on them, however I do think that DebatArt will retain more members with the use of tutorial debates.
