How does a note work?

Members can add context to a post. Whether that context ends up on the post is not decided by Debaty but by the network — following a rule written out in full below, with the votes you can check yourself.

The rule

1. There are at least 5 ratings.
2. At least 60% of them say "helpful".
3. Among the members who voted "helpful" there is at least one pair who normally disagree: two people who, across the propositions they both voted on — at least 3 — stood on opposite sides more often than on the same side.

If a note does not meet the first condition, it is still too early. If it drops below 40% helpful, it will not appear. In between, raters are split and the note stays open for more votes.

The five outcomes

Too few ratings

Not enough people have looked at it yet. The note stays open.

Not found helpful

A clear majority did not find the note helpful. It will not appear on the post.

Split

The votes are close together. That is not a "no" — the note stays open for more ratings, so a small group cannot vote it away in one go.

From one side

Enough people found it helpful, but all from the same side. That is exactly what this rule stops: a note that only pleases one camp says more about that camp than about the post.

Showing

People who normally disagree both find this note helpful. Then it appears on the post.

Who can take part

You can write and rate if your account is at least 7 days old, your email address is confirmed, and no measure is in force against you. A note is at most 500 characters and needs one to 3 sources. You cannot write a note on your own post, and you cannot vote on notes on your own post or on your own note.

A note is not Debaty’s verdict

Notes are written and rated by members. Debaty does not write them, does not approve them, and takes no position on their content. What Debaty does do: run the rule, write it out here, and remove a note that breaks the house rules. If something is wrong with a note, report it — it lands in the same queue as any other report.

All the data, in the open

The numbers behind every note are public: which outcome, how many votes, and whether there was a bridge. Without names — never who voted what. That way anyone can check whether the rule does what it says above, instead of taking our word for it.

Get the data

What this cannot do

A note is not proof and the network is not a judge. The rule can hold back a note that is actually right, and it can let through one that cuts a corner. What it does do is stop one group from deciding what appears under someone else’s post. And it can be checked — which is more than we can say for most systems.