Debate¶
Open Debates from the sidebar. Each debate opens as its own tab. Debate makes the structure of a claim visible. Begin with a thesis, then add claims that support or challenge any part of the argument.
Build the argument¶
Start a debate by stating your claim; it becomes the thesis and names the debate. Under the card, two columns list what backs the claim and what attacks it. Each column has Add:
- Supports adds a Reason: a premise, or evidence for one.
- Challenges adds an Objection: to the thesis, to a reason, or to another objection, which answers it.
Those are the only kinds a claim can be, at any depth. An objection stands until something objects to it; the amber dot marks the ones nobody has.
Use terms for words the argument depends on. Make one from the + in the outline's Terms section, or pick Link a term in a claim's ⋯ menu, where a new word is defined and linked at once. A term can itself be challenged. Concede a point when it succeeds: concession leaves the claim on the record instead of deleting it.
Read and navigate¶
The outline on the left lists every claim as a row, indented under what it supports or challenges. Fold a branch with its chevron. Click a row to stand on that claim; use ↑ and ↓ to move, ← and → to fold and unfold. Terms and unlinked claims follow the argument at the bottom. An amber dot marks an objection nobody has answered.
The focus pane shows where you stand: the whole lineage from the thesis down, each step a full card, then the claim's card and its two columns. Scroll up to read the chain of argument; click Stand here on any ancestor to walk up, or a child row to walk down.
Map shows the whole argument as a tree of tiles. Click any tile to stand on that claim.
On a phone the outline, the focus, and the map are tabs.
History replays the argument move by move. A rewound frame is read-only; jump to Now to continue.
Argue with the agent¶
Discuss opens the Agent column with this debate granted. The agent reads the whole argument and the claim you are standing on. The debate chip on the composer sets what it may do — Discuss talks the argument through and never touches the graph; Edit adds claims, definitions, sources, and concessions directly, with every turn checkpointed so a move can be undone — and what it argues as:
- Socratic examines assumptions and asks what would settle the question.
- Refute develops the strongest counter-position.
- Steelman strengthens your own case.
On any claim, Attack and Defend on the column heads, and Find sources on the card, open the agent in Edit mode with that claim already named in the box. Read the draft, edit it, and send. The agent can search and fetch to cite; sources land in the claim's sources list.
Share and invite challenge¶
New debates stay on this device. Use the debate menu to enable encrypted private sync for the debate and its argument nodes.
Share publicly publishes the debate under your Nostr key. Copy link creates an address another person can join. Their counter-arguments remain attributed to their key. They appear under the claim they answer, dashed and named, and in the outline. Accept takes one into your argument; only what you accept can answer an objection.
Making a debate private stops future public updates, but cannot erase copies already made by relays or readers.
Find other debates¶
Discover in the Debates library lists public debates from the people you follow, then recent public debates on the relay. Open one to read it, Favorite it to keep a bookmark, or Join it to argue back under your own key. Browse Debates opens one person's library by their npub, and Join by address takes a pasted address.