How we calculate debate results, vote weights, and mind-change — in plain language.
We report both the simple count of votes (one person, one vote) and a weighted total. Each vote is multiplied by the voter’s current vote weight (see below). Percentages on the results page are based on raw counts so everyone is counted equally; weighted totals are shown for transparency and for analysis of engaged participants.
Participating in debates and voting builds reputation. Vote weight reflects that: new and member users have a weight of 1.0; trusted users (earned through quality contributions) have 1.2; verified users have 1.5. We store the weight at the time of the vote, so results stay fixed even if a user’s level changes later.
When you take a position at the start of a debate (For, Against, or Undecided), we store it. When you cast your final vote, we compare it to that initial position. The “mind-change rate” is the percentage of voters whose final vote differed from their starting position. It’s a simple measure of how much the debate shifted opinion.
Votes are grouped by the region you gave when you registered (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland). We show counts and percentages per region so you can see how different parts of the UK responded. No individual data is published.
We record whether each voter participated in the debate (e.g. posted at least one contribution) before voting. Results can break down how “engaged” voters (who read and contributed) voted compared with those who only voted. This helps separate informed participation from drive-by voting.
The highest-scored Argument and Counter-Argument posts (by upvotes minus downvotes) are shown as “top arguments” for each side. Scores reflect community judgment of reasoning quality, not agreement with the view.
We aim to keep results trustworthy. One account per person: we require a verified email and discourage multiple accounts. Moderation: every contribution is reviewed before it appears; we remove spam, off-topic, and abusive content so votes reflect genuine debate. Vote weight is tied to reputation (earned by participating), not to creating many accounts. We do not publish individual votes, so there is no incentive to show off a particular result. If you see something that looks gamed, use Report on a post or contact us.