Ask HN: What is a better way of weighing up pros and cons?

1 pointnodata2 comments

I frequently have the problem, almost exclusively on mailing lists or in e-mail, where the pros and cons of an argument are sidetracked or waylaid or lost.

What are some better ways for weighing up pros and cons. I'm leaning towards a customised wiki of some kind with a points system led by a moderator. Important is that the flow of ideas and points does not get lost. Thoughts?

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Lots of forum sites have polls, but over time factions skew the result. In any case, the most popular argument is not necessarily the best; I'd hazard a guess that as the size of an open voting population rises, the disparity increases.

Wave attempted to solve this problem, but the result was not very elegant on a UI level. It's hard to offer both depth and breadth at the same time.

The problem with polls is that they are the end point of a discussion. All history is lost. The options are equal. There is no opportunity to weigh options differently using different scenarios. I'm looking for a way to summarise different answers and let people change their mind as they go. Something that enforces structure would do it.

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