See Elephant.
- Notes are messages that can be attached to any Elephant message to add information. Unlike Wiki entries, you can't post-edit an Elephant message: it would be unreasonable to allow a Position to be changed after people have posted Arguments against it. Notes can clarify, or serve as instructions to the ElephantClerk.
- Specializations: you can attach a sub-Issue to an Issue, a sub-Position to a Position, or a sub-Argument to an Argument. This allows complexity to be broken down. An example of sub-Positions would be alternatives within a greater Position.
- A new Issue can arise out of any other type of message. These are of two types: Generalized Issues and Challenge Issues. A Generalized Issue is a broader take on an existing problem that may be too narrow. A Challenge Issue challenges the underlying assumptions of the existing problem.
- When an Issue seems settled, the ElephantClerk can change one of the Positions on the Issue to a Decision. This closes the Issue, but retains a permanent corporate memory of why the Issue was decided as it was. Of course, some Issues may never be decided at all.
I hope it is recognized that in the early phases of a discussion one continually changes one's mind, so it is quite likely that a single person might issue a series of Positions on the same topic, each of which supersedes the previous one. --And
Obviously; but it'd be polite to keep the old Position there: you may have changed your mind, but others may now think you were right in the first place. Of course, you should feel free to flood your former proposal with CONs: "I must have been insane to have ever considered proposing this, because..." — nitcion.
One should be able to indicate that one position obsoletes another position.
- I think the righteous term would be something like "supersedes". I will figure out how to incorporate this feature; my implementation strategy allows lots of flexibility about what kinds of documents exist, and what kinds of relationships exist between them.
(So if you change your mind, you can see explicitly which position obsoletes which other position.) T'would be able to form a nice little chain. also, it might be amusing, if not useful, for people to be able to register their confidence/agreement with each position, so that one can sort of get a quick glance and see what position is "winning". and while i'm dreaming: each issue can have a timeline, on which will be indicate the time each post on the issue was made, and the running total confidence in each position. --jay