LEGAL

Terms of Use

By using Debate (debatethewebsite.com) you agree to these terms. Debate is a community platform for ranking debaters by Elo rating and win percentage across debate categories, listing official judges, and coordinating live matches held on third-party servers (such as Discord). Accounts are personal; usernames are unique and may not impersonate others. We may remove content or accounts that violate these terms, harass others, falsify results or evidence, or abuse the platform. Rankings and features may change over time.

Privacy

We collect the email address you sign up with (used only for account confirmation codes, password resets and essential account messages), your profile information (username, bio, avatar/banner URLs, school, style), and your activity on the platform (matches, challenges, ratings, exam attempts). We do not sell personal data. Confirmation codes are single-use and expire after 10 minutes. Exam attempts record timing and tab-switch events for integrity purposes. You may request deletion of your account by contacting the site admins.

Elo, Judging & Scorecard Disclaimer

Elo ratings are computed from judge-submitted scorecards (five criteria scored 0–20 each) and the recorded winner. Ratings are a community ranking tool, not an official certification by any school, league or governing body, and are provided "as is" without guarantee of accuracy. Judges are community members who passed the platform's certification exam or were appointed by administrators; their decisions reflect their own evaluation of the arguments presented. A judge's written reason for decision accompanies each result.

Judge Exam Disclaimer

The judge certification exam is an internal platform assessment (100 questions, 45 minutes, 80+ to pass). Passing adds you to the platform's judges list; it is not an accreditation by any external debate organization. Exam attempts are timed server-side and tab-switching is recorded as an integrity signal.

Complaints Disclaimer

The loser of a judged debate may file a complaint. Complaints are reviewed by site administrators, and the judge may be asked to reconfirm the winner. Review outcomes are final on this platform. Filing a complaint does not guarantee a result will change; results change only where the judge reconfirms a different winner or administrators find a recording error.

Content, Intellectual Property & DMCA

You retain ownership of content you post (bios, images you link, match titles) and grant us a license to display it on the platform. You are responsible for having the rights to any images you link or upload. If you believe content on this site infringes your copyright, contact the site admins with the content's location and your claim; we will review and remove infringing content in line with the DMCA.

Third-Party Services — Non-Affiliation

Debate is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Discord Inc. or TikTok. Live debates take place on third-party servers (for example the Fubuki Discord server, discord.gg/fubuki) governed by those platforms' own terms. Links to TikTok (@debatethewebsite) and Discord are provided for convenience; we are not responsible for third-party content or availability.

Liability

The platform is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any damages arising from use of the platform, including ranking outcomes, match results, or third-party services. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

Minors' Safety

Debate is a school-friendly competitive community. Users under 13 should not create accounts. Harassment, hate speech and unsafe contact are prohibited and may result in removal. Parents, guardians and school administrators with safety concerns should contact the site admins, who will act on reports promptly. Live matches happen on moderated third-party servers; participants should follow those servers' safety rules as well.

Live Matches & Public Titles

Match titles, categories, topics, participants, judges and servers for live matches are displayed publicly on the site. By creating or accepting a challenge you agree that this information will be visible to all visitors.

Last updated: November 2026. Questions: contact the site admins via the platform.