A New Approach to Large-Scale Deliberation

Abstract

Abstract. In this article, we propose a novel approach for identifying and evaluation of different solutions to discussed issues in online settings, based on the structure of a discussion of the topic in question. Our approach consists of three steps: (1) assigning weights to participants based on formal criteria such as degree of engagement in the discussion; (2) assigning scores to comments, taking the weights of authors and raters into account; (3) assigning scores to proposals, based on the scores of the pro and contra arguments. So an important idea is that individuals whose behavior is in line with our formal criteria have a higher influence on the decisions. Having built a respective online platform, we have evaluated the proposed model by means of an experiment with more than 100 participants who have discussed several topics relevant to them and a subsequent survey. In the survey, the majority of participants has expressed satisfaction with our forum model, including our weighting scheme. In particular, they have been fond of it regarding respect of the opinions of others.