Beginning today, Eagle-Tribune readers have a new way to participate in editorial discussions. Our new "debate" feature offers readers the opportunity to write reasoned essays on national and local topics of interest. The best responses will be published in the newspaper.
The Eagle-Tribune has partnered with Helium.com, a Web site fostering civilized discourse on the Internet, to provide the debate feature. Helium rates each essay submitted and moves the best to the top.
Here's how it works:
Find the debate topic on our Web site — www.eagletribune.com — at the top of the Opinion page.
Topics will be added once a week at first, more frequently as reader interest grows.
Decide which side of the debate you support and click on the "Write to this side" button. You'll need to register to write — it's free and it's fast. Once you receive the activation e-mail, you're ready to go.
The next time you participate, you'll just need to log-in.
When you're finished, be sure to proofread your text.
Then click "Publish" to submit. You should be able to see your essay online almost immediately.
A couple of things to remember: We're asking for a well-thought out argument, so the minimum length is 400 words.
Bear in mind that the audience for your piece can be as young as 13 years old; keep it clean and polite.
Your essay will be read by Eagle-Tribune readers around the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire.
Helium.com readers around the nation will see it, too.
Helium.com users will rate your essays based on the quality of your writing and the strength of your argument. The best will rise to the top of the rankings.
We'll print the best essays on each side of the debate on the Forum page in the Sunday Eagle-Tribune.
The debate feature joins letters to the editor, Sound Off and Web comments as ways by which readers can express their views.
While Sound Off and Web comments by their nature can be informal and sometimes brash, we hope that the debates will, like letters to the editor, be more formal, thoughtful and respectful of others.
We encourage you to "join the debate" and let your voice be heard.
