Like the auction or suggestion tag, the debate tag would be used to denote that a debate is meant to happen in this thread. As it seems every two days a thread comes up that turns into a debate when one is not intended, I feel a specific tag meant for debate threads would be a good idea. It could help keep other threads on topic and hopefully keep the forums a bit more civil.
When is something a meant discussion and when is it a debate? I'm a bit in the middle about this because I can't help wonder if it would actually solve anything. I mean... I can see your point about debates appearing, but the same can be said about threads which are aimed at discussing topic 'A' whereas the discussion shifts towards topic 'C'. That is also a related issue which, in my opinion obviously, wouldn't be solved with such a tag. Note: I'm not against the idea, its just that I can't visualize how this would effectively solve the issue you're addressing.
I see the debate tag being like the auction tag. Nice to have, though not everybody will use it. If you want people to know it's a debate, add the tag. If you want people to know it's a serious discussion, add the tag.
Seeing past threads that I'd classify as a "Debate thread" usually got out of hand. Some people go overboard when debating something they feel strongly for or against and typically it gets out of hand. The Debate Forum would have to be monitored constantly and I'm sure our staff has better things to do.
