versus

An application designed to improve human knowledge and the hability of humans to take adequate and meaningful decisions.

What's the promise

To permit humankind to accelerate appropriated decision making based on scientific and factual evidences, in the most diverse areas of knowledge. This can be achieved by sistematic comparison between two or more possible answers, constantly weighing the PROS, CONS and GREY AREAS about every subject discussed.

Under the hood | How it works

1. A user writes a question. Ex: What is better to health: coconut oil, canole oil, flaxseed oil, sesame oil, soy oil, olive oil, pork grease or butter.
2. The platform opens as many options of comparison as the options input by user.
3. Below each option, unfold 4 boxes:
   • Pros: where all evidences in favor of that kind of oil as being better to health should be written; each evidence is a different topic, that can be CONFIRMED, QUESTIONED or REJECTED.
   • Gray: gray area, where doubtful or preliminary evidences about the subject should be written. For example, those that came from anedoctal case stories, that do not have scientific comprobation or coming from information about debate and lack of consensus still exists.
   • Cons: to write down all evidences contrary to the benefit of that oil to health, at any extent; again, each topic is an evidence, that can be CONFIRMED, QUESTIONED or REJECTED.
   • Trash: is the trash, where evidence that was REJECTED for more then 80% os the system users (above a minimum quota) is moved to.

How works the sistem of CONFIRMATION, QUESTIONING or REJECTION?

1. At the side of each evidence (topic) there are 3 little "boxes"
2. In the first one, you can CONFIRM/AGREE with the information that is given in that sentence, confirming that it is TRUE
3. In the second one, you REJECT/DISAGREE of the information given in that sentence, saying that it is FALSE
4. In the third one you can QUESTION the AUTHOR or the PUBLIC that is following the respective question. Clicking in this little boxe, a semitransparent popup window opens and there you can make a question to clarify any doubt you have about the assertion, ask for more details or scientific references, bibliographies or fonts about that specific assertion. The question can be answered by any person, not only by the author. It works like a little forum/debate about the respective topic

Colors

In PRO, Ideas show up in BRIGHT GREEN. Whetn they start to ge between 50-79% rejection, they change to GRAY. The same happens in CONS (that are BRIGHT RED). This helps to alert readers that information are being questioned by significant number of people.

Other one: when user "HOVERS" over the BOXES CONFIRM or REJECT, it shows up the number of people that confirmed or rejected that topic/evidence (or, instead, this numbers could show up nearby the box)

Extras | Other ideas

1. At the extreme right side of the question, almost at the top of page, there will be a big "+" (plus) sign. If it is red, it means that author closed the possibility to other users to create alternative answer options to the question. If it is green, it is open to users add another options.
2. If it is red, clicking on the plus sign makes that the option a user wants to see included be moderated by the original author of the question before it shows up as a valid option. The two fields that would open to be filled would be:
   • Suggested answered
   • Justificative to add this answer to the existent ones
3. If it is green, user can include the new option as well its Pros, Cons or Gray Areas

Option to evaluate

• Beyond the possibility of a specific forum to each topic, that opens up when a user clicks on "Questioning", it would be interesting that we have, in the extreme right of the page a general forum, to discuss about the question that is being presented, in a more broad way.

Contact

• Rafael Reinehr

Licence

versus is released under the GNU GPL v3.0 and Move Commons Non-Profit, Reproducible, Reinforcing Other Aims, Grassroots licenses.