# Resolved: any posts started with Resolved: aren't. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 21, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674 "2009-10-21T23:11:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/1 "2009-10-21T23:11:16Z")
and they’re usually not worth reading. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/2 "2009-10-21T23:18:28Z")
Well, yeah. That’s why they’re in Great Debates. If they were resolved, they’d be in MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Bernard\_Marx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@Bernard\_Marx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bernard_Marx)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/3 "2009-10-21T23:22:15Z")
I think this has come up before; isn’t it they way in which the subject of a formal debates is properly stated? I’ll see if I can find the previous thread once I can search again ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/4 "2009-10-21T23:25:18Z")
> [@Bernard\_Marx](#): > > I think this has come up before; isn’t it they way in which the subject of a formal debates is properly stated? Yes, it is. The moderator states the topic with: “Resolved: blah blah blah.” I don’t know _why_ it’s done that way, but it is, so a lot of people make thread titles to match. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/5 "2009-10-21T23:33:28Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Yes, it is. The moderator states the topic with: “Resolved: blah blah blah.” I don’t know _why_ it’s done that way, but it is, so a lot of people make thread titles to match. Well, since this IMHO: it’s arrogant, stupid and inaccurate. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/6 "2009-10-21T23:46:32Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Well, since this IMHO: it’s arrogant, stupid and inaccurate. Perhaps so, but it’s time-honored arrogance, stupidity, and inaccuracy. The Oxford Union does it, for example: [http://www.oxford-union.org](http://www.oxford-union.org) ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/7 "2009-10-22T03:15:10Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Well, since this IMHO: it’s arrogant, stupid and inaccurate. No, it’s not. It stands for “Be it resolved” – the subjunctive mood, not the indicative. In other words, “We think we should resolve that this is the case,” and it applies to what the pro side is arguing. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/8 "2009-10-22T03:15:48Z")
It’s a good litmus test. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/9 "2009-10-22T03:27:56Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > No, it’s not. It stands for “Be it resolved” – the subjunctive mood, not the indicative. In other words, “We think we should resolve that this is the case,” and it applies to what the pro side is arguing. Why don’t they just use “Resolve: blah blah”, which carries the same meaning, instead of abbreviating a phrase in such a way as to confuse outsiders? ---
**Author:** ![foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9a140/32.png) [@foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolscap)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/10 "2009-10-22T03:31:02Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > It’s a good litmus test. An acid remark, but, true…I just had to say it. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/11 "2009-10-22T03:33:37Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Why don’t they just use “Resolve: blah blah”, which carries the same meaning, instead of abbreviating a phrase in such a way as to confuse outsiders? Because they were elaborate and formal and didn’t give a shit about confusing outsiders. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/12 "2009-10-22T13:12:07Z")
It’s irony. (Or whatever word we’re supposed to use instead of “irony” because most of us can’t remember the proper definition.) ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/13 "2009-10-22T14:37:01Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Why don’t they just use “Resolve: blah blah”, which carries the same meaning, instead of abbreviating a phrase in such a way as to confuse outsiders? For the same reason any other quirk of formality or tradition becomes a fixture: to draw a circle around a particular context (presumably rarefied, at least to the participants). It’s not just two guys arguing, it’s a _formal debate_. By analogy, why is the voting in the US Senate done with “Yea” and “Nay”, archaic forms of “Yes” and “No”? It’s not to confuse the schoolkids who pass through the building and ask “why are they saying YAY!”, even if that is a side effect. Or why two duellists salute each other before commencing, instead of just trying to murder each other at the earliest possible opportunity (such as while the other guy is wasting time saluting). ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/14 "2009-10-22T15:26:34Z")
The resolution is in the form that it would have if it were adopted by the assembly, so you can be very clear about what it is that you are voting for or against. However, the “Resolved: …” form is not the only convention out there: it just seems to be very common in the US. It doesn’t seem to be the form used by the Oxford Union, for example: the page cited by **Mr. Excellent** has “This House trusts Politicians more than Journalists”, without the word “Resolved:” at the start. The Oxford Union refers to itself as “This House”, which is idiosyncratic to that body (and to others modelling themselves on it) – I don’t think that phrase would be used by a debating society in the US, where the proposition might be “Resolved: That politicians are more to be trusted than journalists.” ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/15 "2009-10-22T17:06:00Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > No, it’s not. It stands for “Be it resolved” – the subjunctive mood, not the indicative. In other words, “We think we should resolve that this is the case,” and it applies to what the pro side is arguing. Ok, I’d never heard of the phrase, but at least that makes some kind of sense. Ignorance fought, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/16 "2009-10-22T17:11:13Z")
“Resolved” is Lincoln-Douglas style! Maybe we don’t have as many ex-debate club members at the SDMB as I thought, but I thought more people would recognize it around here- I have always been amazed that “Resolved” offends people. I don’t think I have ever seen it used without at least one person complaining. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/17 "2009-10-22T17:16:53Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > “Resolved” is Lincoln-Douglas style! Maybe we don’t have as many ex-debate club members at the SDMB as I thought, but I thought more people would recognize it around here- I have always been amazed that “Resolved” offends people. I don’t think I have ever seen it used without at least one person complaining. The reason I’ve never heard of it, is probably that I’m not American. And it _does_ sound offensive, if you read it like it’s written. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/18 "2009-10-22T17:18:08Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > The reason I’ve never heard of it, is probably that I’m not American. If the Oxford Union uses it, it’s an international style. > [@](#): > > And it _does_ sound offensive, if you read it like it’s written. If you read the thread title and not the post, possibly. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/19 "2009-10-22T19:27:25Z")
Well, colour me dumb, cos I always assumed, when skimming over the thread titles, that it just meant “Asked and answered, nothing to see here”. ---
**Author:** ![Erasmus\_Darwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@Erasmus\_Darwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erasmus_Darwin)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674/20 "2009-10-23T00:07:26Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > “Resolved” is Lincoln-Douglas style! Then as moderator, it’s your duty to cut off people who spend more than 7 minutes on the affirmative case in the OP. On a more serious note, the rest of the thread isn’t in LD style, so it’s needlessly pretentious to use that for the thread subject. I suspect at least some people do it because that manner of presentation makes their affirmative stance seem authoritative. At least in proper LD debates, the resolution is being chosen and worded by a neutral committee. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-any-posts-started-with-resolved-arent/514674.md?page=2)