# Resolved: I have no idea what this means **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 4, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467 "2010-07-04T00:17:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/21 "2010-07-05T13:53:23Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Starting with “Resolved: [Statement For Debate]” says, to me “I, His Imperial Majesty And God Emperor Of The Universe, Hereby Decree That [Statement For Debate] Is The Only Correct View And No Discussion Will Be Entered Into”. Resolved: You simply don’t understand the use of the term, and resent that others do. Didn’t any of you guys ever watch _Firing Line_? Sheesh, this is just standard debate protocol [in the US]. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/22 "2010-07-05T14:07:44Z")
> [@SevenOfTeemingMillions](#): > > If I say “Mooted: Plan ABC is efficient”, does it mean (in debates) that I believe Plan ABC is moot and no longer applicable? No. “Moot” has two different and somewhat contradictory definitions. As generally used anymore (at least in the US) it generally means something pointless to discuss. But in its original meaning it was something to be discussed. The earlier definition is what is intended when used in the context of debate. Here’s the usage note from the American Heritage Dictionary: > [@](#): > > ``` > Usage Note : The adjective moot is originally a legal term going back to the mid-16th century. It derives from the noun moot, in its sense of a hypothetical case argued as an exercise by law students. Consequently, a moot question is one that is arguable or open to debate. But in the mid-19th century people also began to look at the hypothetical side of moot as its essential meaning, and they started to use the word to mean "of no significance or relevance." Thus, a moot point, however debatable, is one that has no practical value. A number of critics have objected to this use, but 59 percent of the Usage Panel accepts it in the sentence "The nominee himself chastised the White House for failing to do more to support him, but his concerns became moot when a number of Republicans announced that they, too, would oppose the nomination." When using moot one should be sure that the context makes clear which sense is meant. > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/23 "2010-07-05T14:21:13Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Starting with “Resolved: [Statement For Debate]” says, to me “I, His Imperial Majesty And God Emperor Of The Universe, Hereby Decree That [Statement For Debate] Is The Only Correct View And No Discussion Will Be Entered Into”. > > If you say (in your best Edwardian accent) “I have resolved to write a letter to my Member Of Parliament”, then you’re saying “I have decided- and am going to- write a letter to my Member of Parliament”; not “I am unsure if I should write a letter to my Member of Parliament and would like to discuss the matter further”. If, indeed, you state that “you have resolved” or if you state “the matter was resolved,” then the usage is consistent across all the nations separated by English. There just happens to be a separate usage in North America for a sentence that begins with the single expression “Resolved:”. This is not really unique as demonstrated by the difference between the usage of the verb “table” between the British and U.S. legislative groups, where in British it means “_throw it on out the table for discussion_” and in American it means “_throw the paperwork on the table and stop talking about it while we move on to some other topic_.” ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/24 "2010-07-05T14:51:42Z")
I vote that while it may technically and formally correct, the use of “resolved” just looks like a poor attempt to be high falutin and comes off as prickish. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/25 "2010-07-05T15:16:32Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Resolved: You simply don’t understand the use of the term, and resent that others do. In some ways, it’s analogous to stating a “null hypothesis” in science. It provides a formal statement of a proposition that can either be supported or falsified. The statement itself doesn’t mean that the proposition is understood by the participants to be true. It’s not quite the same as a null hypothesis, since it is somewhat arbitrary which side of the argument is stated as “Resolved”; a null hypothesis reflects the situation if your favored hypothesis is not true. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/26 "2010-07-05T15:37:36Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > If, indeed, you state that “you have resolved” or if you state “the matter was resolved,” then the usage is consistent across all the nations separated by English. > > There just happens to be a separate usage in North America for a sentence that begins with the single expression “Resolved:”. This is not really unique as demonstrated by the difference between the usage of the verb “table” between the British and U.S. legislative groups, where in British it means “_throw it on out the table for discussion_” and in American it means “_throw the paperwork on the table and stop talking about it while we move on to some other topic_.” Or how the word “try” is used in rugby. Nice try = nice goal, but most Americans (unfamiliar with rugby) would assume: nice try = nice, though failed, attempt at a goal. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/27 "2010-07-05T16:37:46Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I’m American, and it had to be explained on the board for me to understand the meaning. It still comes across as inadvertently arrogant to me. Why can’t it just be a custom you were unfamiliar with? ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/28 "2010-07-05T17:31:07Z")
I was always familiar with the phrase as a proposal coming from a committee of some type. Say we are a city council and want to assess a two dollar fee per resident for city sewage improvement. Our final statement, if accepted, would read, “Resolved: Each resident shall be assessed a two dollar fee for city sewage improvement”. So, as a member, I want my proposal to be debated on, and members can see the full and final text of my proposal by me writing it in final form. In a similar way, if a poster here starts a thread with “Resolved: All guns should be banned” he is giving his final statement that he would like agreement on and is inviting debate on the merits of the proposal. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/29 "2010-07-05T20:17:48Z")
Do you anti-Resolved folks get your panties in a bunch when you’re on a sailboat and people use words like “port, starboard, sheet, tack” instead of “left, right, rope, turn”? It’s SOP for a specialty to have its own jargon. Debating is no different, yo! ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/30 "2010-07-05T21:37:07Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Do you anti-Resolved folks get your panties in a bunch when you’re on a sailboat and people use words like “port, starboard, sheet, tack” instead of “left, right, rope, turn”? It’s SOP for a specialty to have its own jargon. Debating is no different, yo! Do you make starboard turns in your car? Do you clean the air conditioning vents in your bulkheads and in the overhead when you’re at home? Do janitors in your office building swab the deck in the wardroom? Do you remove your cover when a funeral passes by? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/31 "2010-07-05T21:42:05Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Why can’t it just be a custom you were unfamiliar with? Resolved: **Der Trihs** is always right. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/32 "2010-07-05T21:43:33Z")
> [@SoulFrost](#): > > Do you make starboard turns in your car? Do you clean the air conditioning vents in your bulkheads and in the overhead when you’re at home? Do janitors in your office building swab the deck in the wardroom? Do you remove your cover when a funeral passes by? Are these threads mostly in a forum called “Great Debates”? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/33 "2010-07-05T21:47:00Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Resolved: **Der Trihs** is always right. Rhymers don’t respond to teasing. There is a sacred story that explains why. _Resolved: Der Trihs is always right_ means only _I wish to debate the proposition that **Der Trihs** is infallible_. ETA: Words have more than one meaning, you know, and the meaning of terms of art is not always identical to the most common usage. F’instance, when I refer to the theory of evolution, I am not asserting that common descent, variation through modifiation, and survival of the fittest are rough guesses, now am I? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/34 "2010-07-05T21:51:00Z")
> [@SoulFrost](#): > > Do you make starboard turns in your car? Do you clean the air conditioning vents in your bulkheads and in the overhead when you’re at home? Do janitors in your office building swab the deck in the wardroom? Do you remove your cover when a funeral passes by? So what? When I begin a **debate** by typing _Resolved: People named Rhymer are a bunch of weenies_, I am following a certain form, one customary in a fairly large venue for the opening of a debate. And if I were a Marine in uniform, reminding a junior Marine to take his hat off in the circumstance you name, I would most certainly refer to removing my cover. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/35 "2010-07-05T21:52:42Z")
> [@SoulFrost](#): > > Do you make starboard turns in your car? Do you clean the air conditioning vents in your bulkheads and in the overhead when you’re at home? Do janitors in your office building swab the deck in the wardroom? Do you remove your cover when a funeral passes by? I’m really not sure what you’re trying to say. That all jargon is wrong…? That mixing jargon from one activity to another is wrong…? And how does that apply to the topic under discussion? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/36 "2010-07-05T22:29:21Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > No. “Moot” has two different and somewhat contradictory definitions. **As generally used anymore** (at least in the US) it generally means something pointless to discuss. Bolding mine. Is there a “not” missing somewhere here, or is this another “divided by a common language” thing? If the latter, that really is a different usage. So is the “table” thing - I can see that causing confusion! Anyway, my point is that “moot” seems to me to have the sense of a proposal that is up for general discussion, rather than one that is to be formally defended or opposed. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/37 "2010-07-06T00:39:39Z")
“Resolved: proposition x is true”, in the introduction of a team debate _implies_ that "we’re going to be debating the truth of proposition ", and thereby suggests that we may ultimately decide it isn’t true. But it is still a correct usage of the word resolved, since it really means that one team is going to take the pro-x position and their opponents will take the anti-x counter-position. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/38 "2010-07-06T01:13:01Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Are these threads mostly in a forum called “Great Debates”? > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > So what? > > When I begin a **debate** by typing _Resolved: People named Rhymer are a bunch of weenies_, I am following a certain form, one customary in a fairly large venue for the opening of a debate. And if I were a Marine in uniform, reminding a junior Marine to take his hat off in the circumstance you name, I would most certainly refer to removing my cover. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > I’m really not sure what you’re trying to say. That all jargon is wrong…? That mixing jargon from one activity to another is wrong…? And how does that apply to the topic under discussion? We have a forum called _Great Debates_, it is true, but neither that forum nor the board as a whole is a venue for formalized debate. They almost never take place here. None of the other trappings are used in GD (or anywhere else on the board, for that matter). I mean, the debates aren’t moderated, there is no time limit, anyone can pop in with their opinion, topics frequently get sidetracked, and nobody is ever willing and equipped to argue for either side. The biggest difference is that our debates don’t even fall into Pro / Con, For / Against, Affirmative / Negative categories–on any topic, a thousand shades of grey can be explored. Given that there is almost nothing else about our debates that resembles a formalized debate–including the very reason for using the term _Resolved:_–why retain that one bit of jargon? ETA: I should add that I don’t much care one way or another about the use of _Resolved:_. I was just curious as to what it signified. So far, though, I don’t buy the defenses given for its use here. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/39 "2010-07-06T01:52:19Z")
> [@SoulFrost](#): > > So far, though, I don’t buy the defenses given for its use here. Why on Earth is it something that has to be defended? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467/40 "2010-07-06T02:00:52Z")
> [@SoulFrost](#): > > We have a forum called _Great Debates_, it is true, but neither that forum nor the board as a whole is a venue for formalized debate. They almost never take place here. > > None of the other trappings are used in GD (or anywhere else on the board, for that matter). I mean, the debates aren’t moderated, there is no time limit, anyone can pop in with their opinion, topics frequently get sidetracked, and nobody is ever willing and equipped to argue for either side. I don’t know that this should matter, but the debates are moderated, and they are shut down when they are deemed to have expired. Anyway, maybe you meant to open a Pit thread instead of a thread in this forum. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-have-no-idea-what-this-means/545467.md?page=3)