civil, focused discussion of the important public policy matters of the times


What   How   Who   Where   When   Why   Summary   About Stick   Knowledge Base test
Stick to the Subject combines the social art of conversation with the technical craft of online knowledge sharing.
What

  • Stick to the Subject is a social club which meets in small groups across a network of restaurants, cafes, and taverns for conversation sit-downs on public policy. The club uses an orderly process of independent study, face-to-face debate, and ranked choice voting to propose solutions to contemporary problems.

  • Stick is a humanistic response to the predations of artificial intelligence and social media.

  • Stick's system has two interrelated operations: an in-person Discussion Society and an online Knowledge Base.

  • The Discussion Society gets each participant's best thinking on policy solutions to problems in the realms of society, culture, technology, state, and the economy.

  • The Knowledge Base provides logistical support for the Conversation Sit-Downs and information related to the debate subjects.
Why do this?

Who

  • Stick to the Subject is a companionship of independant thinkers moving policy discourse from the political class to the people; from online to in-person; from rallies and town halls to a network of round table discussions; and from bands of ideological tribes to gatherings of free thinking individuals.

When and Where

  • The Discussion Society operates during North Carolina's summer, fall, and spring academic terms. The Knowledge Base remains in continuous operation.

  • Conversation Sit-Downs are hosted in public locations, such as restaurants, schools, community centers, libraries, bars, cafes, and churches in order to serve as an example of civil discourse to the community.
How

  1. Discussion Society members register for a series of weekly policy debates and are surveyed for their public policy concerns. The top twenty of the compiled policy concerns become the debate schedule, spread out over a North Carolina academic term.

  2. Hosting locations post their schedules of availability for the debate series. Society members reserve seats at the location, day, and time of their choice each week. They can attend the same group each week or change among them. They can attend a single sit-down or as many as they wish.

  3. Society members prepare their position on each policy subject using both their own resources and the Knowledge Base, which provides relevant sourced and cited information. They also submit original ideas on the subjects for inclusion.

  4. They attend the Conversation Sit-Down of their choice.

  5. The vote results are compiled to create a public record.

  6. The results are published to the Knowledge Base as a public service.