Personally I took MUN for a semester in high school, didn't like it much because resolutions in the UN always seem apologetic to me. I was also on the travel MUSS team for two years. Of course there's always friendly one on one debates that usually end up being not so friendly because when I'm not in a formal setting I tend to get just a little worked up....sorry ChronicHipie you've dealt with that I believe. Anyway this isn't really a debate so much as a survey...maybe that should be something else to add to the site...hmm.

I have no formal debate experience; mostly just talking with friends and participating in various other online communities. On the other hand, my father is a professor of philosophy and often enough I've been present when he's meeting with friends and they're talking about philosophy, and I'm usually able to both understand and participate in the argument, despite likewise having no formal grounding in philosophy. Perhaps I'm too confident of my own abilities or too sure of my own views, but I never felt out of place or under-qualified.

I took one class on it in high school. Other than that, I've always done it naturally in conversation.

I have no formal training, but I have been awarded the title of "DebateMan" so that has to count for something, right?

I participated in a lot of formal debating twice in two years at a meeting called SOMA (Southern Ontario Model United Nations Assembly) for high school students, but that's about it formally. I've done PLENTY of debating of all kinds on other sites and definitely with friends and family in person.