For a forum titled "Intelligent Debate" there is a lack of any actual debate happening. A topic is opened, stating a topic to discuss. Someone comes along and states a well-thought post a few paragraphs long. Everyone, in some fashion, be it in a long restating of the same point or simply by stating so, agrees with it, including the thread maker. And with that said, nobody even bothers to play Devil's Advocate. In addition, with a lack of devil's advocate, and since everyone is agreeing, no actual debate is occuring.
It's less an Intelligent Debate forum and more an Intelligent Agreement forum. I realise you may be thinking something along the lines of "if nobody disagrees, it must be because the view is correct." In any discussion intended to be a debate, this is not so. There's always another side of things. For instance, there could be another way of looking at the issue which shines doubt upon the currently held popular view. Perhaps there's even evidence disproving the theory. So what I'm saying is we're opening discussions, seeing one thought-out post and nodding along with it - and then not considering any opposing view.
One idea I had as to why there's no debate here is that we're not treating this forum as a debate forum. Perhaps when we make a post here we're instead intending to begin a topic for people to simply chat about it. The intent behind it in this case is not to discourage opposing views, but instead to not look for them. There's a view the first poster holds, and everyone else in the thread is supposed to discuss it, ideally in a civil manner. However, in this case a debate isn't called for. A debate is in itself a discussion, yes, but a discussion is not necessarily a debate. And while a debate can be brought out of a discussion, if a thread is posted in a debate forum, it should be treated as a debate from the beginning.
If you do not believe your thread is best formed as a debate with two or more sides trying to get their points out there, then it should not be posted in a debate forum. Allow me to go into what a debate actually is. A debate is when one person opens up a topic, states their view, a few opening points with the hope that his opponent has the decency to pay attention and consider. From that point a few things can happen however. Most typically, another person corroborates the opening view, showing support for it. Then, an opposing view comes along, having considered the first side, and countering any immediate flaws in the opening argument and putting forth their own.
But then, what is the point of a debate? It sounds an awful lot like a flame war waiting to happen. Sadly, a lot of flame wars begin as debates. However, it spirals out of control because people lose sight of a debate's goal. A debate isn't about which side is right or wrong. People have their opinions, which rarely are swayed. Instead, debates are about listening to the opposing side and trying to come out of the discussion with a widened world view. As well, it's about pitting your wit against another's. In a case where the result must ultimately end up with a decision in some way, the point of a debate is shifted.
Instead of being a personal thing for you to stretch your mind, it becomes a situation where two sides try to understand their opposition. Here is where a key confusion oft happens. When one considers their opponent's side, it must carefully be thought about. To properly see a debate through one must see the opponent's side as being valid enough to warrant working with. Ultimately, after every point is made as many times as it takes for each side to fully understand their opponent's viewpoint, a compromise is made. Unless enough convincing happened to make taking one decision completely over the other, in which case that's the final result.
EDIT: I put forth that we either agree to initiate topics with the intent of debating or that we establish a forum for miscellaneous discussions which are meant to be considered in a serious manner akin to a debate but without the necessity of a disagreement.