Argument mapping tools

Inthispaperwefocusonaparticularkindofweb-basedcollaborativemappingplatformknownasArgumentMappingTools(henceforthAMTs).AMTsprovideaweb-baseduserinterfacethatallowsuserstoco-create,navigateandeditargumentmaps.Anargumentmapisarepresentationofreasoninginwhichtheevidentialrelationshipsamongclaimsaremadewhollyexplicitusinggraphicalorothernon-verbaltechniques(vanGelder,2003).Theyaresupposedtobeparticularlysuitedtorepresentcontroversialdebatesbecausetheyallowuserstorepresentcontroversialpointofviewinacoherentstructuresmadeupofalternativepositionsonanissueatstakewiththeirassociatedchainsofprosandconsarguments.WhiledifferentstudieshaveprovedthatAMTsmayprovideorganizationswithseveraladvantages(Skyrme,1998;Novak,1998;Conklin,2003),theyhavenotreceivedwidespreaddiffusion.Possibleexplanationsofthelimitedsuccessofonlineargumentationasacollaborativetechnologyinvolvefactorssuchasthesteeplearningthataverageusersarerequiredtoclimbtobeproficientwithknowledge