An Abstract Framework for Modeling Argumentation in Virtual Communities

Classic argumentative discussions can be found in a variety of domains from traditional scientific publishing to today's modern social software. An interactive argumentative discussion usually consists of an initial proposition stated by a single creator, followed by supporting propositions or counter-propositions from other contributors, usually part of the same virtual community. Thus, the actual argumentation semantics is hidden in the content created by the contributors. Although there are approaches that try to deal with this challenge, most of them focus on a particular domain, limiting the scope of the argumentation to that domain only. In this article, the authors describe an abstract model for argumentation which captures the semantics independently of the domain. Following a modularized approach, the authors also take into account additional important aspects of the argumentation, like the provenance information or its evolution (the temporal side). Consequently, they present a possible usage of the framework in the context of virtual communities. (Article copies are available for purchase from InfoSci-on-Demand.com)