Good stuff! I couldn't agree more, civil debate is very important to me. I call it "respectful debate", which isn't proper terminology, but I really don't like it when people resort to slanderous debate.
There's a quote that at this point in time has arguable origins, actually many of my favorite quotes seem to have questionable origins since the Mandela effect :P
"When debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser."
I'm done debating when someone starts saying things like "you're an idiot".. Certain lines shouldn't be crossed in debate, or else really it's more about ego and less about truth.
Thank you my friend, much appreciated.