[pHaestus]

I dunno about that IMOG. I sometimes have open discussions in class when I am teaching undergraduates and more than a few times incorrect theories have been proposed that make no chemical sense. However, good theory or bad I go to the board and write it down and then ask the students to get from reactants to products with a plausible mechanism. Sometimes they can't get from a to b when the mechanism is correct, sometimes they get from a to b when their mechanism is dead wrong. My approach is to show them where they went wrong and then ask them to try again knowing that bit of info.

That sounds like your ideal flow of discussion on OCers, right? But what if the students complained about their feelings getting hurt when I pointed out that there was an error in their thinking? Perhaps they feel intimidated by an older and more vocal chemist leading the discussion and complained about that too. So let's say that it was decided by the Dean that instead of my leading the class discussions I could only work the Powerpoint presentation from the back of the room and not comment while another student from the class led the discussion. Would the education of the students be served by this? Would the correct answer be obtained by the end of class as often? That seems to be the end result of a forum that runs off its experts in the name of protecting the sensitivities of the uneducated.