http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/forum/index.php?topic=44564.msg1105763#msg1105763
I think this is quite a good summary of the burden of proof debate.
That post is all handwavey bullshit. The burden of proof "debate"? There is no "debate" about what BOP is. It's not some philosophical mystery. The definition is simple and clear: The burden is always on the person making a new claim. Period.
That Earth is a sphere may have been a new claim hundreds of years ago, but it is far from it today. Those purporting that belief already had their turn bearing the burden, and their proof has long been demonstrated. Now it's your turn. You are now putting forth new laws of physics, making accusations of conspiracy, and so forth. These are new claims.
If you expect your side to ever have any credence whatsoever, you will need to accept the fact that at this point you do carry the burden of proof, and act accordingly. You could start with a map.
But the whole point of that post is that people
don't agree on a definition of who has the burden of proof. YOU say "The burden is always on the person making a new claim" but someone else says something different. Do a search on the entire forum and I don't think you'll find a single instance where there has been complete agreement on who has the burden of proof. I couldn't find one when I searched. Just from this thread:
Zarg: "The burden is always on the person making a
new claim"
Markjo: "if the "skeptic" makes a negative claim, then that counts as a claim and
the skeptic does incur a burden of proof for that negative claim."
Tom Bishop: "The burden of proof is always on the claimants and
never on the skeptics."
Irushwithcvs: "However, when
you make the more ridiculous assumption, in the science community, the burden of proof would be on
me, not you "
See? several contradictory angles. However, what really clouds the issue is the nature of what is defined as a "claim":
RE'er : "The earth is obviously round. You claim it is flat, therefore burden of proof is on you."
FE'er : "The earth is obviously flat. You claim it is round, therefore the burden of proof is on you."
Result: no agreement on who should carry the burden of proof. Every viewpoint on any issue can be described as a "claim".