An thought by a Highlands teenager has garnered worldwide attention and is now, six years later, the idea for a fledgling begin-up. At its coronary heart is a straightforward question: how do you fix the typically ugly world of online debate? Kal Turnbull can't remember what presents he acquired for his seventeenth birthday, or what kind of cake he had. If someone gave him a very amusing birthday card, the joke has lengthy been misplaced to historical past. However he does have one standout second of that day in January 2013. Kal began a discussion group, or subreddit, on the social media site Reddit. Change My View, external wasn't meant to shake up the world. It was simply the pet project of a curious guitar-enjoying teenager rising up within the Scottish Highlands close to Inverness. Kal instructed us just lately whereas meandering down a path alongside the River Ness. Being 17, I wasn't going to start up a web site or an organization. I think most individuals would agree that the current state of online discourse, if you happen to spend five minutes on Twitter or Facebook, is certainly not the place we end up," Kal says. "This cannot be how issues ought to be. Kal began Change A View alongside two US-primarily based co-founders. Structurally it resembles other tech start-ups and is a for-profit enterprise - albeit one based mostly amid the lochs of the Highlands fairly than in Silicon Valley's suburban sprawl. It also incorporates options that transcend the capabilities of Reddit's platform. At the heart of the location is what's referred to as the "delta system", named after the mathematical image denoting change. Deltas are awarded to notably strong or persuasive arguments - ones which are prone to make customers rethink their positions. The positioning is structured to try to impress considerate, well-reasoned conversation, and reward customers who display each psychological flexibility and the flexibility to back up their views with evidence. While he was concerned with the subreddit, Kal ran it together with volunteer moderators. On the time, he was also learning for a degree in civil engineering at the University of Edinburgh and later, working a full-time job. The new ChangeAView webpage (the name is subtly different from the subreddit's with a view to keep away from confusion) has attracted consideration from tech bible Wired, exterior. And the bigger idea has been given a lift from devoted followers, in addition to individuals like former US President Barack Obama and Tesla boss Elon Musk. This Twitter publish cannot be displayed in your browser. The BBC will not be liable for the content material of external websites. This text comprises content material provided by Twitter. We ask on your permission before anything is loaded, as they could also be using cookies and other technologies. Chances are you'll need to read Twitter’s cookie policy, exterior and privateness coverage, external earlier than accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is just not chargeable for the content material of exterior sites. So how does he reply the Tesla CEO's scepticism - the idea that the folks least possible to use the subreddit or the Change A View site are most likely those who want it probably the most?