I just think that it's a really lame way of debating. Call it what you want, because I will still call it baiting, which is what it is. What kills me is that you still haven't even revealed what your true motives are in this thread. If you had called it for what it was I would have no problem with it, but you continue to pretend that you are not being underhanded here.
Ahh, but he has admitted to there being an ulterior motive, which in and of itself implies that the existence of said ulterior motive is not "underhanded".
Perhaps the ulterior motive is to show that the issue of "morality" is not really a proper reason to debate for or against using torture techniques, but instead the focus should be on the veracity of the intel gathered using said techniques.
Perhaps the ulterior motive is to show that morality is fluid and itself debatable, that there is no clear cut right or wrong in given circumstances.
Any poll using hypotheticals is going to have an ulterior motive of some sort. It is only underhanded if it the ulterior motive is a "trap".
If the motivation for the poll is to give supporting evidence of a theory or concept by the poster, it is not necessarily underhanded.
From what I know of ethereal, my guess would be that he's gathering supporting evidence for a theory of his (of course, I could be way off, but the basic thing is, he isn't underhanded or sneaky).
I doubt that he is baiting a trap of some sort.
I myself would use a hypothetical poll to present evidence for a theory of mine if such a situation arose, but it would not be a "trap".
I would not give away the underlying motivations as they could then be a confounding factor with the evidence that I was trying t gather. People might preemptively try to refute the argument I would eventualy make by voting dishonestly in the poll, or answer the presented hypothetical with the knowledge of the ensuing argument, which be they for or against that argument, could cause a subconscious alteration in the way they answer the poll.
Just sayin'.