Sometimes serious and substantive, sometimes as snarky as the hecklers in a ballpark's bleachers, the liveblog is an offshoot of blogging (or Internet journaling) that harnesses the instantaneity of the Internet to offer real-time commentary on live events.

Whatever else they are, on Wednesday night the liveblogs were almost invariably more entertaining than the actual event – and they often served as a satisfying stand-in for debate viewers' own frustrations.