A format that does not allow the presidential candidates to question or even acknowledge one another and forces them to stick to strict time limits is nothing that Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas would recognize.

Though the 32 pages of rules for what one journalist/mother called an evening of parallel play were set by the candidates themselves, the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates is still the sponsoring body, as it has been since 1988. And its experts have some suggestions on how voters who tune into the event, at 7 p.m. Utah time, can get the best value out of it:

* Try to set aside any preconceived or partisan views and really listen to what the candidates say.

* Evaluate not only the substance of the candidates' positions, but their method of approaching problems. Do they seem to understand the issues, face the questions squarely and offer concrete proposals? Or do they evasively interpret the questions to suit their own agendas?

* Understand that this is, at its base, a television program. The candidates will necessarily be out to put their best face forward and, perhaps, vastly oversimplify complex issues. And the network officials will try to enliven the broadcast with reaction shots and other visuals that may distract your attention.

* Try not to fall into the trap of picking a winner and a loser. It is quite possible that both candidates, or neither, will succeed in getting out a clear message and answering the questions voters want answered.

Good advice, that. To which we would add:

* Decide for yourself what issues are important to you, what questions you want answered in the three presidential debates. Whether it is specifics about how to resolve the war in Iraq, the future of Social Security and Medicare or the role of the federal government in everything from education to marriage, voters deserve answers. If the debates don't provide them, seek them out elsewhere.

* Any suggestion that it is somehow unpatriotic, or dangerous to national security, to question a sitting president has no place in a democracy, even when we are at war. Especially when we are at war.

* Listen to the debate on the radio, then compare notes with a friend who watched it on TV. See if you have different impressions of what happened.

One more good suggestion from the Commission on Presidential Debates. When the debate is over, switch off the box and decide for yourself what you think.

After all, that's what you'll have to do in the voting booth.