OSSAA West Oklahoma 6A 5A Regionals
2017 — Edmond, OK/US
Policy Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideFormer intercollegiate debater. NDT qualifier. Do not have any prejudices against any specific arguments. Anything can win a round. Likewise anything can lose a round. Like to view the round from the outside which means I want you to apply the argument for me. Tell my WHY it means something and why it is impactful. Do not mind speed, but if it is unintelligible it does not make it to the flow and if it is not on the flow it does not count in round. Pretty much open to whatever you want to present.
I will adopt the debaters' paradigms and hear just about any type of argument as long as analytics are given to explain. I won't intervene by providing my own links or analysis if debaters just read cards at me.
Likewise, give me a framework and tell me how to weigh the round. In LD, I want this to be explicitly stated, even if it is a progressive framework. I'm fine with a non-traditional framework. Just explain it to me. In PF, the framework may or may not be explicitly stated, but I should be able to easily extrapolate a standard.
I like an LD 1AR/1NR or PF Rebuttal to be line-by-line, but feel free to tell me what you think is more important/has more weight in the round. I like LD 2AR/2NR to crystallize and give voters-not more line-by-line. Same with PF Summary and Final Focus.
It is imperative that debaters give voting issues and impact calculus linked back to the framework. If you don't, I'm stuck comparing argument to argument.
I am fine with both progressive debate and traditional debate. A bit of speed is fine, but I would prefer that it not rise to the rates in CX. I can follow you, but I'd prefer to have time to digest your arguments. Also, keep in mind that more isn't necessarily better. Be strategic. Introduce what you think you can reasonably handle. I'm fine with debaters kicking out of arguments. Funnel arguments down to what is really important and viable in the round.
I am Lexie Fredrickson, and I am the assistant debate coach for Crossings Christian School. I debated for Crossings in high school for my junior and senior year and when I graduated I debated at UCO for a year. This is my fourth year coaching at Crossings. As a debater I ran all types of arguments, including Kritiks, Counter Plans, Topical Affs, Judo affs, Topicality, etc. and I am open to hearing all types of arguments. I am tabula rasa meaning if you define the rules of the round and your opponent doesn't challenge it your definitions will frame the round. I will listen to and vote on Ks but I place a higher burden of proof on alt solvency than most other judges I have seen. I am fine with speed, open cx, and I don't care if you keep time on your phone. If you have any specific questions, please don't hesitate to ask them before the round.
***Updated for 2025***
Bryan Gaston
Director of Debate
Heritage Hall School
1800 Northwest 122nd St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73120-9598
bgaston@heritagehall.com
I view judging as a responsibility and one I take very seriously. I will pay attention, flow, and follow along. I will try my best to evaluate the round fairly. I have decided to try to give you as much information about my tendencies as possible to help with MPJ and adaptation.
**NOTE: I may be old, but I'm 100% right on this trend: Under-highlighting of evidence has gotten OUT OF CONTROL. When I evaluate evidence, I will ONLY EVALUATE the words in that evidence that were read in the round. Debaters, highlight better. When you see garbage highlighting, point it out and make an argument about it. The highlighting is really bad; I will likely agree and won't give the card much credit. This does not mean you can't have good, efficient highlighting, but you must have a claim, data, and warrant(s) on each card.**
Quick Version:
1. Debate is a competitive game.
2. I will vote on framework and topicality-Affs should be topical. But you can still beat framework/T-USFG with good offense or a crafty counter-interpretation.
3. DA's and Aff advantages can have zero risk.Debaters don't challenge internal-link scenarios as much as they should. They are typically weak or sometimes non-existent.
4. Neg conditionality is mostly good.
5. Counterplans and PICs are good (it's better to have a solvency advocate than not). Process CPs are okay, but I lead a little more Aff on some of these theory arguments —topic-specific justifications go a long way.
6. K's that link to the Aff plan/advocacy/advantages/reps are good.
7. I will not decide the round over something X team did in another round, at another tournament, or a team's judge prefs.
8. Be bold and make strategic choices earlier in the debate; it is usually rewarding. Sometimes, hedging your bets leaves you winning nothing.
9.Email Chain access, please: bgaston@heritagehall.com
10. The debate should be fun and competitive. Be kind to each other and try your best.
My Golden Rule: When you can choose a more specific strategy or a more generic one, always choose the more specific one IF you are equally capable of executing both strategies. But if you need to go for a more generic strategy to win, I get it. Sometimes it is necessary.
Things not to do: Don't run T is an RVI, don't hide evidence from the other team to sabotage their prep, don't lie about your source qualifications, don't text or talk to coaches to get "in round coaching" after the round has started, please stay and listen to RFD's I am typically brief, and don't deliberately spy on the other teams pre-round coaching. I am a high school teacher and coach who is responsible for high school-age students. Please, don't read things overtly sexual if you have a performance aff--since there are minors in the room, I think that is inappropriate.
Pro-tip: FLOW---don't stop flowing just because you have a speech doc.
"Clipping" in debate: Clipping in the debate is a serious issue, and one of the things I will do to deter clipping in my rounds is requesting a copy of all speech docs before the debaters start speaking. While the debate is flowing, I read along to check from time to time.
CX: This is the only time you have “face time” with the judge. Please look at the judge, not at each other. Your speaker points will be rewarded for a great CX and lowered for a bad one. Be smart in CX, assertive, but not rude.
Speaker Point Scale updated: Speed is fine, and clarity is more important. If you are not clear I will yell out “Clear.” The average national circuit debate starts at 28.4, Good is 28.5-28.9 (many national circuit rounds end up in this range), and Excellent 29-29.9. Can I get a perfect 30? I have given 3 in 22 years of high school judging, and they all went on to win the NDT in college. I will punish your points if you are excessively rude to opponents or your partner during a round.
Long Version...
Affirmatives: I still at my heart of hearts prefer and Aff with a plan that's justifiably topical. But, I think it's not very hard for teams to win that if the Aff is germane to the topic that's good enough. I'm pretty sympathetic to the Neg if the Aff has very little to or nothing to do with the topic. If there is a topical version of the Aff I tend to think that takes away most of the Aff's offense in many of these T/FW debates vs no plan Affs--unless the Aff can explain why there is no topical version and they still need to speak about "X" on the Aff or why their offense on T still applies.
Disadvantages: I like them. I prefer specific link stories (or case-specific DA’s) to generic links, as I believe all judges do. But, if all you have is generic links go ahead and run them, I will evaluate them. The burden is on the Aff team to point out those weak link stories. I think Aff’s should have offense against DA’s it's just a smarter 2AC strategy, but if a DA clearly has zero link or zero chance of uniqueness you can win zero risk. I tend to think politics DA's are core negative ground--so it is hard for me to be convinced I should reject the politics DA because debating about it is bad for debate. My take: I often think the internal link chains of DA's are not challenged enough by the Aff, many Aff teams just spot the Neg the internal links---It's one of the worst effects of the prevalence of offense/defense paradigm judging over the past years...and it's normally one of the weaker parts of the DA.
Counterplans: I like them. I generally think most types of counterplans are legitimate as long as the Neg wins that they are competitive. I am also fine with multiple counterplans. On counterplan theory, I lean pretty hard that conditionality and PICs are ok. You can win theory debates over the issue of how far negatives can take conditionality (battle over the interps is key). Counterplans that are functionally and textually competitive are always your safest bet but, I am frequently persuaded that counterplans which are functionally competitive or textually competitive are legitimate. My Take: I do however think that the negative should have a solvency advocate or some basis in the literature for the counterplan. If you want to run a CP to solve terrorism you need at least some evidence supporting your mechanism. My default is that I reject the CP, not the team on Aff CP theory wins.
Case debates: I like them. Negative teams typically underutilize them. I believe a well-planned impacted case debate is essential to a great negative strategy. Takeouts and turns can go a long way in a round.
Critiques: I like them. In the past, I have voted for various types of critiques. I think they should have an alternative or they are just non-unique impacts. Framework can be leveraged as a reason to vote Neg by some crafty Neg teams, make sure if you are going for the K framework as an offensive reason why you should win the round you clearly state that and why it's justified. I think there should be a discussion of how the alternative interacts with the Aff advantages and solvency. Impact framing is important in these debates. The links to the Aff are very important---the more specific the better.
Big impact turn debates: I like them. Do you want to throw down in a big Hegemony Good/Bad debate, Dedev vs. Growth Good, or method vs. method? It's all good.
Topicality/FW: I think competing interpretations are valid unless told otherwise...see the Aff section above for more related to T.
Theory: Theory sets up the rules for the debate game. I evaluate theory debates in an offensive/defense paradigm, paying particular attention to each team's theory impacts and impact defense. For me, the interpretation debate is critical to evaluating theory. For a team to drop the round on theory, you must impact this debate well and have clear answers to the other side's defense.
Impact framing is important, especially in a round with a soft-left Aff and a big framing page.
Have fun debating!
I debated for four years at Moore High School in OK and debated at the University of Central OK until 2017.
She/they
I think debate should be an accessible and educational activity. With that in mind I am open to basically any argument as long as it isn't racist, sexist, homophobic, offensive, etc.
In high school I read a lot of arguments about indigenous epistemology (like Byrd and Deloria) and in college a range of arguments anywhere from indigenous arguments to feminist arguments to security ks to traditional policy strats like T, DA, CP, K, Case. Do not change your strategy to what you think I like, debate should be about you, not me, so do what you do best and I'll evaluate it.
Here's how I evaluate most arguments:
T - I haven't judged a lot of rounds on this topic yet so I'm not as familiar with the literature. To win a T debate in front of me you have to impact out your reasons for why being T is good, however I am very susceptible to impact turns. That being said, if you win instrumental implementation is a good thing then I'll vote on it. I like arguments about why things like clash and education are good. I also think it helps to give examples of affs that couldn't be read under the aff interp. I don't lean one way or another on competing interps vs reasonability.
FW vs a K Aff - Not my favorite argument. I would rather you read a specific T and have some FW type standards. However if it isn't answered properly I will vote on it. I evaluate it similarly to T, it needs impacted out analysis. However, I am very susceptible to FW if the aff DOES NOT defend a change from the status quo.
FW vs a K - I think the aff should be able to weigh their impacts and that Ks should be allowed in debate. You won't win that a K should be excluded in front of me unless the other team severly mishandles your FW.
DA - Go for it. I prefer that they have specific links to the plan. I also think they're a good way to prove abuse on T.
CP - Again, go for it. I can tell a cheaty CP when I see one so reading theory is always a good idea.
K - This is probably my favorite type of debate to judge. I'm down for anything from identity debates to high theory, however I am not as versed in high theory as I am in other forms of kritikal literature. Make sure you explain a clear link and impact and give warranted analysis instead of using just buzz words. I also am not likely to vote on links of omission unless they are legitimately dropped.
Theory - I think conditionality is a good thing as long as it isn't being abused by the negative. However, I will vote on warranted analysis of why contradicting condo or conditional ethics are bad.
Kritikal/Performance Affs - I enjoy judging these debates as well. However, I think affs should defend some change from the status quo. You can't just defend some "capital T" Truth in the 1ac and say vote aff, provide a strategy or method of changing it.
Other - Don't be rude during the round. Debate is supposed to be educational and people can't get that if you're constantly being rude. That includes to your partner and the other team. I will dock your speaker points if you are unneccesarily rude or aggressive.
Prep time stops when the flash drive leaves the computer.
Also, I have been told I make faces during the round. These are just my "thinking faces" so you shouldn't worry about them.
If you have any questions about my philosophy or decisions feel free to email me at gabiglide2@gmail.com
LONG LIVE TACO!
Former University of Oklahoma debater 2014-2017. Won some stuff, took some names.
I've been out of the game for 5ish years. I remember some stuff but definetly am rusty when it comes to remembering the technical aspects of policy debate and am for sure not aware of any new trends that may have popped up since 2018. My ears also probably aren't finetuned to spreading anymore so keep that in mind if you are super fast and/or unclear.
When I was debating I was doing performance stuff and reading a lot of Warren, Hartman, Yancy, and African cosmologies.
Since leaving debate my professional experiences allowed me to implement a lot of critical knowledge and expand upon the knowledge I was skewed towards while in debate. In short, to me, there is disconnect between theory and praxis and I am much more open or likely to be persuaded by arguments centered in praxis than I was when I was a debater.
I debated for four years at Skiatook High School in East Oklahoma. I debated 400+ rounds over my four years between tournaments and camps. I have judged everything from middle school novice to college tourn. Simply put I’ll evaluate everything.
Affirmative Case- A traditional policy affirmative should have plan text and follow the topic. I like impacts, make sure you actually have internal links and answer the negative. If it’s a traditional policy aff I can follow it.
Kritikal Aff- Defend something. If you defend something super small, but defend something that's fine just make sure you explain why its still of value to me as a judge. Try to be related to the topic in some way please. I probably haven’t read your philosophy so make it clear, but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand K’s. I personally ran Kritikal Affirmatives my for a large portion of my high school career.
DA- Link to the affirmative, be unique, have an impact. Plain and simple.
CP- If you want me to evaluate a shift in presumption, tell me to. I know how presumption shifts, but I’m not gonna hold anyone to only the CP or only the Perm unless you tell me why. On the theory debate Impact it out. The negative should have a specific solvency advocate. I don’t really lean anywhere on theory so If you go for theory impact it out
Theory/T- Impact the voters, tell me what the T/Theory Interp provides us in the real world. T “The” or T “its” aren’t super compelling arguments, and they are less so if you don’t give me voter analysis. Education isn’t an Impact, Advocacy Skills and Decision making are.
Kritiks- Love them. Won many rounds on them. Turn the aff case, solve it if you can. Attack them on every level. I vote neg if the aff drops epistemology, ontology, or similar framing arg on the K. Be sure these are answered.
Speed is cool, be clear. I like Impact Analysis. Be creative.
If your strategy is to throw everything in the book at the opponent, i rarely will ever weigh an argument that is not carried through every speech and will likely not give you an abuse claim on the opposing team.
On a side noteI do have pet peeves that will cost you speaks be sure to ask what they are before round.
My name is Petra [Pay-truh] (she/her). I graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Sociology with a focus in Criminology and have worked in financial crime detection and investigations. Should you feel the need to know my qualifications, I have 9 years of experience with Policy/CX and 7 of PF & LD. I competed in CX in high school, qualified to NSDA 2x, had a TOC bid, placed 3rd at state in CX, was a state quarterfinalist in LD, and have coached CX, LD, PF, and Congress. Affiliations: Cheyenne East (my alma mater) '12-'16, Edmond Santa Fe (individuals) '16-'17, Norman North '18 - present. I have been lucky enough to coach students who have advanced to semi-finals in Congressional Debate at nationals, late out-rounds in LD and PF at nationals, and late out-rounds in LD, PF, and CX at the state level.
I tend to default to policymaking, but my primary evaluation and if no debater has clearly won or told me where and why to vote, I will default to stock issues. If the aff hasn't upheld their obligation of affirming the resolution (or providing a solid case why they shouldn't), I will presume negative. I’m not a fan of vulgarity in-round. Please time yourself. Open Cross is okay, but if you don't engage or talk over your partner your points will reflect that. If you bring spectators, they must be respectful of all competitors and judges.
Speed is fine, I prefer slow on plan/advocacy statements and tags/authors. Use an indicator when switching between tags and arguments. Clarity is key to getting on the flow. I will say clear once, and if I can't decipher you after that I stop flowing you.
In the era of online debate, I suggest recording your speeches just in case of tech difficulties. I will adhere to all tournament guidelines regarding competition and tech issues. Slow down for the sake of mic processing. You probably don't need all 10 DAs. Please try your best to keep your cameras on, I understand this is not always possible.
Policy - My background is in traditional policy debate. I am well-versed in topicality and straight policy, but I will listen to just about anything you can and want to run. I appreciate creativity in debate. Cool with Ks and theory, but I have a high threshold for in-round abuse. Not a fan of plan+ / plan inclusive anything. Tell me where to vote and why.
Cross:It's probably binding, and often underutilized. Make it strategic - analyze the links, perms, make your opponents prove their solvency. If you’re being shifty and don't know what you're talking about, your opponent doesn't know what you're talking about, and I definitely don't know what you're talking about. For the love of all things sacred, don't be a jerk.
CPs: You must have a plan text and a net benefit. Tell me why it's competitive. You should probably have a really good solvency advocate. Full disclosure, I think I have only ever voted for one PIC, I think that a perm makes this a pretty easy win for Aff. I don't believe States CP gets to fiat all 50 states + relevant US territories (unless you have a decent theory shell, in which case go for it).
DAs: I love me some case-specific DA's. Do the impact analysis!! Aff too. For the love of all things holy, please make it a complete argument. I don't love seeing a 10-off 1NC with severely underdeveloped DAs that lack links and UQ.
Kritiks: I have a solid technical understanding of K's but don’t know all theory/philosophy. I'm not a philosophy hack; I won't do the work for you. It's critical that you understand what your advocacy is. If you don't know/understand, I don't want to vote for it. PLEASE don't read a K because you think I want to hear one. I would much rather hear a good, in-depth debate about what you're good at. If your K is about debate being irredeemable and a black hole...consider who your audience is. I've dedicated almost half my life to the activity and understand that it can be made better, so let's put in the work to make it better.
Topicality: Good. Great. I typically default to competing interpretations. It's not (usually) a RVI. Just like anything, read it only if you understand which violation you're reading and if there is clear abuse. You need standards. I have a higher threshold for FXT and XT because of how policymaking typically operates in the real world, but if you feel there is clear in-round abuse, knock yourself out.
Theory: Most of the theory debates I see are bad. That makes me sad - I like theory. I will listen to some well-thought-out theory any day of the week. I will consider any discourse args on reasons to reject a team, so long as their impacted out. Don't be racist/sexist, etc. Not a huge fan of framework debates because I see very few that are good. I tend to vote for world v world and real-world impacts anyway. Neg worlds should probably be cohesive, unless you have a theory shell to backup why not.
Misc: Don't be mean. Don't cheat. I'll call you on stealing prep. If you do it after I call you on it I have no issue auto-dropping you. I don't want to have to read the evidence - you should be explaining it. Post-rounding (asking questions is fine - I will be more than happy to explain my thought process - I'm talking about arguing or bringing up things you should have used to answer but didn't) won't change my ballot but will guarantee you'll get the lowest speaks possible. If you run wipeout, you better have a dang good warrant and dang good framework shell to run with it.
LD:- I did traditional LD in high school. I look for lots of work on the framework debate and framework/case interaction. If you're about progressive debate, that's cool too - but I would like to see your version of framework or a role of the ballot. I don't really want to see a CP, DA or K read with zero interaction with the resolution or aff, but if you have one with a good argument, I'm open to it. Please dont just run a K/theory shell because you think that's what I want to hear - do what you do :)
PF: See: LD, Policy. Theory is cool, and welcomed, here too. Disclosure/paraphrasing theory - I have a high threshold of abuse here as well. Progressive/fast is cool. Traditional is cool too. Again, Please dont just run a K/theory shell because you think that's what I want to hear - do what you do :)
TLDR; If there is no clear reason given for me to vote on either side, I will default to stock issues because it is what I know the best. Does aff meet their minimum requirements of affirmation? Does the negative do their job of negating the resolution/the aff? Do the off-case arguments link? Are alternatives mutually exclusive? Do the alternatives solve the aff? Impact it out. In-round, fiated implementation, and on the flow. For everything. Don't steal prep. If you have any specific questions, please ask! my email for chains and questions: petracvc@gmail.com
Most importantly, have fun, and be kind to one another! Happy debating! - P :)
Hey y’all, I’m Matt.
He/Him/His pronouns
(Please add me to the email chain: madwitman@gmail.com)
Few notes about me - I debated for four years at Edmond Santa Fe in Oklahoma where I competed in policy, public forum, and speech for a while but ended up having a successful career in LD. I participated at the national tournament for all four years in various events. I was a policy debater for a few years in college at the University of Oklahoma as well. Graduated in 2019 and ended up in Tulsa where I am a management and data ecosystem consultant for organizations devoted to social good.
**TOP-LEVEL NOTE**: I recognize debate can be tough on people in different ways and it’s not a fully-equitable sport. If there is something I can do to make the debate safer or more comfortable for you (calling you by a name not on your ballot, using a different pronoun that is listed, accommodating for a disability, etc.), I will absolutely do everything in my power to make the space more accessible and/or safe for you. If you don’t feel comfortable telling me in the debate, feel free to email me at madwitman@gmail.com.
I used to have a very long, drawn out paradigm that went through my preferences for each off-case position, debate style, etc. but I have since simplified it. I think debaters tend to overthink it and I would rather you debate how you want. Ultimately, debate gave me the space I needed to find myself and I hope it does the same for you. That said, read whatever you want to in front of me (pending it isn’t racist, sexist, transphobic, etc.). Debate how you are comfortable. I was a “critical” debater throughout high school and college but will absolutely vote on well-executed policy arguments. Please don’t feel the need to pull out your school’s old Time Cube backfile just because you read that I’m a K debater - although it would be hilarious.
Couple things:
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I’m fine with speed in any debate format, just be clear.
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Prep stops when the flash drive leaves the computer or the email is sent.
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“Extend X argument” requires a warrant, not just those words
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I value line-by-line analysis and technical debate but I think a great debater knows the art of combining ‘tech things’ with the big picture
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If you do read some critical argument or K, don’t assume I know all of the literature base/what you are talking about. I love a well-executed K with a good explanation of the base.
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Theory and framework are fine - just slow down a little on the blips. I flow on paper - it benefits you if my flow is as clear as possible.
I’m sure I’m missing something so if you have any additional questions, feel free to ask. Have fun and take care.
I am currently a policy and PF coach at Taipei American School. My previous affiliations include Fulbright Taiwan, the University of Wyoming, Apple Valley High School, The Harker School, the University of Oklahoma, and Bartlesville High School. I have debated or coached policy, LD, PF, WSD, BP, Congress, and Ethics Bowl.
Email for the chain: taipeiamericanpolicy at gmail.com
If I'm judging you at an online tournament, it's probably nighttime for me in Taiwan. Pref accordingly.
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Policy
Stolen from Matt Liu: "Feb 2022 update: If your highlighting is incoherent gibberish, you will earn the speaker points of someone who said incoherent gibberish. The more of your highlighting that is incoherent, the more of your speech will be incoherent, and the less points you will earn. To earn speaker points, you must communicate coherent ideas."
I debated for OU back in the day but you shouldn't read too much into that—I wasn't ever particularly good or invested when I was competing. I lean more towards the policy side than the K side and I'm probably going to be unfamiliar with a lot of the ins-and-outs of most kritiks, although I will do my best to fairly evaluate the debate as it happens.
1. I tend to think the role of the aff is to demonstrate that the benefits of a topical plan outweigh its costs and that the role of the neg is to demonstrate that the costs and/or opportunity costs of the aff's plan outweigh its benefits.
2. I find variations of "fairness bad" or "logic/reasoning bad," to be incredibly difficult to win given that I think those are fundamental presuppositions of debate itself. Similarly, I find procedural fairness impacts to be the best 2NRs on T/Framework.
3. Conditionality seems obviously good, but I'm not opposed to a 2AR on condo. Most other theory arguments seem like reasons to reject the argument, not the team. I lean towards reasonability. Most counterplan issues seem best resolved at the level of competition, not theory.
4. Warrant depth is good. Argument comparison is good. Both together, even better.
None of these biases are locked in—in-round debating will be the ultimate determinant of an argument’s legitimacy.
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NSDA Public Forum
Put the Public back in Public Forum.
For the NSDA, follow all of the evidence rules and guidelines listed in the NSDA Evidence Guide. I care a lot about proper citations, good evidence norms, clipping, and misrepresentation. If I find evidence that does not conform to these guidelines, I will minimally disregard that piece of evidence and maximally vote against you.
I won't vote for arguments spread, theory, kritiks, or anything unrelated to the truth or falsity of the resolution. I find it extremely difficult to vote for arguments that lack resolutional basis (e.g., most theory or procedural arguments, some kritikal arguments, etc.). I find trends to evade debate over the topic to be anathema to my beliefs about what Public Forum debate ought to look like.
I care that you debate the topic in a way that reflects serious engagement with the relevant scholarly literature. I would also prefer to judge debates that do not contain references to arcane debate norms or jargon.
My ideal debate is one in which each team reads one contention with well-developed evidence.
tl;dr won't blink twice about voting against teams that violate evidence rules or try to make PF sound like policy-lite.
Other Things
Exchanging evidence in a manner consistent with the NSDA's rules on evidence exchange has become a painfully slow process. Please simply set up an email chain or use an online file sharing service in order to quickly facilitate the exchange of relevant evidence. Calling for individual pieces of evidence appears to me as nothing more than prep stealing.
If the Final Focus is all read from the computer, just send me the speech docs before the debate starts to save us some time. I'll also cap your speaks at 28.5.
I do not believe that either team has any obligation to "frontline" in second rebuttal, but my preferences on this are malleable. If "frontlining" is the agreed upon norm, I expect that the second speaking team also devote time to rebuttals in the constructive speeches.
The idea of defense being "sticky" seems illogical to me.
There is also a strong trend towards under-developing arguments in an activity that already operates with compressed speech times. I also strongly dislike the practice of spamming one-line quotes with no context (or warrant) from a dozen sources in a single speech. I will reward teams generously if they invest in a few well-warranted arguments which they spend time meaningfully weighing compared to if they continue to shotgun arguments with little regard for their plausibility or quality.
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WSD
My debate experience is primarily in LD, policy, and PF. I do not consider myself well-versed in all the intricacies or nuances of WSD strategy and norms. My only strong preference is that want to see well-developed and warranted arguments. I would prefer fewer, better developed arguments over more, less-developed arguments.
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Online Procedural Concerns
1. Follow tournament procedure regarding online competition best practices.
2. Record your speeches locally. If you cut out and don't have a local backup, that's a you problem.
3. Keep your camera on when you speak, I don't care if it's on otherwise. Only exception is if there are tech or internet issues---keeping the camera off for the entirety of the debate otherwise is a good way to lose speaker points.
4. I'll keep my camera off for prep time, but I'll verbally indicate I'm ready before each speech and turn on the camera for your speeches. If you don't hear me say I'm ready and see my camera on, don't start.
5. Yes, I'll say clear and stuff for online rounds.