DV PARLI SCRIMMAGE
2018 — San Ramon, CA/US
Debate Judges Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show Hidedv '18
arguments need warrants (so read many good cards). warrants should make sense (so good analytics > bad cards). warrants should also be extended properly (so I don't have to read your cards just to understand your argument). the threshold for adequately responding to an argument is determined by the quality of its warrants.
"[new/inexperienced debaters] - don't worry about any of the [below]. you do you, and I'll try my best to adapt" - Daniel Luo (official 5head).
general things:
default util, drop the arg/reasonability, no rvis, epistemic modesty
please do impact calculus and judge instruction. otherwise I will disappoint you (and annihilate your speaks) and then everyone is sad
stop reading terrible theory arguments.
if you split the 2nr I'm only evaluating the strat that loses
won't judge kick unless you say "the status quo is always an option" or something along those lines. unless you split your 2nr, then I'm judge kicking the counterplan that would've won the round.
no such thing as 0% risk but there is such a thing as risk low enough to be irrelevant
link turn on the DA doesn't require the aff to win uniqueness (because if that were true uniqueness would overwhelm the link), but winning uniqueness puts the link turn argument in a better place
read defense with an impact turn or like at least do impact calculus please (also I like impact turns)
durable fiat solves "trump doesn't do the aff" but not "local governments don't enforce the plan"
most schools don't fund debate so stop acting like that's the only reason education matters.
k affs get perms
if your satire aff isn't funny it doesn't solve and I'll presume neg after the 1ac
ks need links more nuanced than state bad and affs need answers more nuanced than state good
k rotb are bad and you shouldn't need one to win (doesn't mean you concede util, just don't overrely on totally excluding aff offense)
if the 2nr on framework says "tva+risk of limits da" there's a solid 95% chance I'll negate
tech over truth
here are my thoughts on things:
very true:
oppression bad
existentialism
nibs bad
plans good (also don't read plans bad)
object fiat bad (e.g. advantage is china war and cp is "china doesn't go to war")
the perm in most kvk debates with an aff that isn't just a 6 min impact turn to framework
probably true but beatable:
hege bad
cap bad
nuke war causes extinction
framework vs k affs
>2 condo bad (1 condo cp is 1 condo, 1 cp w 7 individually condo planks is way more than 7 condo)
probably untrue but winnable:
hege good
cap good
trump irreparably wrecked soft power
sketchy impact turns (dedev, co2 ag)
that politics disad you haven't updated since camp
<= 2 condo bad
very untrue:
lib (unless you are a traditional debater, any attempt must include a robust answer to Sen's paradox or it isn't a complete argument)
bad/friv theory (afc, aspec on usfg topics, font size)
any counterplan theory I haven't already mentioned read as a reason to drop the debater
anything you would want to read as a spike
"limits are a prison"
plans bad (or any T interp w a caselist only including whole res)
speaks
avg is 28.5
29.5+ if you hold a solid zizek impression the whole round [number of people who have done this is higher than expected as of 2/17/2020] (and if you're rly good ig)
29-29.4 if your speech makes arjun's astral projection watching over my shoulder cry tears of joy
28-28.9 if you make minor (but still loss-worthy) mistakes
26-27.9 if you highkey screwed up
loss 19 for clipping (claim stops round, need recording of speech, and all the other stuff everyone else says)
loss 0 for being explicitly racist/sexist/etc.
Dougherty Valley high school
occupation: management (software engineering)
years of judging: 3 years, mainly public forum
How will you award speaker points to the debaters?
=> Cogent Clear arguments and cross examinations
What sorts of things help you to make a decision at the end of the debate?
=> who presented and rebutted the arguments effectively wins
Do you take a lot of notes or flow the debate? Yes
Rank each using the following rubric:
1 - not at all 5-somewhat 10- weighed heavily
Clothing/Appearance: 1
Use of Evidence: 6
Real World Impacts: 8
Cross Examination: 8
Debate skill over truthful arguments: 6
"People have become educated, but have not yet become human.” - Abdul Sattar Edhi.
TLDR;
Do whatever you want, but do impact calculus.
A Little About Me:
I competed for Dougherty Valley High School between 2015 to 2019 in Public Forum and Extemp. It's been a number of years since I was involved in the debate space and I'm sure PF has changed since I left. I am generally okay with any type of argument, but I have limited experience with K's and Theory. You will benefit if you slow down while presenting these types of arguments.
Specific To Stanford 2024:
I am fine with spreading but I would highly prefer you email speech docs to your judge beforehand.
On The Juicy Stuff.
I am a Tabula Rasa (Clean Slate) judge so I will believe anything you tell me, but it needs to be warranted. I try to limit my judge intervention as much as I can, however, I won't be afraid to intervene is if there is no impact calculus in the round. Other than that, I'm fine with any type of argument you throw at me, and you can speak as fast as you want.
I will try to be a visible judge so if I start shaking my head maybe don't go for that argument, but if I am nodding that's probably a good sign. I use my computer to flow. I will yell clear if it is too fast, but my threshold is pretty good, but if you want to full-on spread please flash me the speech doc so I know whats going on.
Tech > Truth.
Time Yourselves.
I evaluate framework and overviews right on top. I love it when I know what impacts are going to be the most important, and which impacts I should prefer. This helps you organize and helps me understand what the narrative of your team is. I love, love, love overviews/underviews and think they make Public Forum Debate interesting.
Please sign post, especially in Summary and Final Focus.
Whatever is in Final Focus must be in Summary, however I am totally ok with you extending defense from rebuttal to final focus if you are the first speaking team. This is because I believe that Public Forum Debate is structurally disadvantaged for the first speaking team. That means first summary obviously needs to have all your offense. I will literally stop flowing if the argument in Final Focus is not in Summary.
I love it so much when teams collapse into two to three issues in Final Focus. I love it when teams blow up impacts in Summary and Final Focus and use the ends of their speeches to do Impact Calculus. This is really important, I NEED good impact calculus to evaluate who I vote for. I need to know why you win on things like Probability, Magnitude, or Time-Frame and I need to know why those are more important than what your opponents are going for. If you don't know what impact calc is do some reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_calculus
I award speaks based on how you speak, and how you conduct yourself in cross. If you are blatantly rude, offensive, racist, sexist, etc. I will not be afraid to vote you down and nuke your speaks.
I will always call for evidence if you tell me to call for it. I am bad at remembering tags, but I definitely call for cards.
PLEASE FOLLOW NSDA/CHSSA (Depending on the tourney) EVIDENCE RULES AND HAVE EVIDENCE ETHICS. I need to hear author last name and date in the speech, otherwise its just rhetoric.
On other arguments. I'm totally ok with things like K's, Theory, whatever else but do know that I personally have minimal experience with K's or theory shells so I will need these types of args to be well warranted and explained.
If you have ANY questions about my paradigm or my decisions please do not be afraid to ask.
If you are funny and not offensive, I'll probably up your speaks.
Good Luck!
Also I think the way that I view debate is very similar to Shreyas Kiran, so check out his paradigm if you are bored.
Email me at TheSaadJamal@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Updated Aug 25, 2022
History:
I coached and competed for Dougherty Valley. Graduated in 2018.
General:
The greatest question debate ever asked me: how can a judge be tabula rasa?
Everything in this paradigm is a default so argue on them if you don't agree:
Impact calculus is your job, preventing judge intervention is mine. Use a point of order anyway though.
Do whatever overview and road maps you want off time, regulate each other on this.
Topicality:
The topic is owned by the debaters.
Follow it or don't but I will prefer enforcement of the rules of the debate form.
Breaking those rules means I need to hear some theory first.
Theory:
Theory only works if you follow the structure.
A priori - prioritization of the largest issue is the entire point of theory.
That doesn't mean I throw away B, C, or D because anyone can turn them back into A.
Default competing interpretations.
Default no RVI - you should only waste as much time on theory as you want to.
The whole point of debate is that you've read and thought about the rules.
Speed:
We all type and write at different speeds throughout the debate.
Slow down when people ask you to and it'll be quite difficult to turn this into a voting issue with me.
Prefer yelling clear over slow. Use this power sparingly.
Kritiks:
Focus on the philosophy and structure, that's the whole point.
The only problem I've ever had with these arguments is when someone uses them so fast their opponent can't even understand.
Our mutual understanding of what is going on is the most important thing to me in the debate.
Plans & Counter-plans:
Plans and counter-plans are a useful stucture in any debate form.
Run perms to test the competition.
Severance is fine, but be careful if you're hit with theory.
Speaker Points:
I'll set this based on how respectful the debate ended up being.
I'm happy to answer questions - humzamuhammadkhan@gmail.com
2023 Update - It's been a while since I've judged, but I've noticed that the quality of evidence has dropped significantly. Going forward, I will be reducing speaks substantially for poor evidence. I also think there's not enough specificity in argumentation. Debaters will say "x piece of evidence is fantastic and says EU unity is low", but won't point out the warrants in the evidence for why EU unity is low. This also means I rarely hear debaters doing any good evidence comparison, which makes for messy debates and difficult decisions. Finally, please don't put anything in the 1NC that you can't give a 2NR on. I've judged too many debates already where an off is completely dropped but the 2NR goes for something else.
Email - kavindebate@gmail.com
Background
I debated in LD for Dougherty Valley High School for 4 years.
General
-good with speed
-SLOW DOWN ON THEORY AND T—they are especially hard to flow at top speed and in an online format
-slow down in the 2NR, especially at the beginning
-offense/defense (extremely unconvinced by truth testing)
-will not vote on arguments I don't understand
-2AR and 2NR impact calc are not new
-CX is binding
-compiling doc is prep, but flashing is not
-disclose (open source is good)
-ev comparison is important and will give you better speaks
-all arguments (even dropped ones) need a warrant
-clipping and ev ethics violations will result in a loss
-scrolling ahead in the doc is cheating
DA/CP/Case
-enjoy this type of debate and was what I went for almost every round
-process cps/PICs are good so please read them in front of me
-consult cps (most of the time) are not good
-sufficiency framing is convincing
-politics DAs are good when they make sense and usually need to be coupled with a CP to beat a competent Aff
-for Affs, I like plans and enjoy small Affs—please have good evidence
-soft left and extinction impacts are both fine—I don't really have a preference
-heavily dislike Affs with large theory underviews/spikes
Kritiks
-ideally my threshold for a good kritik is one that is as tailored to the aff as the aff is
-I like the security K because I dislike shoddy Affs with poor evidence quality
-this goes for all Ks and especially security, but you need to answer the case or you'll almost certainly lose
-I'm extremely skeptical of pessimism arguments and I think pomo is often (underexplained) nonsense. K debate is usually just a bunch of buzzwords.
-good K debate=having impacts for your links, having links to the plan (not necessary but recommended), knowing how the alt works, not being evasive in CX, not relying on framework to win you the round, doing impact calc and explaining why the K outweighs the case and not just saying util bad, and answering the case
-links of omission are not links and the perm resolves them
-I am very persuaded by particularity arguments (the Aff should make the debate about the Aff, not the K)
-affs get to weigh the case—the K's impacts are consequential too and consequences prove the goodness of reps
-most Ks don't have a link and the alt fails—the Aff is probably a good idea
-if you win an extinction impact, the case should outweigh
K Affs/Framework
-please defend the topic, but if you win your Aff (and I understand what the offense is), I will vote for it
-no, limits is not a prison—metaphors like these are meaningless and don't constitute real arguments
-many K affs appeal to various ephemera as ways to escape the question of T—these include buzzwords like “role of the ballot” that don’t actually explain what they’re winning, or concessions from the aff that are clearly irrelevant
-KvK debate is extremely difficult to evaluate usually and the Aff will probably win on the perm
-the impacts most convincing to me on framework are movements/skills
Theory
-default is reasonability, no RVIs
-condo, PICs, process CPs are probably good
-consult is not good
-not a fan of friv theory
-debaters should do weighing on standards, not voters
-debaters should make arguments about what an interpretation justifies to answer things like friv theory
Topicality
-I really like well-fleshed out interpretations and really enjoy judging T debates
-have good evidence with an intent to define and exclude, offensive/defensive caselists, etc.
-do weighing
Philosophy
-very persuaded by util
-please explain your syllogisms clearly if not util
-I doubt any serious ethical theory would think extinction isn't a bad thing
-couple your NC with a CP or answer the case
Tricks
-please don't read them
-most tricks don't have a warrant or make enough sense for me to vote on them
Misc
-please be nice to your opponent
-debate should be fun
Dougherty Valley '19, WashU St. Louis '23
Email: qin.andrew123@gmail.com
TL;DR, very straight up debater in highschool mostly went for CP/DA so I am most comfortable judging these rounds and rarely if ever went for K's if you are a K debater probably don't pref me. Also if you have wacky zany pictures of Kavin Kumaravel I'll boost your speaks
General
Judge instruction and clear weighing is how you will win my ballot.
Any defaults that I have can be changed throughout the debate.
I don't believe in 0% risk of an impact (unless an argument is dropped)
Impact calc in the final speeches are not new arguments
I lean towards trix bad not a fan
I find it hard to flow down T/Theory analytics so please try to slow down a little bit or send it in the speech doc
Default to extinction sucks the most.
Affs
Plans are fine, whole res is also fine as well
I mainly went for soft left affs in high school so I think that really in depth framing work and weighing makes it very easy to sign my ballot for the aff.
DA
DA's are epic and a core part of negative offense please read them.
CP
Counterplans are fine and also a core part of neg offense so reading them is fine
I will not judge kick unless instructed to do so
K
I'm not the most well read in kritikal arguments, the most i've ever read is cap so if you are a K team, then probably don't pref me. If you do want to read a K in front of me and go for it, the less work I have to do the easier it will be for you to win.
T
Default to counter interps, drop the debater
I find that T is a very useful tool for the neg to check back Aff abuses
Theory
Default to counter interps, Drop the arg, No RVI
I think that theory should not be read unless there is a egregious error in the round. But here are my general stances on several common theory arguments
- Speed
Generally, I think that speed is good, but there are arguments that can persuade me of the other side.
- Disclosure
Disclosure in general is probably really good for debate events like Policy and LD
For PF, I know it's not necessarily a norm yet so I'm up in the air and will be persuaded by either side who reads this.
- Paraphrasing/Brackets
Don't paraphrase or bracket cards are good it's also lowkey like an evidence ethics violation so like that's a whole other issue.
- Friv
Contrived theory arguments are the worst please don't read these in front of my I'll evaluate them if I have to but I don't want to judge a debate about this.
- PICs bad
I generally tend to think that PIC's are very smart and I encourage people to read them. I think I lean neg for PICs bad but I can be persuaded for the other side as well.
- Condo
Condo is good I tend to find it difficult to vote for condo bad unless it is a major issue.
LD:
Put me on the email chain: armansawhney@gmail.com
I prefer knock knock jokes to hand shakes.
General:
I have significant debate experience in LD and Parliamentary Debate, both in traditional and progressive styles. I judge the round based off of your argumentation, and I keep my own biases out unless judge intervention is absolutely necessary. I do have a higher threshold for buying certain arguments over others, but that being said, as long as you do enough work in terms of context and impacting, I won't have a problem with evaluating anything you run. I enjoy a good voters speech in which you tell me what on the flow to vote on and why, especially with direct comparisons between Aff and Neg because it allows me to intervene as little as possible in my decision. This isn't generally as much of a problem in LD, but I don't like shadow extensions. If you want me to vote on something, make sure you bring it up consistently in all of your speeches. Also, make sure you extend content and not just taglines. Also tell me where to flow overviews and underviews.
Speed:
I'm generally okay with speed, just include me on the email chain and if I have to say clear more than twice, it's going to show on your speaks.
Straight Up Debate:
Like I said, I did Parli, so I'm a huge fan of straight up debate. I find these debates interesting, and generally educational not only to participate in, but also to watch. Just make sure you're doing enough work on the background/context of arguments when you read them, because if I don't buy your uniquenesses I'm not going to buy your argument. Read whatever you want, I'm fine with plans in LD, but make sure counterplans are competitive. I generally prefer evidence based on recency up to a 3 month discrepancy, then I go based off of quality of source or data collection. Give clear link scenarios and terminalize impacts on Disads. Perms are okay, just remember they're a test of competition, not a change of advocacy. If you want to properly run a perm in front of me, show me why the CP can happen with the aff and still keep most of its net benefit.
K's:
I'm fine evaluating K's, but I want a comprehensive argument. This means a contextual analysis of links, show why they're clear and unique, and show me specifically how my ballot impacts the issue at hand. Also if it becomes abundantly apparent that you don't understand the basic thesis behind your Kritik especially during cross examination, I'm not going to vote on it, so make sure you understand what you're running before you run it. I don't like alts that are just "Reject the Aff" because generally they don't solve. Give me an alternative to the S-Quo that is specific.
K-Affs:
I like topical affs, but run whatever you think is most strategic. Same as regular Kritiks, as long as you contextualize it properly and show why my ballot matters it's fair game for me to vote on. I have a relatively high threshold for buying most K-Affs.
Theory:
I enjoy theory debates. I think theory is strategic, and as long as you are able to properly run it, nothing is really off limits. Run theory when there is abuse, or when there isn't. I generally default to competing interpretations, because I think reasonability by nature invites judge intervention. That being said, if you give a (very) good argument as to why reasonability is beneficial, and you win that debate, I am open to judging based off of reasonability. If you don't ask for an RVI I'm not going to give you one.
Framework:
I always enjoy a good framework deabte, but please make sure to do enough work on it. If you're contesting a framework, I need detailed evidence and/or analysis as to why your framework will be more beneficial for the fairness and education of the debate or I'll presume Aff framework. Aff same goes for defending framework from contest.
Speaker Points:
Just be professional, and be respectful. I don't mind a little bit of sassiness, comedy, or passion during the speeches or cross ex, but just don't be mean. I start off both debaters at 29's, then go down or up depending.
Tricks/Blips:
I don't like them, I feel like they're underhanded and don't promote clash, which as the term debate implies, is one of the main reasons for you all being here.
ASK ME ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT MY PARADIGM BEFORE ROUND.
Also, I'm fine with answering any questions you have about my decision post-round. These are supposed to be educational experiences, the only way to get that full education is by finding answers to any confusion you might have.
Please add me to the email chain: tsxbcdebate@gmail.com
Top-level Debate Opinions:
- I'll evaluate almost any argument presented to me in round.
- If an argument is conceded and adequately, I'll consider it in my decision.
- I love, love, love seeing smart analytics against bad arguments.
- The best way to get my vote is by having a clear view of where you want to spend your time and telling me a coherent story as to why the arguments you are going for mean you have won the round.
2023-2024 Policy Topic: New to the topic. Don't assume deep knowledge.
Case: Contest the affirmative. Most AFFs are not well constructed and their impact scenarios are embarrassingly fake. So, if you are deciding between adding a T shell --- that you and I know you won't go for --- and having more case arguments, do the latter.
Counter-plans: I'll listen to any CP, doesn't mean every CP is fair --- tell me if the NEG is cheating. Using CX to isolate how the AFF solves, then explaining how the CP solves those mechanisms, is how to win the CP debate.
Disadvantages: These are my favorite debates to judge. Do impact calculus and sprinkle in some turns case analysis, and you have a winning recipe. Prioritize DAs that link to the AFF.
Kritiks: I enjoy well thought out Ks that have specific links and reasons why the 1AC is a bad idea. As the links become more general, I give increasing leeway to the specificity of the AFF outweighing generic indicts of topic or whatever the K is problematizing. You would also being do yourself a great disservice if you don't answer the AFF. Also, going for the K doesn't mean you can skip impact calculus.
K-AFFs: These are fine (even ran one for a season), but I think that framework is a powerful tool that is very persuasive if articulated well. If you are reading a K-AFF, thorough explanations of what voting AFF means and why that solves your impact is the path to victory.
Speed: I am fine with spreading, but always choose clarity over speed. I'll call out clear and slow as appropriate. Using a more conversational speed during the rebuttals is an excellent way to create contrast and emphasize your winning arguments.
Theory: I don't particularly enjoy judging these rounds. I'll still listen to your theory shells and definitely include it in your 2AC, but, if you are going to go for theory, have a compelling reason.
Topicality: T debates are fun to judge. What I enjoy are NEG teams reading T for the sake of reading T shells; why not just use that time to do something that will actually help you in the 2NR?
Thank you for opening my paradigm.
About Me:
Debated LD and Policy at Dougherty Valley. Duke 2023. Coached by Aleisha Readye and Arjun Tambe.
About Debate:
Use overviews (extension + weighing) in rebuttals
Debaters should weigh 'strength of link' between their impacts
I like good case debate on both sides
Debated most arguments, i.e. K, T, Theory, etc., in High school
I did circuit ld and traditional ld and policy for four years.
Read whatever, I’ll try to be tab and am tech over truth.
bring me water or snacks and I’ll boost your speaks.
don’t be racist, sexist or offensive
Add me to the email chain: amandayang555@gmail.com
Cal 23 (not debating)
I debated policy for three years at Dougherty Valley as a 2N, and attended the TOC in LD my senior year. I am most familiar with policy style arguments --however, tech>>truth and good debating will always outweigh my personal argumentative preferences. That being said, keep in mind that I am not particularly well versed in some LD-specific arguments like phil/trix (see below).
TLDR:
- CP/DAs/PICS/Case >> Topicality/T- USFG >> Stock Ks/Theory >> Identity/Pomo/Planless affs >> Skep/Friv Theory/Phil/Tricks, etc
- Clarity>Speed: it doesnt matter if you couldnt get to the last few cards if I understood none of it
- Slow down on analytics, especially in T and Theory debates. This is also pretty important for online debates; if you're comfortable sending analytics that would be very helpful in ensuring I flow everything properly
- I will judge kick if you tell me to
- terminal defense/zero risk of the da... maybe possible
- Just because a blippy argument is dropped does not make it an auto-win: you’re still required to explain the warrants and contextualize the concession
- Debate off your flow and not your blocks :(
K Affs: Not an auto-loss, but I would STRONGLY prefer to hear your backup policy aff, unless you don’t have other options. For me, the problem with K affs is usually that the counterinterp doesn’t actually resolve the limits disad, but tech>truth applies in obvious situations like if a) you successfully impact turn framework b) the neg doesn’t have a good external impact to framework
Framework/T USFG: This was my favorite argument to go for in high school. Depending on what type of K aff you’re hitting, fairness may or may not be better off as its own impact. I used to be most convinced by skills/movements type arguments, in which fairness instead functions as an internal link to education, but I am beginning to think that fairness can be axiomatically true depending on how the argument is articulated.
1 Off Ks against K affs: These can get a little messy for me; but while I would prefer just listening to a TvK debate, I will still do my best to evaluate the round (you may just need to be clearer on your explanations.)
CPs/DAs/Case: Not much to say here: I really like well-researched CPs/PICs, nuanced case debate, topic specific DAs, and politics disads. Go for your cheatiest counterplans! (that being said, aff theory is very viable in these instances as well). I think DAs with generic links are fine so long as you are able to derive logical analytics from a card that might be less specific.
Topicality: T was definitely one of my favorite arguments to go for. Good rebuttal speeches must compare the worlds that each interp justifies. I don’t usually think that semantics/jurisdiction arguments are particularly convincing.
Theory: I’d prefer if these debates happened in instances of legitimate abuse, or if you’re behind on substance and theory is the only viable path to the ballot. Given that, my threshold for what constitutes legitimate abuse has somewhat lowered after doing LD, so I’m fine with evaluating things like condo, pics bad, disclosure, theory against abusive counterplans, spec (in some instances), etc; as long as they are debated well technically.
- Not particularly fond of frivolous theory
Kritiks: Most of my experience has been with more "stock" Ks like security, neolib/cap, set col, etc. In general I 1) feel like I evaluate Ks in more of a policy-esque offense/defense paradigm, and 2) would prefer to not judge 1-off K debates. As a result, I'm also not the biggest fan of Ks that invariably link to every aff (which I find are usually identity and pomo); not necessarily because of the content, but because it’s easy to use them to avoid clash with the 1AC. However, I was also once an edgy Deleuze debater and understand the grind, so if you must read these, a higher degree of contextualization and explanation are needed.
[LD STUFF] Ethical Philosophy/Spikes/Tricks/Skep/Metatheory:
- As a policy debater I have very little experience evaluating these and know basically nothing about them aside from the fact that they exist
Speaks
- default 28.5
- better speaks if you’re funny/generally respectful and chill
- poor speaks for being rude/aggressive because it's honestly just annoying to watch
-0.1 speaks for “LARP,” “time starts now”
+0.2 speaks for attaching niche photos of Kavin Kumaravel
I'm currently debating as a junior at Dougherty Valley High School. My debate experience has been pretty weird; I've done mostly public forum for the last 3 years, but I've also gone to policy camp every summer, and have competed at a couple policy tournaments each year. That being said, despite coming from public forum, I will evaluate pretty much any argument that you read, so go for any weird args that you want as long as they're not straight up bad.
A few important things:
-I value good impact calc really highly. I want to know why you think you've won the debate, and I guarantee that my own decision won't be satisfying for you if I'm doing all the weighing in the round by myself.
-Debate ethically: don't steal prep, don't cut cards, etc. Even if the other team doesn't call you out, I will lower your speaker points if you are being unethical or take whatever other action is appropriate.
-If you run theory, there better be a real solid reason to, otherwise I will have a hard time voting for you on theory.
-Kritiks: I have a decent understanding of most of the popular kritiks, but I will need to have dense literature explained to me as an argument. Also, I think that most alt's need a lot more explaining than they get, so doing that helps a lot.
-I won’t count small blippy args. Explain your arguments and why you think you should win.
-Don't shake hands with me I think it's weird.