Freshman Deathmatch Round Robin
2020 — Online, NJ/US
PF Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideHey y'all
I'm a fourth-year debater from Vestavia Hills High School.
Case: Make sure your case has impacts. It is hard for me to vote on an argument that doesn't tell me how or which population is affected by their impacts. However, make sure you also have warrants. Even if your case has big numbers, I will not evaluate any of your impacts if you don't give me any explanations as to how you get there. Don't worry if your case does not get to 4 minutes; I still evaluate all arguments presented in that timeframe.
Speaking: Speak clearly. For me, you can go a little bit fast and I will still be able to understand your argument. However, I will indicate for you to slow down if you are going too fast. Most importantly, mumbling is gonna negatively affect your speaker points and make it a lot harder to understand. Send speech docs if you plan on spreading. Email is aaryaaluri143@gmail.com
Prog: By all means go ahead and do it. Just beware that my experience with progressive args is pretty limited to theory. I'll evaluate it to the best of my abilities.
Rebuttal: Prioritize offense over defense. In 1st rebuttal, do not go back onto your case unless it is an absolute necessity and you believe you have no other way to fill the 4 minutes. Weighing is not a necessity in 1st rebuttal but it would be good if you started weighing early in round. Weighing should be in 2nd rebuttal. No talking between teammates in rebuttal or any speech for that matter. 2nd rebuttal must respond to all offense that 1st rebuttal brings. 2nd rebuttal would be good to collapse but it is not required for me. Defense is not sticky.
Weighing: WEIGHING IS NECESSARY. I must know why your argument is more important than theirs to be able to vote for you. Additionally, weighing can't be one-sided. You must weigh COMPARING your impact to theirs as opposed to just restating their impact. It can start in rebuttal but IT MUST START IN SUMMARY.
Summary: 1st summary MUST COLLAPSE ON ONE ARGUMENT. Summary must also respond to all offense presented on ALL of their contentions. Summary must also have clean extensions of their case and turns in order for them to stay on my flow. 2nd summary is largely a reactive speech that must respond to the points brought up by 1st summary.
Final Focus: Largely resembles summary. NO NEW INFORMATION IN FINAL FOCUSES. Weighing, case extensions and turn extensions must be present.
Have fun with this activity. It gives back what you give it. You make connections the more you stay in the activity. I will do my best to ease your nerves and help y'all grow in this adventure.
YOU'RE GONNA KILL IT!!!!
—***Last time I debated was 2021, so I am a little rusty.
— I don’t really have a judging “philosophy” butdebate however you like, and I'll attempt to adapt to you - you can do everything/anything you want to do in front of me as long as it's clear, relatively slow (I won’t’ flow off a speech doc ever lol), and coherent. Feel free to ask me questions before round if you’re wondering my opinion & preflow ahead of time so we can get started. Thanks, and have fun.
Kempner '20 | Stanford '24
Email: b.10.benitez@gmail.com
or just facebook message me
4 years of PF, qualified to TOC twice
________________________________
23-24 update: I haven't thought about debate in a minute, so the likelihood I know the intricacies of your arguments is low. However, don't hold back, treat me as tech judge, ask any questions beforehand.
- I've thought about it more, read whatever you want to read. However, my standard for technical proficiency rises as the more technical an argument becomes. i.e. if you want to read non-topical arguments, you'd better make sure you're doing a near perfect job in the back half to win because I won't search for a path to the ballot for you unless it's obvious. TLDR: make our lives easier by having good summaries and finals, I won't do the work for you.
- my old paradigm is here. Lots of my thoughts are the same, just ask me.
- if look confused, i probably am
- GRAPEVINE 24: FLIGHT 2 FLIP + PREFLOW BEFORE ROUND.
General stuff
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Flex prep is cool and tag team speeches/CX is fine with me
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if ur down to skip grand for 30 seconds more prep (during the time of grand), i'm down
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absent any offense in the round, i'm presuming neg on policy topics and first on "on balance" topics
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Defense you want to concede should be conceded in the speech immediately after it was originally read.
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A concession requires an implication of how the defense interacts with your argument not just "we concede to the delinks"
- discourse links are super sketch (i.e vote for us bc we introduced x issue into the round)
Yes, I want to be on the email chain - shabbirmbohri@gmail.com. Label email chains with the tournament, round, and both teams. Send DOCS, not your excessively paraphrased case + 55 cards in the email chain.
I debated 3 years of PF at Coppell High School. I am now a Public Forum Coach at the Quarry Lane School.
Standing Conflicts: Coppell, Quarry Lane
If there are 5 things to take from my paradigm, here they are:
1. Read what you want. Don't change your year-long strategies for what I may or may not like - assuming the argument is not outright offensive, I will evaluate it. My paradigm gives my preferences on each argument, but you should debate the way you are most comfortable with.
2. Send speech docs. I mean this - Speaks are capped at a 27.5 for ANY tournament in a Varsity division if you are not at a minimum sending constructive with cards. If you paraphrase, send what you read and the cards. Send word docs or google docs, not 100 cards in 12 separate emails. +0.2 speaks for rebuttal docs as well.
3. Don't lie about evidence. I've seen enough shitty evidence this year to feel comfortable intervening on egregiously bad evidence ethics. I won't call for evidence unless the round feel impossible to decide or I have been told to call for evidence, but if it is heavily misconstrued, you will lose.
4. Be respectful. This should be a safe space to read the arguments you enjoy. If someone if offensive or violent in any way, the round will be stopped and you will lose.
5. Extend, warrant, weigh. Applicable to whatever event you're in - easiest way to win any argument is to do these 3 things better than the other team and you'll win my ballot.
Online Debate Update:
Establish a method for evidence exchange PRIOR to the start of the round, NOT before first crossfire. Cameras on at all times. Here's how I'll let you steal prep - if your opponents take more than 2 minutes to search for, compile, and send evidence, I'll stop caring if you steal prep in front of me. This should encourage both teams to send evidence quickly.
PF Overview:
All arguments should be responded to in the next speech outside of 1st constructive. If is isn't, the argument is dropped. Theory, framing, ROBs are the exception to this as they have to be responded to in the next speech.
Every argument in final focus should be warranted, extended, and weighed in summary/FF to win you the round. Missing any one of these 3 components is likely to lose you the round. Frontlining in 2nd rebuttal is required. I don't get the whole "frontline offense but not defense" - collapse, frontline the argument, and move on. Defense isn't sticky - extend everything you want in the ballot in summary, including dropped defense.
Theory: I believe that disclosure is good and paraphrasing is bad. I will not hack for these arguments, but these are my personal beliefs that will influence my decision if there is absolutely no objective way for me to choose a winner. I will vote on paraphrasing good, but your speaks will get nuked. I think trigger warnings are bad. The use of them in PF have almost always been to allow a team to avoid interacting with important issues in round because they are afraid of losing, and the amount of censorship of those arguments I've seen because of trigger warnings has led me to this conclusion. I will vote on trigger warning theory if there is an objectively graphic description of something that is widely considered triggering, and there is no attempt to increase safety for the competitors by the team reading it, but other than that I do not see myself voting on this shell often.
I think RVI's are good in PF when teams kick theory. Otherwise, you should 100% read a counter-interp. Reasonability is too difficult to adjudicate in my experience, and I prefer an interp v CI debate.
K's/Non-Topical Positions: There are dozens of these, and I hardly know 3-4. However, as with any other argument, explain it well and prove why it means you should win. I expect there to be distinct ROBs I can evaluate/compare, and if you are reading a K you should delineate for me whether you are linking to the resolution (IMF is bad b/c it is a racist institution) OR your opponents link to the position (they securitized Russia). I think K's should give your opponent's a chance to win - I will NOT evaluate "they cannot link in" or "we win b/c we read the argument first".
I will boost speaks if you disclose (+0.1), read cut cards in rebuttal (+0.2), and do not take over 2 mins to compile and send evidence (+0.1).
Ask me in round for questions about my paradigm, and feel free to ask me questions after round as well.
alec.j.boulton.molero@vanderbilt.edu
My name is Alec, you can call me that and not "judge" <3
-General-
Tech > truth, "tabula rasa" whatever.
Make these rounds interesting. Debate is a game, have fun with it!
Postround.
Cool with anyone speaking in cross.
Ignore my facial expressions.
If you think something is missing from my paradigm, ask me before round or make an argument in round for why I should follow a certain rule when judging. You can also ask me paradigm questions in-round, but I won't give answers that will advantage one team.
Give me real extensions. "Extend our argument" is not an extension. "Extend Cortez who says M4A grows the economy" isn't one either. I also don't care for the card name. I need warrants.
Be quick with evidence or read off cards/send card docs, I'll hard dock speaks.
-Traditional-
Second rebuttal doesn't need to frontline defense, just offense (including implications and weighing).
Weigh. "We outweigh on probability because [insert a response you forgot to read]" is not weighing. If an argument is won, the probability is high. Clear up mess, I'm not voting on unarticulated implications. Scrap weighing categories like "time frame" and "magnitude," just tell me why your offense is more important.
Terminalize your impacts. "20% GDP" isn't an impact.
-Progressive-
I increasingly feel the need to specify that I have a bar for warranting in progressive debate: understand what you're saying. Don't assume I'll vote on your shortcuts. Nothing to be scared of, if you think you'd normally be fine you shouldn't need to change your debating. Anything is fine, just be clear with offs and actually make warrants.Think through what you're doing and try to explain your position to me as though the goal was to fully get me to understand your argument.
If the other team didn't explicitly agree to have a prog debate and they make any abuse claim, I'll drop you. The exception is in-round violations that require theory, but in that case at least be clear pre-speech about what you want to do.
Speech by speech responses are fine, extensions start in summary.
Paraphrase and don't disclose if you want. An absurd amount of judges are incredibly bias and basically auto-drop teams that don't paraphrase or disclose as long as any half-written interp is read. I'll judge those debates.
-Evidence-
I'll call for evidence that I think is important or if I am told to call for it. If you have terrible evidence ethics, I'll call you out, drop the evidence from the flow, and prob take speaks off depending on how bad the evidence is.
If you don't give the warrant in the round, I don't care how good the evidence is.
You don't need evidence for everything. The "arguments start with research and evidence" coach/judge mentality strangles creativity and free thought. If you have a logical claim, back it up with logic. Be careful with what you may think is "logical," you might not see the hole in your chain, and that's part of why you are debating. If something requires evidence (pointing out quantifiable changes for example), then evidence is needed. If one side has evidence and the other has bad logic, then the evidence will be weighed heavily. Trust yourself. Evidence is very nice, and research is important, but don't let it be the cage of your mind.
-Speaks-
If you care about this (which you should!!!), here are some things you can do to up your speaks:
- dap up your opponents (sportsmanship!)
- be nice (or really just don't benot nice)
- don't steal prep time, it's always obvious
- have your evidence ready
- play fair
- literally just don't give me a reason to drop your speaks. I'm not trying to give out 30s, but I like giving higher-end speaks when I see genuine debating and real attempts to engage with this activity :)
I coach withDebateDrills- the following URL has our roster, MJP conflict policy,code of conduct, relevant team policies, and harassment/bullying complaint form:https://www.debatedrills.com/club-team-policies/lincoln-douglas-team-policy
Obligatory flex about where I went to high school, how well I did at debate, where I'm going to college, how many years I've been coaching, how well my students have done, what I do professionally, etc. etc. etc. (for realz tho, I debated mostly pf for 4 years, some parli, some worlds, some congress)
email - caleb.brobst78@gmail.com
I'm an econ and political science major so while I'll go by the flow, you'll def hear about it post-round if u bs basic economics
there's a tl;dr at the bottom that tells you pretty much everything you need to know, but I just feel like longer paradigms that detail things are better than shorter paradigms, also I kinda just keep adding to this so there's definitely some repeat things(those are probably important) and some ramblings as I literally edit this whenever I think about debate
General housekeeping
- include me in the email chain plz, it makes it easier for me to look at cards cause the one's you'll contest are likely to be the ones you called
- if online, idc what you wear, if ur camera is on or not, try not to abuse prep time
- I also don't care what u wear if we're in person
- U can prep while the other side gets their cards, this promotes having ur evidence readily available, which u should so I don't get annoyed - leads to drop in speaks
- I don't care what side you sit on, I'd prefer if you faced me during your speeches
- Have cards/pdf ready, if you give the cut card of a study without the methodology and the other team wants the methodology you better google the card and get the methodology
- I'll time prep/speeches, after time for speeches is done, finish your sentence quickly, anything new I'll stop flowing and dock speaks
- Be nice, Ik debate is inherently aggressive so I understand things get heated, but attack arguments, not people, if you do attack people, I'll drop you, give you the lowest speaks tab will let me, and give the other team double 30s
- keep your computers/cards ready for me to read after the round, I will only call for them if the other team compares evidence/you guys disagree on what the card says. That is the only time I will intervene in a round. See later on evidence.
- During Cross I normally write out comments, but concessions in cross are def important so if they concede a warrant talk about it in speeches
- Don't say ur opponents dropped something when they didn't or that they didn't read something if they did. Idk if people think judges won't notice but I'm flowing, I will, and it will def tank ur speaks like nothing else and if its a close round might end up being part of my decision. Its not a good strat, its lazy debating
Here are some things about the round - General
- If you say that your opponents dropped something when they didn't, I won't drop you but your speaks will be significantly docked
- I won't flow any cards or new arguments brought up in final
- Please weigh, idc if it is at the top, the bottom, or in between but weigh with clear taglines, I don't think buzzwords (i.e. scope, risk, timeframe,) can be used instead of warrants, but I think they make weighing clearer for everyone in the round
- In terms of things that I like weighing wise, love uniqueness, I think probability is still offense, I'd make some sort of warrant why I should prefer it but in general I view it as common sense/how many alt causes is there for ur impact
- tell me why you're weighing mech matters, this decides a lot of close rounds and makes everything easier
- I know the norm is prefer warranting of evidence, but if your evidence sucks, (too old, not specific, wrong methodology) I won't buy it as long as the other team is smart enough to call for the card and tell me it sucks, (hint, hint, call for cards)
- I can handle some speed but if I don't know what you're saying, it doesn't go on the flow, and it doesn't get voted off of, (you'll be able to tell I don't know what it is, I'll stop flowing)
- Paraphrasing is good, you still have to have the cut card or be able to highlight the source where you find it from but in research, you almost never cite actual cut cards and instead paraphrase it, also makes ur read ur sources, and people who are going to paraphrase badly are also going to miscut cards
- Theories that I will for sure vote for: Social Distancing theory, mask wearing theory if we're in person
- Theories that you'll have to work hard to convince me of: Paraphrase, disclosure if reading it against small-school teams, if ya'll are from big schools or are super successful on the circuit you should probably be disclosing cause then you can access ur impact of norm-setting cause debaters look at what u do if no one knows who u r then idk how you're changing norms but if you have a warrant I'll buy it
- In really messy debates I find myself voting on a narrative, a lot of times this happens when teams don't collapse on a single thing in summary/1Rs
- That being said I'll def vote on turns if they're dropped so ya know, but if you're going to extend a turn and you read a de-link on it you'll need to tell me why you're de-link no longer matters
- I.E. the best way to read turns if you're going to go for them in front of me is read uniqueness and then read a turn, weigh the turn preferably when you read it or in the speech after it, or make the de-links not compatible with the turn
- I think rounds tend to come down to either me voting for the team that has offense because one team didn’t frontline sufficiently enough or both teams getting some access to their offense and me voting for whatever team wins the weighing battle, the second one is a lot more common
PF Specific
- Please only extend one case argument in summary, that doesn't mean I won't vote off of the other if you extend more than one, but unless the other team didn't give a rebuttal, extend one
- extend the best piece of defense/offense on the other team's case, please don't card dump at any time
- the first rebuttal can extend defense to first final focus only, but you have to frontline any response the other team gave it
- 2nd rebuttal has the obligation to frontline any offense first rebuttal reads, preferably collapse or start collapsing in the second rebuttal
- No new cards after rebuttals unless they directly respond to an argument the other team ran, I'm more lenient on this for the first summary, less for second
- Don't run theory, K's, or CPs unless the other team is ok with it and have agreed before hand
Parli/WSD
- Empirics are generally good
- Have warrants to back them up
- The negs job is to disprove the aff meaning that aff has the burden 51-49
- that doesn't mean I won't vote on off case neg args, aff u need to respond to them otherwise if they're comparatively weighed vs urs then u lose
- Don't bring up new args in the second speech if you have 4 speeches, its stupid, more lenient on this for aff cause they go first, less on neg (if u bring it up and don't go for it I won't drop u but I'll def give u a low-point win, esp if its a well-developed argument)
- Please weigh, esp in these events, and weigh links because often times it comes down to clashing warrants so give me a way to evaluate them
LD/Policy
- I probably shouldn't be judging this event unless its a local, but I know how to flow so if u put it on the flow and give me a way to evaluate it then I'll vote on it
- I have no conceptions about whether or not substance or theory or whatever comes first so please warrant this out if you're going for something like this otherwise you'll probably be mad when I vote on substance rather than ur high tech super cool theory shell
- If ur spreading u have to send a doc, I don't mind spreading or speed but if I can't hear you I can't flow it and then I can't vote on it, with that being said I'm not super well versed in flowing from doc as a judge
- Theory, K's, CPs, and other stuff here are all the norms so that's fine
- Frameworks are just weighing at the top
- Potlical DA's are normally kinda stupid, there was one that a lot of teams ran about how Trump passing Medicare for all would cause him to get re-elected and I thought that was pretty stupid, I mean they're cool in theory but trying to reduce all of American politics down to one link is probably not a smart idea but if you can do it and the other team doesn't respond to it then hats off to u
Congress
- each speech should respond in some way to the speech before it
- Congress is the time for well warranted, well researched nuanced stock arguments, I don't want to hear anything squirrely, no way out there stuff
- funding arguments are generally not the move unless there's a very specific alt that you can prove the money is being pulled from, just saying hey this money could do something instead isn't enough
- I love a good intro, wack a mole is pretty good, anything that ties into the topic is also nice
- Don't fake evidence, its easy to get away with but its annoying
- If you weigh, do any type of link comparison, impact comparison, or higher-level analysis I'll be very pleased
- Questioning probably doesn't play a huge role in my ballot, I probably use questioning to compare people with similar speeches, you won't win with better questioning over someone if you had worse speeches than them
- Don't be afraid to do straight rebuttals, as long as you attack the idea its ok, call people out by name cause its easier to take notes that way
- this is probably the only event I'm truth over tech, only cause there's not really a flow so
- Idk what to do if ur POing, expect somewhere in the 2-5 spot depending on how well you do, if you really suck I won't be afraid to rank u last
General Judging Philosophy
tech > truth, if you say the sky is purple and the other team doesn't respond to it, the sky is purple, this also means for extinction first, econ growth bad, etc. type args, I will buy them if explained well
Give me that sweet sweet uniqueness meta weighing
Idk if this will apply, but I've seen a lot of political DAs, I'll buy them if well warranted, but trying to reduce all of American politics down to one issue and then ignoring the fact that politics constantly changes by the day, maybe not the move
the above statement does not include racism good, single parents bad, etc. those will 100% of the time be voted down by me
I vote off the flow and the cleanest path to the ballot which should be given to me in weighing
tl;dr tech> truth, have good evidence, weigh, and second speaking has a higher burden in responding to stuff, don't say ur opponents dropped something when they didn't
Also Idk If I said this earlier, but in super messy rounds I tend to lean more towards the side of a cleaner narrative, not saying that the other side won't win, but just something that in general helps a team in a messy round
If you don't know what something means feel free to ask, happy to help
I think rounds tend to come down to either me voting for the team that has offense because one team didn’t frontline sufficiently enough or both teams getting some access to their offense and me voting for whatever team wins the weighing battle, the second one is a lot more common
Graduated from La Salle College Preparatory in 2021
Attending Hawai'i Pacific University studying History and competing casually in British Parliamentary debate here.
Went to TOC in 2020 in Public Forum and Nationals in Big Schools once and Public Forum twice.
For Debate:
I will vote on the cleanest issue on the flow in the round so try not to waste your time on things that have gotten too muddled throughout the round and seek the clearest route to the ballot. I ran K's and theory in high school in Public Forum so if you know how to introduce that into the round correctly I am totally in support. Make sure in any debate round that your arguments also reflect your audience.The easiest thing to vote off is weighing in a round. If you do not weigh your arguments I have no idea how to evaluate or vote for them. I am fine with speed.
For Speech:
I competed casually in Extemporaneous Speech in high school and have not done speech since then. I will judge to the best of my ability noting NSDA standards.
Please ask questions if needed before or after rounds.
Worlds and Extemp @ St John's ('22). Broke at nats for USX, been to TOC for Extemp, broke at TFA for Worlds. mcheng@sjs.org
Did debate for 4 years on both the national and MA circuit, it you have more specific questions ask me before the round. If you have any special accommodations, feel free to send me an email @achoudhury541@gmail.com
I did public forum for Dalton
Please let me know if I can do anything to make you feel more comfortable or safe in round. Feel free to email me at ilanadebateacct@gmail.com if you have things that you'd rather not say publicly. Please add me to the email chain here as well.
- I am good with PF speed (<300 wpm), as long as your opponents are. Debate the way that makes you feel most confident in your analytical skills
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I am open to voting off of any arguments as long as they are fully warranted, fully extended, and non-discriminatory
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Please do actually comparative weighing
- First summary doesn't need to extend defense unless it's frontlined in second rebuttal. My personal preference is that second speaking teams frontline offense at the very least, but you do you
- If you extend an indict or think that they're misrepresenting evidence and you extend this through FF I'll call for it, but otherwise I will not intervene about evidence
- I am open to evaluating Ks, and will do so to the best of my ability. I prefer that you use theory to check back for in round abuse, and am very fine with paragraph theory
- I presume first speaking team unless given warranted reasons otherwise
Let me know if you have any questions
Third year out from Bronx Science debated all four years and was pretty successful (bids, broke at TOC). I don't know much about very tech argumentation (Ks, theory), but feel free to run them (just explain them well). I am very compelled by comparative and uniqueness weighing and detailed warranting!!! All offense should be responded to in the next speech and turns (esp if ur going for them) should be fully extended with warranting and weighing. I will not vote off blippy extensions.
he/him
siddhantdanave@gmail.com
Hey! I'm Vishnu (he/him) and I debated PF at Walt Whitman High School in Maryland.
I will vote on any argument that is frontlined, extended, and weighted.
The second rebuttal has to frontline offense from the first rebuttal and the first summary must extend defense.
Please be respectful and remember to have fun.
Abhiram Dasari
Alpharetta '23
email for chain: dasaridebate@gmail.com
have fun
be nice
do what u want
any references to Playboi Carti, NAV, or Lebron James - all get 1.0 speaker point boost - :)
hi, im jasper! i debated in high school and read every argument you could think of when debating! add me to the email chain: jaspervdatta@gmail.com, and contact me on facebook if you have questions :)
my only unwavering bias in the round is that debate is good. that is not to say our current model of debate is good or your method of debate is good, but just that debating, in general, is a good thing, and more people debating is a good thing. to that end, please read content warnings with opt-outs, be respectful to everyone, and try to be as ethical as possible. i do not care what arguments you read or how you present yourself, just that you make well-warranted arguments and compare them to the other arguments in the round.
preferences:
second rebuttal needs to answer everything from first rebuttal that you plan on collapsing on. defense isn't sticky.
30 speaks if you open-source disclose with highlights.
debate is a communication activity (especially pf), so i can handle speed but im not flowing off a doc.
i presume neg.
dont read anything -ist, read arguments without a warrant, be overly technical on novices/debaters who are out of their depth, or read identity positions against debaters who share that identity.
ask any other questions if you have them :)
Hey y'all. I'm Danielle (she/her). I'm a first-year out who primarily competed/coached PF at a small public HS in NJ (Freehold Township), but I had a couple of WSD stints with my state's team from 2019-2022.
TLDR: Run whatever you want, but I shouldn't have to do mental gymnastics to vote for you. Collapse in the later speeches, be organized, weigh, have a clear narrative, and don't be insufferable in the process.
I'm willing to evaluate whatever you want me to, but I mostly have experience with trad debate.
Speed is fine as long as you slow down on the taglines and send a speech doc.
I don't tolerate toxic energy in the debate space. If you're being exclusionary or problematic, I'll drop you no matter what.
More niche preferences:
I'm not the biggest evidence ethics purist. I'm fine with paraphrasing as long as it doesn't completely deviate from the article's original intent.
I don't care too much about extending card names as much as I care about you extending the analysis. I'd much rather see a detailed, implicated, analytical response than hear "Extend the Smith'17 card."
If you're mavving, I'll give you 5 mins of prep.
Shadow Extensions aren't real
I don't care what happens in cross. If you want it to impact my ballot, extend it into a real speech.
Best of luck! I know these tournaments can be super stressful, but please remember to drink water, eat, and have fun. :)
hey! i'm katheryne. i debated natcirc for whitman for 3 years, went to toc 3 times, toc sems senior yr, ranked high junior and senior yr blah blah, now am a junior at uchicago and assistant coach at taipei american school + lead coach at NDC. i will flow and can evaluate whatever, will evaluate whatever if you justify it is a good model of debate. if you wanna get wacky and wild, scroll down and read some stuff at the bottom.
putting aside my personal preferences and just thinking about what i'm capable of: am a v good judge for substance! pretty good judge for Ks (but hate bad K debate and will give higher speaks + often the W to a team that responds well)! mid to bad judge for theory (have voted for it but it makes my head hurt and causes a questionable decision every time)! hate IVIs! what on earth is an IVI! just read a shell!
i will try to adapt to the panel i'm on for you - if you prefer that means i judge like a lay when on a two lay panel lmk and i will try. but it also means feel free to kick me and go for the two lay ballots! similarly if i'm with two theory judges and that's your strat, go for it! my preferences should not dictate your strategy in outrounds.
please add taipeidocz@gmail.comand k.rose.dwyer@gmail.com to the chain.
2024-25 season update:
- i am finding that my tolerance for poorly signposted and bad clarity speed is getting lower. i find it especially hard to flow 6 spammed one line cards when frontlining that aren't signposted or implicated, which i am hearing more and more of. be clear and slow down on tags or just slow down all together because i will 100% miss a warrant or two if you're not, and won't take extra time to fill stuff in from your doc (meaning i'll use whatever your opponents use to prep after your speech if i need it, but not more).
- important: from october to january i will be in china, meaning i am flowing your online round in the middle of the night. please slow down/otherwise adjust accordingly
- current pet peeve: structural violence refers to aninstitution or social structure perpetuating some form of harm or violence, it is a specific term that does not just mean "something bad happens to someone marginalized," and i am always gonna be down to hear "they don't link into SV bc their link is about disparate criminal orgs and not a structural problem" as a response to framing
- past serious in round abuse (meaning discrimination etc, not like disclosure) everything in this paradigm is up for debate and justifications about why i should/should not judge this way. if you want me to do something differently/evaluate an argument i say i don't usually evaluate/whatever, give me a warrant why i should.
** preferences:
pretty standard tech judge i think. weighing is the first place i look to evaluate, every claim and piece of evidence needs a warrant, arguments need to be responded to in next speech, links and responses must be extended with warrants (not just card names), i love narrative, nothing is sticky but can't go for stuff you conceded ink on earlier, clash is fun. when you have two competing claims (links into the same impact, competing weighing mechs, etc) you need to compare them! if no offense i presume neg. have said wayyyy more in my paradigm about my substance prefs but took most of the specific stuff out cuz it got too long, but feel free to ask me anything!!!
signposting has gotten really bad, especially in doc-heavy rounds when frontlining. plz signpost or i cant flow and then youll be upset and its a whole thing
no matter what type of round, i will make my decisions by figuring what weighing is won, then looking at what pieces of offense link into that weighing, then figuring out if they are won. that means the simplest path to my ballot is winning weighing + one argument. i love good weighing debates!
** can i read xyz in front of you?
experience: by the end of my career, i read everything from substance w/ framing, theory, IVIs, ks with topical links, and non-t ks w/ performances.
no tricks - you will have a hard time convincing me this is a good model - but if that's the hill you wanna die on go ahead
i won't evaluate any arg that is exclusionary. bigotry = L + as few speaks as i can give you.
stolen from my lovely debate partner sophia: DEBATE IS ABOUT EDUCATION, FEEL FREE TO USE ME AS A RESOURCE.You are always welcome to ask questions/contact me after the round. i very often get emails after rounds asking me for help with debate and i try to respond to all of them but if i don't facebook message me!!!
** theory section sigh:
if you are going to read theory in front of me, here are my preferences
- speedrun defaults: CIs, no RVIs, T uplayers K. theory must come speech after abuse, very hesitant to vote on out of round harms i am not married to any of these things and probs above mean willing to vote up arguments that say the opposite! ie -- messy rounds are better if u let me eval under reasonability!
- RVIs DO NOT REFER TO ARGUMENTS WHICH GARNER OFFENSE. an RVI would be to win bc you won a terminal defensive argument on a theory shell and the argument that i should punish the team that introduced theory with an L if they lose it. i know there is disagreement on this, but to me this is what an RVI means, and under this definition i lean no RVIs/will default that way without warrants. I will still vote on a counter interp or a turn on theory EVEN IF NO RVIs IS WON.
- you need to extend layering arguments, ESPECIALLY if there are multiple offs! i will not default to give you theory first weighing or a drop the debater!
- in general, i refuse to give you shitty extensions on theory warrants just because you think i may know them. saying "norm setting" is not enough, explain how you get there and what it means.
ultimately: theory i am probably just not a good judge for! i never read theory much and in my experience these rounds become unresolvable messes based on technicalities that i don't understand well very quickly. if you disagree, think you are a very clear theory debater, or feel like rolling the dice go for it! basically: feel free to read theory if it's your main strat, not an auto-L, but absolutely no promises about my ability to evaluate it, pretty good chance i make a decision that makes no sense to you.
** k debate :0:0:0
among PF judges i am probably above average for Ks of all kinds, lot of experience debating and judging them in PF, but i really hate poorly executed Ks. reading a K poorly = real bad for your speaks, but will give a lot of feedback, so if that's what you're going for, bombs away! but i like good K debates, LOVE good K v K debates, and generally think it is educational to engage w that lit in high school. so hooray! however, the k debates i have judged so far have not been my fav. pls don't assume i'm super enthusiastic to see them.
if you are going to do k debate though, here are some thoughts i have: i like ks with topic links much more than non-t ks. i'm probably not a terrible judge for non-t stuff, but i also don't think i'm the ideal judge. i prefer really specific link debates. omission is not a good link. a general claim about their narrative without substantiation is not a good link. how does X piece of evidence (or even better X narrative which is shown in Y way in ABCD pieces of evidence) display the assumption you are critiquing? the same need for specificity also goes for the impact debate. also, the way alts function in pf is hyper event specific and is probably a good enough reason in itself that this isn't the activity for k debate tbh. you do not get to just fiat through an alt because you're reading a k and everyone is confused! if your alt is a CP and you can't get offense without me just granting you a CP you will not have offense! i think alts that rely on discourse shaping reality are fiiiiiiiiiiiiine i guess. i am open to different ways to see my ballot, but i am equally open to arguments about topicality that say it is not just a question of whether or not you have a topical link, but also the way you frame discussions of the topic in certain scenarios can make it non-topical -- harms/benefits resolutions being explicitly reframed is an example. i love perms! read more perms!
finally, some no-gos. having read all of these things, here are some things i think are bad: links of omission, discourse generating offense, and reject alts.
I did nat circuit PF in high school for Campbell Hall. I am not going to be completely familiar with the conventions of Policy, LD, Parli, etc. but I will be able to flow/evaluate arguments. I can judge theory, Ks, and other meta-arguments but do not know all of the jargon and expect the same degree of warranting for those as I would for a case argument. If it's clear your opponents are unfamiliar with progressive arguments and you spam them w/ a lot of jargon anyway my bar for their responses will be a little lower. Tech>Truth. Spreading is a risky with me so I'd send a speech doc to david_eick@berkeley.edu if you're going to.
Blake '21, UChicago '25
I did PF on the national circuit for 3 years, and now am an assistant coach at The Blake School in Minneapolis.
Tl;dr
- I flow.
- Tech>truth.
- Please read paraphrasing theory in rounds where the opponents are paraphrasing. Paraphrasing is an awful practice, evidence is VERY important to me, and I am happy to use the ballot to punish bad ethics in round.
- Send speech docs before each speech in which cards will be read.
- All kinds of speed are fine, spreading too as long as you are not paraphrasing.
- 2nd rebuttal must frontline, defense isn't sticky, and if I'm something is going to be mentioned on my ballot, it must be in both back half speeches.
- Please weigh.
- I will let your opponents take prep for as long as it takes for you to send your doc or cards without it counting towards their 3 minutes, so send docs pls and send them fast.
- The following people have shaped how I view debate: Ale Perri (hi Ale), Christian Vasquez, Bryce Piotrowski, Darren Chang, Ellie Singer, and Shane Stafford.
- Please add both jenebo21@gmail.com AND blakedocs@googlegroups.com to the email chain.
- Feel free to contact me after the round (on Facebook preferably, or email if you must) if you have questions or need anything from me.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
General Paradigm
Rules
I will time speeches and prep, though you are encouraged to do the same. I will enforce excessive and flagrant intentional violations of speech time rules with the ballot, if necessary. In most cases, this is not needed recourse, and I will simply stop flowing once the time has elapsed.
Speeches
Roadmaps: In most PF rounds, roadmaps aren't necessary, just tell me where you are starting and signpost. If there are more than 2 sheets, then I will ask for a roadmap.
The Split: 2nd rebuttal must frontline; turns and defense. Any arguments dropped by the second rebuttal are considered dropped in the round.
The Back Half: If I am going to vote on it, or in any way going to be apart of my RFD (all offense or defense in the round), it needs to be both in the summary and the final focus. Weighing needs to start in summary, and final focus should be writing my ballot for me. See below for a caveat.
Sticky Defense: In almost all scenarios, defense is not sticky. It is completely incoherent to me that the first summary does not need to extend defense on contentions that the second summary might go for. However, the sole exception to this will be if a team does not frontline to any arguments on a contention in the second rebuttal. The first summary can consider that contention kicked. This is already pretty solidified as a norm, and allows second speaking teams to kick arguments without literally saying “there is no offense on Contention X.” An extension of this contention, that was clearly kicked in second rebuttal, by the second summary will allow the first final to extend defense from the first rebuttal on that contention specifically.
Speed: I am comfortable with all speeds in PF. More often than not, clarity matters more than WPM. I know debaters who speak at 400+ WPM, and I can understand every word. Likewise, I know debaters who don't speak fast but are still super unclear. I will say clear if I can’t follow. You can spread IF you are doing it like it is done in policy (spreading long cards, not a bunch of paraphrased garbage, slow down on tags/authors, sending out a speech doc is a must). If you spread AND paraphrase, however, your chances of winning points of clash immediately plummet.
Speech docs: Please send speech docs with cut cards. This vastly decreases the amount of wasted time in rounds sending various individual cards at different times.
Weighing: The team that wins the weighing debate is nearly always winning the round. I start every RFD with an evaluation of the weighing debate, and it frequently is what controls the direction of my ballot. Please start weighing as early as possible, it will help you make smart strategic decisions without making the round a total mess. I would highly encourage you to go for less and weigh more.
Collapse: Please collapse. I don't want to sift through a flow with tons of tags and zero warrants or weighing. Pick an argument to go for, and weigh that argument. That is the easiest way to pick up my ballot. Debate isn't a scoreboard, winning 3 arguments doesn't mean you get my ballot if your opponent only wins 1 argument.
Abusive Delinks: I cannot believe I have to make this a part of my paradigm, but no delinks or non-uniques on yourself to get out of turn offense. This does not mean you cannot bite defense read, or make new frontline responses to turns, rather it means you cannot overtly contradict your initial arguments with a piece of defense your opponents did not read to get out of offense they read. This applies in situations as clear cut as the aff saying X, the neg responding with X is actually bad, and the aff responds with “not X.” This almost never happens, but is astonishingly abusive when it is attempted.
Framework: If the 1st constructive introduces framework, the 2nd constructive probably should respond to it, or make arguments as to why they get responses later in the round. I don't know where I stand on this technically yet, but this is where I am leaning now. In general, if the 1st constructive introduces framework and the 2nd constructive drops it, I think its ok for the first rebuttal to call it conceded unless otherwise argued.
Advocacies/T: In general, I will evaluate the flow without prejudice on what ground the aff or neg claims to have. Because the neg doesn't get a counter plan in PF, the aff advocacy does not block the neg out of ground. Both the aff and neg can make arguments about what the aff would most likely look at, and should garner advantages and disadvantages based off of those interpretations. I will evaluate whose is more likely to be correct and go from there. An example would be the neg could still read a Russia provocation negative on the NATO topic (Septober 2021) even if the aff does not read a troop deployment advocacy for their advantages unless it is argued that troop deployment is not a feasible implementation of the aff. Alternatively, if the neg can get a CP then I suppose the aff can get an advocacy. Either way works.
Safety issues: I will be quick to drop debaters and arguments that are any -ism, and I won't listen to arguments like racism, sexism, death, patriarchy (etc) good. The space first and foremost needs to be safe to participate in.
Housekeeping: I take the important parts of the debate incredibly seriously, but there are aspects that I find frivolously pretentious. Be nice and respectful, but keep it somewhat light and casual if you can! Debate is supposed to be at least somewhat fun, so lets treat it as such. I don't care what you what you wear, where you sit, if you swear (sometimes a few F-bombs can make an exceedingly boring debate just a little less so!), if you do the flip or enter the room before im there, etc.
Evidence
Disclaimer: I like cut cards and quality evidence, I hate paraphrasing. This section is going to seem cranky, but I don't mind well-warranted analytics. I just hate paraphrasing. Evidence is always better than an analytic, but if you introduce an argument as an analytic, I won't mind and will evaluate it as such. But if your opponents have evidence, you will likely lose that clash point.
Bottom line: Evidence is the backbone of the activity. I do not fancy fast paced lying as a debate format. Arguments about evidence preference are very good in front of me, and I will certainly call for cards if docs are not already sent. Evidence quality is exceedingly important, and I will have no qualms dropping teams for awful evidence. This applies regardless of if you cut cards or paraphrase, because cutting cards doesn't make you immune to lying about it.
Paraphrasing: The single worst wide-spread practice in PF debate today is paraphrasing. Luckily, it seems on the decline! Regardless, it is bad for the quality of debate, it is bad for all of its educational benefits, and it ruins fairness. Please cut cards, it is not difficult to learn. If you insist on making me upset and paraphrasing, keep the following in mind:
1. You must have a cut card that you paraphrased from. It is an NSDA rule now.
2. Your opponents do not need to take prep to sort through your PDFs, and if you can’t quickly produce the evidence and where you paraphrased it from, I'm crossing the argument off my flow. I have very little tolerance for long, paraphrased evidence exchanges where you claim to have correctly paraphrased 100 page PDFs and expect your opponents to be able to check against your bad evidence with the allotted prep time.
3. Paraphrasing does not let you off the hook for not reading a warrant. 40 authors in 1st rebuttal by spreading tag blips and paraphrasing authors to make it faster is not acceptable and your speaks will tank.
4. If you misrepresent a card while paraphrasing, not only is that bad in a vacuum, but I will give you the L25. If you realize its badly represented OR you can’t find it when asked and you make the argument to "just evaluate as an analytic," I will also give an L25. If you introduce the evidence, you have to be able to defend it.
5. Don’t be mad at me if you get bad speaks. There is no longer world in which someone who paraphrases, even if they give the perfect speech gets above a 28.5 in front of me. I used to be more forgiving on this, but no longer.
Producing evidence: If reading the header "paraphrasing" meant you skipped over that part of my paradigm, I will reiterate something that is important regardless of how you introduce the evidence. If you can’t produce a card upon being asked for it within reasonable time frame given the network or technical context, your speaks will tank.
Evidence Preference: Even if not a full shell, arguments that I should prefer cut cards over paraphrased cards at the clash points are going to work in front of me.
Author Cites: This is yet another thing I should not need to put in my paradigm. You need to cite the author you are reading in speech for it to be counted as evidence as opposed to an analytic. If you read something without citing an author, I will flow it as an analytic and if your opponents call for that piece of evidence, and you hand it to them without citing it in the round, I am dropping you. It is blatant plagiarism and extremely unethical. In an educational activity, this should be exceedingly obvious.
Progressive Paradigm
Debate is good: Deep in my bones, I believe that debate is good. It may presently be flawed, but I believe the activity has value and can be transformative in the best possible way. Arguments that say debate is bad and should be destroyed entirely (often this is the conclusion of non-topical pessimistic arguments, killjoy, etc) will be evaluated but my biases towards the activity being good WILL impact the decision. This does not make them unwinnable, but probably not strategic to read.
Disclaimer: I'm receptive to all arguments, including progressive ones in the debate space, but they have been getting very low quality recently. I worry about the long-term impact about some of these in the activity. I beg of you, think about the model you are advocating for, and think about if its sincerely going to make the space better for the people growing up in it. The impact you can leave on the activity could be positive or negative and will outlast your time as a debater.
Theory
CI/Reasonability: I default to competing interpretations unless told otherwise, but that doesn't really mean much if you read the rest of this section. I am going to evaluate the flow, so if you read theory arguments that I won't intervene against, I am going to evaluate the flow normally.
RVIs: I generally think no-RVIs. The exception to this is an RVI on an IVI.
IVIs: These are really bad for debate. If there is a rules claim to be made, make it a theory shell. If there is a safety issue, then stop the round. Almost all of the time, IVIs are vague whines spammed off in the span of 4 seconds without any explanation. This proliferation is nearly existential for the activity, and it needs to stop. My threshold for responses to these is near zero.
Frivolity: I have no problem intervening against frivolous theory (i.e. shoe theory), so if you run theory in front of me, please believe that its actually educational for the activity. This does include spikes and tricks. I don't like them, please don't run them. If the theory is frivolous, and I reserve the right to determine that, I won't vote on it no matter the breakdown of the round. I won't vote for auto-30 speaker point arguments.
Introduction: Theory needs to be read in the speech following the violation. Out of round violations should be read in constructive.
Paraphrasing is bad: I will vote on paraphrasing bad most of the time, as long as there’s some offense on the shell. I will NEVER vote on paraphrasing good, I don't care how mad that may make you to hear, I just won't do it. If you introduce cut cards bad or paraphrasing good as a new off (like before a paraphrasing bad shell) I will instantly drop you. That said, you can win enough defense on a paraphrasing shell to make it not a voter. Paraphrasing theory is the exception to the disclaimers outlined above, I think paraphrasing should be punished in round and am happy to vote on it.
Disclosure is good: Disclosure is good, but how you disclose matters. These days I prefer open source disclosure, where tags, cites, and highlights are all included. "Open source" with no highlights or tags, where teams put up walls of unformatted text and expect people to do precisely anything with it, is a huge pet peeve of mine and interps that punish teams that do this will be received favorably. My predisposition towards disclosure is slightly less severe than mine towards paraphrasing, but my decisions cannot help but to be impacted by them. It is not impossible, but probably not easy, to win disclosure bad in front of me. Ideally, you would just disclose. I have decided the activity should probably start moving in the direction of disclosing rebuttal evidence as well, so do with that what you may. I will listen to reasons why that is bad, though I struggle to see the conceptual difference between a link turn and a case link from a disclosure perspective.
Trigger warnings: I think trigger warnings in PF are usually bad, and usually run on arguments that don’t need to be trigger warned which just suppresses voices and arguments in the activity. You’ll find Elizabeth Terveen’s paradigm has a good section on this that I generally agree on. You can go for the theory, but my threshold for responses will be in accordance with that belief typically. Obviously, egregiously graphic descriptions are an exception to this general belief, but they are almost never run in PF. The mention of something is not a good enough reason for a trigger warning.
Kritiks
General disposition: I am somewhat comfortable evaluating most kritikal arguments, although I’m not as experienced with them as I am with others. I will be able to flow it and vote on it as long as you explain it well. I am quite comfortable with capitalism, security, and fem IR.
Disclaimer: Blake 2021 made me think about this part of my paradigm a lot, and I think the activity is just going through growing pains that are necessary, but some of these debates were really bad. The proliferation of identity, pomo inspired kritiks that vaguely ask the judge to vote for a team based on an identity and nothing else is not good. Moreover, methods that advocate collapsing the activity are unlikely to be well received. In any case, please articulate exactly what my ballot does or what specifically I am supposed to be doing to improve the activity. This means implicating responses or arguments onto the FW debate, or the ROTB.
“Pre-fiat”: No one thinks fiat is real, so let’s be more specific about how we label arguments and discourse. Make comparisons as to why your discourse or type of education is more important than theirs, this is not done by slapping the label "pre-fiat" onto an argument.’
Discourse: I am pretty skeptical that discourse shapes reality. If you go for this, you best have excellent evidence and good explanations.
Speaks
I will probably give around a 27-28 in most rounds. I guess I give lower speaks than most PF judges, so I’ll clarify. 27-28 is middling to me with various degrees within that. 26-27 is bad, not always for ethical reasons. Below a 26 is an ethical issue. If you get above a 29 from me you should be very happy because I never give speaks that high almost ever. I will not give a 30, there are no perfect debaters.
Leland High school 2021
Cornell college '25
Debated for 4 years for Leland, did ok. Mostly under the code "Leland FS" for those who want to stalk
Paradigm Stolen from Karsen Wahal:
How I vote:
1. Who is winning the weighing?
2. Who is winning a link into that weighing?
3. If no one is winning a link into any weighing, then I'll either find the best remaining offense, or, if none exists, presume whoever lost the coin flip (that'll be rare, though).
Tech > truth, but I'm probably marginally more inclined towards truer arguments.
I debated pretty quickly and I'm totally good with PF fast, but not policy spreading. If you do really want to spread for some reason, at least provide a speech doc.
Second rebuttal must frontline -- all turns must be frontlined and frontline the argument you're going for.
Weighing is the most important thing for me, and it's typically how I evaluate rounds. Give me warrants for your weighing and do clear comparisons (don't just use buzzwords).
Tell me why to prefer your arguments -- give me impact comparisons, link comparisons, evidence comparisons. If you do that effectively, you'll almost always win. Sidenote: Probability weighing is fake 95% of the time, but if you warrant it well, I'll buy it. If it's the only other weighing in the round, I'll probably also buy it.
Warrant everything. Don't just extend your impact, extend your whole argument.
Please collapse.
Logic is great -- evidence is better, but I'm more than willing to vote on well-warranted logical turns or defense.
If you do cooler weighing mechanisms than just scope/magnitude etc., you get bonus points.
Defense is sticky, but if defense is frontlined, it must be responded to in the next speech.
Signposting is important. Tell me how to vote in FF (treat me like a lay judge in your final focus).
I won't call for evidence unless a) it's contested in the round and it'll affect my decision or b) I just think it's interesting. But please don't misconstrue evidence: if it's really horrendous, I'll drop you for it. Progressive argumentation is fine, but I didn't run theory/Ks in high school. Run it at your own risk (I might not understand it at all).
Cross: I don't pay that much attention, and don't flow it, so if something important happens, tell me. I'll pay some attention though, so don't screw around too much.
Please time yourselves.
I appreciate humor.
Most importantly, don't be exclusive. To anyone. Period.
I'll almost always disclose. Feel free to ask questions.
tldr; default to a genuinely flow-based judge. Updated recently for greater clarity.
I am good with tech rounds, but my threshold for speed is lower when judging, so don't spread on me. I need cases to be around 750 words for me to catch everything, but my response to speed somewhat improves as the round progresses. In other words, I need you to take it slow in constructive, but I can generally handle quicker back half rounds.
I vibe with all the standard stuff but am also susceptible to good rhetoric. I judge directly off the flow and am very conscious to not insert personal knowledge/evaluation.
No discrimination on the identity or circumstance of participants in round will be tolerated. Read trigger warnings with an opt-out if you at all think your case might warrant one. Please use gender neutral language in round if you don't know the pronouns of your opponents.
Grand cross is fun, and people need to stop being mean to it :(
Theory: I have voted on theory before and am open to evaluating it so long as it's targeting significant in-round abuse. I still follow theory on the flow, but I do believe that theory somewhat asks the judge to draw upon their own perception of what's happened in the round. I am 100% willing to stop the round and vote if there is any kind of behavior compromising the safety of participants. I will never, ever vote on disclosure theory.
Framework: Love it. Comfortable voting under basically any philosophical framework (deontology, util (I have a greater understanding of act utilitarianism rather than rule utilitarianism) rights, etc) as long as its won. I will give you a speaks boost if you run rights framework bc I've never head that in PF and want to see it. Also love fiat analysis.
Ks: If your K isn't accessible, I would ask you to offer an opt-out system. I am definitely more likely to vote on Ks that have tangible pre-fiat impacts. I am a decent evaluator of Ks if they're accessible enough for the literature to be understood. Please, please, please don't spread Ks.
Speaks: My speaks start at 28, and I definitely do hand out 30s. Just because you lose doesn't mean low speaks. If you're break quality, expect above 28s.
General Preferences: Fun rounds are the best rounds. Please extend cards when doing case extensions. Implicate your offensive responses.
Feel free to ask me if there's any questions post round.
Hi! I debated Public Forum for four years. I'm the average 'flow judge' and would also describe my (previous) debate style as an average 'flay' debater. For background, I qualified to TFA State thrice and TOC/NSDAs twice. In short, I would suggest you focus on persuasion and quality of arguments, rather than quantity and jargon. Do not put me on the email chain and please go at a very slow speed.
Read this above all: "I will not evaluate any Ks, theory (particularly disclosure theory), or other forms of technical argumentation from Policy/LD that are not common in PF. Not only am I uncomfortable with my ability to seriously evaluate these, I don't think they should exist in an event designed with as low of a barrier of entry as possible. If your opponent is racist, sexist, ableist, etc. I will intervene as necessary." -Jacqueline Wei
1. Exercise PF style judgment. Collapse, full frontline in second rebuttal, and extend defense in summary. DO tell me explicitly to call for evidence and signpost clearly. DON'T tag team speeches, flex prep, or spread. Speaker points are based on the above mentioned strategy but also decorum.
2. Present a cohesive narrative. Speeches throughout the round should mirror each other and have a strong central idea. As such, developed arguments and smart analytics always trump blips. I find myself not voting for arguments with little work done on them when they don't fit a story. By the end of the round, each argument should have extended evidence with a claim, warrant, and impact.
3. Weighing decides rounds. Weighing and meta-weighing should be done early and throughout the round, but with quality over quantity. This means implicating your weighing to engage with your opponent's arguments. I encourage you to create a lens to view the round by weighing turns, evidence, and case arguments in novel ways.
Ask any questions to me if necessary (feel free to contact me at nilaygandhi@utexas.edu) , and remember to enjoy each round!
A little bit about me: I debated at the Bronx High School of Science for 4 years, where I was one of the captains of the PF team and broke at Gold TOC in my junior year. I am now a senior at Princeton University on their debate team as well. I consider myself a relatively flow debater, and so I will also be judging on the flow.
TL; DR
I am a pretty standard flow judge; if you debate well, both in terms of the technical aspect and persuasion aspect, that will make me happy. To take from my partner Tenzin Dadak's paradigm, the only equation you need to know is: Warrant + Weigh = Win
For the email chain and any questions, my email is gangulya@bxscience.edu
Novices, scroll down towards the end, unless you're curious. Here's the long version.
Extended:
The way I evaluate every round is pretty simple- I look to weighing/framing first, and whoever I think is winning the weighing, I look to their arguments first. Then, if I think that there is a plausible risk of offense on that argument, I vote for that team- I don't even look at the other side of the flow. It's that simple, so it should inform you on what to prioritize in the round to get my ballot.
More things to do to secure my ballot:
1. Collapse. Too many times teams spread themselves too thin by trying to argue that they are winning every argument in the round, which makes it even more difficult to just win one; towards the later speeches, please whittle the round down to one or two major pieces of offense/voters for me.
2. Extend offense and frontline in summary and final focus. Pretty simple- if you don't tell me why I should vote for you and why your argument still holds true even after their rebuttal, the likelihood is that I will not vote on it.
3. WARRANT YOUR ARGUMENTS AND EVIDENCE. Warranting, for me, is the most interesting part of debate because that is where your logical reasoning and understanding of the world comes into play- just asserting a statement to be true or just reading a statistic is nowhere near enough to make me believe your arguments. Please explain the reasoning behind each step of the argument- even though there are massive time constraints in final focus, please still include it in a condensed form.
4. WEIGH. This is probably one of the most under-appreciated aspects of debate, and to become a great debater, you need to be able to compare your arguments to your opponents and explain why yours are more important to consider in the round. Just saying "We outweigh on scope because we affect more people" is not fully fleshed out weighing; you need to give more reasoning and also compare the clashing weighing mechanisms in the round. Weighing makes my job easier, and will probably lead to you being more content with my decision.
Miscellaneous:
1. PROGRESSIVE ARGUMENTATION: Personally, I believe that a lot of progressive argumentation does not have a place in PF, and will always prefer topical arguments over Ks and theory UNLESS there is clear abuse. As for my position on some norms, I lean very strongly paraphrasing good, slightly lean towards disclosure not necessary, lean RVIs good, and default reasonability. I do not know much about this type of debate, so please slow down and explain it thoroughly if you do choose to run it in front of me, and I will treat it as any other argument. Trigger warnings are a necessity, and if I feel as though you are running this just to win an easy ballot against a team that obviously does not know how to respond, I will drop you- progressive argumentation is supposed to correct the flaws that are in this activity, NOT to be weaponized.
2. I base speaker points on your speaking skills and presentation AND on how technically sound you debate. Because of this, if the tournament allows me to, I will give a low-points win. I will start at 28.
3. Please don't be overly aggressive or mean in round; light-hearted humor is wonderful, but be wary of the line where it crosses over from being funny to disrespectful. Oh and also, please don't be racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. That will automatically make me drop you- I have no tolerance for people who make the round an unsafe space to debate.
4. I am tech>truth, but not entirely. I will vote on any argument if it is well-warranted and well-executed in round, but as the argument becomes more outlandish, my threshold for a good response goes down and I am more likely to believe simple logical responses.
5. Please don't be egregiously poor with evidence- that just leads to really mucky debates and that would make me sad.
6. Please signpost- tell me which argument you are talking about, where in the argument you are, etc. This just makes it easier for me to flow the round.
7. Speed is fine, but don't go excessively fast (this means no spreading!!!)- if I need you to slow down then I will say "clear".
8. About crossfires- I fall in the category of people who really enjoy listening to cross, but anything important that comes out of cross that you think is necessary for me to take note of has to be put into a speech, else it will not affect my decision.
9. Please make the round enjoyable; then we can all have fun and that would make it a great time. This activity is meant to be both fun and competitive- please try to make it so.
10. ABOUT TURNS: Since everyone is turning to the idea of dumping turns on all arguments without any proper warranting, this section is now warranted. I despise blippy turns, so unless you spend >10 seconds on one turn AND extend an impact on that turn in that same speech OR weigh your turn in that very same speech that you read the turn in, I will think of it as blippy and I will be very sympathetic to the other team's responses. Other team, please point out that they are blowing up a blip. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR SECOND REBUTTAL TURNS. Tread lightly.
FOR NOVICES:
I do not expect too much from y'all; I remember when I was a novice myself I certainly would not oblige to what I have mentioned above. That being said, here is some of the clear stuff that would make the round better and make me happy:
1. Signpost in every speech- this is a good practice generally, and allows you to stay organized and me to understand what you're saying.
2. Give voters in the back half of the round- it is not enough to tell me why the opponents should not win; you need to explain why you win and why I should vote for you.
3. Warrant and Weigh- Give me the reasoning behind your evidence and why your arguments logically are sound, and then compare their importance to those of the opponents.
If y'all got through all of that, then y'all are some real ones. If you want any speaker point boosts, call the pro's contentions as PROtentions (+0.5 speaker points). Thank you for reading this- if you have any specific questions just ask me before the round starts, and I will be happy to answer them. If you want to reach me, my email is gangulya@bxscience.edu
email me for questions/add me to the chain: tara.gill.527@gmail.com
tl;dr:
Me: "Do you know why I'm such a laid-back judge?"
Y'all: "Why?"
Me: "I go with the flow"
(creds to @Debate Memes on Facebook haha)
- yes I will vote off the flow
- honestly just debate well enough to make me care enough about the round (which means focus on the bolded text below)
- warrant, extend your full link story and impact, and weigh and you're doing really well
- I don't think most debaters truly spend time explaining warrants or weighing
- things you want me to vote on have to be in every speech after first rebuttal
- I want the round to be chill and educational and fun so please make that happen
quick disclaimers
i'm now old and grumpy and care a bit less about debate than i used to so please don't assume i have extensive topic knowledge
novices:
it's so cool that you're trying out this activity even though it's probably kind of scary. If you don't understand some of my preferences in the long version, the tl;dr should be fine. Just know that you're probably doing great and that you got this :)
feel free to ask me any questions before/after the round.
Longer Version:
hi! I did 2 years of Public Forum at Lexington but I started out my debate career in policy which influences how I judge!
- i'm more tech than the average tech judge so please clash to avoid judge intervention, or at the very least weigh a lot on both link and impact levels :)
- in later speeches, please give quick narrative style overviews at the top of your own case then frontline/line by line (i still don't know what frontline means but just don't drop stuff) if u want me to vote on your contentions otherwise dropped defense will mitigate your impacts. this also means u should frontline in second rebuttal and extend defense in first summary.
- i will vote off most arguments including theory/k if they are debated well (my threshold for these being run well is pretty high lmao so try at your risk) and not used just to be exclusionary (check the bottom of my paradigm)
- do a lot of weighing/impact calc and logical analysis (not just for me, it is also strategic if you're lost/confused and I would know first hand oops)
- once again please weigh weigh weigh. really make the force of gravity a lot here (i'm sorry i'm a physics nerd)
- start collapsing by first summary because depth>breadth in terms of giving quality arguments in short PF speech times
- crossfire shouldn't be three minutes of extra debating please ask and answer questions in a non-aggressive and CIVIL manner or I will be frustrated, get a headache and probably dock speaks.
- if you want to take off a jacket or shoes in round feel free to do so because i almost never debated with shoes. this will not affect speaks or the result :)
- feel free to ask me questions about my decision if you're confused, I will not dock speaks and I feel like it usually helps you learn how you can improve in the future
- i am fine w speed if you do all of the following: prioritize clarity, make sure your opponents are ok too, slow down on tags, authors, and analytics, signpost clearly, offer speech docs if necessary
- lastly, debate is a game: this means that you should not be exclusionary, follow the rules or warrant why you shouldn't, and let me know if there is anything I can personally do to make the debate more accessible to you, and HAVE FUN!!!!!
Extra:
- fist-bump instead of shaking hands haha
- I'll default to a slightly above a 28 if it's by 0.1 and 28.5 if it's by 0.5
- i am also happy to talk after round, show you my flows, and answer questions about either debate or life :)
LD (MSDL States 2024):
i am fairly confident in my ability to flow a debate and understand arguments that are clearly explained to me, however, I also understand there are certain thing specific to LD that I am not familiar with.
- focus on weighing your arguments against your components, basic frameworks (util, structural violence) I am familiar with and are good for providing that comparison
- not sure about other "value criterion" that's a term i've heard but i don't know what that means so just explain to me clearly
- not super used to nat circuit LD speed anymore, but a little speed is fine
- rest of the paradigm applies
I am a third year at UC Berkeley and an assistant debate coach for College Prep. I debated for Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS in high school and won the Glenbrooks, the Strake Round Robin, Blake, Durham, the Barkley Forum, Stanford, Harvard, the King Round Robin, and NDCAs.
Please add eli.glickman@berkeley.edu AND collegepreppf@gmail.com to the email chain, and label the chain clearly; for example, “TOC R1F1 Email Chain Bethesda-Chevy Chase GT v. AandM Consolidated DS.”
TL;DR
I am tech over truth. You can read any argument in front of me, provided it’s warranted. Extensions are key; card names, warrants, links, and internal links are all necessary in the back half. Good comparative analysis and creative weighing are the best ways to win my ballot.
———PART I: SPEECHES———
Signposting:
Teams that do not signpost will not do well in front of me. If I cannot follow your arguments, I will not flow them properly.
Cross:
I might listen but I won't vote off or remember anything said here unless it's in a speech. Rudeness and hostility are unpleasant, and I will ding your speaks if you do not behave professionally in cross. Teams may skip GCX, if they want. If you agree to skip GCX, both teams get 1 additional minute of prep.
Rebuttal:
Read as much offense as you want, but you should implicate all offense well on the line-by-line. Second rebuttal must frontline defense and turns, but blippy defense from the first rebuttal doesn’t all need to be answered in this speech.
Summary:
Defense is not sticky, and it should be extended in summary. I will only evaluate new turns or defense in summary if they are made in response to new implications from the other team.
Final Focus:
First final can do new weighing but no new implications of turns, nor can the first final make new implications for anything else, unless responding to new implications or turns from the second summary. Second final cannot do new weighing or make new implications. Final focus is a really good time to slow down and talk big picture.
———PART II: TECHNICAL THINGS———
Voting:
I default to util. If there's no offense, I presume to the first speaking team. I will always disclose after the round.
Evidence:
Paraphrasing is fine if it is done ethically. Smart analytics help debaters grow as critical thinkers, which is the purpose of this activity. Well-warranted arguments trump poorly warranted cards. There are, however, two evidence rules you must follow. First, you must have cut cards, and you must send cut cards in the email chain promptly after your opponent requests them. Second, I will not tolerate misconstruction of evidence. If you misconstrue evidence, I will give you very low speaks, and I reserve the right to drop you, depending on the severity of the misconstruction.
Email Chains:
I require an email chain for every round, so evidence exchange is faster and more efficient. If you are spreading or reading any progressive arguments, you must send a doc before you begin. You should not have any third-party email trackers activated; if you do, I will tank your speaks.
Prep Time:
Don't steal prep or I will steal your speaks. Feel free to take prep whenever, and flex prep is fine too.
Speech Times:
These are non-negotiable. I stop flowing after the time ends, and I reserve the right to scream "TIME" if you begin to go over. Cross ends at 3 minutes sharp. If you’re in the middle of a sentence, finish it quickly.
Speed:
I can follow speed (300wpm+), but be clear. If I can't understand what you're saying that means I can't flow it. Speed is good in the first half and bad in the second half, collapse strategically, and don't go for everything. If I miss something in summary or final focus because you're going too fast and I drop you, it's your fault. I repeat, slow down, don't go for everything, and be efficient.
Speaks:
Clarity and strategy determine your speaks. I disclose speaks as well, just ask.
Postrounding:
Postround as hard as you want, as I think it's educational.
Trigger Warnings:
I do not require trigger warnings. I will not reward including them, nor will I penalize excluding them. This is informed by my personal views on trigger warnings (see Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, The Coddling of the American Mind). I will never opt out of an argument. I will not hack for trigger warning good theory, and I am open to trigger warning bad arguments (though I will not hack for these either).
———PART III: PROGRESSIVE DEBATE———
You do not need to ask your opponent if they are comfortable with theory. “I don't know how to respond” is not a sufficient response. Don’t debate in varsity if you can’t handle varsity arguments.
Preferences:
Theory/T - 1
LARP - 1
Kritik - 3
Tricks - 3
High Theory - 4
Non-T Kritik - 5 (Strike)
Performance - 5 (Strike)
Theory:
I think frivolous theory is bad. I'll evaluate it, but I have a lower threshold for responses the more frivolous the shell. Poorly executed theory will result in low speaks. If you've never run theory before, and feel inclined to do so, I'm happy to give comments and help as much as I can.I default to competing interps and yes RVIs. I believe that winning no RVIs applies to the entire theory layer unless your warrants are specific to a shell, C/I, etc. Unless I am evaluating the theory debate on reasonability you must read a counterinterp; if you do not all of your responses are inherently defensive because your opponents are the only team providing me with a 'good' model of debate.
Theory must be read immediately after the violation. You must extend your shells in rebuttal, and you must frontline your opponent’s shell(s) immediately after they read it.
Kritiks:
I ran Ks a few times, however, I am not a great judge for these rounds. I'm fairly comfortable with biopower, security, cap, and imperialism.
Tricks:
These are pretty stupid but go for them if you want to.
Everything Else:
Framework, soft-left Ks, CPs, and DAs are fine.
TKO:
If your opponent has no path to the ballot, such as conceded theory shell or your opponents reading a counterinterp that they do not meet themselves, you may call a TKO. If your TKO is valid, you win with 30 speaks, however, if your opponents did have a path to the ballot you will lose with very low speaks.
No Debate.
Firstly, If both teams agree, give me a paradigm that you like better and I'll judge based on it (this includes not flowing/being a lay judge lol I am g-d tier mom judge and won't intervene)
Here is how you should read my paradigm: at the top of each section is the most important stuff. If you only have a few mins read that. reading below those parts will provide a more in-depth take into my judging philosophy.
Update for Online Tourneys
I rlly can't follow like REAL spreading but I can take 99% of PF speed. I'll clear u if i need it. also ask questions if u have them and I'll answer as honestly as possible!
Most important part of my paradigm:
If you make or buy me a chicken parm or mac and cheese, I will get you prep on a topic or coach you for a round or something. I rlly like chicken parm and mac and cheese....
My name is Sam and I debated PF at Wayland High School in Wayland, MA. Was a meh first speaker and got carried imo. Now I'm a member of the Barkley Forum at Emory University in Atlanta.
TLDR: Normal circuit tech judge who likes warrants and logic and needs you to collapse on args
Feel free to ask any questions about my paradigm before round or my RFD after round. (thx @Kate Selig for this idea: I'd rather you postround me than tell everyone I'm a bad judge )
Also, ask questions before the round starts! I might have thoughts on the topic you'll wanna hear. tbh also might not cuz I'm kinda dumb
Speed:
u can go fast, but don't like SPREAD SPREAD plz plz. i will try to keep up and clear u if need be.
I can flow it but only if you articulate well enough. 300 wpm and up I need a speech doc. The faster you go the more work I have to do and I'm lazy. I will always flow ur speed, but chances are if you feel the need to go too fast, then your time allocation was bad/you made bad strategic decisions. Also like fr just cuz u can go fast doesn't mean u should. Speed kills
Theory/Progressive args:
read whatever you want. i ran a cap k during medicare for all and loved it lol. I'd rather you not read random theory args just bc you want to win. if you're doing that, ASK YOUR OPPONENTS/DISCLOSE BEFORE ROUND. its rlly sh1tty if you don't. i can't emphasize it enough, reading theory on novices or people that don't understand what's going on = :(
don't run theory if u wanna get high speaks (or win bc i VERY much prefer substance)tbh --> i judged a team who read disclosure against an international team that clearly didn't understand how to debate it and it angered me to my soul. that's just really not cool. don't be mean. :(
but like if it's warranted and weighed I'll vote off of it just like not happily
the below is borrowed from Jason Luo's paradigm
d-d-d-d-disclosure theory - win the flow, win the round. i am very (like actually completely 50-50) tab ras about disclosure, i do not think it is good or bad, just that it exists.
p-p-p-p-paraphrase theory - win the flow, win the round. i am very slightly biased (55-45) for paraphrasing good but its not hard to win paraphrasing bad.
all other theory/k stuff: if it's warranted and weighed I'll vote off of it.
Cross:
it doesn't matter
Its useless to me. If you want to use an answer your opponent gives in cross, then say it in a speech. Don't be rude. Hug your opponent for a 30.
If your partner roasts their opponent in cross (without being douchey) you are expected to stand up and yell "WORLD STAR!." If you do so and I find the roast amusing then you and your partner each get 30's. If you misjudge a roast and I think it's lame you get 26's for interrupting cross.
Framework:
I default util.
Explain it well and how I'm supposed to evaluate offense under it. the more complex, the more explaining u need. Framework debates aren't my absolute favorite but hey, you do you!!
Evidence disputes:
read ev if u want. don't miscut but i won't drop u for it.
I value all evidence equally unless you weigh it, which you should. You should ALWAYS tell me why I need to value your evidence more. also, evidence doesn't matter nearly as much as logical warranting. also like in general i won't call for cards unless ur like "sam call for this card" in speech. I think that calling for ev in any other circumstance is intervening.
Speaker Points:
strategy + speak pretty to get good speaks
You will get better speaks if: You make jokes. You give good speeches and make good strategic decisions. You aren't a dick. You make me laugh. I am extremely generous and tend to give out 29's routinely. I will give you a 30 if you are exceptional. *Send me a speech doc for an extra .3 speaks (sgoldstone514@gmail.com). Also extra .3 speaks for collapsing (if u do it correctly and it makes me happy) in 2nd rebutal. I guess I'm receptive to 30s theory but like it shouldn't be hard to get a 29.5 from me. I good example of really good strategy is what Jason Luo did in first final focus of TOC finals. also i will give speaks relative to the round and the level of competitors in the debate.
Here is an itemized list of my favorite speakers in no particular order:
- Rahul Shah (his voice is soothing and he's so damn cute)
- Claudia Leduc (gives summary without looking at the flow at all, hella impressive)
- Atharva Weling (sounds so persuasive)
Rebuttal:
collapse in 2nd rebuttal. at least frontline offense and stuff. anything not frontlined is conceded.
Summary + FF:
Collapse, extend full link chain, weigh
I like roadmaps. I don't need defense in first summary. Don't extend too much in Summary, thats my biggest pet peeve FOR JESUS' (or any g-d u may or may not believe in, but if u wanna win the round do this lol) SAKE: COLLAPSE. When extending the argument you're going for, please extend the uniqueness, link, and impact in both speeches. An incomplete/ghost extension would a) make me sad and b) possibly lose you the round.
Please impact out turns in summary (although its better if this is done in rebuttal) if you plan on going for them. It is 100% okay to just go for a dropped turn. Also, u can go either line by line or give voters/do what you usually do. Don't extend through ink lol. Defense isn't rlly sticky it (unless u make an arg that it is in speech) but I'm less inclined to vote for a team that doesn't frontline at all even if their opponents don't extend defense.
Weighing:
Please weigh, and give me good analysis. It makes my job 1000x easier.
Earlier you weigh, the better. Weighing is very helpful in rebuttal, but NEEDED for me to vote in Summary and FF. With the new 3 min summaries, I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to weigh in summary. No new weighing in 2nd FF, new weighing in 1st FF is unfavorable but if it's the only weighing in the round and they don't respond to it then like eh. If both teams win their weighing and cases and there is no meta weighing then I will vote for the team whose weighing was introduced earlier in the round (prereq/link ins weighing doesn't apply here bc if one case is a prereq to another then u vote for the prereq/link in). Does this favor the 1st speaking team? No, you can weigh (and do other fun things) in 2nd constructive. Unrelated but remember to weigh turns over contentions. If nobody weighs then i honestly won't know what to do. I thinks its probably interventionist to pick which argument is better if both teams win their args. jUsT mAk3 mY lyfE eAs1eR!!!
How I make my decision:
Weighing debate first.
I vote on the weighed args first but if nobody weighs then i be big sad, but I'll vote on cleanest/clearest path to the ballot. I thinks its probably interventionist to pick which argument is better if both teams win their args and the paths are both clear/clean. If there is no offense in the round then I flip a coin to decide who picks up cuz choosing any other way is interventionist, but feel free to make warranted arguments abt defaulting to one side or speaking order. I will always disclose after the round and give an RFD. also PS lmfao u need to win the link into the impact that u weighed.
Other:
I will reward you for taking risks like collapsing on only a turn. Please signpost and tell me where you are on the flow. I hate dumb analogies, chances are, even if you think you're funny, you're not. Don’t call me judge, that’s weird. If a tournament is side-locked, if both teams agree to flip a coin the normal way (winner of the toss decides speaking order or side (their choice), the other team decides the other), I'm fine with that. I think side-locking makes no sense and is very harmful to pf as an activity when certain topics skew neg.
for every link into tourism you read, +.5 speaks lol.
i will never ever ever make any comments abt what you're wearing or how you speak. if a judge ever does, that's pretty messedup. i don't care if u show up in designer clothes or sweats. i enjoyed debating in sweats, it's comfy.
in outs, if i'm on a panel that's 2 other lays, u can tell me to judge it like a lay round and i will. (this means voting for the team that better establishes a narrative and is more convincing lol)
Do crazy sh1t fr fr:
g0 cRaaazeEEy!!
tbh unpopular opinion but evidence is dumb, debate should be logical. obvi like use evidence if u want but warrants/analytics are perfecto. I genuinely think that debate would be better if it was just logical warranting, evidence is bad. (obviously evidence matters but: warrant + authors name vs. just warrant? meh p equal unless u give me good reasoning to prefer the evidence. unless the evidence is like a fact like "x has increased y 200%" is obviously better than a reason why x doesn't increase y)
If at any point you believe that you have won the round with no way for the opponents to win, you can call a TKO, if you are correct it will be an auto W with 30s, but if you are incorrect it is a loss with 25s.
Give a rebuttal in 2nd constructive (1st rebuttal will have to frontline if this happens) (if you read fast enough, you can still do case!) instant 30 if u do this cuz lol.
Above all, just have fun! Debate can get stressful so just try to breathe, chill and relax in round.
I WILL DISCLOSE AFTER EVERY ROUND NO EXCEPTIONS— HOLD ME TO THIS
A haiku describing my judging philosophy:
Weigh Warrants Logic
Collapse Analysis Links
WEIGH WEIGH COLLAPSE WEIGH
plz remind me of how many speaks you should win based all the crazy stuff in here lol i'll forget what i put here
Ardrey Kell '20 | UNC Chapel Hill '24
Email: goskonda24a@ad.unc.edu
Contact me if you have any questions with the email above
***Note for online rounds: Online debates are really weird and the possibility of someone's internet cutting out or their audio lagging is really high. In order to keep the round going smoothly, I strongly suggest that you send over speech docs for each speech and disclose your cases either on the wiki or putting it on the email chain. That way even if there is a technical issue during a speech we don't have to backtrack.
General
I was the captain of the Ardrey Kell High School Public Forum team. I competed in PF for 4 years and had some decent success on circuit.
Speed wasn't an issue as a debater but judging is a whole different story, so slow down just a little bit, especially if it's a new topic. I'm fine with spreading as long as you provide speech docs (otherwise I won't flow).
Provide warrants for everything you read. Explain why something happens, instead of just claiming that it happens.
Signpost signpost signpost!
Flow stuff
-Debate is a game. I am tech>truth and will flow any argument, as long as you articulate them well and your link chains actually make sense.
-I like framework debates, but in order to win off of framework you need to extend it in every speech of the round. If no framework is given, I default cost-benefit.
-No new offensive overviews in second rebuttal. Second Rebuttal should frontline turns (you can kick out of them strategically, but don't bs). Weighing in rebuttal is lit.
-If an argument is conceded, it becomes 100% true.
-Summary and final focus have to be consistent. You can re-explain the warrants/links already extended in summary, but there should be no new warrants/impacts that are key to the round in FF. 1st FF can do a little bit extra weighing and new backlines to responses made in 2nd summary given that the first speaking team has a disadvantage in the round but no new link extensions that weren't in summary.
-My favorite protein is weigh protein (if you don't understand you're either gonna lose the round or you spend time prepping for debate so much that you don't have time to go to the gym)
-If you don't extend a link in summary, it's game over for you. Link extensions should have uniqueness, link, internal link, and impact. Weighing should also be extended in every speech. You can't link in with weighing if you're not winning your link.
-Extending something doesn't mean saying "extend the Smith evidence that goes conceded". Extend what the evidence says as well as the warranting/implication
-Summary doesnt have to extend conceded defense unless it's turns or TD. Turns without warranting and implications aren't turns at all so I'm not gonna evaluate them if you don't flush them out.
-2nd FF can't have any new link ins or weighing. Extend it from summary
At the end of the day, I will vote off of the most important argument in the round. If it is well-articulated and weighed, chances are you probably won it.
Progressive Argumentation
I'm going to be honest here. I understand and support the fact that progressive argumentation is key for checking back abuse of norms and create inclusivity in the debate sphere. However, I ran substance for most of my career and I am not an expert at progressive argumentation. That being said, I will evaluate theory and some basic level Ks if they are really really well explained. My threshold for evaluating progressive args is high so the simpler your arguments are, the better. I'd still much rather judge a normal substance debate, but if there is a violation that you absolutely have the need to call out, then go for it. Don't run frivolous arguments.
-CIs>reasonability
-I slightly lean to no RVIs but I'm pretty taboo about it
-No K-affs, Plans/CPs, tricks, etc (I have no idea what these are)
Miscellaneous
-I'm not going to call for cards after round unless you make an effort to indict one and I am told to call for it.
-I will be flowing the entire round except for crossfire, so if something important in cross pops up, I'm not going to consider it unless it's mentioned in speech.
-If you are racist, xenophobic, sexist, classist, homophobic, ableist, or show any other kind of discrimination you will be dropped automatically with the lowest speaks possible.
-You can paraphrase your cards as long as the content is what it actually says. If you do get caught lying about your cards, you will get an L with really low speaks
-Any Weeknd or Drake reference = 30 speaks
At the end of the day, whether you're on the bid round or you're riding the bubble, make sure you have fun. I get bored very easily debating or judging so make the round entertaining and light hearted. If you're funny, I'll bump your speaks and will like you but don't force it or come off as rude.
If you have any questions that I may not have answered in this paradigm, you can contact me using the info I put at the top.
Good luck!
I did debate pretty competitively in high school (c/o 2020) but would call myself mostly a flay and traditional judge by now. My preferences that I really want competitors to meet are as follows:
- PLEASE speak at a conversational pace and condense your arguments. I will miss a lot of things if you spread or are too complicated.
- Try to balance truth and tech - Looking back, a lot of my arguments were pretty unbelievable
- No new arguments in FF and no extending to FF if arguments are not in summary
- Boost +0.2 speaks if you l give me a piece of paper and borrow a black/blue and red pen (I’ll give the boost to everyone that offers it)
- Don’t mind paraphrasing, but have your evidence ready if your opponents ask for it
- No theory or K’s
Essentially, treat me as a parent judge that will evaluate your arguments with a bit more rigor as a past debater. Don’t forget to have fun too :)
Hey!
Debated Public Forum for Boston Latin School in Boston, MA - currently Harvard Class of 2025. I can flow and know most PF rules, but it's been a bit since I've judged or debated so please be patient with me!
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GENERAL:
- Racism, homophobia, sexism, anything that makes the round a non-safe space = lowest speaks + a nice big L
- Have trigger/content warnings and opt-out methods if you're discussing sensitive topics in great detail (e.g. domestic violence, mental illness, etc.)
- Don't go fast if: your connection won't allow it, you don't enunciate, or you're doing it in an exclusive manner (e.g. to scare novices). I'll dock speaks and you may take the L (especially if it's the last reason). The faster you go, the less I write down.
- I will probably time speeches and stop listening if you go overtime >10s. Please also time yourself!
- Clear + organized + good coverage = high speaker points
ROUND:
- Summary & Final Focus:
(1) Collapse - focus on your best 1-2 args
(2) Extend - re-explain them PLEASE
(3) Weigh - tell me why they're the most important. If neither side's weighing truly engages with their opponents', I will default to my less-informed judge opinion (AKA: the ~vibes~) which you probably want to avoid
- Mention important crossfire stuff in speeches
- I will tune out if you run progressive arguments (theory, Ks, tricks, etc). If there's a serious violation, explain it to me in paragraph or an easily accessible way if you want me to evaluate.
TECH (?): I'm basically lay at this point, please no sticky defense and not frontlining in second Rebuttal because you want to do them all in Summary. I will probably not pay attention to all the technical complexities if you try to pull some advanced maneuvers
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Lmk if there's anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable! I hope you learn and have fun :)
im a lay judge lmao
nah but fr
Debate is a communication activity. At the end of the day, if you can't communicate your arguments articulately and explain to me why you won, you didn't win. You can be as tech as you want but if you can't communicate, you won't win.
Consider me PF flow.
Specifics:
No progressive arguments. Treat these online tourneys like real tournaments. If I think your progressive argument isn't related to substance or isn't calling out abuse, I'll stop flowing.
Tech vs Truth, but like obviously don't run fake args, cuz then its easier for them to respond. If a response is dropped its true tho even if I don't believe it as long as there is a warrant.
Comparative Analysis Weighing(pre-reqs, link ins, short circuits) > traditional weighing. This is because comparative analysis gives me actual reasons to vote for you over them.
Warrants are the most important thing in an argument, if it's not there I wont flow it.
Frontline in second rebuttal or the response is conceded. I've read full contentions in first summary but don't read DAs past first rebuttal.
Speed is chill, dont spread, send docs if u wanna go hella fast
Speaks are based on skill of debater and strategy and less on actual speaking ability. I always get bad speaks thats why.
he / him
My email for the chain is hbharper8@gmail.com
I am okay with anything you run as long as it is explained well. Tech > Truth. Please be respectful to your opponent.
Fun Facts:
I did PF from 2015-19.
I default to an offense / defense paradigm for evaluating rounds.
I do not like to base my ballot only on disclosure theory or topicality, so you shouldn't make those your only voters.
I don't expect you to run a counter-interp against theory. You can just treat it like a normal argument.
The second rebuttal should address the first rebuttal. Responses in first summary are fine too.
I appreciate funny taglines and puns when they are in good taste.
Y'all, don't be mean, it will only hurt your speaks.
Hi! I'm Mac Hays (he/him pronouns)! I did 4 years of PF at Durham Academy. I have spent 4 years coaching PF on the local and national circuit. I have just finished debating APDA at Brown. After graduating, I will be coaching PF and Policy debate in Taiwan on a Fulbright. Debate however is most fun for you without being exclusive.
Disclaimers:
* TLDR tabula rasa, warrant, signpost, extend, weigh, ballot directive language makes me happy, metaweighing ok, framing ok (I default "pure" util otherwise), theory ok, speed ok (don't be excessive), K ok, no tricks, be nice and reasonable, have fun, ask me questions about how I judge before round if you want more clarity on any specifics. Ideally you shouldn't run theory unless you're certain your opponents can engage.
* Nats probably isn’t the place for theory/Ks unless the violation is egregious and your opponents can clearly engage. Don’t run whack stuff for a free win
* Every speech post constructive must answer all content in the speech before it. Implications: No new frontlines past 2nd rebuttal/1st summary (defense isn't sticky, but that doesn't mean that 1st summary must extend defense on contentions that 2nd rebuttal just didn't frontline), any new indicts must be read in the speech immediately after the evidence is introduced, etc. New responses to new implications = ok. New responses to old weighing = not ok.
* How I vote: I look for the strongest impact and then determine which team has the strongest link into it as a default. See my weighing section for more details. If you don't want me to do this, tell me why with warranting.
* Add me to the chain: colin_hays@brown.edu.
* The entirety of my paradigm can be considered "how I default in the absence of theoretical warrants" - that is, if you see debate differently than I do, then make arguments as to why that's how I should judge, and, if you win them, I'll go with it. (exceptions are -isms, safety violations, speech times and the like, reasonability specifics are in the doc below).
Have fun!
My paradigm got unreasonably long so I put it in a doc, read it if you want more clarity on specifics:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lFX0Wja9W_h1xC1YBrUl8XZZzRenxOGOx7LCKd9liRU/edit
I debated for four years in pf (and two tournaments in policy). Here's what you need to know about my judging:
Please preflow before getting to round.
Warrants > evidence, always
You are not going to win my ballot by saying your opponents dropped some random card. If your opponents drop a solid warrant that is another story.
I don't intervene
That being said, before you run some squirly argument:
- the less true an argument is the lower my threshold for a response and the higher my threshold for a frontline (For example MAD is enough of a response to most nuke war arguments in my book, and proving MAD wouldn't apply is a very high burden of proof)
- Regardless of the quality of the argument, I will not vote off an argument that I cannot explain back to you. If I don't understand your argument, that is not intervention, that is you not doing the necessary work as a debater.
I do not call for cards unless specifically asked to
- If your argument relies entirely on a piece of evidence, you obviously have not done enough warranting. I will default to the team that warrants the best if I need to.
- Make responses to the substance of their argument not their evidence.
- If their evidence is very badly cut or misleading you can tell me to call for it, but if their argument is well warranted I will still vote for it. If you want me to vote against them because of their evidence you have to tell me that. Otherwise you can evidence challenge.
I will pay limited attention in cross
- you have to say everything in a speech if you want me to consider it in my decision
I don't like sticky D: that being said I will consider it if the response was not frontlined in rebuttal. If it was frontlined, it has to be in summary for me to consider it.
- I'm also not going to buy any sneaky extensions through grand cross, if you drop your impact or link in summary, you lose.
Respond to turns in 2nd rebuttal
Please weigh, you should make my decision for me.
- Weighing in rebuttal will boost your speaks
Ask me questions, I love talking through arguments and helping debaters, but it becomes problematic when its less of "how can I get better" and more "you should have voted this way for this reason."
Background
I debated PF for 4 years at Bridgewater and was fairly successful, qualifying to the TOCs twice. I am currently a freshman at NYU Stern.
Preferences
1. You can go as fast as you want, as long as you don't spread. I can handle speed as long as it's reasonable but remember that the quality of what you say matters more than the quantity of what you say.
2. I will generally be tech > truth, but within reason. You can not get away with a blatantly false argument.
3. The second rebuttal should frontline, it doesn't have to be a 2/2 split but I want to see some interaction with the first rebuttal. I believe this makes for a better debate. If you don't respond to turns in second rebuttal, I will consider them dropped and evaluate them as such.
4. Please collapse in Summary and Final Focus, it makes judging much easier. Collapsing strategically will boost your speaks. Don't go for everything.
5. Please weigh, and start as early in the round as you can. In the scenario that both teams weigh, I would like some sort of metaweighing or comparative analysis between both weighing mechanisms.
6. Extend Links and explain them in Summary and Final Focus. I can not emphasize this enough. For example, you can't just tell me to extend the Jones analysis, tell me what Jones says and why it is important.
7. Make sure you terminalize your impacts in both summary and final focus, otherwise I don't know why I am voting for you.
8. I am not extremely well versed in progressive argumentation like theory and K debate, so if you choose to go this route just be aware that I might make a decision you don't agree with. I will drop you if you run frivolous theory.
Overall
Treat me as your typical flow judge, have fun, and everything should turn out all right. If you have any questions, ask before the round!
*English is my third language, my son wrote this for me*
Experience: Competed in LD, Congress & Policy in MS & HS; LD for two years in college. On the IE side, competed in pretty much the entire range of interp and original events, both prepared & extemporaneous, in HS and college. Have judged in middle school, high school, and college circuits off and on over the past 20 years.
For all formats of debate: Remember that at its core, debate is the art of convincing your audience, through civil discourse, that your position on the resolution (aff/neg) should be upheld. Don't be condescending (to your opponent or your audience), but don't expect the audience (and the judge) to do the analysis work for you. Clear arguments in support of your position, with appropriately connected and explained supporting material, will win over simply bombarding me (and your opponents) with a mountain of potential arguments and piles of evidence. Quality can be more important than quantity; you may extend if your opponent drops an argument, but don't necessarily assume a dropped thread or two wins you the round. Speed is fine, but clarity is more important. I need to be able to understand, follow, and flow; I can't give you credit for points I don't catch as you go along, and the art of debate, as a speech activity, is in the oral delivery of your speeches and arguments--not me reading the text [technical issues that may occur in online rounds excepted]. I don't enter any round looking for specific arguments or issues to be addressed; it is up to you to convince me that your argument/proposal/approach/perspective is superior, within the general expectations and framework of the event format.
LD: I'm a flow judge when it comes to LD. The arguments made in round, the clash between those arguments, and how well you support your position and connect your arguments typically weigh heavily in my decision--value clash is an area I find can be key to the overall debate. Ks and CP arguments are fine by me, though I find it is most effective if you can make very clear links when doing so. I will consider theory arguments, but be sure they do in fact specifically connect to what is going on in the round. I'm not a fan of spreading in LD; I won't drop or mark down a debater if they can do it effectively, but I defer to the quality can be more important than quantity idea in this respect. Bear in mind that, at its core, LD debate should be framed through the lens of values and what ought to be. The side that can most effectively argue for their position as a general principle through a compelling value framework is likely to get my vote.
Policy: I take essentially a tabula rasa approach when judging policy/CX debates. While stock issues, disads, etc., can (and very often do) all play a role in making my decision, I am open to hearing from both sides what issues should be weighed most heavily in determining the outcome of the round--as I recognize the importance of each can change not only based on the resolution but also based on the issues that are raised in the course of the round itself. I will entertain theory arguments, but be careful that they don't end up obscuring the arguments you are presenting in support of your side of the resolution or your plan/counterplan/advantages/disadvantages.
PF: I am open to considering any type of argument (progressive is fine), as long as you clearly link it to the resolution. PF is meant to focus on advocating for a position, so don't get bogged down in specific plans or counterplans for implementation. I generally find it hard to consider completely new arguments in summary or final focus. In my experience, I tend to decide rounds based on impacts, so be clear with those and be prepared to convince me that your impacts weigh more heavily than those on the other side. Clash is important. I will consider theory arguments (see first sentence of this section), but I find they can muddle the overall debate if not executed well--just sharing that so you're aware of my perspective.
Please use content warnings for content related to SA or self-harm.
Hi! I'm Neel (they/them). I debated at Plano East (TX), starting out in circuit PF and debating circuit LD during my senior year. I now attend Michigan (I don't debate for the school) and would say that I'm somewhat removed from debate.
Yes, put me on the chain - gimmeurcards@gmail.com
Be mindful of how rusty I may be - go slower, explain topic jargon, and all that jazz - it'll be tremendously helpful for how confident I am in my decision and your speaks.
Tech > truth, but a combination is ideal. Don't be rude, because I can also decide that not being mean > tech.
I primarily find/found myself in debates that center around policy or kritikal positions both as a debater and a judge. I'm not very confident in my ability to adjudicate very fast and blippy theory/T, phil, or tricks debates. I'd say I'm a 1 for policy, a 1/2 for the kritik (aff or neg), a 3 for theory/T, and a 4/strike for phil or tricks.
For policy -
Impact turns are fine, but I refuse to listen to death good.
Evidence quality is your best friend in front of me.
I'm probably more open to letting CP theory debates unfold than other judges.
Read more than 1 argument on case please.
For the kritik -
I have a soft spot for cool K-affs, but I'm neutral on framework and all of the iterations you can go for.
Your overviews should have a purpose - apply stuff you say to the LBL and contextualize the things you are saying.
I've been in more debates about identity and the "stock" kritiks than pomo stuff - do with that what you will.
Cool case args are my jam (even presumption is cool).
For T/theory -
CIs, no RVIs, DTA for theory. DTD for T.
Huge fan of disclosure but I feel uncomfortable evaluating other violations sourced outside of round.
I'm very mid for frivolous shells.
Be organized and clear please.
For tricks and phil -
Not a great idea - I probably would barely be able to follow along a Philosophy 101 course.
If you want to read these, SLOW DOWN and number stuff.
Evil demons don't force me to vote aff and I only evaluate debates after the 2AR.
I honestly am just uninterested in 95% of this literature base - sorry.
For PF -
Good for all the progressive stuff and PF speed. I will hold you to a higher standard than most progressive PF judges.
Sticky defense is silly. Extend your arguments.
Turns case arguments are the truth. Probability weighing is fake.
Underutilized arguments and strategies are fun - if you can win the presumption debate or the impact turn, go for it.
email me with questions and send me cases/speechdocs, akilkasubhai@gmail.com
i am flow
tech~truth
senior in hs. debated for a while
if u care: won silver toc/made it to elims at gold toc
post-round me idc, it furthers education within debate.
have fun!
Hi!! Thank you for taking the time to read my paradigm, and I'm super excited to be your judge!
About me: I did PF for four years at Bronx Science and was co-captain my senior year –– that being said, I would honestly describe myself as a flay debater. Assume I know very little about the resolution (because I probably do). I also really don't want to have to judge super tech-heavy rounds, and I am definitely not the person to run a k/progressive argument in front of. I prefer logical, consistent, and heavily-weighed argumentation that is both cogent and nuanced.
Like:
- Warrant + Weigh (and make it actually comparative with your opponents, not just saying "scope" or "timeframe")
- Metaweighing
- Link/offense extensions (through summary and final)
- COLLAPSING.
- Extended turns (w/ weighing!)
- Bringing up concessions from cross
Don't like:
- Rude or offensive behavior in any form
- Bringing up new arguments OR previously dropped arguments in final (especially if speaking second)
- Not weighing
- Reciting the resolution at the top of case
- Not weighing x2
Feel free to ask me anything about my preferences before round!! Email is kawamuraa@bxscience.edu for email chains + questions! :)
read content warnings if your argument contains sensitive topics. send out an anonymous google form so that everyone can anonymously consent to the debate.
- don't spread
- not good at prog but i'll evaluate
RFD FOR POTOMAC INTRAMURALS
- be nice
- signpost (tell me where you are on the flow or i will become very sad)
- i don't have a lot of experience with prog but i'll do my best to evaluate it (i've hit it a few times) --> i would say that i'd rather not judge a prog round unless there's a serious violation
- tech > truth, but if an argument is super unrealistic i will accept weaker responses for it
- probably won't call evidence unless you tell me to in speech
- i don't flow card names, so extend warrants with it
- frontline in second rebuttal (or at least respond to any offense)
back half
- collapse (when you choose one argument and explain why it's the most important one in the round/ why you are winning)
- weigh comparatively
- no new args in second summary/ff (newly implicated weighing in 1ff is ok)
- dropped defense is sticky for first summary, but i think it's still a good idea to extend it
Hackley '21 | UMich '25 (but I'm forgoing my final year of eligibility to enter the NBA draft.)
Currently doing policy at Michigan and coaching PF.
Before the round, tell me your favorite song and I will play it like a baseball walk up song before your speeches.
--- PF ----
Basically, I think (?) I'm a pretty standard flow judge. I'll evaluate anything, and you should do whatever you do best in the round. I've now debated and judged hundreds and hundreds of rounds.
You have to tell me everything you want me to think or do; everything is negotiable. I have preferences but if you give me arguments that I should do things differently then I'll evaluate it and move from there.
Post-rounding is highly (!) encouraged. I don't know why its a norm to not. I have tons of thoughts about the round and your debating most likely, but I do a really bad job organizing my feedback and telling debaters about what they want to hear about. If you think I made the wrong decision, tell me and explain why! I'm not very smart, so it's very possible if not likely I'm wrong. I'll try to explain why I voted the way I did, and the disagreement will be helpful for both of us. If I fail to convince you, and you still think you won, you should stand up, walk over to me, and punch me in the face.
Here are some preferences I have, designed to respond to the questions I get most often rather than give a comprehensive guide to how I'll evaluate the round:
(1) Speed is totally fine. What is not fine is spreading through a trillion blips. I will not flow off a speech doc. I cannot read. Also, for the love of god if you are spreading your tagline cannot be "thus," or some one word nonsense. Read an actual tag.
(2) I'm most impressed by good strategic choices and well warranted arguments, as opposed to impressive technical debating. Docbots will not get good speaks.
(3) I'll vote on anything, but I do not want to listen to a theory round unless some actual abuse happens. Don't read disclosure or paraphrasing in front of me.
(4) I will happily vote on Kritiks so long as they're actually interesting. I am very likely to be convinced by topicality arguments. People seem to use "Role of the Ballot," in ways I don't totally understand, so just be clear what you want me to do.
(5) I'm not super picky about extensions, and blippily doing them is usually fine. I honestly might not notice if you miss an extension. You should be extending your arguments but I'll never drop you because you didn't extend the eighth internal link exactly right.
(6) Evidence is mostly only relevant for factual, empirical claims. Warrants are far more important for everything else. Most debaters are smart; it's totally reasonable to think you're right and Johnson of CNN is wrong. Evidence quality matters a lot in those instances when evidence is important. Citing good studies from good places is the way to go, and I'll frankly be skeptical of anything else. You can tell me to view a piece of your opponents evidence, and in that case I will, but I won't do so on my own. Relatedly, I won't drop you for bad evidence ethics unless a team gives me a reason why I should.
(7) I'm extraordinarily unlikely to vote on one of these "IVI" things. A sincere apology is terminal defense. Also applies to word PICs and the like. If the violation is not serious enough to be reported to tab then it is not serious enough to vote down.
(8) I appreciate some good narrative and storytelling. Actually reading warrants will make me like you -- about 10% of the teams I've judged in the last year have sufficiently warranted their arguments.
--- Policy ---
Many policy judges have short novels for paradigms. This is obviously pretty silly, but regardless, there's not that much here so do not be afraid to ask me questions before the round.
I only started doing policy in college. You should treat me as if I know literally nothing about the topic. This is because I don't know very much about the topic.
I'd be comfortable judging either a policy round or a K round, but I'd probably be better at evaluating policy rounds. I'll vote on absolutely anything so long as there are warrants and you are explaining things well.
Everything is totally negotiable. I won't tell you how to debate.
Please face me during speeches, I feel really uncomfortable when teams don't do this.
Have fun with it and be nice to each other.
Hi everyone! I'm Claudia and I debated PF for six years at Poly Prep (Poly LS/LM).
Please be preflowed and ready to debate, especially if you're flight 2
also set up email chain asap even if I'm not there, nsd email ishan.debate@gmail.com
tech > truth. You can speak fast but <250 wpm you should send a speech doc. If I literally can't understand a single word you say I'm not flowing off the doc. Like clear spreading is more than fine but no mumbly slurred speeches please.
I will vote for pretty much any argument that is warranted well.
I don't listen to cross. Any concession must be explained in a speech. If both teams agree to skip GCX, that's fine with me. Both teams would get 1 min of prep instead.
NSD- If you read unnecessarily abusive arguments much lower labs, I will lower your speaks
Besides that ask me any questions you have.
Preferences:
Theory/T - 2.5
LARP - 1
Kritik - 2
Tricks - 4
Non-T Kritik - 4
Performance - 4
High Theory - 5
Hi! I'm Anita (she/her), a freshman at Northwestern University. I recently graduated from National Cathedral School in Washington D.C., where I debated Public Forum for four years. I'm definitely not a lay judge but i'm also not super comfortable with speed/prog. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know! My email is anitali2002@yahoo.com.
Please keep track of prep! Also I don't flow card names so if you say "extend Bob," i'm not gonna know what you're referring to.
Some things I like:
· Second Rebuttal has to frontline everything you're collapsing on and address all turns your opponents put on your case or concede to the delink.
· Weighing is super important! Weighing needs to be comparative (don’t just tell me why your impacts are important, tell me why your impacts are more important than your opponent’s impacts). Please start weighing in summary. No new weighing in Second FF.
· Please signpost + give off time road maps! Tell me what you're responding to.
· Please explain your arguments! Don’t just read statistics and then expect that to stand on itself, explain to me why that statistic is true. (warrants are important!)
· If you want me to evaluate something, it needs to be in speech and extended across all speeches
· In second half, tell me what you're winning off of, whyyou’re winning, and tell me why I should be voting for you!
. 1st summary is the last speech where I will accept new arguments. New weighing and cross-apps are still okay after tho. New implications? I'll think about it.
. PLEASE make sure impacts are terminalized and quantified!
Theories/Ks
· I don’t really understand Ks and Theories well so if you do run one please explain it well and in a manageable speed.
· If I feel like you’re running theory/ a weird overview/underview just to get a easy win, the chance of me voting for it is pretty low, especially if your opponents point out that it's abusive and explain why. But if you’re running theory because your opponents are actually being abusive, I can vote for it.
Behavior
· There’s a difference between being assertive and being aggressive. If I see you being overly aggressive, especially during cross, I’ll take off speaks and I’ll comment on it in my RFD. Also it can decrease your chances of winning.
· If you’re speaking quickly and make sure you ask your opponents if that's okay. I will try to flow to the best of my ability but I will most likely end up missing stuff. Having a speech doc is not an excuse to speak as fast as you want. I will only look at your speech doc for the duration of the speech.
.I'll only look at a card if you tell me to look at it.
. If you incorporate a tiktok dance or kpop choreo into a speech, I will increase your speaks up to 3 points.
. If you can guess my BTS bias or Blackpink bias, I will boost your speaks (prob only like 0.5 max lol)
hi!
i'm christina (she/her) and debated for wootton pf. ask me for clarification before the round starts.
VBIPHL: Do not read progressive arguments against teams that clearly cannot engage with them in order to win. My ballot/your speaks will be reflective of your poor decision and you will be upset with the result that I input.
misc:
1. i'll evaluate any argument you can think of, however, in the case where the safety of a debater is compromised in the room (be it any -ist argument or a lack of TW on a sensitive topic) i will intervene. tab has the option to specify pronouns for a reason, misgendering is not ok.
2. speed is ok but sacrificing clarity is not ok.
3. probably won't call for ev, imo a bit interventionist unless someone explicitly asks me to and the round is unresolvable.
4. i have a very bad poker face so if i dont/do like something you'll know.
5. i am most receptive to substance and i will do my best to judge as technically as i can.
round:
1. second rebuttal must frontline turns - conceded turns/contentions in rebuttal have 100% strength of link.
2. DAs/ADVs/offensive OVs are fine in second rebuttal to an extent but i have a higher threshold for contextualization/warranting/weighing/etc.
3. DLs must be conceded in the following speech (either 2nd rebuttal or 1st summary) but also must be explained.
4. defense is not sticky 4 first summary.
5. i appreciate good extensions. i do not care about card names. extend warrants with case.
weighing:
1. weighing ideally should start in rebuttal. i'm not evaluating new weighing in final focus, including first final.
2. probability impact weighing doesn't exist.
3. metaweigh/comparative weighing -- if there is none i'll probably prioritize pre-reqs/link-ins/co-ops -- if there is none of that i will just count how many weighing mechanisms there are.
prog:
i will do my best to judge to your standards. i dislike progressive debate so please only read it if there is justifiable abuse in the round (paraphrasing/disclosure dont count).
1. general defaults (no RVIs, CI > reasonability, drop arg over debater, only if teams don't tell me what to do).
2. do not read theory against teams who clearly cannot engage with it (novices) i can tell and my ballot/your speaks will reflect that >:(.
4. little to no exp w K's, therefore K lit needs to be accessible -- you should also be extending K's/shells more rigorously than case bc it may be harder for me/others to grasp initially (especially if they are not topical).
5. no tricks.
i'm most receptive to substance but i'll do my best to evaluate whatever you read.
debate in a way that makes you happy and comfortable, post-rounding is fine, good luck!
Hello! I am Esme. I debated PF for Durham for 4 years and I’m attending McGill. I use she/her pronouns. really dislike blippy arguments, but I guess I'll evaluate them, I'll just give them a LOT less weight. no warrant = VERY LOW CHANCE OF ME VOTING OFF IT. like near 0.
Ask me questions before round, I don't mind (I know sometimes there's not enough time to read paradigms). Also, please let me know (send me an email/ tell me in round) how I can accommodate this round to make you the most comfortable!
Also please include both members of a partnership. Talking about "carries" and excluding someone who has taken their time to put work into and be somewhere sucks a lot and often hits people already left out of debate the hardest. In round and out, make sure you're acknowledging and supporting work put in from everyone and reaching out to everyone as well. <3
Also don't call speeches "bad" ex: "their summary was really bad" just point out the flaws in it. ex: "they don't extend a warrant/ they never weigh..." etcetcetc
Sexism/ racism/ homophobia/ harassment/ etc. isn't cool. I will drop you and you will get low speaks.
Specifically for the debate, though, here are my preferences:
1. WARRANT AND IMPLICATE ARGUMENTS - by this I mean go one step further to explain your arguments -- tell me why A leads to B and B leads to C and WHY IT MATTERS. IF AN ARG HAS NO WARRANT, I PROBABLY WILL NOT VOTE OFF IT Don't just say "Medicare for All equals less money for pharma companies", explain why (and why it matters) : warranting ex - "under Medicare for All, the government negotiates down the prices of drugs with pharma companies, cutting into their profits". Implication might be - "pharma has less cash for R&D". It doesn't even have to be wordy lol just tell me why your arg is happening and why it matters. I also love warranting for uniqueness in case (People seem to forget to do this often). Essentially, the more you can give me earlier in the round, the stronger your arg will be.
2. WEIGH YOUR ARGUMENTS - even if you're losing 2/3 of your arguments, if your 1/3 is more important than theirs', the round is not lost! Tell me why I ought to care about that 1/3 and why it's more important than anything else. I will evaluate what you tell me, so if you tell me poverty is more important than climate change and give me sound reasons why and it doesn't go touched/ responded to with warrants, then I will buy it no matter my personal beliefs. You don't want to take a chance and let me do the weighing for you. You have control over where I vote, you just have to do the work and tell me why. On the other side, even if you're winning your arguments, WEIGH! You can tell me that your argument is more probable or has more warranting or has a larger impact, etc. just do the work.
Also, don't just say "we outweigh on magnitude" go further -- explain how, and (preferably) tell me why it matters
Also metaweigh pleaseeeee (if they're talking about their argument being more probable and you're talking about yours being having a larger magnitude tell me why magnitude matters more than probability!!). I LOVE good metaweighing, it makes me so so happy. I also love pre-emptive metaweighing, so tbh as soon as you introduce weighing, ideally I'd love for it to be metaweighed. (i reward hella for it - check the speaks stuff at the end)
If you haven't ever heard about weighing, I will teach you before round, just ask me please. I'd much rather take 5-10 mins to explain it and have a good round than dive into a messy round with no weighing
3. SIGNPOST
i'm happy as long as you let me know when you're moving on to different parts of the arg. ex: "on their link" suffices for signposting.
4. CALLING FOR CARDS AND EVIDENCE ETHICS - Call for cards if something feels sketchy if u want, I don't care how many you call for, it's your prep time. If you find something, point it out in the next speech. I'll call for contested evidence later on if it's relevant, but feel free to remind me. If you don't call for something sketchy, then that's on you (oof), I'll have to consider it even if I don't want to. Sometimes I'll call for a card after the round just because I'm curious, but that shouldn't factor into my decision and usually I only call for ev that's disputed.
As for evidence ethics, I'm totally fine with paraphrasing, but if you powertag or misconstrue evidence, I'm going to be really upset and you will know in your speaks. As a debater, I took evi ethics really seriously. Ev exists for anything, you just have to find it. Also indicts don't mean game over, they're like any other arg, respond, weigh, etc.
5. COLLAPSE - This is SO underrated. You start with 2x 4 minute speeches of args on the topic, then get 4 more minutes. The round can't contain all these args in a 2 minute final focus. I don't want it to. I don't want it to in summary, and often even in second rebuttal! I want you to collapse! Pick strategic arguments and (frontline any offense on them first obviously/ weigh against) but drop the ones that aren't as strategic. Just do the weighing and don't forget/ abandon an arg you drop.
Ultimately, you get control over the ballot, I want to do the least amount of intervention possible as your judge so it is on you to make this a clean round!:)
6. EXTEND - uh this should maybe be obvious but here are my thoughts on this. Obv you can drop case, but if you do make sure you weigh against / frontline offense they put on it and have some sorta independent offense/ default neg/aff strat
IF YOU EXTEND YOU NEED THESE PARTS OF THE ARG FOR IT TO BE A FULL EXTENSION - UNIQUENESS/ LINK/ INTERNAL LINK(S)/ IMPACT (TERMINALISED) if parts of your arg are missing, I will be MUCH less likely to vote on it. If both teams don't have parts of their args, then,,, uh,,,, i'll be uncomfy and stress out about my decision lots and probably look for the path of least resistance. Please don't put me in that situation
You DON'T NEED TO EXTEND CARD NAMES, I'm fine with analysis as long as all the parts of the arg are there. Of course, you're welcome to extend cards, but I find it takes a lot longer and doesn't add much unless you're doing specific evidence weighing. Also, please weigh your extensions! Including turns, like why does your link overpower theirs?
ON PROGRESSIVE ARGS
I believe that prog args are a way to change the debate space and make it a better place for us. This means a) I'm really uncomfortable voting off "friv theory", especially run on opponents who don't know how to handle it, so if it feels like your theory is an EZ path to the ballot to trip up an opponent, I'll usually try not to evaluate it as much as other arguments. basically, the more friv the theory is, the more u need to make sure ur opponents are ok with it. i know that sounds super objective, i'm sorry, but rounds where high level varsity teams who have the privilege of going to camp and resources run theory on teams who don't have those resources are unfair and make me uncomfortable. BUT WITH THAT BEING SAID - b) if there's something that makes the space unsafe/ a violation of something u think is important and you explain that in your theory, progressive args are fine with me. I never ran Ks/ theory as a debater, but I get how they work and can evaluate them, just explain them well ofc. if you're unsure if the thing u wanna read theory on is friv or not, feel free to ask me, i really dont mind.
i dont like tricks much
I'll evaluate RVIs if you want to read them, but u have to warrant why im evaluating them ofc. I'll eval competing interps and responses to "must have competing interps". I'll eval paraphrase theory LMAO but I don't like it! I disagree!!! Paraphrasing good. Anyway.
Other notes
I think every debater should watch this video.
If you're reading an argument about a sensitive topic, please read a content warning. Personally, I'd prefer if these were done anonymously thru a google form or another anon method so you don't have to put the burden on your opponents to ~expose~ themselves if that makes sense.
Put me on the email chain please! You don't have to shake my hand. Please preflow before the round. You can flip without me. Pls give me an offtime roadmap if you can!! won't penalise u if u don't tho! Wear what ur comfortable in.
I presume neg, I guess, but if default neg is part of your strat, prolly include a line of warranting cuz i will be uncomfy otherwise
Analysis> ev if there's an unresolved clash.
Defense isn't sticky, but I give some leniency to first summary speakers, cuz obviously it's impossible to have perfect coverage otherwise.
Second rebuttal should frontline offense, and I'd PREFER it if it frontlined defense, but like,, it's up to u. The later things come, the less weight I give them.
I am tech > truth but obv no one is tabula rasa. I'll vote off what's on the flow like nuke war or LONG link chains if you win them. I wanna evaluate what you give me with as little intervention as possible, so I'll try and stay out of how I feel about it lol unless it's really problematic. idk what then.
I'm okkkkkkk with second rebuttal offensive overviews but i don't love them and if you wanna call it abusive, I'll evaluate that too. Although, ngl I'd like it if you actually respond to it as well. Grouping responses is excellent. I'll give you some leniency, sure cuz time skew.
I hateeee blippy and unwarranted responses. Like, yeah, I'll flow and eval them, but I will give them a LOT less weight. You can go fast I'm down and cool with that, that doesn't mean you get to leave out parts of an arg though:( that makes me v sad. Don't go fast without explaining/ implicating pls.
calling me "judge" is annoying
Please send me a speech doc @ esmeslongley@gmail.com if you want to spread. I can handle most pf-speed ok, but I might miss something. If I miss something, I'll probably just ask you to clarify when you're done speaking or ask for a doc, but that's not an invite for you to go really fast and hope that I'll do the clarifying.
I won't time you, but I'll stop flowing after a bit if your opponents hold up their timer and it's obvious you're over time. Don't abuse it.
Pls don't postround me, but please do ask me questions if you have any!!
Fun stuff
I will give extra speaks (+.2 each) if you
- call turns "no you"s (+.1 per signposted "no you")
- Make me laugh (especially with puns, especially spontaneous ones)
- Reference Beyond Resolved
- Auto 30 if you make a Minecraft arg. Like not an analogy, a full blown Minecraft-based argument.
- auto 29.7 if u metaweigh decently with warrants and i'll boost it if ur phenomenal
- +.4 If you tell me your Subway Surfer's high score and it's higher than mine
- Reference Nick Miller from New Girl/ any1 from BBC's Merlin/ kate bush (I LOVE HERRRR)
- If our star signs are compatible - just tell me urs before round and i'll KNOW.
- Auto 30 if you rhyme your entire case
- Auto-boost to a 29.5 + if you Rhyme 25 seconds or so of your speech?
Don't worry, though. I'm pretty easy on speaks and usually give around a 28+. I'm personally not the prettiest speaker, so I totally get it and that shouldn't be a point of stress. More importantly, people get marginalised by the speaks system in ableist/ xenophobic / etc. ways.
I will take off speaks (-.1) for
- Unnecessary obnoxiousness (basically, if you're very mean. Joking around is totally fine lol)
- If our star signs are incompatible
- If your Subway Surfers score is lower than mine, I'll take off .1 points and I will automatically lose all respect for you.
I love debate this makes me happy. Have fun. Ask me if you have questions before or after the round!!
Short:
Debated 4 years PF in HS. 3 years of policy in college. Coached PF for 4 years.
Ridge 2014-201, NYU 2018-202, current MD/PhD student at Michigan
Contact info: Facebook (my name) or email (brandonluxiii@gmail.com). Please add me to the email chain if it exists.
Tech over truth. Policy and K both good. I can flow around 250 wpm without a doc. Favorite kind of debate is clash of civs.
If you don't extend I will vote neg on presumption unless it's LD where I'll vote aff on presumption. It makes me sad to have to say that I've voted on presumption in about 10% of rounds I've judged, although this number seems to be going down.
My name isn't judge, you can say my name if you want my attention.
If it takes you longer than 5 minutes to find a card, it doesn't exist. Very excessive card calling that makes me want to fall asleep: -0.2 speaks per card.
Please time yourselves.
Ask me if you have any questions about my RFD. Sometimes, I'm not the most thorough on the ballot or during my RFD because I'm lazy and forgetful. Postrounding is tolerated, but don't be annoying.
Please contact me if you feel unsafe during round.
Long:
PF Paradigm
I can handle speed but please keep things under 350 words per minute. Slow down on tags and author names and try not to paraphrase evidence if you're actually going to spread. If you go faster, you need to give me a speech doc or I will probably miss anything blippy which is not good. I will shout "clear" if I don't understand what you are saying. If you don't slow down, I won't be able to flow your arguments and you will likely lose.
Going heavy for the line by line is fine, but you must signpost or I will literally have an empty flow and won't know what to do. A good example of not signposting is the 2018 NSDA PF final. With that being said, the final focus should spend at least 30 seconds on the narrative/big picture. 2 minutes of line by line is a bit hard for me to judge and find things to vote off of if done poorly. The reverse is also true- the line by line is very important and should appear in every single speech. Losing the line by line probably makes it harder for me to vote for you. When going for the line by line, you must explain the implications for winning each part of the line by line. This comes from impacting your responses/evidence/analytics. I've seen some teams that aren't extending full arguments in summary and just frontlining responses. Extensions in all speeches need to extend a full argument or I will feel really bad voting on it.
Summary should not be the first time I see responses to case arguments and summary should respond to rebuttal arguments.
I used to say I wanted to see a theory debate about whether 2nd rebuttal should frontline, but no one is willing to do it. If someone does it well, I will give both teams 30 speaks. Meanwhile, I currently default to 2nd rebuttal should frontline everything (yes, defense too. Don't be lazy).
Since summaries are longer now, I think defense should be extended in summary. Any defense you want me to vote off should be in final focus even if they never touch it. I'll significantly dock points if I have to vote on arguments where both sides dropped defense. Turns you want me to vote on must be in summary. NOTHING IS STICKY.
In order for me to vote on arguments, I need to understand them so you need to explain them to me instead of blipping something and complaining that I screwed you by not voting off it. If I don't understand an argument until the middle of my rfd, it's probably on you. If something is important enough for me to vote off, you should spend more than 10 seconds on it in summary and final focus (exceptions are obvious game over moments).
How to win my ballot:
Win a link and impact that can outweigh your opponents' impacts. Weighing is important to keep me from thinking that everything is a wash and vote off presumption. I used to think weighing was really important, but most debates I've judged have not been weighing debates. If you can recognize this and drop weighing, I'll prob reward you with extra speaks. It's very rare that I actually vote off weighing because the most important part of the round is usually the link level.
I will vote off any argument that is properly warranted and impacted. I am truth before tech in terms of evidence and arguments that cause offense to people, but I will evaluate tech first everywhere else. Other arguments I will be truth over tech about will be stated at the top of my paradigm every topic (those are arguments I hate with a passion and will likely never vote off of).
I will only vote off defense if you give me a reason to and I will presume a side if you give me a reason to (normally I presume neg). I will also adapt my paradigm if arguments are made in the round about it (I can and will be lay if you want).
I evaluate framework first, then impacts on the framework, then links to the impacts, then other impacts, then defense. Strength of link is a very important weighing mechanism for me. Teams should use this to differentiate their arguments from their opponents'. If there are no impacts left I will default to the status quo. I highly enjoy voting this way, so if you don't want to lose because of this, you need to not drop terminal defense or your case. I will reward high speaks for a strategy that takes advantage of that if it works.
I will be forced to intervene if the debaters don't give me a way to evaluate the round as stated above. In egregious circumstances, I will flip a coin. I reserve the right to vote off eye contact.
Things I like:
Debating the line by line well.
Good warranting on nonstock arguments. I enjoy hearing unique arguments.
Clash. Opposing arguments need to be responded to.
Good extensions (please don't drop warrants or impacts during extensions. Voting off a nonextended warrant or impact is intervention).
Smart strategies that save time and allow you to win easily will make me award high speaks (laziness is rewarded if you can pull it off, like a 5-second summary if you are clearly winning). Debaters who already won by summary can do nothing for the rest of the round.
A good K that is explained well in the span of a PF round will make me very happy (high speaks 29+). If you read a K with a good link, impact, and alt, I will vote off of it.
Things I dislike: You will be able to tell if I'm annoyed by my expressions and gestures. These probably won't lose you the round but will make me dock speaks.
Case to final focus extensions- I will refuse to evaluate them whatsoever and I will dock speaks.
Excessively long roadmaps- Your order should just be the flows. At most the arguments. Weighing is not a flow
Frivolous theory- I will evaluate it but it's annoying and not nice. The more frivolous your theory is, the less speaks I will give and the lower threshold I give for responses.
Being obnoxious and mean in crossfire.
Double drop theory (Tab won't let me drop both debaters).
Obvious and excessive trolling. Trolling too hard will get you dropped with very low speaks and an angry ballot. Tacit trolling, though, will make a round fun.
Saying game over when it's not or on the wrong part of the flow. You need to be correct when you say it or at least be on the correct part of the flow. Being correct when you say game over will be awarded with higher speaks.
Things I hate:
New arguments in final focus (especially 2nd). If you aren't winning overwhelmingly I will drop you immediately with 26 speaks.
Making up or severely miscutting evidence. I have a habit of calling sketchy cards after round or looking up a sketchy fact.
How I award speaks:
30- One of the best debaters in the tournament, if you don't break you probably got screwed over.
29-29.9- You are a good debater. You go for the correct strategies and make me want to pick you up. I think you will almost definitely break.
28-28.9- You are above average. You do something to make me want to vote for you but you could do better.
27-27.9- You are below average. I think you can still break but probably won't go too far.
26-26.9- You did something to annoy me such as ignore my paradigm.
Below 26- You did something offensive or broke a rule (this includes racism, ableism, and sexism)
30 speaks theory: if you're reading this instead of a K to get 30 speaks in front of me, it won't work. I would much rather see a K of debate if you're trying to be an activist in round.
Miscellaneous things:
Please read dates and author qualifications. I will evaluate date theory. Quals are useful to know.
I will evaluate official evidence challenges. People really should do this more.
Theory- Frivolous theory is boring and annoying but I'll evaluate it. I default to reasonability. This is to prevent extremely frivolous theory. On T, I default to competing interpretations. When making topicality arguments, debaters need standards or net benefits for their interpretation. T and theory should be in shell format because it makes arguing and evaluating it much easier for everyone. Theory and T also need implications. I default to drop the arg for theory and drop the team for T.
If you disclose to your opponents and me before the round, I'll boost your speaks by 0.5. If you're going to send speech docs to me and your opponents, I'll also boost your speaks by another 0.5.
You can request my flow after the round. By doing so, you are releasing me of any liability regarding what's written on it.
If you convince me to change my paradigm after judging you, I will give you 30 speaks.
I won't be annoyed if you postround me, but I will probably complain about it to other people if you say something funny.
If you can make a reference to song I like, I'll boost your speaks. If you make a reference to a song I don't like, I'll dock speaks.
Write down things you did to boost speaks and remind me right when the round ends. If I forget, you can remind me the next time I judge you and I'll give you the extra speaks I owe.
Check out some of my debate experience on https://www.facebook.com/leekedludes/?fref=ts
TL:DR- do whatever you want. I'm tabula rasa enough that if you make the argument for it, I'll evaluate anything, including not at all. You can override my entire paradigm with enough justification. Ask me about what's not on here.
LD Paradigm
Please put me on the email chain. Best with Larp, then K. Bad with tricks/phil.
I'm not familiar with most philosophy. Phil rounds scare me and will make me vote in a way that will make debaters unhappy.
K: I like Ks. I need to know what the alt actually does and if that is explained well, I will easily vote off the K.
K affs: I like these, they make debate interesting.
Tricks: I'll still vote off tricks but I'm pretty bad at evaluating these debates.
Performance: As long as I know what the aff does, I'll be fine. If I don't know what the aff does or says by the end of the 1AC, I'll be a little annoyed.
Theory: I have no problems with frivolous theory. Please slow down for analytics. I can't type as fast as you speak.
I assign speaks the same way as listed on my PF paradigm.
Policy Paradigm
I'm good with any kind of argumentation. I've read policy and k affs and have read a mix of stuff on Neg. Please slow down on tags, interps, and plan texts.
Tech over truth but I like reading evidence so if the evidence is really bad, I might dock speaks. Rehighlightings are fun.
I really like good case debates. A lot of 1ACs do not have very good link stories and can easily be taken out by smart analytics. Cases with tricky advantages that don't have these problems will work well in front of me. If you win with 8 mins of case in the 1NC, I'll give 30 speaks.
DAs: I'm willing to vote on any DA scenario that has uniqueness, link, and impact. Unique case specific DAs will go very well in front of me. I do believe in zero risk and I'm more receptive to defense than most judges (applies to case defense too).
CPs: I'm pretty much ok with any kind of CP. I will evaluate and may vote on CP theory, but I usually lean neg- existence of literature is probably important. CPs must be competitive. I default to judge kicking if it makes my decision easier.
Ks: You must explain your K in a way that I will understand. Don't just keep reading cards in the block- explain the K and how it interacts with the Aff and what the alt does and how it solves. If I understand the way it works, I'm more than willing to vote off it. If you're reading 1 off K, it's probably a good idea to have a decent amount of responses on case that are both critical and policy. I'm the least familiar with high theory so I need more explanations than usual.
K affs: Not really a preference for plan text or no plan text. Good 2ACs need to explain to me why I should vote aff, what my ballot does, and respond to the line by line on the case page (you're obviously more prepared than them for the case debate so don't let it go to waste). Against framework, reading counterinterps that are specific could solve for a lot of their impacts. Presumption arguments are probably a decent response in the 1NC especially if the aff is vague or confusing.
Framework: Reading fw against a K aff works as long as you win the flow. Most of the time, I lean aff on Fw debates, but that's because neg teams think that they can get away with explaining things less than aff teams (tell me specifically why your model is better, examples are probably good). The impacts on framework and the line by line are the most important and I'll vote for whoever wins the tech. I've found that fairness is less important than most debaters think. Limits is probably not an impact. 1NC shells can get out of a lot of impact turn offense by reading a more specific shell instead of T-USFG. The easiest way the negative can win is accessing impacts that turn the case which probably also solve for the impact turns. I've found that I really enjoy clash debates (I've read K affs against framework and gone for framework against K affs).
T: For some reason, I'm a masochist and I like T debates. Teams read reasonability without telling me what it means and I don't know what to do with it.
Condo: Probably a good thing but how it's debated is most important. If the block is light on condo (or theory in general), it's probably a good idea to extend it in the 1AR to see if the 2NR drops it.
tldr: traditional flow judge with nat-circuit experience, prefers well warranted and narrative debates, does not enjoy speed
Hi! Quick background about me, I am old now but used to debate at Boston Latin. Hit me up on FB with any questions before the round.
Think of me like a lay judge trapped in a tech debater's body. I will flow, I am (usually?) tech>truth, tabula rasa blah blah blah but I will vote 99 times out of 100 for the team that a) collapses and weighs strategically, b) provides a clearer narrative across all speeches, c) actually warrants their args (I really don't care how many cards you dump on me if I don't hear a clear warrant). Don't just extend your args, tell me why I should care about your arguments in the real world or at least care more about your arguments than your opponents'.
I never ran progressive args while I debated, so I have a pretty high threshold to hearing them in round. Once again, I'm flexible: if there's something in the round that truly warrants such an arg, read it. Just don't get all caught up in technical mumbo-jumbo as much as just trying to keep things clear and reasonable for me.
I am not great at flowing speed, and I never preferred to go ultra-fast when I debated so don't expect me to be able to follow along if you are gonna pull an Eminem (at least Em is usually pretty clear when he spits).
The activity is meant for everyone to have fun and learn so honestly just do whatever y'all do best and lemme know if there is anything I can do better to accommodate you as debaters.
background: senior in college, debated for edina in minnesota on local + nat circuits, coach for palo alto high school
tldr: normal tech judge. warrant well, have fun
general
arjun25@stanford.edu - put me on the email chain
if you need any accommodations, i'm happy to help out. feel free to email me
run what you want. i like hearing creative arguments
easiest ways to lose speaks: misconstruing evidence, being rude, hacking prep egregiously
evidence
i paraphrased in hs and if done well i support the practice
if you're paraphrasing, you need to have the card ready at moment's notice for me or your opponents to call
if i call a card and you're paraphrasing, give me both a) the paraphrase of what you read from ur rebuttal doc and b) the cut card
expect bad speaks if you have bad evidence
i have dropped people on egregious evidence before
weighing
weighing guides my ballot -- win the weighing and I look to evaluate that argument first
metaweighing is only rarely necessary, but in rounds with solid weighing and clash it can be important. focus instead on warranting your weighing before resorting to metaweighing
progressive arguments
if you feel excluded by the argument, articulate how you've been excluded in the round
if you run a progressive argument common to PF, i'll know it pretty well. if not, still read the argument, but don't expect me to know the lit base, so slow down on warrants
Ks are fine but i don't really think PF structure is conducive to proper K debate
if you want to read theory/T about something that transpired in the round, paragraph form is totally alright. try to have the basic idea of a shell, so: a) interpretation (your interpretation of debate), b) violation (what your opponents did to violate that interpretation of debate), c) standards (why your interpretation is a good model for debate), and d) voters (impacts to fairness/education and an implication like drop the debater or drop the argument).
teams often run theory in front of me, but i honestly am not a fan of it at all. i'll evaluate it but would much rather see high quality content debate
strong bias against friv theory and tricks
if there is no offense, i will presume to voting for the 1st speaking team due to the structural disadvantage that 1st speaking teams experience in PF. you can make arguments about to change this default (but maybe focus on offense instead lol)
other paradigm references: i was coached by Mark Allseits in high school if you wanna see what my background is. also, everything in this paradigm also applies to me as well (debate partner from hs)
debated PF in high school on national circuit, currently coach some hs teams, am in college right now
(pronouns: she/her)
Here are some tech-y things:
Signpost, frontline at least turns in second rebuttal*, everything in final focus must be in summary (including defense**), extend case arguments and turns from uniqueness to fiat to impact.
*I prefer you frontline all defense for the argument you are going to collapse on in second rebuttal, but I guess I won't be too upset if you just run out of time.
**I would prefer you extend defense in first summary even if it isn't responded to in second rebuttal, but my threshold for extensions of not-responded-to defense is pretty low for first summary. Second summary needs to extend any defense that you want me to evaluate.
Here are some specifics for me:
If you aren't explaining WHY things happen, and just asserting things happen because a card says so, I will be sad. I am much more likely to buy well-warranted yet un-carded analysis over poorly warranted yet carded assertions.
If you tell me WHY your offense should be prioritized over your opponents' offense, then you are weighing!
Weigh Please ! ! !
Other stuff:
On theory, kritiks, tricks, or any other non-substantive arguments:
Theory/kritiks: I can follow it, but you are going to have to go a lot slower and explain things clearly. I'll get lost if you use too much jargon. so proceed at your own risk.
Tricks: nah
On Presumption: I presume neg unless other presumption arguments are made. If you think the round is too muddled and there isn't offense to vote off of, you might want to make a presumption argument. BUT I am more likely to buy poorly extended arguments that are adequately front-lined than I am to presume. ie I dislike presuming anything so prioritize trying to win the round with what you have on the flow rather than dishing out ten presumption args.
Also I flow on paper so don't spread.
I also don't call for cards after the round unless you explicitly tell me to call for it in a speech.
also, don't be a mean debater :p
i'm chill, come talk to me if you need anything even if you don't know me
email: rm859@cornell.edu - feel free to contact me if u have questions or coaching inquiries
For email chains: manna@bxscience.edu
Hii all! I am a pretty standard flow judge.
Warrant + weigh = win. (thank you Tenzin Dadak)
Please don't try to go for everything in the round.
I don't really care about cross, I might not pay attention during it.
Debate is supposed to be fun, enjoy it!
If you have any questions feel free to let me know :)
Ps. If it is the first round of the day I am probably a bit groggy so keep that in mind
hi (:
remi (she/ her) I'm a sophomore at gw studying IA and environmental studies. I did pf in hs but consider me flay
also tell me your pronouns and names before the round starts!
EXTEND your warrants and impacts (quantified preferably) plz -- if you want it voted on, it has to be said in summary AND final focus
basic jargon is fine (DL, turn, extend, time frame) but don't go crazy
I don't write down card names, stats or warrants yes but not names sources or years so if you mention a card name and don't explain it ill be confused
I don't evaluate cross fire, if something happens, tell me in a speech
time yourselves
read content warnings
if you wanna wear sweats or a hoodie that's fine, come in a hat for all I care!
I dont know how to evaluate theory and K's but if you wanna try you can lol
dont be rude and have fun!
cosby '21 fsu '24
put me on the email chain jackmerkel57@gmail.com
3 years pf (Qualled to TOC, States, Broke at many Nat Circuit Tourneys), 2 year NFA-LD (Qualled to NFA Nats 2x - Octos 2024)
NSD Tournament Specifics:
Pls dont run friv theory or prog just for the sake of running it, I would so much rather judge a good substance round than a messy prog round. If ur gonna run some sort of prog arg please have some sort of meaningful intention behind it
important stuff
let me know if you want to see my flow of your round after it's over - i'm uncomfortable sending flows to debaters that weren't in the round though because i think that unfairly helps debaters w more clout
feel free to postround me respectfully, i recognize that i'm capable of making wrong decisions or understanding arguments incorrectly - i'm here to learn and improve just as much as both teams are
i will drop you for misgendering someone, apologies don't solve and i'm not at all open to hearing arguments that claim otherwise.
please read an opt-in cw for any argument that may contain sensitive content, if you don't and a team reads cw theory I honestly don't see myself ever not voting for it. when in doubt err on the side of reading one.
NFA-LD
Case-Yes topical plan affs. I am probably the best at judging this style, with that being said non-t/k affs are fine, just a higher threshold to win my ballot.
T-Came from PF so never debated T before NFA, as a result not as good of a T judge compared to more established LD/Policy judges. Prob lean aff in most cases on T but will obv vote on it if the neg provides good warranting and definitions as to why its not T. Overall tho found T pretty boring and probably went for it less than 10% of the time so take that as you will.
DA-Yes please, I love a good disad that is creative in its link from the aff and has good weighing against the aff scenarios. Probably the most fun kind of debate to judge.
CP-Never really read or went for these, that being said I love a good/strategic cp that can solve the aff and has unique net benefits. Just explain how the cp solves the aff and why its competitive.
K-Read a lot more of these my last year debating, mainly read security but have experience running Cap and Psycho (Lacan/Matheson). I struggle a bit on higher phil like Baudy but I can prob still evaluate it. In addition performance/identity Ks are fine, obv dont have much experience running these but can still evaluate them. Idc if your alt isn't a material action, just describe what the alt world looks like whether its a mindset shift, rejection ect. On framing prove why your rotb matters and why I shouldn't weigh the aff, interact with your opponents fairness/education/predictability claims and prove why I should prefer your interpretations, weigh pre vs post fiat implications ect. "Perm do both" isn't a response, explain why the aff and alt are not mutually exclusive and explain how the aff and alt can function together and why that solves better.
Theory-I honestly like theory, obv as stated above didn't come from a LD/Policy background so don't have as much experience debating/evaluating procedural theory but have debated theory enough that its still fine to run. I love disclosure theory and just think its prob a true argument on both aff and neg so feel free to run this.
Misc- Speed is fine, I personally never really spread but I can evaluate it. Speaks are stupid and I think judging speaking ability is the most pointless thing in the activity, read 30 speaks theory and Ill give both debaters highest speaks allowed by the tournament.
PF Stuff
how do i decide who i vote for?
first - i go through every piece of offense in each final focus and determine if every important piece of the argument is extended (all too many rounds i vote based off a team failing to extend a link, warrant, or impact)
next - i look at the defense on each of these - if no weighing is done, i default to whichever argument is the path of least resistance - if both teams have no offense left, i presume the first speaking team - this is also when i call any cards i'm told to or that i think are bad
then - assuming there is weighing, i vote based on whichever weighing mechanism is best justified - if none are justified, i default magnitude first, probability second, and timeframe third - i think lots of other mechanisms used in pf fall into one of these (for example, severity is a type of magnitude, strength of link is probability) i also look to framing at this step if there is any and apply that as well. also on weighing, the most convincing and best weighing is link-ins and prereq weighing, this prob comes before any other generic mechanisms
evidence
paraphrasing is fine, just please have a cut card for whatever ur paraphrasing. if someone calls for ev and u send an 80 page pdf and tell me to control f something and read around it im not evaluating your ev. its really not that hard to just copy and paste that paragraph and highlight what your reading.
prog stuff
see NFA-LD section, tldr open to most prog stuff except trix which im just never voting for. if you have more specific questions just ask before the round
most importantly i want to make debate an inclusive space where everyone can have a fun and educational time so please let me know if there is anything i can do to make the space more accessible
I debated PF for Poly Prep (Graduated in 2021) and was relatively successful on the national circuit. Was a pretty typical tech debater (back in like...2020) and am a pretty typical tech/tab judge. If you extend each part of an argument through every speech, warrant throughout the round, and prove to me that you outweigh your opponent, you will win. Please add me to the email chain: abigail@reichmeyer.com
*NOVICES: Extensions are absolutely paramount to me. If you are going to do anything at all in summary and final focus, extend and warrant every part of the argument you are going for.
Some preferences:
- Please collapse, preferably on one link and one impact. Write my ballot for me in final focus. Start weighing early and spend time on it.
- You must frontline at least the argument you are going for in second rebuttal; no new responses in second summary to arguments made in first rebuttal. Not worth it to try going new in the two because I will know and not flow it
- You should cut cards and not paraphrase in case. I’m unlikely to look at/call for evidence unless I am told to, but I am going to scrutinize your evidence more if you paraphrase. Really low threshold for misrepresenting evidence at this point
- I don’t mind an intense round, but please don’t be a jerk we will all be uncomfortable
- I have a lot of thoughts about progressive argumentation in PF but TLDR is I am comfortable evaluating in a technical sense but you should 1) really know what you are doing and 2) it often puts me in a position where I have to intervene, because I don’t think it is ethical to give you a W for making arguments that are not the norm in PF in a round where your opponents are out of their depth. Thus, I have to decide my threshold for responses in a way I don’t in typical case debates which is necessarily interventionist
- I will do absolutely everything short of intervening to avoid presuming, but I presume whatever side is the squo (usually neg)
- I will probably not write a super detailed RFD but I will give you a comprehensive oral one, so feel free to record that.
Cliche, but have fun. My biggest regret after debate went online my junior year was not savoring the time I had at in person tournaments. Remember that this is supposed to be enjoyable!
hi I’m Arya (she/her), and I'm a sophomore at Emory. I did PF in Minnesota, and competed on the national & MN circuit for 4 years. if you have any questions before the round, please ask!
tldr: normal flow judge, collapse, extend (warrants not just taglines), weigh, have fun in round
if there is anything I can do to accommodate you before the round, reach out on Messenger or email (arya.mirza23@gmail.com)
general:
- if you're gonna spread send a doc
- tech>truth
- implicate your responses - tell me what they mean in the context of your round instead of card dumping
- signpost! I will not know where you are if you aren’t signposting and will probably miss stuff
- warranted analytic>unwarranted evidence
- collapse
- don't spread against novices
- I'll presume whichever team reads a presumption warrant, and if neither does, I'll presume first
- you can postround just don‘t be rude about it
- read content warnings for sensitive topics with an option to opt out. form template here, feel free to make a copy and use this.
crossfire:
- don't be that one person that cuts everyone off and doesn't let people speak
- nothing from cross flowed unless you mention it in a speech
2nd rebuttal:
- frontline
- don't read DAs or offensive overviews in 2nd rebuttal
summary and FF:
- defense is not sticky, extend it in both summary & FF if you want me to evaluate it
- weighing is the most important part in the back half of the round, please make a comparative. 3 second blips of buzzwords is not weighing.
- extend your argument fully–uniqueness link internal link impact–otherwise I can't vote off it
progressive args:
- please stop having theory debates where you're not engaging at the basic level, like reading a CI but not responding to no RVIs, it makes it really hard for you to win the round
- I don’t know K lit well so if you’re going to run one, explain the argument super clearly
- I am predisposed to thinking friv theory bad but I won't auto drop you just for reading it
evidence:
- paraphrasing is fine, just do it ethically please (and don't paraphrase 12 paragraphs in one sentence)
- every card you read needs to be cut; if any evidence is called for, send the cut + the paraphrase that you read. if you don't have the cut card it's off my flow
speaks:
- entirely based on strategic in round decisions, not speaking style, way you dress, etc.
- speaks go up if you start weighing in rebuttal
- speaks go down for bad extensions (a tagline is not an extension), misconstruing evidence, and hacking prep
- do not be any kind of -ist or I will intervene
overall, be nice in round and have fun :)
email: prateek.motagi@stern.nyu.edu
ask me anything before round
tldr: run whatever, explain it, win
-
Tech>Truth. I'll vote off ANYTHING extended cleanly on the flow. Love impact turns. Ngl idk much about prog
- Tell me if you're in the bubble, and I'll give you 30s
- If there is a lay or a flay on the panel, kick me
- Speed is chill
I am currently a student at Harvard College. I dabbled in debate while in high school (if it matters to you, I debated under University Irvine Independent or University High School, Irvine Gupta & Moudgalya).
I would certainly not consider myself an incredibly technical judge. To that end, however, I will do my best to flow the debate; you'll give your side of the debate the greatest presence on my flow if I can write down everything and hence, I recommend speaking either slow or only moderately quick. You win my ballot if you can: 1) explain your arguments clearly and with strong evidence and warrants and 2) explain why your opponents arguments are wrong and explain why your arguments matter more than your opponents arguments. I am very expressive – if I agree with what is being said, I will likely be nodding along and if I am confused, I'll likely express my confusion.
In regards to weighing, I think that weighing is an incredibly important aspect of debate. However, simply throwing around buzzwords like 'magnitude', or 'risk of offense' will not carry you far in the debate. Weighing is best delivered when it is early, warranted, reasonable, and contextualized.
Since I am a few years removed from the activity, I am unsure about what the 'meta' of the activity is; when I left, theory was starting to gain steam and paraphrasing was commonly frowned upon. I will do my best to be tabula rasa and hence, I do not have any preconceptions about rules or norms in debate. Apart from an argument (and of course, behavior) that is discriminatory or hateful, I am open to hearing any argument, provided it is clearly explained and well warranted.
Lastly, I love snark/sass but hate disrespect. The line is incredibly fine. Be careful, respectful, and most of all, have fun. Debate is not worth it otherwise! You are welcome to post-round me (respectfully); I view my job as a judge to adjudicate debate to the best of my ability and to that end, I don't mind questions.
UNC '25
I am tech.
I understand prog.
send speech docs and cards to robertmg@ad.unc.edu
no CW/TW (for arguments that need it) means u get 25 speaks max
:)
Update for TOC 2024:
I haven't debated in a minute but here's my background: Did PF for 1.5 years, switched to LD my senior year and qualified to the TOC. Since college, I haven't actively competed / judged PF occasionally, my overall preferences / views on debate haven't changed significantly but I'd place a significantly higher emphasis on deep research and evidence quality. Additionally, my tolerance for tricks / friv theory / clash evasive strategies is generally a lot lower than it used to be -- that being said I'm probably still more receptive to this than most PF judges and won't hack against it, just might not be as good at judging these rounds and will over-reward high-level strategic round vision in these debates.
With that in mind the below paradigm is largely up to date, and happy to answer any questions in round or prior via email.
Things that might need to have more emphasis given how long it's been since I debated (especially for PF):
1] Clarity -- please signpost clearly and slow down a little on taglines, I don't flow off the doc and won't go back unless you've marked cards.
2] Overviews / Round Vision -- Tell me what you're going to do before you do it, even if this is just 3 seconds of "High risk of a DA outweighs a mitigated case" at the top of the 2NR, it helps me know what's happening strategically, don't feel the need to overdo this compared to other rounds but if you don't do this already, try to do it (I promise other judges will also thank you with speaks boosts!)
3] Packaging / Simplicity -- In and out of debate I've realized that regardless of how complex arguments are going in, the hallmark of competence is being able to explain it simply. I used to be more on the side of thinking I'm stupid in these debates when the 2nr/2ar is unclear and going back through cards, rereading taglines and overviews to try and get an understanding of what was said. Today, I'll err more on the side of punishing you for long jargon-filled overviews, extension blocks that aren't tailored to the round and not being able to explain/contextualize your arguments in a simple way
4] I don't know the topic lol
5] I don't know if evidence ethics / file sharing standards in PF have gotten better over the years but I have absolutely zero tolerance -- send out docs (don't waste time/steal prep asking for cards) and don't miscut/paraphrase.
Paradigm:
I don't think you should worry about reading this too closely, I'll evaluate any argument however you tell me to in round and I will try to be as tab as possible butI do have biases which while I can try to keep them out of debate, some will implicitly be present and I feel like it would be better for me to make you aware of them rather than pretend they don't exist.
TL/DR: These are just my preferences as to what I believe is good for debate I won't default one way or another unless there is absolutely no pushback from either side.
Regardless, a ranking of how familiar I am with things:
Policy/K/T - 1
T-FW/K Affs - 1
Theory - 2
Phil - 2
Dense Phil/ Pomo read as an NC - 3/4
Tricks - 4/5
K vs K debates -- 4/5 (I like them but I'm a coinflip heavily weighted towards the perm)
K Affs vs FW
- Been on both sides and these are my favorite debates to judge however I probably do lean slightly neg.
- CI's are good to resolve some offense and provide uqs for an impact turn but it's not necessary.
- 2N's need to do a better job winning the terminal impact to FW, don't overinvest into reading long blocks that explain why the aff is unfair/decks clash because let's be honest, they aren't gonna contest that most of the time, focus on implicating why that is important both in the context of debate and in the context of the affirmative.
- Framework 2nr's I've thought were excellent often use the same verbiage as the aff instead of using long o/v blocks.
- TVA/SSD to resolve some offense is good, even if it doesn't
- 7 minute 2nr's entirely on the case page often get confusing for me when they lack good judge instruction -- try and be clear as to what you are doing on teh case page before you get into the lbl
K
- good for larp v k
- bad for k v k (biased towards the perm + often get confused a lot); if I do end up unfortunately judging one of these, judge instruction is paramount. I will evaluate these debates generally knowing that theories of power are largely compatible. So, my ballot will be a reflection of differences between the aff and the alternative and the impact to those differences. If the difference between the two indicates the alt is worse than the aff, I vote aff. If the difference between the two indicates the alt is better than the aff, I vote neg.
- lbl > long o/v's
- Framework CI = you don't need an alt unless the aff says you do and winning links is sufficient if you've won framework
- Alts that result in the aff are fine absent a 1ar warrant why they aren't (being shady in cx is kinda annoying tho)
- Only understand cap, Moten/Harney, Warren (never read this in round), and a little bit of Baudrillard -- explanation is good.
- All the interactions that people consider "k tricks" should be implicated in the 1nc or else 2ar answers are justified (saying lines in the card make the claim most often doesn't really count)
LARP
- Like this a lot
- UQS prolly controls link direction
- all cp theory can be dtd granted a warrant
- hate reading cards and I will stay away from it as much as possible but end up having to read ev in most rounds.
- defense is underrated and can def be terminal if implicated as such (i.e: bill alr passed prolly is terminal)
- solves case explanation can be new in the 2nr as long as it was in 1nc evidence
- perm shields the link/cp links to nb -- explain these args to me! I'm not v smart/takes me time esp since I don't know the topic lit most likely
Phil
- Haven't read anything besides util/Kant and a little prag -- think it's hella interesting doe if that counts for anything
- Weighing is important, spend more time explaining your syllogism and why that excludes theirs.
- TJF's prolly o/w and are the move if I'm in the back
- weird complex ev mandates not-weird not-complex explanation
Theory
- Like this
- Weigh between standards
- low threshold to vote on rvis -- still need to justify them and w/e
- reasonability should be explained and is v strategic at times -- I will not vote on an RVI if you are going for reasonability obviously
Tricks
- will vote on these as long they are implicated fully in the speech they are read
- I can't flow for my life so like try and slow down a Lil bit
Evidence Ethics
- did pf for 2 years, cut cards weren't a thing, people paraphrased, the average card was shorter than T definitions, and evidence was sent via url's + ctrl F -- I really don't care at all about ev ethics until it's mentioned but i'm p sure my standards for ev ethics are very stringent so if you do call it out/stake the round on it in PF you will probably win 90% of the time
- if staking the round, that should happen the moment the violation is called out. -- don't read a shell and debate it out until the 2ar and then decide you wanna stake the round instead
(i.e: Miscut 1AC ev means you should stake the round immediately after you see it BUT at the very latest after 1nc cross)
Misc:
- I'm cool with post rounding -- not cool w/aggressive or toxic post rounding
- Clear judge instruction is really helpful
- Hate it when people steal prep
- hate unclear signposting
- Record your speeches in case audio cuts out
- time yourself and stop at the timer. (pls)
PF:
tech>truth, but that doesn't mean you can circumvent basic logic with one sketchy piece of evidence
DO: signpost, weigh, respond to turns/significant defense in 2nd rebuttal, extensions (!), crystallize the round in summary (because everything in final focus should be in summary), warrant everything
DON'T: be rude, bring up new points in final focus (unless your opponent brings up something entirely new in second summary), bring up something new in 2nd summary, deeply miscut or misrepresent evidence (I won't call for ev though unless someone explicitly tells me to, or I feel like I need it to resolve the round)
* I don't flow cross, but I'll still be listening. If something was important in cross, make sure to repeat it in a speech so it does end up on my flow, and use that time to try to get concessions out of your opponents.
** This is my 3rd year as a varsity debater, BUT I am not competing on this topic so make sure you are still explaining arguments thoroughly. That being said, if the round boils down to two nuclear war/winter/extinction scenarios, the best way to win my ballot is to explicitly tell me why your scenario is a) more probable/better warranted b) going to happen first or c) you link in/pre-req
LD/Policy:
I've judged LD a few times (but never competed), and I feel pretty comfortable with framework debate. A lot of the PF "DOs" apply to LD and Policy as well as far as what I want to see in speeches. However, I am not super familiar with Theory and Kritiks; you can read them, but make sure you are being very clear and helping me follow along. Also, I can't flow spreading so either don't do it or send me a speech doc.
policy: clear plan text (funding, timeframe, etc). Aff must have solvency to win. Neg counterplans must be competitive.
Parli:
Not super familiar with expectations in Parli, but avoid just completely making up evidence for the sake of your arguments. Also be respectful with POIs (that's what they're called right?): be concise and if you're speaking don't always dismiss them. Like other events, entirely new arguments at the very end of the round won't be evaluated, and make sure you signpost, defend, and extend your arguments.
Congress:
just do you and try to ask thoughtful questions
Additional Things:
Feel free to ask me any questions before round if I missed something, the paradigm was unclear, or you don't understand one of the terms I used! At the end of the day, I want you all to have fun and get something out of the round.
^Because of this DO NOT make the round unsafe for anyone in it (that means avoid the -isms and the -phobias) and also please read trigger warnings (if you are worried something might need a trigger warning just ask and I can help you properly make it)!
tom.jj.perret@gmail.com
Hey! I'm Tom - I debated PF at Park City on the national circuit for two years. Please respect your opponents, their pronouns, and the circumstances they might be debating in while online.
Overall, I'm a pretty standard tech judge: If Team A is winning a link to an impact and Team B is not, Team A is going to win. If both teams are winning a link to an impact, I look to the weighing.
General:
Speed is fine, but please don't sacrifice clarity.
Extend fully in summary and final focus, and it has to be in both speeches if I'm going to vote on it.
I struggle to understand probability weighing; if you've won a link to an impact, it is probable. Don't use your probability "weighing" as a chance to read new defense in final focus when it should have just been a link response in rebuttal.
Weighing is not weighing unless it's comparative.
Frontline in second rebuttal.
Theory:
Read theory in the speech after the violation occurs.
Theory arguments are like any other argument, I need warrants for everything you say.
Critical Arguments:
I am unfamiliar with the technicalities of k debate, but I am familiar with some critical theory and am open to hearing well-warranted arguments.
Copied from Ishan Saxena
warrants matter (in all speeches would be ideal)
comparatively weigh or else i will do my ishan-weighing™️ and you may be unhappy
squirrelly arguments are fun (im tech over truth but cmon now don’t be too outta pocket like elon with his kid’s name). don’t be afraid to be unique and challenge the squo
i have some experience with Ks and Theory but substance debate means i need less sheets of paper...so take that however you want
debate the way you want! all styles are cool. be your own person and be happy with yourself above all. feel free to speak fast but be clear. if y’all decide amongst yourselves before the round and want me to be a lay judge, just lmk; lay is the way (jk...unless...)
be chill, have fun. this goes without saying but anything “-phobic” of any kind can be grounds for the lowest speaks or even a drop based on how egregious it is. debate is supposed to be a safe, intellectually stimulating space; keep this in mind and it will serve you well. think before you speak but at the same time do not be afraid to be a clown and crack some jokes—debate is most fun when you have fun doing it. also please let me know if there's anything i can do to help you feel more safe or comfortable
i like pop culture and references to it so if u want me to like be happy mention books (any quotes from any classic will get u + speaks), movies (mention smth by nolan, tarantino, p much anyone cool and will get u + speaks), sports (if ur a ManU fan, dont tell me or else i will be sad), songs (J Cole, Kendrick, Clairo, Drake bars will get u + speaks) whatever
giving me a good story that i want to believe + making smart decisions + being chill & j vibing = super high speaks. but keep in mind that debate is also definitely a game of persuasion. i personally as a debater tried to be pretty persuasive in how i spoke and tried not to go too fast. but u do u and i will adapt to u
^speaking of good stories: i really enjoy narrative debate. smartly extend and implicate one coherent, cohesive story and u will do fantastic
good luck folks. y’all rock no matter the outcome of the round.
debate is supposed to be educational so have a good time and don’t stress too much !!!
p.s. this shouldn't even have to be said but: no new stuff in FF please; it'll j annoy me a lot :/
as always, if you have any questions about any of this don’t hesitate to ask me before the round
and ofc ask questions after the round! that's the best way to learn :) but i can guarantee that if ur tryna change my decision after the round, it will not work
also if u need any other advice or have any questions about like anything, reach out after round or on fb messenger
once again: good luck !! enjoy your time in debate—you're never gonna get it back
1n/2a
Add me to the chain: anish.debate718@gmail.com
Top Level:
- Be nice
- Time your own speeches and prep
- Tech > Truth
- Don't just extend tags, extend warrants
- Trying to deliberately make it hard for your opponents to flow is a surefire way to destroy your speaks
PF:
- Send speech doc if you spread.
- I am a varsity policy debater with experience in progressive and traditional arguments. At the end of the round, I will vote for the team that does a better job explaining why their case matters. I'm cool with any weird strategy you want to test on me as long you're good at it.
- Good weighing wins rounds so start weighing early so my decision will be easier
- New weighing is cool in FF
- I won't vote on stupid theory arguments that are meant to be dropped. Read theory if there's actual abuse
- Debate is a game with intrinsic benefits but I can be convinced otherwise
- RVIs and Trix are stupid
- If you run a K be good at it
- A good K round is fun to watch but a bad K round is probably my least favorite thing about debate asides from stupid theory debates
Policy:
General Stuff:
- I am pretty policy leaning
- K Stuff: Explain it well
- Cool with spreading but since this is gonna be online, slow down a bit (BE CLEAR)
- Tag teaming is fine as long it's not egregious
- Depth > Breadth
- Provide good, warranted impact calc to make my decision easier
Topicality:
- Fun to watch when done well
- Both teams must give a CLEAR picture of what debates would like under their interps
- I will usually default to competing interps
Theory:
- Conditionality is good unless it's egregious and is warranted against new affs
- If a Process CP is too abusive don't be afraid to go for theory (more teams should do it)
- ASPEC is stupid
Speaks:
- My range is 27.6-29.8
Anything unethical will probably result in a loss and trash speaks. Good luck!
Hey! I'm one of the captains of PF at Bronx Science. my email: reynoldsk@bxscience.edu
My preferences:
Be respectful to each other. If you are not I will drop you.
I'm a pretty standard flow judge, tech > truth.
I don't care what happens in crossfire as long as it's not offensive or abusive. I will be on my phone in crossfire, so if something important happens, bring it up in an actual speech or I won't know that it happened.
Weigh, pleaseeee! If you don't weigh your arguments it will be very difficult to win.
Obviously evidence is good, but I will always prefer clearly warranted arguments that are cleanly + consistently explained over a bunch of card names being thrown in my face with no explanation and being told it wins you the round. It won't. Warrant your arguments.
2nd rebuttal and 1st summary has to frontline. Any defense on your case that you don't respond to is true for the rest of the round.
For novices: If you have any time left at end of 1st rebuttal, please, PLEASE, do not tell me you are going to "go over your case again." I know your case! Try weighing your case's impacts against theirs instead! Don't reread it to me!
Summary and final focus should be very similar, although I think FF needs to weigh more.
Please please please do everything you can to avoid progressive arguments. I will never automatically drop a team for running theory, but I feel like I do not understand progressive debate enough to evaluate it, and if I am confused in round about your progressive arguments, I will not hesitate to resort to voting on substance. If you do feel like there was such a bad abuse within round that it is absolutely necessary to run, you must make it as clear as possible to me.
Do not spread.
If you want more specifics on how I will vote, go to Ayanava Ganguly's paradigm-- I am too lazy to copy and paste his and he is much more eloquent than I am.
And most of all please make this round fun and not a headache! Any way you can make me laugh is appreciated :)
Email= Aavedonroy@gmail.com
Novice
Read your case and don't worry about the rest of the paradigm. Make sure to do weighing in your later speeches and collapse to a few arguments that you can develop and defend well.
I did policy, pf and ld. I have dyslexia and adhd. In policy, I did LARP debate. In PF I did LARP and lay debate. In LD I did disability K debate, and some frivolous theory.
Quick Prefs
I can’t understand spreading except off the doc be full warned
Identity K’s/Phil K’s - 1
Tricks -2
Phil-2
Lay 3-
Larp-4
Specifics
I did policy, pf and ld. I have dyslexia and adhd. In policy, I did LARP debate. In PF I did LARP and lay debate. In LD I did disability K debate, and some frivolous theory.
I went 1-5 at columbia, 1-6 camp tournament , 2-4 stanford and emory. I beat such amazing novices from newark, a Strake kid who wasn’t trying, and people not understanding my wiki. I also frequently posted on Debate Meme groups.
I can understand spreading but please send a speech doc. If you don't have a speech doc don't spread. If you don't want to send your opponent's analytics that's stupid but 100% send it to me.
I'm not a Phil debater so unless your reading Kant, util, objectivism, libertinism, Virtue ethics, Pragmatism, Deleuze,Hobbes, Negative Util, SV, Heidegger, Spinoza, Determinism, Tricks, Delibrative Democracy, Foucault, Alienation, Levinas, Agmben then I can't understand it so you might not want to read.
I'm a big fan of combining Phil and K debate combined.
Tech over truth ( except for ableism/accessibility) unless the round is clearly inaccessible ( like actually because someone is spreading and other people can't). If your opponent asks you to slow down then slow down.
If your arguments aren't warranted and your opponent drops it I will vote on it but if both sides aren't warranted then I will do weighing on my own.
I give novices an auto 29 if they run tricks. Like, on one hand, I love you for running tricks in novice year but at the same time, you should be learning the basics of LD.
Asking for a 30 gets you an 27 in speaks.
If you run a k/ theory please run it well. Most debaters don't really understand k which makes me sad so please try to make it coherent.
Theory: I default to reasonability, no rvi, drop the argument (if it's coherent) unless contested.
You can run kaff in front of me if it's an identity k but if it's not an identity k I would prefer not.
my email is aavedonroy@gmail.com
If you want 30's- weigh, speak clearly, and warrant your argument.
If you have a disability I understand that speaks can be harsh so if you want to tell me ahead of time.
Don't vote off word pics unless it's clearly offensive. Ok I will vote on it if it's dropped but like stop acting words that clearly aren't offensive are.
Evidence Ethics is bad but I won't vote off middle paragraph, or brackets unless it's actually bad. I will weigh it as a theoryshell.
Email: aas363@cornell.edu
do whatever you want
SAFETY NOTE:
Safety comes first. If the round becomes unsafe for you or your partner and you are not comfortable voicing your concerns in the round, please email or FB message me immediately. I want all debaters to know that I am an adult you can trust in this space. I will do as much as I can to protect you and keep this activity safe for you.
Hey y'all! I was a PF debater for Acton-Boxborough Regional High School for 4 years, and am a first-year at Northeastern University studying neuroscience.
I was a flow debater, but do not understand any theory, K's, or extreme tech debate. I am ~alright~ with spreading but give a speech doc. I also have not done any debate activities for the last year, so take that as you will. If I cannot flow, your chances of getting down any arguments and winning them severely decreases.
I consider the debate in this order: Weighing, Link, then Impact. If you win the weighing, that's the framework in which I view the round. I then look to who wins the link in that context and ultimately whether or not you access your impact based on any remaining responses and whether they were frontlined effectively.
EXTEND. If you do not extend your entire case, it makes it EXTREMELY difficult to vote, and if both teams don't do that then it will become a very problematic decision because I will have to intervene, and no one wants that.
Make sure to signpost, it makes my flowing easier and will take less time to understand your responses.
If you are speaking first, I consider your defense sticky if not responded to. Otherwise, if responded to, please extend and also explain why your defense/offense is comparatively better than the opponent's response. If you want new implications of defense made, even if your defense has not been responded to, do it here. I will still extend it even if made in FF, it is just always better to have these implications mentioned earlier in a round and consistently extended, otherwise, it may be too late once considering weighing of implications, etc.
If speaking second, no new responses should be in 2nd summary or onwards. New implications of the ~same~ weighing are ok in the 2nd summary given the development of the round, but no outright new weighing mechanisms are allowed. All of the responses should be done in 2nd rebuttal. I prefer front lining in 2nd rebuttal, it makes the debate much cleaner for me to flow and reduces the stress of the first speaker, and also uses 2nd speaking team to its advantage.
I will not call for cards unless I am told to. Make sure your evidence is easy to access or speaks will be dropped a bit. For online tournaments, make an email chain.
Finally, no "isms" or you will be dropped, and speaks will be tanked. Debate must be an activity that is inclusionary for all and must be maintained with a high level of dignity and respect.
Did Policy and PF for 4 years. Comfortable with any argument, be innovative!
If you can ever "that's what she said" me, you get 30 speaks, if you do that to your opponents more than 3 times, 30 speaks and I presume for you. That would be based.
I want all speech docs where evidence is read to be on the chain. (all constructive speeches 1AC/1NC 2AC/2NC. That's rebuttal for you kids). If you don't have ev for the 2AC/2NC well ummmmm ya. I won't look at it but it is for evidence exchange purposes. srikartirumala@gmail.com.Add both to the chain!
Don't ask me to verify I'm there before every speech. I want to flow, not keep unmuting. Just assume I'm always ready.
Philosophy:
I am a fairly tab judge who operates solely on an offense/defense paradigm. Tech>truth to the fullest. I will do no work for you as that's your job (so I won't even implicate defense for you as terminal). You do you -- don't change how you debate for me. I will adapt to your style (unless your style does not hit the basics like extensions, comparative weighing etc.)
Do not
1. Any -isms. Just be a good person it's not hard. For the people who read "racism is a democratic value kick people off social media" this is you!
2. Bad ev. You will not win a round trying to fake ev in front of me if it is called out. For me faking or misrepresenting ev is as good as cheating and all your opponents need to say is "it's a voter for education/fairness/legit anything". And I'll hack. But you need the prove the evidence is actually bad IN ROUND. Ie - it's not enough to say "It's faked" U must say "It is faked because of X reason -- that's cheating and it's a voter for fairness/education".
I do not like
1. Paraphrasing
2. "Discourse" as solvency. I'm sick of it and probably will insta delete your "K" from the flow. Have a real alt / well thought out method.
3. No speech Docs.
4. "Probability weighing". This is just reading empirics, anything else is just a link mitigation or a no link argument and ways smooth brained teams with bad rebuttals can sneak new defense into summary @Sarvesh babu looking at you.
5. Claiming any progressive stuff isn't "public in public forum" I will laugh at you during RFD whilst playing Laughing to the bank. If you're in varsity, you should be prepared to deal with all the arguments no matter what.
This part is stolen from THE beach
***If you are in varsity at a TOC bid tournament, I will by NO MEANS evaluate a "we do not understand theory or K/theory or K excludes me because I don't know how to debate it" response. In fact, I will give you the lowest speaker points the tournament reasonably permits-- you're perpetuating horrible norms in this activity. Do not enter the varsity division of tournaments if you are unwilling to handle varsity level argumentation. ***
As an aside to this ^, if you a reason why theory/ K is bad, I won't automatically intervene but your speaks are GONE and I will legit buy "bruh what the heck is this it allows for bad norms" and then strike it off my flow. This is one of the worst takes I've ever heard, and I'm really sick of people perpetuating the narrative that "public forum should be for the public" or whatever dumb thing boomers in this activity who are afraid of anyone that isn't a cishet white male doing well in the activity propagate. I also will not buy any "people don't know how to disclose or access wikis" it's just blatantly untrue and disrespectful to small school debaters. It's not a response -- it's just you not knowing how to interact. this is the one spot I feel 0 shame in intervening, I will laugh at you while I do it and play Laughing To The Bank by Chief Keef while I read the decision.
I like these
- Theory (but not stupid and friv)
- Kritical args (But actually with solvency not DiScOuRsE)
- Framing / Meta Weighing
- I errheavily towardsparaphrasing being bad, speech docs being good, and disclosure being good, and will evaluate procedurals based on that.
- Lots of explanation on what's happening in the flow (I won't do any work, if you don't tell me why it's important or what to do with it it's nothing)
Why do I care so much about good ev?
I've had teams straight fake ev against me and it hurts. As a researcher the skills you get from research in debate is unparalleled to other activities. Faking evidence is akin to cheating, and this is a competitive activity. There's y'alls little procedural.
Strike me if you
1. Fake evidence / do not cut your cards (you know who you are)
2. Think I'm going to buy your "persuasive appeal" BS, speaks are a construct and don't matter in a W/L
3. You are going to run problematic arguments, I won't deal with them. I don't like to intervene on the flow, but I will in these cases. I might even physically stop the round depending on how bad it is.
Arguments:
1-5. 5 means I love
LARP: 5
Go crazy, idc. I mostly LARPed in HS
Framework: 4.5
- not much to say, I read fw in HS a lot. I never really did LD, so if I'm in judging it, please explain phil? I'm actually really confused and bad at phil debate. Tbh, if i'm judging you and you are going to read phil, please just treat me as a lay judge (just on the fw, u can spread or do w/e later).
T/Theory: 5
- If I believe theory is frivolous, I might not give you good speaks. Make sure it's accessible. I used to read theory like crazy in HS. I am 100% fine if you read it in shell or paragraph form, that's your choice.
- I completely tab on most theory args unless it's p obvious it's friv against K or against a novice. I'mma hold you to a high burden when it comes to extensions in these cases. I tend to err towards paraphrase bad and disclosure good but I will not hack at all. I've read both paragraph theory and shell in HS so I'm ok with w/e u are. If you are in Policy./LD where there are a billion different AFFs, I think disclosure is definitely a good norm. If you are in Policy/LD I expect better. if you paraphrase in any event ur speaks are gone.
Dude, Condo is Dispo don't try and cap otherwise.
K : 4
- I started reading more Kritical arguments my senior year, this being said, any argument can be explained properly. I tend to err towards K over T, but I'll be tab. High theory is fine dumb it down. If I'm confused over the K, it means ur OV or your extension wasn't good enough or explained well, and I'll probably vote on something cleaner.
- Note, I rarely read K in policy, I was more of a LARPER, but I will probably understand most of what you are saying if you bother to try to explain it to me. This means get rid of a lotta the K-specific jargon "e.g. state of exception". I'll understand some of the stuff i'm familiar with but still be careful. In policy / LD though you need to really explain the K. I’m going to be lost if ur just spreading cards. The 1NR/2NC needs to have REALLY good OV extension that REALLY explains your theory.
- I am fairly familiar with most K lit. I read Set Col, Sec, Orientalism, Imperialism, Neolib, Biopolitics/Biopower, but I'll buy k about anything just PLEASE don't just spread ur usually jargony OV. Very familiar with most IR terms / list
This is my hot take, I don't like identity AFFs that much in PF. Trust me, I am VERY VERY HAPPY to vote them up, and often do, just know I don't really like how it's being done in PF where I can't tell WHAT SOLVENCY IS! If you do it right I'll enjoy it.
Plans/CP : 5
- IN ANY EVENT These are perfectly ok in my mind, I will buy a good plan bad theory tho. All u have to prove is that the plan potentially could be viable, some sort of implementation or actor and I think the theory doesn't apply. I am fine if u just tell me a counter plan to the AFF/Neg, and defend that it's good. Rules are meant to be broken if they are bad so a response to a CP can't be "NsDa RuLeS sAy No CP" give me a reason why I should uphold that norm.
- I prolly think process CPs are another method of doing the plan.
- I think infinite condo on CPs are bad
DA: 5
- All good,weigh them!
Trix: 3
If you want me to vote neg on presumption/AFF risk of solvency/1st speaking team -- warrant out why, don't just yell this. Aka IL how how the trick applies to your presumption, lot of people, miss this. Don't j be like "EMPIRICUS 2 BC *Breath* fehhfuiewhfewhfewfhewewh. Ok next trick"
I think especially in PF this is a bad strat but in LD / Policy I guess I get it a bit more.
I started keeping tally of how many times I voted for Trix: IIIIIIII
Speed: 4
- PF spread fine, I am cool with full policy spread, just make tags distinct from cards ("AND", Slow down). If you aren't sure how distinct your tags are from cards, just speech doc. Also make sure the opponent can understand, or speaks might be hurt. I will call clear twice, then I will give up. People ask what I can flow, I can probably flow up to 300 wpm without a speech doc with card names.
- I will probably not need to use your doc, make your tags really clear, and if ur not clear when spreading I will clear you. if I clear your thrice, your are capped at a 27.
Performance/Non T AFFs : 4
You need to make the ROTB very clear and win it. also PLEASE READ A LINK! Why is the ballot needed? What is my role as the judge? Also like how does ur case link into the ROTB? Make it very clear. Honestly I tend to err K > T so this might be a good strat, but make sure you are ready to win the AFF. Also please tell me why your method is uniquely key.
- If you are hitting a non T aff it isn't enough to tell me the rules are something I must maintain, I say screw the rules unless u tell me why the rules are good.
- Tbh if there isn't a CLEAR method / solvency you're capped at a 26
Presumption:
- Absent presumption warrants given in speech, I default to whoever lost the coinflip.
TKOS: 2
- saves us all time. Typical rules apply, if there's a path to the ballot, you L20, if none, W30. I won't stop round ever -- but if you're right I'll be like ok and stop flowing. Don't really like tho there's always a chance u drop the ball but if u call one go for it. DO NOT LIKE THESE but I'll consider the following
1. A procedural on no speech docs is a TKO vs a team that does not disclose or a team that spreads random paraphrased stuff -- if it's dropped
2. Bad evidence is a TKO -- treat this similar to an NSDA challenge if the ev is crap call it out I won't like it
3. No cut cards is a TKO if it's conceded.
4. Problematic language is a TKO. This includes repeated misgendering or anything of that form. I don't understand why some judges DON'T make this a TKO?
5. Any IVI on a team that says "prefiat offense is bad" is basically a TKO, I won't stop round but lol I'm not going to flow responses to it.
6. Bad haircuts is a TKO. I don't wanna look at your receding hairline. My kids know what I'm talking about. (obviously a joke)
livingston high school '20 (4 years PF, debated @ TOC + Nats) | university of california, berkeley '24
ishan.saxena@berkeley.edu for the email chain
warrants matter (in all speeches would be ideal)
comparatively weigh
debate however you want
be a good person
(Scroll down for my PF paradigm)
Defaults
Comparative Worlds
Theory/T -> K -> Case
Reasonability
Drop the arg
No RVI
Fairness
Ethical Certainty
Presume Neg
Quals:
I do LD. I've qualled to the toc and reached deep elims in a few tournaments.
Disclaimer: I haven't done anything debate-related for two years, so I will be rusty with getting back into it.
LD:
Framework: I enjoy framework debates. Although I am a progressive debater, I do understand and can vote off of framework if sufficient enough for me. Just remember to extend reasons as to why your framework should take precedence in this round. Also, don't confuse your case with the framework and cross-apply your case arguments to justify your framework. They are two very different layers of debate.
Kritiks: Kritiks are my favorite part of debate. If you are planning to run a K, please make sure you understand how to debate a K and know sufficiently about the K to debate it.
Theory: When there is real in-round abuse, I think theory is a good check to it. However, when you run theory just for the sake of winning, it's annoying. I will vote off frivolous theory and a priori arguments but with very great displeasure (expect a drop of speaker points). Disclosure is probably good.
Topicality: Topicality arguments are great.
P/CP: Case arguments that pertain to the topic are great. I like clever plans and counter-plans. PiCs are great as well. I'll take whatever you got but remember to extend.
Contentions: If you aren't a progressive debater, this may seem more familiar to you. I am completely fine with lay and traditional arguments, and don't let the previous stuff scare you into thinking that.
Extend: If you don't extend your case in the rebuttal speeches, I'm not going to flow it through the round.
Impact Calculus: I, as the judge, can't attach a value as to how I'm going to judge an argument if you don't tell me how to assign that value. Please remember to weigh your arguments and be explicit.
Add me to the email chain if you are spreading: jungwoo.seo@emory.edu
Please don't spread if your opponents can't either; it's abusive and doesn't promote educational practices that way.
PF:
If you're going to be fast, don't read paraphrased evidence. I will not flow it.
Framework: Although I know that PF is more of a contention level debate, I have seen interesting frameworks being used, so I'm open to new and interesting frameworks that work on proving your point. I default to CBA if no framework is mentioned.
Contentions: You are free to use whatever arguments that you think may help you and if I think you won that, I'll vote for it.
Crossfire: I think crossfire is my favorite part of PF debate. Please keep it civil but don't be afraid to make some sassy comments or ask good questions.
Extend: If you don't extend your case in the summary speech, I'm not going to flow it through the round.
Impact Calculus: This is critical, especially in public forum. I, as the judge, can't attach a value as to how I'm going to judge an argument if you don't tell me how to assign that value. Please remember to weigh your arguments.
Defense: Defense is not "sticky." You need to cleanly extend the defense you want me to evaluate in the summary and ff if you want me to evaluate it.
Theory: I will evaluate theory just as how it is evaluated in LD and CX. You do not need to ask your opponent if you can run theory or not; that's silly.
Please don't shake my hand, thanks.
Hey I'm Jack I debated for La Salle for four years. got a bid and broke at most of my tournaments.
debate is a game so be nice. as i have been removed from this activity for a bit my paradigm may make me sound OVERTECHNICAL than my current views as a judge. ill try my best to keep up but im not super invested in debate anymore.
frontline turns second rebuttal. should also probably frontline what u will collapse on in second rebuttal (including defense) as well. defense is sticky in first summary. turns can be extended as terminal defense in final if theyre not in summ.
one note! i can flow pretty well it but if im unfamiliar with the topic slow down so i dont miss things. havent participated at all since i graduated. comfortable with progressive debate like Ks theory framework etc.
i will try to be as noninterventionalist as possible. however, if u implicate evidence in a way very obviously how it was not intended i might not listen to it. i'll call for ev that sounds sketch if it's important to my decision. debate is supposed to be educational so i see it as an ethical burden to improve this activity.
Important nit picky preferences:
- It's a growing norm in PF to say that defense is a turn or that mitigation is terminal. Please stop. It hurts my soul. And it will hurt yours too when I drop your speaks.
- Weigh whenever you see fit especially if you dont want me to intervene.
- I prefer theory be read in shell form.
- If your response Structural Violence is commodification of the ballot I prob won't vote off that response because everyone commodifies the ballot and also that's such an in-substantive response. If you read my paradigm and do it anyways u get bad speaks.
- I like listening to crossfire because I don't know anything about the topic and learning is fun but everything I vote off of must be in speech. Cross might help you get ahead on competing warrant clash perceptually but the substance needs to be in the other parts of the round!
-Don't go new in the two (final focus).
-Have cards available so we dont need to waste time. If a team calls for a bunch of cards and you provide them all quickly and theyre good ev ill give u 30s.
MOST IMPORTANT: Make sure you're having fun and being respectful. Seriously, if you're not having fun, it's not worth it.
Background:
Debated for four years in Public Forum at Brookfield East High School and now a freshman at Emory. My experience is mainly in flay debate.
I'm probably tech > truth but that does not mean I'm going to vote on unwarranted and poorly contextualized arguments.
Rebuttal:
I wanna see frontlining (defending case) in the second rebuttal. I think it makes for better debate, and it's also strategic for you. Whether that's a 2-2 split is up to you, but just know that I think the bare minimum is addressing terminal defense and turns. Do not read new DAs (instead frame them as turns if they interact with your opponents case) and no "offensive overviews" in 2nd rebuttal.
Summary and FF:
I should see your arguments properly extended in both of these speeches, that means both the warrant and the impact. Also, nothing you bring up in final is going to matter for my ballot if it wasn't also in summary (exception is that defense is sticky). Please collapse args and give me voters. I know some judges are ok with new weighing in final, but I'm personally not a fan of it.
Weighing:
This is the easiest way to win the round. I should at least be seeing discussion on magnitude, scope, probability, but introducing things like strength of link, clarity of impact, meta-weighing, etc, will usually earn you my ballot and good speaks. Start this as early in the round as possible (ideally rebuttal), and do it in every possible instance. This means that in addition to seeing you weigh arguments, I wanna see you weigh and implicate things like turns.
Theory/Ks:
I don't really understand these so please caution. With that being said, I'm fine with paragraph theory if there is some sort of explicit abuse.
Evidence Ethics:
I'm ok with paraphrasing, and in some cases think it's better than reading cards, but you better be able to provide the cut card and original link/pdf (if requested). As far as in-case citations (verbal), I wanna hear dates and author qualifications/source.
Evidence misrepresentation really grinds my gears. I know the difference between a power tag, or evidence getting overhyped as the round goes on, and a lie. If you ask me to call for a card I 100% will, and I don't think it's interventionist for me to ask for something your opponents didn't. If I think some shady stuff went down, I'll dock speaks at the very least. If it's particularly egregious, I'm comfortable voting off it.
Other Important Things:
Cross: Try to be respectful but feel free to be assertive. I listen to cross but don't flow. If you say something in cross, I tend to believe it is binding. If your opponent makes an important concession, be sure to bring it up in speech.
Signpost: I wanna know where you are on the flow, and I want you to number your responses. You do not want me to think you under covered or even dropped something just because I didn't know where you were. Make sure we're on the same page and we'll be good.
Speed: I am okay with speed and am fairly confident I'll be able to flow you. However, it is in your best interest to slow down for tags and important responses/extensions. The reality is, the faster you speak, the less I get down. That being said, I do not want this to be something that excludes someone from the round. If you need your opponents to slow down, just say "clear." I will also yell "clear" once if I cannot understand you.
Argumentation: Feel free to run unconventional arguments. I was notorious for running random stuff. Running unique stuff (given warranting and evidence exists) always makes boring tournaments fun.
Analytics: I like logical responses a lot. Good logic is going to beat bad evidence, and I will 100% evaluate something that makes sense even if it's not carded.
*Definitely feel free to ask me questions before and after the round.
TLDR on my paradigm:
I debated my junior and senior year of high school in the West LA/OCSL circuits and graduated in '20; qualified to nats and STOC my senior year & have been involved for ~6 years as of time of writing. I am now pursuing a bachelors in Politics & Public Affairs & coaching the debate team @ Denison U.
email: tan_s1@denison.edu
Important Things for the skimmers:
-I am about 75% tech 25% truth.
-Spread and I will drop you.
-I default to Cost-Benefit Analysis w/ a value of human life if no other framework is read and first speaking if there is no offense on the flow.
-I require weighing and extensions if you want to win the debate. Both defense and offense are not sticky (more on this below). I should hear extensions from the 1SS onward.
-I flow on paper, so keep it somewhat slow.
It has been quiteeeee a while since I've last judged, so please be gentle with my feeble mind.
If you are running theory or Ks, both sides must OK it for me to evaluate the arg. I never debated and have hardly judged pre-fiat so don't expect me to be anywhere close to my post-fiat judging abilities.
I have voted aff 69 times and neg 87 times (give or take), meaning an almost 56% neg bias. Yikes. I would guess the bias is from defaulting neg; I have since shifted to voting for first speaking in the interest of fairness.
Parli:
Debated parli mainly my junior year of high school and quite a bit in college, I am versed in the event.
POIs need to be short. I will not flow them. Bring it up in a speech if it's important.
I'll tell you if I accept your Point of Order.
I am versed in topicality shells. I am receptive to prefiat args in this event, but you'll still need to slow them down and dumb them down a bit.
I prefer that Ks link in to the res, but non res Ks are fine, I'm just more receptive to res level.
I know that quantified impacts are hard to come by in parli. If you don’t have a quantifiable impact, I expect some sort of framing that replaces terminalization. If you don’t have terminalization or a framing level thing going for your impact, I find it difficult to vote for it.
LD:
I tend to evaluate the round on framing and VC above all else. Treat me like a flay judge (quick reminder that I have the least amount of experience judging this event). Pre-fiat args are ok (and encouraged), but no guarantee I can evaluate them well.
PF:
What I like to see in round:
Extensions: My threshold for extensions is fairly low. I expect you to extend every link in the arg you're going for; they can be paraphrased. I expect your impact scenario to be extended.
Signposting: I hate guessing where I should be flowing. Be explicit where you are going on the flow both before your speech and during it. If you think you're being obvious, be a little more obvious. Seriously, this is one of my biggest problems in-round. Signpost.
Two worlds analysis: I like to see this both on the weighing, warrant, and evidentiary level. Why should I prefer your weighing over your opponent's? Compare them. Why should I prefer your warrant over your opponent's? Compare them. Why should I prefer your evidence over your opponent's? Compare them.
Weighing: Weighing is a must if you want to win the round. If you don't weigh and your opponent does, they win. Irrespective of the quality and integrity of your link chain and impact, I will always vote for the side with the winning weighing. If you both weigh, you'll also need to metaweigh to get my ballot.
Evidence analysis: I like it when you call for evidence. Evidence standards in pf suck and have been getting worse. You're likely to find some great responses if you call out crappy evidence. It also makes me happy to hear people call out a crappy card.
What I don't like to see in round:
Sloppy crossfires: Crossfire can be a great way to clear up confusion and communicate critiques of the other side. They can also be horrible screaming fits where nothing gets done and you both end up angry. Make sure you are having constructive conversation or I will drop speaks.
Disorganization: If your speech is not organized and super jumpy, regardless of signposting, I will likely get lost. Please have a strategy when you deliver.
Ad hominem: If you're racist/rude/homophobic you get L20'd & tournament management will be notified.
My quirks:
Defense is not sticky: Lack of defensive extensions, even if dropped, makes for a messy backend debate. You will win the defense if it is dropped, no need to spend too much time on it.
Post-rounding: I encourage post-rounding in order to better myself as a judge. Judges whom dropped me and said, "everyone did great!" made me extremely angry when I debated. If I missed something, bring it up. However, it will not change my ballot. If I missed it, I missed it.
The "truth" part of my paradigm: If the round gets really messy or your evidence sounds far too absurd then I will intervene. It pains me to say this, but the standard for evidence is already rock bottom and I am trying to make a minuscule difference. If you don't have messy rounds and read good evidence then this shouldn't worry you.
Remember that I am a human and debate is a game. I will sometimes make mistakes, please do not hate me for it.
Tech > truth, but I am only human.
Run whatever you want: Theory > K > Topicality > Trix > Substance
Competed in public forum from 2020-2022 under Basis Independent Silicon Valley AV and VB.
Strong warranting >>> blippy responses.
Egregiously bad evidence will likely result in lower speaks.
vinay_vellore@berkeley.edu
Be nice :)
Hi! I am a PF Debater and debated at Wayland High School for three years.
Experience: Putting up with Sam Goldstone's shit and living by the grace of Kevin Wang.
If you manage to fit the correct pronunciation of falafel into your speech I'll give you 30s.
- I am tech over truth, so as long as you extend and weigh your arguments it's fine by me.
- If there is no offense in the round, I will default Con
- I do not take notes during crossfire
- I will only vote on something if it is in both summary and final focus. If you read an impact card in your case and it is not in summary, I will not extend it for you, even if the other team does not address it.
- No new responses is permitted in second summary (it's fine in first summary). The only exception I will make is if you need to respond to evidence/responses introduced in the first summary.
- First summary has to extend defense, turns, disads/etc, the extra minute gives you ample time.
- I will only ask to see evidence after the round in one of three scenarios. (1) I was told to call for a card in a speech (2) Both teams disagree over what the card says and it's never fully resolved (3) I'm curious and want to read it.
- I don't evaluate Kritik's, I think they are ruining the activity I love, however I am open to theory, but due to me not being well versed in Theory run it at your own digression.
- I reserve the right to drop you for offensive/insensitive language.
Hi! I'm Skylar, was formerly a debater at Blake. Please put skylarrwang@gmail.com and blakedocs@googlegroups.com on the email chain, and don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.
Notes for 12/2 -I'm not familiar with this topic, so make sure to say the full name of something before abbreviating!
General:
- Please preflow before the round and give an off-time road map that tells me which specific argument you're starting on
- Second rebuttal should rebuild your own case and respond to theirs, and begin the weighing debate! ALL speeches after 2nd reb should have weighing
- Comparatives are very important: tell me why to prefer your reasoning over your opponents (eg. maybe because it's empirically proven, maybe because you have the best evidence on the question), most close rounds are resolved this way.
This can be evidence comparison too (eg. our ev is more holistic source, takes into account xyz factors). Please do this if you have conflicting evidence on a question, otherwise I have to sift through the email chain myself afterward to resolve this
- Impact calc is key, but make sure it's comparative and warranted!
- Link-ins and prerecs are good and useful weighing args that should be made. However, I think they're often given too much weight on the ballot and come out too late in the round, so if you want to use this mech make sure it's well warranted and well developed from summary (extra points if they come out in rebuttal). I also have a very low threshold for responding to them if they're blippy or simply asserted.
- Don't hesitate to call for evidence! Also, when you're sending it in the email chain, send cut cards, not just a link.
More on evidence, borrowing from Ale Perri: "Cut cards. Paraphrasing is becoming an easy vehicle for total misrepresentation of evidence. So I would strongly advise reading cut cards in front of me. The NSDA requires that you are now paraphrasing from a cut card or paragraph, meaning that if you are paraphrasing an entire pdf or article, I will evaluate the flow without that argument and your speaks will get tanked. I still strongly believe that even paraphrasing from cut cards is unacceptable because of the time skew that it enables against a team that is cutting and reading cards (i.e you are able to read 3 "cards" for every actual card they can read), but I will not drop you or the evidence for this if the paraphrase is legitimate."
- I'm down to hear progressive arguments but run them well. On a relative level, I'm more receptive to Ks than theory (pref disclosure and paraphrasing theory; don't run stuff like resolved theory)
- Any speed is alright, but this isn't an excuse for blippy arguments. If you're going faster this means more depth in each arg/more of the card being read.
Back half specifics:
- Extensions (re-explanations of arguments) in summary need to be clear and warranted
- Strategy in summary/ff need to be similar, I won't vote off of a blippy claim made in summary and blown up in final focus
- For the arguments they've collapsed on, defense in ff needs to be in summary
- Collapse hard on a few arguments! If I see this properly executed earlier in the round, I'll boost your speaks
Speaks:
- I'm cool with any style. I don't think debate boils down to persuasion, but instead understanding the nuances of the argument and being able to do effective comparison. I view debate more as an academic means to unpack policy, and much less a speech event. It's a test of your research and efficiency, not your language.
- avg is 28
- will drop you and your speaks for exclusionary language or behavior
Feel free to ask any questions before round! Best reachable by email.
Email chain: sophiaw1128@gmail.com
I did PF for four years, coached since graduating
flay --------> me ----------------------> ultra tech policy judge
Wear whatever you want, speak from wherever you want, doesn't matter
Default framing util, default weighing is highest mag first, presume first
Strike Guide:
Link spamming (10> in a case) and dumping frivolous progressive args will only hurt you
Trigger warnings are mandatory on sensitive/graphic content. Don't do anything violent/exclusionary. Clear and obvious violations to the average person that are pointed out = L20. Even if it's not pointed out you're probably not getting higher than a 25
Tech:
I judge substance better than I judge prog, keep that in mind, that being said -
Things that I am comfortable with:
Theory, Stock Ks, most frameworks ran in pf
Theory:
CI>R, DTA, no RVIs, text by default but up for debate
Should be read immediately after violation, depending on the situation (experience level, impromptu theory) I am OK with forgetting to extend interp or violation if there are no responses on it. Standards and voters need to be in every speech.
In messy theory debates with multiple shells involved. You must weigh in order to prevent me from intervening.
You can paraphrase or not disclose as long as you respond well to their respective shells. I don't mandate either nor am I biased towards those particular standards. I will also evaluate things like theory bad if you win it on the flow.
K:
Important: I will judge Ks using the mechanisms that doing pf has given me. Do not expect me to understand policy jargon or know how to implicate your literature properly. You know your own K best, so if you're going to real Ks please spend enough time telling me exactly how you want me to evaluate it. Otherwise it'll just be an uninformed ballot.
I am most familiar with stock Ks: fem, cap/sec etc, so if you're reading more niche K make sure to be extra diligent about implicating it.
Shells almost always uplayers the K, so you need to read counterinterp of respond to shells read, just weighing may not be enough (again depends on the K)
Things that I am not familiar with:
T, Tricks, High Theory/unnecessarily complicated philosophy
pls no
Speed:
Send doc
Speaks:
Speaks are given based on strategy/content instead of rhetoric/fluency. I give 30s. My baseline is 28. I rarely go below that.
Speeches:
Constructive:
Just be clear, I’ll vote on anything as long as it’s warranted
Rebuttals:
If you want to concede defense to kick out of turns on your case, or read your own defense on your own case to kick those turns (sketch, but fine), you need to do it immediately after the opposing speech which made those turns. Second rebuttal should frontline. if your opponents bring up weighing in first rebuttal it is okay to not address it until summary. I don't evaluate "no warrant" responses unless you give me counter-warranting, link weighing, or some degree of implication.
Summary:
Defense is not sticky and needs to be in every speech. That being said, the extent to which I'll tolerate blippy extensions is directly inverse to how much ink your opponent puts on said thing you're extending. At the minimum, I need link + Impact + implication.
Final Focus:
Be smart with ff strategy, easiest way to win me over as a judge.
Interact, weigh, go for the right things
Feel free to postround, it is good and educational. But please only do so if the round ends before 10pm, otherwise just email me
Hi! I'm Will, a freshman at Yale. I debated for four years for Bronx Science.
Since BDL assigns me to LD rounds, I'll preface by saying that this isn't an event I have competed in. I do flow, but I also appreciate good rhetoric. As long as you are a competent public speaker, you will get pretty high speaks. If you plan on running any nontraditional arguments, read it under the premise that I likely know nothing about it.
For PF, just debate like you would with a reasonable student judge. Talk pretty and make sense. I would prefer it if you collapse on something reasonable in probability.
I do not take cut cards (I want to see what the author said, not what you manipulated them to say), so just send me a link/pdf with what to control F for. If the debate is in person, I give an automatic 29.5+ if you do a speech without a laptop (the rationale being seldom anyone in the outside world delivers a speech off a screen).
Have fun! It's an exciting activity if you care a little less about results.
Hey, I'm Atharva and I debated PF at Wayland High School in Wayland, MA for four (more like three) years.
Off the bat, I don't have time for racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, etc. I will drop you and tank your speaks. I also understand that we as debaters can often get heated in round (believe me, I've been there), but I would really appreciate it if you could try to maintain civility so that everyone feels comfortable. Please read trigger warnings when necessary and contact me if there's anything I can do to make the round more accessible to you: atharvaweling@gmail.com
My preferences:
I am primarily tech over truth. That being said, I have a low bar for responses to outlandish arguments (i.e. death good). I will only call for evidence if it is pertinent to my decision and highly contested.
I want clear extensions in the latter half of the round. This means warrants, impacts, and any cards that you think are important for either. I'm not going to vote off of the general idea of your case.
The number one thing that you can do to win my ballot is provide a clear narrative throughout the round, which means consistency between speeches and well-explained arguments.
I will always prefer good logic to bad evidence. Every argument you make should have both a warrant and an implication or else it becomes meaningless to me.
WEIGH. From rebuttal onwards, preferably. Good weighing > bad defense in my opinion, so please extend comparative weighing throughout the round.
Frontlining in second rebuttal is a must; at the very least, get turns. I am also highly skeptical of long disads or offensive overviews in second rebuttal and would advise against it.
Similarly, if defense you want to collapse on is frontlined in second rebuttal, it has to be backlined in first summary. However, if it is dropped in second rebuttal, it may be brought up in first final focus.
If you're going to spread, strike me. I cannot handle speed, plain and simple, even with a speech doc. The bottom line is that I would love it if you spoke to me like a parent judge who knows tech jargon.
I have very little experience with progressive argumentation. I won't ask you not to read it, but I do ask that you explain it slowly and in-depth if you do, so no full-blown shells. I will not evaluate plans, CPs, or tricks.
Unless you really screw up on anything from the first paragraph, your speaks likely won't fall below a 28. You can raise them by feeding my ego with insincere compliments.
Lastly, have fun. I want the round to be as enjoyable as possible for everyone involved, so crack a few jokes and feel free to ask me questions about my paradigm or my decision whenever you want to.
hi! i'm a senior at westridge and been debating for a bit i know some things but you probably know more
tldr: don't neglect your link or i will be sad, weigh weigh weigh, if you extend through ink i'll be sad, 30's for everyone, be nice
go as fast as you like, 250 is my max w/o a doc, but make sure your opponents are chill w it
rebuttal: please frontline in 2nd rebuttal. i really like weighing on their case (ie why its a bad place to vote) early in the round. analytics are great. implicating your responses is amazing: if you read me 13438 cards tell me how they apply. signpost, please! layered responses make me happy: don't just read general stuff go link by link warrant by warrant and i will love you! no offensive overviews in 2nd rebuttal, aka no overviews that are like another contention. just read it in constructive if it's that important.
!!! femxles: you can be as aggressive as you want, please don't feel like you need to fill the sexist model of girls in debate {i have a particular soft spot for girl/girl teams as I was on one}. conversely, if you do something sexist (or racist, homophobic etc) you will get a long talk about why that is bad and be automatically dropped
i have fewer preferences for the second half of the round but:
summary: is hard. be clean please! defense is sticky (you don't have to extend it through summary if they don't frontline). frontline dropped turns! but make sure your frontlines are responsive, not just restating the argument. make sure when you extend, you extend the whole arg: the links, the warrants for the links etc not just card names. do your thing.
ff: weighing is the way to win! woooo! no new weighing in 2nd ff unless it responds to new weighing in 1st. please make your summaries and ff mirror each other it's just sexier.
misc:
-i like it when you give speeches off your flow
-postrounding: please see elizabeth meersons paradigm
-please don't call me 'judge'
-i'm a bit mean in feedback but i respect you endlessly for giving debate your time. this is where i get all meta: you have 6 minutes of uninterrupted time of just you speaking. everyone, by rule, has to listen to you and can't interrupt. isn't that so powerful!!! debate is the only forum like this. respect that time. what can you do with that time? i am on your side: believe me, i want you to be the next winner of the toc when you walk into the room. because i want you to have a good round as much you do.
-i can't spell
-the only acceptable bribes are cash and sour patch (jk but sour patch is good)
-speaker points: totally arbitrary. i love 30s; i start at a 29. speaks go up or down depending on a) my mood b) how the flow is in round c) if you are funny d) weird formal-ness makes me sad e) if you take a risk and it pays off f) i have a soft spot for debaters saying weird things - my partner could tell you that...
while i'm at it: be nice to your partners; be nice to your parents. they worked really hard so you could be here.
american heritage ‘22 extemp/pf
i flow, but i've been uninvolved in debate so treat me like a flay judge and make the debate understandable and accessible. thus,
- weigh, preferably comparatively, and only on arguments you are winning
- extend at least the warrant and impact of each argument. otherwise i will not flow/not understand enough to vote off it. something you want to bring up in final must also be in summary and rebuttal.
- no spreading
- defense is not sticky
- be nice. i won’t hesitate to deduct speaker points if you are rude/arrogant in cross or speech.
Oakton '20 (PF, some LD, bit of policy/congress), JHU '25 (APDA, BP). Contact yoondebate@gmail.com for chains, Facebook or nyoon2@jh.edu otherwise. You can ask about decisions, speaks, individual feedback, or anything else - I'm always open to help anyone.
1. If nobody's prep is running, stay unmuted. Your prep starts and stops when you say "start prep" and "stop prep" out loud. Keep track of time - if you go decently over, I'll verbally interrupt your team going forward. I'll verbally notify you when you're out of prep time.
2. Be equitable and respect others, don't use gendered pronouns unless they're explicitly denoted.
3. Don't skip or ask to skip anything. I won't flow over time. Don't hold up your timer/phone/fist when you think someone's time is up.
4. I flow cross. I don't flow off docs. I don't mind "off-time roadmaps" but I won't pay attention, say what your speech will do/is doing (signpost) on-time.
5. If presuming (very rare), I flip a coin, and I don't evaluate arguments saying to presume in other ways.
6. I'll disclose and will disclose speaks on request, average in-division 28, 29.5+ impressed me. No speaks theory.
1. I'm aware of what I know and don't know, don't tell me in your speeches.
2. Arguments are dropped if the next opposing speech doesn't interact, excluding the first two speeches. (This applies to stuff like explicitly conceding something to make a point, or reading a new theory violation, no waiting around.)
3. I ignore "strength of link weighing" saying to prioritize dropped points because they're dropped.
4. Contested (opponent directly addressed that specific claim) or weighed (you applied/compared to another argument) arguments must be extended in summary and final focus to be considered. Others don't have to be (e.g. an impact when the debate's been about links so far, "drop the debater" when both teams go for theory).
I used to debate in high school. Now I am in college. That is all.
I have debated in some capacity at some point in my life, current PF coach for Boston Latin School/APDA debater. Tl;dr normal tech judge. (My paradigm used to say flay judge but Ive come to realize I’m a lot more tech>truth than most judges. Read anything as long as it’s not racist or bad.)
my email is lemuelyu@bu.edu, please add it to the doc/email chain/carrier pigeon
At the end of the round, I will look down at my flow and do a few things, in the following order.
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I will look at any framing, characterization, burdens, overviews etc. and evaluate the clash (or lack thereof) there. The winning arguments will serve as a filter for arguments in the round or as a way to determine the top layer of the round.
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I will look at each individual contention or piece of offense within the round and determine what is won and how much it has won (i.e., how well it links to its impacts, a function of warranting, INTERNAL LINKS, uniqueness, etc). I will look at defense and evaluate whether it is terminal or mitigatory, and whether defense has been properly frontlined. Importantly, I will only look at offense and responses that are both extended and implicated in the final foci, and pulled directly from summary.
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I will look at weighing. I often think about this as “layers” for the round, the side that best accesses (via probability, scope etc) the highest amount of the most important impact will win the round. This means weighing impacts over other impacts (i.e. death over poverty), and then weighing access to impacts/link weighing (i.e. more death over less death)
- I will vote for the argument with the best link into the greatest amount of the best impact (not necessarily the greatest quantity).
some procedural stuff
- tech > truth but there is a threshold of believability for your arguments. if you claim that the sky is neon orange, you better have some EXCELLENT evidence for it. also, if you're argument is straight up racist, sexist, etc. i will not remain tabula rasa.
- I have never learned theory in my life, so I am not receptive to it. However, if you feel like running theory and get your opponent's ok to run it, you're welcome to run it at your own risk. Might make the round more interesting...
- light cussing is fine but full on spewing invective is not fine.
- I can generally flow relatively quickly but if you're gearing up to pull up speechdocs I will stop flowing. I will only flow what I comprehend.
- please don't be disrespectful. If you are disrespectful then I will be disrespectful to you :((. I don't care if you have fun or not, that's up to you. But don't make it unfun for other people.
- Weighing and warrants are important, they're what win rounds. Weigh before final focus and have a clear narrative. If no weighing is done throughout the round I will default to some stupid weighing mechanism like "who weaponizes the gay frogs". No one wants that. Also, I won't vote for an argument I don't understand.
- second rebuttal is required to at least frontline turns, otherwise they are considered dropped.
- Please signpost.
- Be as aggressive or passive as you want in cross, i'm usually not listening unless it starts to become whack. Aggressive =/= disrespectful. If both teams agree you can literally use cross as prep time if you want.
- Don't postround please, the round is over and you should have made it clear during round.
- If a card becomes heavily disputed in round, I will call it.
- If a warrant for an argument is not given, "this is not warranted" is a valid response.
- If the argument is well warranted and not empirical, "this is not carded" is not a valid response.
- if you concede defense to frontline a turn, tell me what piece of defense you concede and how it gets rid of the turn. Being able to wipe offense off my flow simply by saying “we kick out” is dumb.
- speaks start from 27 and go up from there. If I give you a 27 I think you were kinda poopoo. A 28 means you were aight. 29 means you were very nice, and a 30 means you were very very nice. Anything below 27 means that I think you're a terrible person
- Don't go more than 10 seconds overtime. I'll stop listening to what you say after that. Abuse prep and your speaks will tank.
Hi, I debated four years on the national circuit for Seven Lakes from 2018-2022.
gtoc 3x, nsda 3x, nsda finals
Update for Harvard 2/17: im pretty serious about the "speed" line in my paradigm. i wont assume you said something if I didn't hear it/flow it in speech. I generally find myself voting for teams that do a better job with explanation and warranting rather than going super fast. I was never really a fast debater in high school, so I'd much prefer judging debates <250 wpm.
I will not flow off of or look at a doc. I do, however, want to be on the chain to expedite looking for evidence if necessary.
Defense -implicate the defense I won't do it for you AND weigh the defense against their case.
Turns -please extend warrants for turns and implicate them.... also weigh the turns against their case.
Weighing -Please make it comparative and interactive.
Frontlining - second rebuttal should frontline everything, no sticky defense.
speed - if I can't understand u and miss warrants, I'm not ghost extending them for you. So go as fast as you want at your own risk.
Progressive Arguments -I feel somewhat comfortable evaluating almost all progressive arguments. With that being said, I am very receptive to reasonability arguments and "we can't engage" answers as well.
msc-
- am okay with and would prefer to cut grand for a min of prep but up to debaters.
- please try to setup the email chain ahead of time so we can save time
- will not entertain post rounding.
- ill give speaks adjusted by division. for instance, an average varsity speech may receive a 28-28.5 in the varsity division, but that same speech may receive a 29-29.5 in JV etc.
Edina '21 - Duke '25
I debated for Edina MZ in Minnesota and qualified to TOC all 4 years of high school.
If you wish to have any accommodations to make the debate safer/better or have any extra questions after reading the paradigm, contact me on Facebook Messenger or @ ryan.zhu@duke.edu
put me on the email chain if there is one: (email above)
for Columbia!: please start the round on time <3
tl:dr - tech > truth judge - tabula rasa. I'll flow the entire round, debate how you want - line by line/big picture idc - time yourselves - Everything in FF should be in summary.
- have fun! crack jokes - itll make the whole debate more fun and enjoyable
- sit, stand, wear casual clothes, wear formal clothes, I'm good with whatever makes y'all most comfortable
- i'll disclose at the end of the round if y'all want
speed: i can keep up and flow anywhere up to 300wpm. send a speech doc to me if you're gonna spread and make sure you aren't excluding your opponents. be smart
weighing: pls pls weigh! weighing is the easiest way to win the round and structures how i view the debate. GIVE ME A REASON WHY TO PREFER YOUR ARGUMENT/LINK/IMPACT OVER YOUR OPPONENTS.
second rebuttal: second rebuttal should frontline at the least turns, but prolly defense also. split however you want (ie 2/2 or 3/1).
first summary: unfrontlined defense is sticky for first summary and can go from rebuttal to final focus. if it is frontlined, still need to extend it. turns should always be in summary.
theory: i'm good with theory arguments as long as there is a real violation, like the other team not reading a content warning for a potentially triggering argument. i'm not gonna vote on friv theory (like shoe theory). read paraphrase theory at your own risk (make sure there's an actual violation with their ev, don't run it just to run it). paragraph theory is fine if you don't know how to write the full shell.
Ks: run at your own risk, but explain it well. I'll listen to the arg and know how they work but prolly won't know the lit base that well.
tricks: no. just don't
speaks: Average ~ 28.5 and go up/down the 0.1 scale from that. strategic decisions and collapsing earn a bump. i'm not gonna evaluate 30s theory.
evidence: cut cards are a must - whether you read those cut cards verbatim or paraphrase them is up to you. If anyone calls for ev, plz be able to give them the card promptly or just send out speech docs. if you are paraphrasing and i call for evidence at the end of the round, plz give me the card and the paraphrase you read!
don't do these:
If you make an offensive comment (ex: racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.), you will get the L and lowest possible speaks. Debate should be inclusive and safe for people.
bad evidence: some evidence has gotten really bad, so i'll reserve the right to drop args or you entirely based on evidence violations - please don't let it come to this tho :)
dumping unwarranted args: don't read as many arguments as you can if it means sacrificing the warranting and explanation. that being said, i'm fine with any crazy arguments as long as there are warrants and implications. quality > quantity plz.
- if you have any more questions, anything in this paradigm applies to me too