I look for a clean debate where the facts are debated (not definitions)

I use my flow to decide the winner so if you speak so fast that I cannot hear you then I cannot flow correctly

I have a background in debate (specifically LD) so I understand the jargon of debate

TLDR Version: I did CEDA/NDT policy debate in college. Do whatever you want.

Hello:

My name is Ben Dodds. I have been involved with speech and debate for 18 years. I did policy debate for four years in high school and two years of CEDA/NDT in college. When I transferred from Gonzaga to Oregon, the policy team was cut and I started doing Parli on the NPTE/NPDA circuit.

I coached the University of Oregon team for six seasons after I finished debating. I judged CEDA/NDT and NPTE/NPDA debates at that time.

As far as a judging paradigm is concerned, I think that this is your activity now, not mine. If you can convince me an argument is valid in any format I will listen. I have enjoyed deep and complex debates about process counterplans and politics DAs and performance Kritiks of all stripes. There have been excellent debates on everything in between. You can't go pro in debate, it ends, I want you to use the time you have here to make arguments you like.

The unifying trait of arguments that I enjoy is that YOU enjoy them. If you are passionate about an argument, know why it should matter to me and can tell me that, I am game for it.

I don't have a "default" mode for evaluating or weighing arguments. If arguments are not compared, I will just compare them myself in whatever mood I am in at that moment. This cannot go well for you. Debate is subjective, no matter how much we might tell ourselves it isn't, it is and always will be. If you create the weighing mechanism and debate about what is important, I'll use that. Without comparison, my decision will probably feel arbitrary to you and me. Debate is about processing, comparing, and contrasting ideas. If you don't compare and contrast, you are not debating.

I have one specific request. I have never been in a debate where one person (or team) made all good arguments and the other person (or team) made NO good arguments. I appreciate debates and debaters that take an honest approach to their opponent's argument quality as well as their own. I want to hear an honest assessment of which arguments you think are good and bad, should be weighed or not, and matter most at the end of the round. If you show me a rebuttalist that thinks every argument they made is perfect and everything the other team said is worthless, I'll show you a bad rebuttal. I want to hear you tell me "this is their BEST argument, we STILL win because..."

I would appreciate as many specific questions as you have before a debate. I will answer them all.

Experience: Competed: 2012-2016 and Coached 2017-Present

I will judge based on argumentation, logic, and the reality of the situation.

I prefer no off-time road-maps, you have a speech limit keep it within that and the grace period, please.

PLEASE NO SPREADING, if I can't understand you it will be difficult for you to win the ballot.

Don't be rude.

Stay organized if you are bouncing all over the place it will disorganize my flow and it will be hard to ensure you get the W.

Stay on topic and stay within the parameters of the resolutions, don't pull anything too crazy that completely changes the wording or the intentions of the resolution.

Use short taglines for your contentions if you can. I don't want to spend half your speech trying to figure out what exactly your point is supposed to be, make it clear right from the beginning.

Don't talk down to me, your partner, or your opponent(s). I will not tolerate this and will result in a lower score.

Make sure you have your cards ready because if I don't believe that you're presenting truthful/faithful evidence I will double-check them and if you don't have them it may not work out in your favor.

I debated all 4 years of high school mainly public forum and parli, as well as debating in college. I don't mind talking fast as long as you signpost well and enunciate enough to be understood. If you have a weighing mechanism make sure to put it to use.

I judged based on the debate flow and f whose impacts outweighed the others.

Make sure to stress the impacts of your case and weigh them in the round, if you don't I will weigh them at the end but it's not going to be as generous. Impacts should be weighed on the probability, timeline, and how many people it affects.

Give voters in your final speech, tell specific reasons why you won, not a general summary of the debate, you’re voters should include telling me how your cases impacts outweigh your opponents

Heyo! I'm Adam Moeglein (He/Him), I debated at Crater HS until 2022 and now go to Oregon State. email for whatever: ajmoeglein@gmail.com

I competed in LD and parli for 4 years, and broke at nat circ tournaments a few times. Practice your dumb shells in front of me pls :>

TL;DR

Explain stuff. Evidence and speed are meaningless unless you have a story to back them up with. Best way to get through to me is advantage structure/whatever standard your given arg has, because I already know what args slot where in a narrative

I disclose, so don't run anywhere after round

Speed is fine, but I have information processing issues so pls just send the doc

Run anything

Bigotry bad >:(

General Stuff

signpost as much as possible. If you don’t I’m probably wasting 5 seconds tracking where to write what you’re saying instead of listening to what you’re saying

The only unchangeable assumption I make about the world is that logic exists. Everything else needs a warrant if challenged

I ran security, cap, and a Dr. Seuss performance in my career, as well as Rawls, Kant, and Baudrillard. And I think I might understand Heidegger and Nietzsche? Maybe?

I generally think probability >>>> magnitude but try me cowboy

I won't flow cross but I do believe its binding

Procedure

Tag teaming is A-okay. I'll only flow what the speaker is saying though.

Shadow extensions generally don't work

Stand or sit or do a little dance while you speak, I don't care

If the roadmap is more than 5 words some bad thing will happen karmically in the universe

Theory!

Be explicit and precise with your shells. I won’t assume parts you don’t give me

RVIs are acceptable if that's your mojo but I'd rather see another shell saying something like "Debaters can’t run X arg" to keep the round organized

semantics arguments like Nebel are meh unless you have a pragmatic reason to vote on it, or an analytic dump that throws my preference for pragmatism out the window

At bid tournaments disclosure is standard procedure in LD. Look into it if you're new to big tournaments! I will vote on it

I'm happy to listen to friv stuff, just give me a story to vote on

K

Don't make tags complex. winning via confusion is cringe

I'd be happy to hear a K-aff but I don't think they're strategic. Happy to be proven wrong though

Explain your lit well. Make it link. I'm voting on the consequences of an aff ballot, not some impact card your alt can’t possibly hope to resolve

Background:

I was an LD debater for 3 years in high school, also competing in OO and HI. The majority of my experience is on the NSDA circuit, and in 2020 I was the NSDA Lincoln Douglas National Champion.

Case/Rebuttal:

In rebuttals, please make sure you are extending impacts. This becomes especially important if your strategy is to outweigh your opponent. Please also respond to everything coming out of each speech; unless they are incredibly minute I will vote on drops. Please also provide voters in your final speech. Though debate often gets tied up in minutia, it is incredibly important to have an overarching reason that you believe you have won the round. This narrative should be present throughout every speech you give, and voters should represent those competing narratives.

Speed:

My speed preference is fairly low for two reasons. First, my experience with high speed debate is fairly limited. Second, in the online world you run into further complications with tech and sound cutting out, which makes quicker debate harder to follow. If you are going to spread, however, please put me and your opponent on the email chain: jospurgeon542@gmail.com

Critical Debate:

Ks:

As an overarching rule, traditional arguments are going to fare better with me. Vanilla critical arguments are the best idea if you can run them well. Bottom line: if the alt of your kritik is impractical and your opponent can make small piecemeal changes to the problem you link to, I will vote for your opponent.

T:

Same general rule with Theory. Unless your opponent does something egregious, theory arguments aren’t going to fare well.

Overall, best of luck, and have fun navigating the new realm of Zoom debate.

In general I judge a debate based on the flow. Therefore clash is essential. I am basically a tabula rasa judge with one basic exception that applies across all debate forms. That exception is that I will not accept arguments that are blatantly unethical or inhumane. A good example of this kind of argument is “Nuclear holocaust will aid in population control.” I am not a fan of spreading, though I can work with it. However, that being said, if I cannot hear it, understand it, or flow it, it will not figure in to my final decision. Specific paradigms for individual debate forms are as follows:

CX Policy: I rarely grant a debate on the basis of Topicality. If you argue topicality make sure that it is indeed topicality and not a sub-point of Solvency or Inherency. Both sides need to show me that they have followed and understand the arguments of their opponents and clash with their points.

LD: Value and Criterion must work hand in hand. All contentions need to be made with the value and criterion in mind. I really appreciate the more philosophical approach, but it needs to also be grounded in the real world.

Public Forum: I am not a fan of K's. If you utilize them, they must be something more than a basic attack on the underlying assumptions, and please no slippery slope arguments. If you attack the underlying assumptions, create a very solid rationale and have in depth factual material to back up your argument.

Parli: I look more for the creativity of the cases, and how the sides develop their position within the narrow time frame. The debate will be judged on the flow, but I want to see creativity, clash, and excellent use of questioning.

I am here to be persuaded, and to that end I want to see you communicating with me. Respect for your opponents and ideas is a must. Good luck and I look forward to seeing you debate.

I was a CEDA debater for Kansas City Kansas Community College and K-State in the mid 2000’s. I support and encourage all styles of debate. I believe that debate needs to come down to three things – your analytical analysis, your engagement with the debate, and your ability to communicate your argumentation clearly. As for speed, I don’t mind if you speed while reading cards but when reading tags and authors, please be clear so I make sure that I get it on my flow. Also, I don’t like it when you are just screaming cards volume wise but I do like it when debaters emphasize certain points.

As far as argumentation goes, I try my very best to approach each debate with a “tabula rasa” mentality. Please make sure you have a roadmap before each speech for the sake of my organization. I also will not do the work on the flow for you. I will say if you are running kritiks and critical argumentation in general, please explain your arguments. If it is very complex (especially with language) explain it. I have a hard time judging arguments that I don’t understand. Also, I do believe that CX is binding.

Remember to have fun, be respectful, and remember that debate is about clash and engagement.