Four years of national circuit policy debate in high school. I tried to keep this short, so if you have any specific questions please ask.

Some general points:

-Basic principle: Win an argument and a reason why that means I should vote for you

-I try to be as unbiased as possible regarding your selection of argumentative styles and regarding my evaluation of the merit of specific arguments

-You should therefore read whatever arguments you're best at and which give you the best chance of winning

-I probably lean towards the "policy" side of things

-Flashing is not prep but please know how to use a flash drive

-Clarity and good line by line are greatly preferred and appreciated; you should avoid overviews whenever possible

-Explain why your arguments matter in the context of the debate as a whole and why they're voting issues

Aff:

-I tend to lean slightly neg on framework questions; I think that most K affs are not particularly about the topic and I think that it's a huge bonus if your aff actually engages with a topical question

-I think that your aff should have some written statement of advocacy

CP:

-These are great

-I try to be neutral on CP theory but it's going to be an uphill battle to get me to agree that I should exclude from debate some large and common category of counterplans (e.g. Agent CPs bad). Theoretical objections which are more specific in nature are likely to be more persuasive.

K:

-Go for it

-Avoid using an excessive amount of jargon

-The earlier points about avoiding overviews, doing good line by line, and explaining yourself apply especially to this debate

DA:

-Yeah sure whatever

-Politics is fun but be good at it

Theory:

-I'll vote on it

-Try to clearly explain your arguments and slow down a bit to ensure you communicate them clearly

Style:

-Being funny is always a plus

-Be clear

-Do line by line and signpost clearly

I debated for four years of college NPDA/NPTE style parli, which, if
you're not familiar with it, is sort of like HS circuit policy without
cards. I was generally a policy making debater, but in my final year I
ran the K quite a lot, so I'm comfortable with it.

I HAVE NOT COMPETED SINCE 2013. While I have been judging on and off, I am somewhat rusty. Just an FYI. The years have made me both modestly less competent (sorry) but also modestly kinder. While I can handle most speed in Parli, LD and Policy probably have to slow down a bit for me. I'll yell clear and will do my best, but please be aware of my limitations. 

Here's the tl;dr if you're reading this right before a round:

1. Speed, theory, k's, procedurals are totally fine.

2.  Especially important: slow down on tags so I have pen time, indicate clearly to me when you've switched from one
argument to another (numbering is great, but can be confusing because
many arguments have internal numbering, so "next" works well.)

3. Economics and politics probably need less explanation. Philosophy
(framework, especially) needs more.

4. I love a good theory debate, but I find that it's the most perishable skill in debate, so please please please be
clear, be organized, and tell me how theory arguments interact. The easiest way to win my ballot on questions of theory is to prove some theory argument is the internal link to all other theory arguments, for example.

5. I have some competence in debate and I'm reasonably intelligent, but, like most circuit judges, I am not as smart as you think I am and not nearly as smart as I think I am. Keep that in mind.

Here's the long form:

Speed/Communication:


1) If you are clear I will be able to flow you. You will find it very difficult in Parli or PuFo to spread me out, but Policy or LD might need to slow down a bit. Please allow for pen time. Make sure your tags are clear. It's the debater's job to communicate arguments clearly. I know that sucks---I've been on the receiving end of enough "judge told me to make the argument I actually did make" decisions for three debate careers, but it's the only way we can play the game.

2) I will yell clear for clarity, loud for loudness. I will yell these many times if need be, because I do really want to understand you, but
if you persist, I won't keep yelling all round.

3) Please ignore my nonverbals. During debate rounds, I'm very focused on being as fair as I can to you, so my facial control goes out the window. My happy face doesn't mean you're winning, and my sad face doesn't mean you're losing. My lack of flowing may mean I'm confused, or it may mean I've already written enough of the argument to satisfy me.

Theory:

 Please be clear where your answers to theory are (on the counterinterp, on
the violation, etc.) and what their function is. The easiest way to
win my ballot here is to weigh your various theory arguments against
each other, and explain to me why this means you win. (I've judged
rounds where the debater explained to me afterwards why a five second
theory argument should've won them the round. The debater was right,
but the explanation in round to communicate that argument was
insufficient. )

I accept whatever arguments are presented to me. If those arguments
are not made, here is how I default:

1) I have a high, but not impossible, threshold for RVIs...in Parli. In LD, I defer to community norms.

2) Theory comes before pre-fiat comes before post-fiat

3) I default to a framework of competing interpretations. 

What arguments you should run in front of me:

Kritiks:
I really, really, really like the K, because I think it is an
incredibly valuable way to confront our most basic assumptions about
society. But I have also not debated for quite some time and my comprehension may not where it used to be.

Keep this in mind. K's are fantastic and cool and wonderful. BUT DO NOT RUN THEM
IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THEM. The K works well when you understand not
only what the argument says but also why the argument explains why you
win the round. Yelling "they use biopower" is not enough; you need to
give me reasons why their use of biopower means I should vote against
them. Talk about role of the ballot, tell me why your alt solves, and
tell me why I should vote for you.

Extensions:
1) Extensions. I am not okay with shadow extensions. It's fine to say
"extend the Domalewski card" (I live for the day someone says that, by
the way), but do not use the next speech to explain how that card
interacts with an argument your opponent made. I will not allow
"extend x" in one speech to become magically explained in a later speech.

Speaks:
My range is from 27-30. 28 is average, 27 is below average, 26 and
below is probably racist. 28.5 is above average, 29 is "you will
probably clear", and 29.5-29.8 is "you are likely to win this
tournament." Anything above and I will be actively recruiting you to
join my future Presidential campaign, both because I am in awe of your
talents and terrified that if you do not join me you will destroy me.

I reward, in this order:
1. Good strategic choices. Do you have a crafty, strategic case? Do
you collapse to the right places throughout the round? Do you use your
opponent's mistakes against him/her? Do you see the outs your opponent
has, and shut them down?
2. Clarity. To quote my good friend Om Alladi, "structure is KEY. I
really like structured arguments. this does not mean subpoints etc.
but labelling of arguments. if you tag every argument with the
appropriate function, ie '1) not true- 2) alt causality 3) solvency
takeout' i will appreciate it immensely."
3. Innovation/cleverness. Running a weird interpretation or unique
contentions will earn you points. I like creativity.
4. These things will TANK your speaker points: rudeness, being mean to
novices, spreading out people who ask you to slow down, intentionally
being unclear, racist/sexist/homophobic language. Read the room: being
aggressive and dominant is fine against a debater that is equal to
you in skill, but comes off as bullying to someone who is less
experienced.

READ THIS --- if I catch you stealing prep during a debate, you have two options. Either (a) You have your speaker points capped at a 27 or (b) I start shaving your prep down in 30 second intervals, depending on the severity of the violation. I don't care if you're a novice or on track to win the freakin' NDT.

things that count as prep: compiling speech docs, writing arguments, talking to your partner, asking the other team what cards they read

things that don't count: emailing/flashing (as long as it's short), drinking water, walking to the stand

if you're reading this before a debate, don't. Go prep. You've got a better chance of winning the K in front me than you do completely switching up your strategy.

If you're deciding whether or not to pref me, here are some common questions that you might want answered.

who? Former Cal debater, current applied math and physics double major at Berkeley. I work in a dark matter search lab.

topic knowledge? Not a ton. Stanford will be the first tournament I've judged on this topic, so your acronyms will be foreign to me.

kritiks? Admittedly an uphill battle. I think of them like a disad with a counterplan that rarely does anything. That being said, I'd be pretty excited to hear something innovative that questions assumptions the aff has made and contextually explains why those assumptions mean the aff loses from a substance perspective (a la Cal NR). This seems unlikely for some reason though.

counterplans? The neg probably gets infinite condo. You can probably kick planks. 2NC counterplans and counterplan amendments are probably fine. It's probably not an opporutnity cost if no actor could do both.

politics DA?. yes but it's probably dumb. You should probably also go for a counterplan.

speed? Oftentimes the slower team makes the smarter arguments by understanding where to prioritize their time. If I can't hear you I'll tell you.

t? Yes. If T is the 2NR, then T is the 2NR.

Hey all,

I'll keep it brief: longtime college debater and judge, limited exposure to this resolution. Policy or k, assume I don't know your lit base and I try very hard to let you explain it your way. Speed is fine but acronym soup and undeveloped warrants aren't always. Procedural arguments need warrants like any other. I'm happy to clarify as long as both teams get to hear the answer. 

Respect each other, lip service is insufficient.

It's been a while, but I was a policy debater throughout high school and college and coached at Utah and UNC. I've judged a bit over the past few years, but not enough to be totally up to speed on things. What this means for you is that I can understand what you're saying and write it down, but you still need to make sense out of it all. Help me out with some of the jargon. I don't have strong opinions about or preferences for certain types of arguments. Arguments should make sense, be made in full in the debate, and include evidence read in full if you need it to support the argument. If I'm on an email chain, I won't read the speeches during the round to understand arguments and evidence that weren't clear. If I need to, I'll look at things after the debate. In the last two rebuttals, explain, compare, and weigh so I don't have to do those things on my own. We will all be happier if you do.

Email: minnalkunnan@gmail.com

I debated for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Rutgers University under Policy Debate, APDA and BP formats. I have judged BAUDL tournaments in the past and currently judge/coach for Gabrielino High School.

1. I generally don't prefer any one style of debate over another so please feel free to debate however you like. Just make it clear what my role as the judge is in the round and what my vote means.

2. Please attempt to be "normal". Debate seems to encourage anti-social and fringe behaviors that I am increasingly intolerant of. Technical analysis and argumentation is fine, but I often find some rhetorical framing and "truth" or at least belief in one's own arguments are important.

3. Please do not assume that I am familiar with the literature you are reading. I have a general sensibility of the evidence we have chosen to use in debate but I am unlikely to be well versed in your specific authors.

4. If you are going to go for theory in the round please be very specific and clear about what abuse occurred and why it creates a bad debate. I generally do not enjoy debates where either side is attempting to win using a frivolous theory argument.

5. If there are a variety of impacts in a round please provide me some way to compare them. Provide me a metric or framework for weighing different impact claims and prove to me that yours is more important.

UC Berkeley '21

I used to debate at Berkeley.

Tech > Truth.

Be clear.

I don't care what arguments you read.

I will read evidence at the end of the round, but that is not an excuse for lazy debating. No, I will not do work for you - no matter what your arg is.

I have never done LD.

Put me on the email chain: rahulramesh0907@gmail.com

Edit for 2021 TOC: I tend to be placed in clash debates, so here are some thoughts: I think the best iterations of FW are ones that deploy skills/testing impacts as solvency turns to the affirmative. The best way to approach debating a K aff is to make smart, technical arguments about the internal link level of the affirmative, paired with a robust turns case argument and some external impact that only your interpretation can solve. This will often shield you from the 2AR using the impact turn as a battering ram against all of your offense.

Conversely...dear K 2As...even if the 2NR doesn't make the above arguments remember that the aff exists outside of the impact turn. You are telling a meaningful story that happens to disagree with the pedagogical model that the other team has forwarded NOT the other way around. This means that you must be answering the following questions during the debate with absolute clarity.

What does the aff do? Why is it key in debate? What does your ideal form of debate look like? Why is that form the only acceptable one to deal with the issues you've brought to attention? Why is your offense against FW intrinsically tethered to their model of debate? etc etc etc

Topicality- Things that will help you out:

1) explaining which affs we should be debating and why

2) which affs they allow that would be bad to have to debate

3) which arguments we should be debating and why your interpretation best facilitates that discussion, etc.

I think T debates aren't as great when offense is deployed generically. Contextualize, contextualize, contextualize!

If you are going for FW -

a) have a robust defense of your interp (clear internal link explanations)

b) if fairness is your jam take heed! I think fairness is important, but it's likely not enough outweigh whatever impact turn they're about to go for.

c) perhaps more importantly, impact calc. I think it's generally strategic for FW args to have external impacts outside of fairness, but if that's your thing just comparatively explain why it matters.

DAs/CPs- love them.

Counterplans are awesome. Treat them well and all will be well. However, treat them poorly (not clearly establishing a sufficiency framing, not doing ev comparison, etc etc etc) and... you will likely not win the round.

I'll only kick the counterplans if you tell me to. The neg gets condo. Any other theory stuff is up to debate.

Don’t take counterplan competition for granted, take clever perms seriously. Politics debates- affs, several plan popular cards does not a link turn make - uniqueness is a thing.

Impact calc. Please. Maybe even pretty please. This will win you close debates, because it's all about the spin.

Ks- love them

Long ranty overviews and generic link walls are generally a waste of everyone's time. K debate reveals its intellectual potential when the debaters are committed to the literature and when a team has a unique angle against the aff. If you're doing this, it'll be pretty clear.

Affs will do well by reading as much specific evidence about the neg’s author/-ism as possible.

K affs are great too. Yes, I am more than willing to vote against you on framework. Everything about debate is how well thought through your argument is. Just because you aren't defending the resolution in a traditional sense, that doesn't mean you don't have to defend the consequences of your model of debate. I value narrative cohesion in debates - that's especially true in FW debates. Judge instruction in the 2NR or 2AR will make my life easier and probably win you the debate.

Cross-x- It’s where a lot of evidence comparison happens now. Being smart here can win or lose you the debate. It's also a great speaker point booster.

You are all smart. Be confident and have fun.

My experience: Teacher/coach in a UDL for 8 years. Never debated. I guess you could say I am an experienced lay judge who is OK with spreading, K, framework and other stuff lay judges don't usually want to hear about. Please slow down for contentions/signposts/tags/cites. 

I copied Toni Nielson because I agree with everything she wrote in her paradigm:
"Here’s what I think helps make a debater successful – 

1. Details: evidence and analytics, aff and neg – the threshold for being as specific as humanly possible about your arg and opponent's arg remains the same; details demonstrate knowledge 
2. Direct organized refutation: Answer the other team and don’t make me guess about it – I hate guessing because it feels like intervention
3. Debating at a reasonable pace: I ain’t the quickest flow in the west, even when I was at my best. I intend on voting for arguments which draw considerable debates and not on voting for arguments that were a 10-15 seconds of a speech. If one team concedes an argument, it still has to be an important and relevant argument to be a round winner. 
4. Framing: tell me how you want me to see the round and why I shouldn’t see it your opponents way
5. Comparison: you aren’t debating in a vacuum – see your weakness & strengths in the debate and compare those to your opponent. I love when debaters know what they are losing and deal with it in a sophisticated way. 

Some style notes - I like to hear the internals of evidence so either slow down a little or be clear. I flow CX, but I do this for my own edification so if you want an arg you still have to make it in a speech. I often don't get the authors name the first time you read the ev. I figure if the card is an important extension you will say the name again (in the block or rebuttals) so I know what ev you are talking about. I rarely read a bunch of cards at the end of the debate. 

Now you are asking,
Can I go for politics/CP or is this a K judge? Yes to both; I don't care for this distinction ideologically anymore. I lean more in the K direction. My history of politics and CP debate is not nearly as sophisticated as my history of K debate.

Theory - lean negative in most instances. Topicality - lean affirmative in most instances. Framework - lean in the direction of the K. 

Truth v Tech - lean in the direction of truth. BUT gigantic caveat, debate, the skill, requires refuting arguments. So my lean in the direction of the truth is not a declaration to abandon refutation. I will and do vote on unanswered arguments, particularly ones of substance to the debate. 
Here's what I like: I like what you know things about. And if you don't know anything, but get through rounds cause you say a bunch and then the other team drops stuff - then I don't think you have a great strategy. Upside for you, I truly believe you do know something after working and prepping the debate on the topic. Do us both a favor: If what you know applies in this round, then debate that.

Good luck!"                          

Northside College Prep HS 2012
Pomona College 2016


Graduate student in sociology at UC Berkeley

I debated competitively for Northside on the national circuit for 4 years. I have a deep love for this activity and thoroughly enjoy almost every aspect.
My general paradigm is not going to be very different from the standard judge in that I am open to all arguments (barring blatantly ad hominem or offensive per reasonable standards arguments) and will vote for the team that does the better job debating in the round. I read a wide range of arguments in high school from traditional policy affs, cps, and das to affirmatives with no plan texts or neg strategies that used no evidence and I will be a competent judge of any argument that might be introduced in policy debate. That being said - I am new to judging this year so I know very little with regards to the intricacies of this topic or what the "core of the topic" is shaping into. Please debate accordingly.

Other thoughts:

1. Throughout high school until now I have wavered in my opinion on what is the best for debate from the position that traditional policy debate is exclusionary and unrealistic to the position that non-topical affirmatives are no predictable and that the resolution provides reasonable limits to what arguments can be read. No judge is free of biases but I would say that I am relatively pluralist when it comes to what debate should be and if this is the kind of debate that unfolds I will do my best to evaluate the debate based on the arguments made in the round and a well-argued impact calculus in defense of your vision for policy debate. 

2. Clarity is very important. I'm of the philosophy that one should spread as if they are just reading aloud normally but much quicker as opposed to some of the strange the ways that people have come to speak. This is just a preference I will do my best to try to understand all speaking styles but there is a natural limit to what I can understand and coherently flow.

3. I am a big proponent of viewing debate as an exercise in storytelling regardless of what arguments you read. This is not in the literal sense and it doesn't mean I want you be poetic. I mean to say that I value 2nr's and 2ar's that tell coherent stories about the reason I am voting for them. This often comes down to things like impact calculus, case specific link arguments, and meta-framing questions. 

4. Please be kind to the other team, your partner, me, your coaches, your parents, pets, etc. I think that precision, intensity, and maybe aggression can be integral to debate such as during cross-ex but I think that these qualities tend to be overrepresented in the activity at the cost of basic kindness in debate spaces. Debate is at its best when everyone is comfortable and feels like they belong and behavior that takes away from this kind of debate environment will result in low (potentially very low) speaker points.

UC Berkeley 2021 (go bears)

College - caldebatechain@gmail.com, debatedocs

High School - ktwimsatt at gmail

- Tech over truth. Only exception is death good arguments/spark. Do not read them; I will not vote on them.

- Inserting rehighlightings is fine as long as you explain why it matters in the speech. I usually read ev while making decisions.

- I'm more convinced by affs that commit to, and defend, an action coming out of the 1ac.

- Ks should prove the plan is a bad idea.

- I'm not convinced by CP theory arguments like condo or PICs bad. Private actor fiat, multi-actor fiat, or object fiat definitely have merit.

- I default to judge kick unless 1ar and 2ar convince me otherwise.

Have fun!

Cal debate 13-17, coached for Cal 18-22, currently coaching Houston.

I'm online for Georgetown but expect to judge in person at Texas and the NDT. Online, please slow down a bit and record your speeches in case there are connection issues.

Debate is for debaters; I'll vote for no-plan Affs, Ks, and even conditionality bad. Of course, arguments that attack opponents as people, wipeout*, spark, and "new Affs bad" will never be considered.

Default is judge kick. This can be reversed but requires ink before the 2AR.

I take judge instruction very seriously.

I have a very high bar for ethics challenges and will presume good faith error by the accused.

*Saying another value matters more than extinction is perfectly fine.

selena zhang (she/her/hers)

current conflicts, affiliations, organizations: harker (ca), okemos (mi), fairview (co).

if you would like me to know about anything to make the round more accessible to you (gender pronouns, where to sit, coronavirus/virtual debating accommodations, trigger warnings, etc), i encourage you to talk to/email me beforehand.

logistics

hi! i'm selena--i debated policy in high school on the colorado circuit and at uc berkeley. i graduated from cal in 2020. i have been coaching harker for 3 years and judge upwards of 50 rounds per season between policy and LD.

email for email chains: firstnamelastname 17 @ gmail [substitute as necessary]

if you are pressed for time, read the bolded parts.

online debate

1. please go at about ~80% speed of what you would normally go at. i will say "clear" if your audio is muddled or cutting out.

2. please remember to record your speech locally and to check after every speech/cx that no one has dropped off the call. if internet issues do arise, i will only evaluate the recording and will not allow any redos.

3. i would prefer if you turn your camera on during the debate; however, i totally understand that this may not always be feasible [feel free to turn it off during prep, if you're away, or if you're waiting for RFD]

4. start rounds promptly and early if possible. this includes having the email chain ready, having the file downloaded and open, and being ready to give your speech.

general

- i will listen to whatever you choose to present, but tell me why you win.
- clarity over speed. i will very explicitly stop flowing if you are unclear.
- tech ≥ truth, regardless if you are running 1 off, 10+ off, or anything in between.
- open cx is fine and emailing/flashing does not count as prep, but keep both to a minimum. time yourselves and hold each other accountable.
- being assertive is fine; being rude is not. i trust you all to know the difference.

method

at the end of the debate, i holistically evaluate the round, with the strongest emphasis on the 2nr/2ar. i then work my way backwards and determine how well earlier speeches set up the final rebuttals. dropped arguments are not automatically true, but must be warranted. i will not intensely read cards unless if you tell me to or if i feel like it would help me understand the analysis done in your speeches.

this process is slightly different for LD and PF. the speech times for both activities do not allow for extensive argument development, so i tend to evaluate the earlier speeches with a little more weight than i would in policy. however, your 1ac underview/spikes should not be longer than your actual 1ac case.

thoughts on specific arguments

case: i love case debates. i am a huge fan of ones that have more than just impact defense in the block. case turns, author indicts, and recuts of the opponent's evidence are great to see in a round. extinction good and de-dev are valid arguments provided you explain it well. however, morally abhorrent arguments such as "racism/sexism/etc. good" are not valid.

counterplans: are generally good if they are well researched and have a thorough solvency advocate. i am not against any specific counterplans, but if you do choose to go for ones that are considered to be somewhat illegitimate and/or abusive, be ready to defend them.

disads: great. i especially like case specific ones that have a strong link chain. impact calculus is important.

kritiks: sure. i am relatively well-versed in some of the more common kritiks, but i am not very familiar with some of the hyper-specific k's on this year's topic. it would be in your best interest to explain and contextualize your k to me in relation to the affirmative. this could involve (but is not limited to) excavating a very specific link to the affirmative, showing how the thesis of your k highlights the truth of the 1ac, pulling out lines from the aff that link into your kritik, among others.

i have a high threshold for kritiks, so make sure you understand the literature behind the theory. alt solvency is important, but you do not necessarily need to win the alt in order to win the K. make sure that you can clearly communicate how your alternative would function if it were actualized. flesh out the link debate and the perm debate. provide a clear framework of how i should evaluate the round.

K affs/nontraditional affs: a lot of what was written above is applicable to here: i am fine with them. i would prefer that your aff is somewhat relevant to the topic, and unless you are able to clearly show me why you deserve to win with an untopical aff, i am more inclined to vote negative on these. understand your k aff from the inside out, and make sure you have good framework answers.

topicality (for policy affs): i genuinely love a good T debate, but i do have a high threshold for it. that just means i want to see it debated well. tell me why you win on T.

T-USFG and framework vs K affs: great arguments. i do not have any strong opinions on this argument, but i hope to see fleshed out impacts, contextualized answers as to why your model is good/why their model is bad both inside and outside the debate sphere.

theory: this description is for any type of policy-oriented theory argument, ie PICs bad/good, condo, ASPEC, etc. refer to the LD section below for my thoughts on "tricks" theory arguments.

since many people do not actively go for theory, i naturally have not judged many theory 2ar's. theory can be fine; however, i usually do not vote on it because the arguments and impacts are not fleshed out very well in most rounds. i find that i vote on theory if one side was at a clear and severe disadvantage coming into the round, and that the debater was able to explicitly contextualize this disadvantage.

ethics violations: (mis)disclosure and evidence fabrication can be voting issues, but i would hope that everyone appropriately discloses and correctly cuts evidence beforehand. if you would like to call an ethics violation, i will ask if you would be willing to stake the round on it. if you agree, i will evaluate the violation and grant wins and losses based on my decision. if you do not agree or would prefer to present the violation in a different manner (ie recutting the card), i will let the debate continue.

clipping: do not clip cards. i am comfortable dropping you on clipping, but i am generally reasonable if you stumble on a word or two. do not misrepresent what you read.

speaker points

my scale is relative to the tournament that i am judging at or the division of the event. other than that, my thoughts on speaker points do not differ much from everyone else’s, and i try to keep up with community norms. in general, i add points for clear speaking, well-developed arguments, and strategic argument choices, and i subtract them for the inverse of these qualities.

with the exceptions of CP/DA and other sensible combinations, a split 2nr will hurt your speaker points. saying "clear" either means your voice is muddled or that you are routinely messing up words or syllables that are critical to understanding your speech. i will say "clear" 2 times before i stop flowing.

judging LD

i judge LD quite extensively and have become very familiar with the style and format. most of what i wrote above is highly applicable to LD, especially at the circuit level. with my policy background, i have found that i am the best suited for LARP/K debates. however, please do what you do best: while adapting to your judge is important, i believe that a characteristic of good debaters is that they are able to win with their own style regardless of the person they are debating in front of. i like impacts, but i am also down to judge a good traditional/lay framework debate as well.

i am seeing an increasing number of tricks and troll arguments, so here is my stance on them: my threshold for answering these are generally low, so expect an uphill battle if you choose to go for frivolous theory, tricks, or RVIs in the rebuttal.

i normally do not judge that many phil/tricks debates, so if you insist on that strategy, please spend some time contextualizing and explaining your arguments as if i have never heard of it.

judging PF

in PF, i follow a very similar method in evaluating debates as i do for policy and LD. tell me why you win; write my ballot for me. i am open to any kind of argument as long as it is well-warranted. most of what i have defined above in regards to presentation are also applicable to public forum. keep your off-time road maps and formalities (asking to take the first question, for instance) to a minimum. i am more lenient on speaker points in pf than other pf judges and care more about your arguments instead of your actions.

paraphrasing cards equates to evidence fabrication -- have the whole card ready throughout the debate.

addendum

• engage with the other side's arguments and use your best judgement!

• i flow CX. flex prep is fine, but my decision will only be based on what is said during your designated speaking times.

• i understand that there will inevitably be disagreement no matter the decision, but i hope you can learn from the loss to win any of my future ballots. i can clearly tell the difference between asking questions with the intent of improving vs. saying snarky remarks/asking frivolous questions in an attempt to undermine my judging skill and character. if these decorum issues persist, i will end the discussion and ask you to hash out your further questions through email.

• if you ever need any clarification on RFDs on tabroom or what i said after the round, please feel free to reach out to me.

• i am generally fine with any of your personal preferences when it comes to debate, as long as your actions are not affecting anyone else's ability to engage with the round. i reserve the right to intervene in cases of bullying, harassment, or violence.