Missouri State Debate Institute
2019 — Springfield, MO/US
Debate Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideHey, I am Derek. I debated policy for four years at Truman High School in Missouri and formerly debated at Missouri State University.
Here are my random thoughts on debate
I am willing and ready to hear most arguments as long as they are not denigrating or discriminatory. These are prohibited!
Most of my debate career was spent going for policy arguments but the later end of my college career has been spent reading critical arguments. That being said I am experienced with hearing both and think there are educational benefits to both.
You should feel comfortable reading whatever argument gives you the best chance to win or the most personal satisfaction (the thing we forget most about debate is that it is supposed to be fun!). Although I may not be familiar with every acronym in your policy aff or buzz word in your kritik, I mostly base my decisions on the flow and how well things are explained. So please do a great job of explaining and contextualizing and you will like the outcome!
My decisions will revolve around the question of which team forwards a better version or understanding of the world. I am primarily tech over truth unless it is egregious (in most of these instances the argument is not worthy of response anyways).
Specific thoughts
Policy Affs: I like both large, heart of the topic affs, and smaller, left leaning affs. Internal links being specific as possible is good.
K Affs: Explain what it is about the topic you are critiquing and why that critique is good. Also heavily lean into the thesis level understanding of the kritik rather than smaller specific parts which is what I feel drives a good kritikal affirmative.
DAs: The more specific the better. Topic DAs are great too but contextualize it to the aff you are debating. I will be able to tell if you are reading the same generic link block you read your last four neg rounds. Impact calculus is where I will draw my conclusions if the link or uniqueness debates are a wash so turns case args are valued highly.
CPs: I am a fan of a great DA CP combo! Please have solvency advocate unless there is some specific reason you do not need one. Just win that it is theoretically justified, it solves the part of the aff it has to solve to win the debate, and a risk of a net benefit. If you solve all of the aff you do not need to go to case in the 2NR. Affs must win at least a solvency deficit that has an impact and some form of offense is great too! Your best bet is to minimize the risk of the net benefit and win a deficit (carded ones are great)
Ks: I love a great one off debate but a kritik also read with other off is cool too. The more you dive into the aff and their cards to prove your links, the better. Winning that your impact and impact framing outweighs is crucial. Above all else, give me judge instructions heavily. Tell me how to base my decision and how it should be different from how I normally frame decisions (this applies to all types of debates but specifically this style). You do not need to win an alternative but you should probably tell me if you are kicking it, if I should, under what conditions I should, etc.
T: You are probably more educated on how to win these debates than I am if you are going for it in the 2NR. I usually think teams that win these debates have long lists of cases that would be topical under the affirmative's interpretation that are not allowed under yours. This is good. You must win an impact above all else. Why is it important if a team is not reading a topical aff and how does it undermine your competitive incentive to debate.
FW: If you are going for FW you have to win the impact level more than anything else. Do not waste time reading definitions that get you no offense. You should also probably go to case to minimize impact turns that will most likely be there. To beat FW, make sure you have a solid counter-interp that is able to minimize all the limits and ground offense (or turn them) from FW teams. Win a large impact turn that outweighs the impacts of FW. Both teams should be telling me why their arg comes before their opponents (like "Theory before content" or "content informs theory")
Theory: Condo is usually good! I do not like contradicting condo positions but as long as they are multiple cohesive worlds I do not see a problem. PICs and PIKs are good so long as they are getting rid of a part of the affirmative. For whatever theory you are going for please have an interp!
Please be nice to everyone and have fun! I think I wasted away a lot of my debate career stressing and putting too much pressure on myself. Don't make the same mistake!
I wish to be viewing docs while I am judging so please add me to whatever evidence sharing mechanism you use! My email is derekallgood7@gmail.com
Good Debate!
He/Him
Experience: Former Missouri State NFA-LD debater for 4 years. 3rd in NFA-LD at NFA Nationals in 2019. 2ish years of judging college debate. Now work in think tank world.
TLDR: Do what makes you comfortable. Make sure you are keeping the debate accessible and educational for everyone involved. Be nice. I’m more knowledgeable and comfortable with policy debate than K debate but I want you to do what you feel good about. Go fast if you want. Condo is good and your theory argument probably isn’t going to be on my mind at the end of the round. Quality and depth of arguments > multiple shallow arguments. CP + DA =personal favorite type of debate.
A quick note about online debate
I would implore you to remember that we as a community are weathering this storm together and doing things that help make this process easier for everyone (including maybe going a little slower than normal because of low quality computer speakers). Keep your camera on while you debate please.
General thoughts:
At the end of the day, debate should be a game built around clever technical argumentation that enhances your education on the topic and relevant critical literature, while remaining open for as many people as possible. Tech>truth I think is key to preserving said game. I think speed is generally good but you should ask yourself if you are doing it because it is necessary to win or if you are being exclusionary. I do not think my ballot determines anything other than wins in losses in a casual game. Things that I feel are intentionally done to exclude people from the game will be held against you and could be a voter if bad enough (i.e. you made a racist/sexist/ableist/transphobic argument). You should disclose to your opponent before round and on the wiki.
Notes on different arguments:
Disads:
Disads are good. I don’t know what else to say really. I hope you spend time weighing the impact from the DA and contextualizing how it interacts with the aff rather than just saying “it outweighs”. I don’t think that should have to be said really but too many debates in NFA don’t contain that broader story and contextualization. I like a good politics DA a whole lot.
CP:
CP’s are very good for debate and your personal education. I think judge kicking a CP is pretty intuitive and I haven’t seen a great argument against it. PIC’s are generally good for debate and holding the aff to a reasonable intellectual standard. I tend to think that theory arguments are a reason to reject the arg not the team, BUT I can obviously be persuaded otherwise.
K’s:
I’m all for K’s...more so on the negative than the affirmative, but I’m open to both. I do have a few thoughts on what I need out of a K debate though. The first thing I want to specify here is that I really would prefer your alt to be more than a mad lib full of philosophy 350 jargon. I want to be able to walk away from the round with a fairly clear understanding of the action of the alt and a pair of contrasting worlds for me to evaluate. It’s fairly easy just to say “thing bad”, so I would hope for a little more substance than that. Second, I am familiar with the basics of a lot of K arguments (some more than others, I probably have a bit more background knowledge on islamaphobia or feminist theory than I do queer theory for example) but I was not a K debater and I have less and less time to read critical literature now that I am out of school. So while I am not entirely out of touch with the literature, I may need some high level contextualization at the beginning. Third, if you want to run K's on the aff I think that is fine but you still should find someway to contextualize your critique within the topic. I think this at least partially nullifies concerns over accessibility and education. I think people within NFA-LD have mostly gotten better at this over the last couple years but you occasionally still see a K aff that is so generic it feels like it was recycled from 3 topics ago.
T:
My general stance is that if you know deep down in your heart that your opponent's Aff is topical and you still want to go for T… you’ve chosen probably the least intellectually interesting way for this round to go. That aside I think T debates can be ok when done right and I'll vote on both proven and potential abuse. But would highly prefer proven abuse.
Theory:
I think theory arguments can serve as important guardrails against genuinely game breaking behavior but I also believe they are very abused by some debaters. I really dislike cheap, obscure two line theory arguments used as gotcha techniques. I think they are often used as crutch and end up harming the educational value of a round. That being said, I have voted for different theory arguments many many times over the years. I just need you to spend time on them and actually flesh them out into real arguments.
Speaker points:
Something I think uniquely plagues the NFA community is the lack of standardized and agreed upon speaker points. Some judges will hand out a 29.5 to anyone who strings a sentence together and others will give you a 28 for a round they said "blew them away". While I don't think I am necessarily going to solve that myself, I wanted to be transparent and clear about how I think this should work. So here are my breakdowns for speaker points in NFA-LD
25 or below: You said something offensive or mean to the other debater. Booo
25.1-25.9: You filled up less than half of your speech time or seemed to struggle to grasp the fundamentals of debate. I'll hand these out pretty sparingly.
26-27: You made some pretty significant mistakes in this round, conceded a major impact, and could use a fair amount of practice. You probably couldn't quite figure out how to utilize the arguments you were making or made a bunch of blippy arguments with no contextualization and they were never expanded upon later.
27-28: You did pretty ok. If I was tournament god I would not give you a speaker award, there were some clear areas of improvement that could be worked on, but it was a pretty solid performance otherwise.
28-You did pretty good. You had a solid path to victory at one point or another in the round and deserve a low speaker award.
28.5-29: I left the round with a very clear understanding of exactly what you were going for and why you deserved to win. You know what you had to do to win, and even if you ultimately lost, you were never truly out of the game. You contextualized exactly how your impact or framing interacts with your opponent's and pulled a few clever tricks.
29-29.5: Fantastic job. You deserve a high speaker awards and I would very much expect you to be in deeper elims. Not only were your final arguments well developed and weighed, but you were able to give me a legitimately deeper understanding of the competing worlds with specific warrants from each card and demonstrated you genuinely knew your stuff. You pulled out something neither me nor your opponent expected and had excellent round vision.
29.5-30: This speech should be shown to future novice debaters as an example of what to do.
Experience things:
Graduated from College Debate. 4 years NDT, 4 years NFA-LD, 4 years HS, coach HS CX too
He/Him
yes email chain, sirsam640@gmail.com
Please read an overview. Please. It will only help you and your speaks.
Speed is fine - please be clear
Tech over Truth always - the debaters make the argument, not what my preconceived notions of what is truthful/real arguments are.
1. I was frequently in policy v K rounds on both sides. At the 2022 NDT 8/8 rounds were K rounds for me, and 2023 2/8 were K rounds. I read a K aff with my partner one year, then an extinction aff the next year. I went for FW/cap the other half of the time. I am a clash judge and vote for K affs as much as I vote for FW versus them.
2. k affs justify why your model of debate is good impact turns to T are fine
3. 2nrs need a TVA (unless the aff just shouldn't exist under your model which is rare but can happen)
4. condo is good but fine voting that its bad
5. judge kick is probably bad, but if neg says its good and aff doesn't reply I'll judge kick
6. I went for impact turn 2NRs/1ARs a significant portion of my rounds
7. win that your reps are good affs
8. I think perms are a little bit underrated - they probably overcome the link and shield any residual risk.
9. Judging more and more I realize how awesome impact calc is in 2NR/2AR - I definitely think about debate in offense/defense paradigm and often vote for whoever's impact is bigger and accesses the other teams
Theory
CPs need a net benefit in order to win. The role of the neg is to disprove the aff, not just provide another alternative that also fixes the aff. "Solving better" isn't a net benefit. I have voted aff on CP solves 100% of the aff but 0% of net benefit.
PICs are good vs K affs. Pretty strong neg lean on this. It rewards good research.
Don't read death good in front of me.
T
I have come around a lot on T. I think that affs get away with too much in terms of being resolution-adjacent.
Competing interps > reasonability (as law school goes on, I am reverting back to reasonability. This is probably 55/45%ish)
Ground is probably the biggest impact in T debates IMO, I think specific links to affs is the largest internal link to good debates.
I think that community norms is very unpersuasive to me. I do not really care what the rest of the community thinks about T, I'm judging the round, not the community lol
PTIAV is silly but gotta have a decent answer to it.
Affs need to just have a large defense of "no ground loss" and "aff flex/innovation outweighs"
Likely the best way to win T in front of me regardless of side is to just impact out whatever you think is your strongest standard, and make it outweigh your opponents. I spend less time thinking about the specific definition of words and more time about what the models of debate look like (though if debaters tell me to evaluate interps in a specific way I will definitely spend time on it).
PF specific
You do you and I will evaluate to the best of my ability! Any questions feel free to ask pre-round!
You don't need to ask for x amount of prep, just take "running prep" unless you specifically want me to stop you when that time ends.
Last speech should start out with "you should vote aff in order to prevent structural violence which comes first in the round" or something like that. Write my ballot for me.
I find it very hard to vote on something that I don't understand, so while impacts matter a lot I need to understand the story of how we reach the impact
4 years HS debate
Missouri State '24
Assistant Coach- Springfield Catholic
Pronouns- She/They
Email Chain-
I will be flowing, even if it doesn't seem like it.
Aff
I prefer for the affirmative to have a dependable topical plan of action. Be ready to tell me why the affirmative matters and have the proper evidence to back that up. Please don't wait till the 2AC to explain the plans actions.
Topicality
Not a fan of unnecessary topicality debates. Although if the affirmative is not topical you should prove it. That being said, please bring it up in a constructive and follow through with it. If you throw it in during a rebuttal I won't vote for it
Neg
I'm really okay with any strategy. Just give me evidence, I won't vote on arguments without solid evidence to back it up.
Pet Peeves
Be kind. There is a difference between debating and arguing, so please be respectful and make this educational. Being rude will not win you the round and I will take off speaker points.
Please give roadmaps, so I can flow your speech correctly.
Don't try and talk over each other during cross.
I don't care about speed- I don't love spreading, but if both teams are comfortable with it I'm good. Just make sure that you're at a pace that everyone can understand.
Don't go over time, there is no 15 second grace.
Bottom Line
I will leave comments on your ballots, I want to help you get better at debate. Don't read to much into what I say.
At the end of the day, debate is meant to be fun and educational. The more you put into it the more you'll get out of it.
Stanford 24' is my first tournament on the HS topic
I debated at Missouri State for three years and had moderate success. I am now out of the debate community but judge every so often.
Email: engelbyclayton@gmail.com
TL;DR
I slightly prefer policy arguments more than critical ones. I want to refrain from intervening in the debate as much as possible. Extinction is probably bad. I think debate is good and has had a positive impact on my life. Both teams worked hard and deserve to be respected.
My beliefs
-Aff needs a clear internal link to the impact. Teams often focus too much time on impacts and not enough on the link story, this is where you should start.
-I like impact turns that don't deviate from norms of morality.
-Condo is good.
-Fairness is not an impact within itself but could be an internal link to something.
-Kritiks are interesting. Explain your stuff.
-Weighing impacts, evidence comparison, strategic decisions, and judge instruction can go a long way.
My email for the chain: kaevans97@gmail.com
I graduated from Missouri State University in May 2020 where I competed in NDT/CEDA as well as NFA-LD style debate all four years. I'm attending law school this year, so I have little to no specific topic knowledge, but a good torts or contracts joke will certainly get you a bump in speaker points.
TL;DR: It is your job as the debater to tell me how to evaluate particular arguments in the round. If you fail to do that, I will be forced to impose my own standards of judgement and I would much rather that I didn't have to do that.
In all honesty, I am more truth over tech, but if there is a drop I won't completely disregard the argument (even if I find it silly). That generally means that if you are reading a ridiculous argument that you created to confuse your opponents, you are already in an uphill battle with me. No, aliens will probably not kill us all. And no, the world is probably not just a simulation (if it is, then I picked the wrong one). Use that information as you will.
At the end of the day, debate is an activity that you compete in for a finite number of years. This competition is not the impetus of your life's achievements; please do not treat it that way. Be kind to everyone in the round and enjoy the experience.
CPs:
I personally think conditional advocacies have gotten a little ridiculous, but will entertain them if you give me a reason to. I find it unlikely that I will vote on theoretical objections as the sole reason for decision, but I can be compelled to use it as a reason to disregard a CP/Alt in the 2nr (given that the neg has not already kicked it). If your CP was pulled out of nowhere before the speech started, you will have to do a lot of work to convince me it is real (see above).
If you are aff, you will need a developed solvency deficit at the end of the debate unless you are going for offense on the net benefit. I know that seems obvious, but sometimes 2As forget.
DAs:
I don't really have any wild opinions here so I will be brief. The link is the hardest part of the DA to win and thus the most vulnerable to affirmative arguments. You should focus most of your energy there. If you don't have clear impact calc in the 2nr/2ar I will have a much harder time deciding what to do with the DA in comparison to aff impacts and that puts you in an awkward position at the end of the round.
Ks:
I have a love-hate relationship with critical arguments in debate. That is based mostly on how debate forces those arguments to morph from their original intent. That being said, the aff needs to win either a perm or an outweighs argument that is developed and does more than just repeat the same tag line repeatedly. The best critical debates on the neg engage key portions of the aff to prove a link to the aff either performatively in round or housed in the core premises on their literature. I am unpersuaded by vague links to USFG action or other actions that are so inherent to the status quo that I cannot differentiate between the two. I also personally think alts are generally underdeveloped and I have a hard time determining what to do when the neg kicks the alt and all that remains is a vague link.
Whatever my opinions, this is your activity. I want you to do it the way that is the most enjoyable for you. A well-run K is better than a half-assed policy round any day.
Topicality:
TBH, as a competitor I sucked at topicality debates. That doesn't mean I don't understand how they function or that I am unwilling to vote on T, but you will likely have to do a little bit more work to make sure I understand what your arguments mean for the decision. I apologize if that is annoying.
(For policy affs that are attempting to meet the resolution): I do not care if there is no explicit in round abuse. That is useful, but not required of a topicality argument. Honestly, if the aff is pretty topical (especially if it is arguably the core aff on the topic) I will have a hard time being persuaded by topicality. I guess prove me wrong.
(For anti-topical affs): Your TVA mustn't be perfect, but it must include core aspect of the aff's literature. Meaning you need to engage with the aff in some way in order to win the TVA. If the aff team puts a random DA on T, there has to be impact calculus for it at the end of the round, otherwise I will treat it as perhaps an example of your larger argument, but not an independent reason to vote aff.
Critical affs:
I am going to be honest. I am not your best judge. I am not inherently opposed to the concept of K affs, but I feel many are disingenuous and ask me to make decisions based off of claims I can neither verify or claim to know given my subject position. With that being said, if I am your judge in those rounds I would prefer that your aff intertwine in some substantive way with the topic. If your aff's only claim to the topic is that you used the word "climate change" in one card in one speech of the round, that is not an interaction with the topic. Now, if you have a whole narrative about what "climate change" means in relation to your subject matter, then I will be more persuaded by your answers to T. With that being said, I am not going to auto vote against a K aff.
I was a philosophy major, but I am not an expert in your topic area so you cannot assume I know the jargon specific to your literature. Obviously, at the end of the day, debate is a game and if you choose to play it without a plan then that is a choice you get to make and I will respect that. Have fun, be kind, and I will do my best to adjudicate the round in a (semi) competent manner.
Final comments:
If you feel I have made the wrong decision, I am sorry. My decisions are not intended to be disrespectful and I have no intention to harm or criticize a debater personally based off anything that occurs in round. I get that debate is hard and we all make mistakes. I hope that you extend that same understanding and respect to me. If you have any questions, I am more than happy to answer them before/after the round or in an email before/after the tournament.
(Go Bears)
Experience: 4 years of NDT-CEDA/2 years of NFA-LD at Missouri State, mostly reading policy arguments. 2 years of coaching NDT-CEDA/NFA-LD at Missouri State.
Currently: 2nd year law student @ University of Minnesota Law School
Contact: joehamaker [at] gmail.com. Put me on the chain. If you have questions about an RFD or my judging philosophy, feel free to reach out.
My goal is to resolve arguments made by debaters to form a coherent decision about the issue that the debaters have decided upon. I have predispositions but I will try hard to evaluate the debate outside of those because debate is for debaters. I list preferences below, but nearly all of them are contingent.
NFALD debaters read this
Frivolous theory. I do not want to vote on your spec arguments, RVIs, disclosure theory, solvency advocate theory, or similar gobbledygook.* I do not think these arguments have educational merit. This is an exception to my general inclination to be open to all arguments. Be warned: I might not vote on it even these arguments even if they are dropped by the other team, unless you make a serious time commitment and explain to me why your argument is different.
*This does not include: topicality, condo, reasons why specific types of CPs/alts are bad (e.g. conditions CPs, floating PIKs).
Other NFA stuff. Speed is generally fine but don't exclude the opponent. Arguing based on the rules is unpersuasive. NR should collapse and make strategic decisions.
Process
When I evaluate debates, I first identify nexus questions which the debaters have decided upon in the 2NR/2AR. Then, I determine arguments both sides have made on each nexus point and check my flow to assess whether they are sufficiently represented in previous speeches. Next, I evaluate the strength of the arguments of both sides. Often at this step, I will think through the implications of voting for both sides and the complications involved. Sometimes, this will cause me to reevaluate who I think is winning the debate. Finally, I determine who I think won the debate and write a paragraph (or more) of explanation.
It is difficult for me to decide debates which do not clearly identify nexus questions. When I have to determine them, it might work in or against your favor. This is a recipe for frustration for all involved; clear identification and engagement with the nexus questions is the best way to resolve that problem. I should also be able to explain, using language similar to that which is present in the 2NR/2AR, why I should vote for you and vote against the other team. If I cannot make that explanation, it will be more difficult for me to vote for you.
Incomplete list of advice/preferences/thoughts
- I (usually) flow cross-ex because it is binding
- Slow down on overviews and theory
- Tech > truth, but truth is important and doesn't always require a card
- "No perm in method v method debates" requires more explanation than most offer
- Zero risk of an impact is very rare but not impossible
- Stop taking prep outside of speech/prep time
- Make the implications of arguments and cross-applications clear, especially when they span multiple sheets. I should not have to do that work for you.
- Be swift with paperless
- Be caring of your partner and the other team
Please put me on the email chain-chasity.hance@mjays.us
Note- Some of the things written here are for our local circuit and may not apply.
These are just my thoughts on how a debate looks/is won. However, just because I don't think about debate the same way you do does not mean you won't win my ballot. Just tell me why I should be voting there.
I have a diversity of experience as a debater, judge and coach. If you have questions, just ask.
Affirmatives
I prefer for the affirmative to have a dependable topical plan of action. I understand the need to read a non-plan based affirmative (I read a project and have coached a team who read one), however I can be easily swayed by theory/topicality debates in such a situation. Be ready to explain why your project/movement/ etc is important or apriori.
Affirmatives shouldn't wait until the 2AC to explain the plan's actions.
Topicality
I am not a fan of unnecessary topicality debates, with that being said if the affirmative is not topical then it is smart to prove such.
However I will vote on topicality if the negative is winning the position, even if I think the affirmative is topical.
If you are going for topicality you need to actually go for it, not just throw it in the 2NR on hopes that I will vote on it. If you aren't focusing the 2NR on T, then it is really just a waste of your limited time.
Being Negative
I am pretty okay with just about any strategy. If a debater is going for a kritikal position, they need to be ready to explain the literature. You should be more well read on the literature than I am, and ready to discuss how they operate. If you can't explain the K to me or still debate on the line by line, there is a high chance you won't win my ballot.
I prefer a thought out strategy compared to a bunch of positions, when most of them are not viable 2NR choices. I don't see the value in reading positions that can't be winnable, why waste your time?
Pet Peeves
Don't be rude or hateful to one another. Whether this be in prep time, in speech, and especially during cross examination. Being rude is not the appropriate way to show that you win the round, in all reality it makes you look like you are losing. Being offensive is a good way to lose a ballot.
If you are paperless, you need to be providing evidence (whether through email, flashdrive, etc) in a timely and efficient manner. If you are taking forever to do such, you probably need to take more prep time. You should be providing organized speech docs. As the receiver of doc you should still be flowing not just reading ahead.
In a virtual world everyone needs to be efficient at sharing the evidence, remember that comes out of YOUR prep time. I suggest dropping speeches before you begin your speech if not you will have to use your prep if the other team asks for it. There is a difference between prep time and tech time, don't try to steal prep during tech time.
Respect the norms and customs of the circuit you are debating within. Lots of types of debate are good, but if you have the opportunity to debate in a community/circuit that you are not typically part of it is your responsibility to understand the way that circuit works. Creating the debate space as an opportunity for others to not participate is completely unacceptable. This could be within your own circuit or not. This all goes back to being kind and respectful.
Bottom Line
I will always evaluate the debate on offense and defense and impact comparisons that are drawn by YOU THE DEBATER. Don't make me do that work for you, it might not turn out in your favor.
Have impacts. Weigh those impacts.
Debate is good. Debate is educational. Debate is fun. Make sure everyone is able to achieve these things in the round.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q- Can I spread?
A- Go for it. Just be understandable. If you aren't clear, slow down a tad.
Q- Open Cross?
A- Go for it, but I don't like when one partner controls every cross x. Your speaks will probably suffer because of it
Q- How do I boost my speaks?
A- Being clear, making smart strategy positions, being kind, being actually funny/witty
**LD Paradigm**
I am fine without whatever approach you choose to take to Lincoln Douglas debate. I have taught traditional value style debate, and have been around college NFA LD.
As you can see from my above paradigm, I have more experience with policy debate. That may help guide your decisions in a progressive Lincoln Douglas Round.
I have judged both progressive and tradition LD.
I am a pretty open book and will judge however I am told to. I default to weighing impacts.
put me on the email chain: ahart2241@gmail.com
Experience: 3 years of high school policy debate, 5 years of NDT/CEDA debate at Miami University and Missouri State University. High School coach for 4 years at Parkview (Missouri) High School, Graduate Assistant at Missouri State University.
Most of my experience in debate was very much on the policy side of thing. That doesn't make me uncomfortable with kritiks, but I also wouldn't say I'm familiar with much of the critical literature base. Even more so than in policy rounds, solid evidence analysis and application is very important for me to vote on a critical issue on either the affirmative or the negative. For critical affirmatives, I do think it's important to answer any topicality or framework arguments presented by the negative. For kritiks against these types of affirmatives, I think it's important to contextualize the philosophies and arguments in each in relation to the other side. Maybe even more than in policy v policy debates clash here is very important to me.
On the policy side of things, I love to see a good case debate, and think that evidence analysis(of both your own and your opponent's evidence) is of the utmost importance in these debates. I love a good discussion and comparison of impacts.
In terms of CP theory, I will probably default to rejecting the argument rather than the team in most instances if the affirmative wins the theory debate. On conditionality specifically, the affirmative must have a pretty specific scenario on the negative's abuse in the round for me to vote on it. I much prefer the specificity of that distinction over the nebulous "bad for debate" generality. That ship has probably sailed. One other thing to note is that I will not kick the counterplan for you automatically. The negative will need to make a judge-kick argument (preferably starting in the block) to allow the affirmative opportunities to answer it. I think this is a debate to be had, and shouldn't just be something that is granted to the negative at the outset of the round. That being said, I am definitely willing to do it, if said conditions are met and you win the reason why it's good.
Speed is fine, but I think clarity is far more important that showing me that you can read a bunch of cards. I will say that I am a little rusty, having judged at college/higher level high school tournaments sparingly in the last few years. On evidence I will likely be fine, but would appreciate going slightly below full speed when reading a block of analytic arguments/overviews.
Competed:
2011-15 – Lawrence Free State, KS, Policy (Space, Transportation, Latin America, Oceans)
2015-17 – JCCC, KS, NDT/CEDA (Military Presence, Climate Change); NFA-LD (Bioprospecting, Southern Command)
2017-20 – Missouri State University, MO, NDT/CEDA (Healthcare, Exec Authority, Space); NFA-LD (Policing, Cybersecurity)
Coached:
2016-17 – Lawrence High School, KS, (China Engagement)
2017-19 – Olathe West High School, KS, (Education, Immigration)
2019-22– Truman High School, MO, (Arm Sales, CJR, Water)
2020-Present– Missouri State University, MO, (MDT Withdrawal, Anti-Trust, Rights/Duties, Nukes); NFA-LD (Climate, Endless Wars)
2022-23- Truman State University, MO, NFA-LD (Elections)
2022-Present - The Pembroke Hill School, MO, (NATO, Economic Inequality).
Always add:
phopsdebate@gmail.com
Also add IF AND ONLY IF at a NDT/CEDA TOURNAMENT: debatedocs@googlegroups.com
If I walk out of the room (or go off-camera), please send the email and I will return very quickly.
Email chains are STRONGLY preferred. Email chains should be labeled correctly.
*Name of Tournament * *Division* *Round #* *Aff Team* vs *Neg Team*
tl;dr:
You do you; I'll flow whatever happens. I tend to like policy arguments more than Kritical arguments. I cannot type fast and flow on paper as a result. Please give me pen time on T, Theory, and long o/v's etc. Do not be a jerk. Debaters work hard, and I try to work as hard as I can while judging. Debaters should debate slower than they typically do.
Evidence Quality X Quantity > Quality > Quantity. Argument Tech + Truth > Tech > Truth. Quals > No Quals.
I try to generate a list of my random thoughts and issues I saw with each speech in the debate. It is not meant to be rude. It is just how I think through comments. If I have not said anything about something it likely means I thought it was good.
Speaker Points:
If you can prove to me you have updated your wiki for the round I am judging before I submit the ballot I will give you the highest speaker points allowed by the tournament. An updated wiki means: 1. A complete round report. 2. Cites for all 1NC off case positions/ the 1AC, and 3. uploaded open source all of the documents you read in the debate inclusive of analytics. If I become aware that you later delete, modify, or otherwise disclose less information after I have submitted my ballot, any future debate in which I judge you will result in the lowest possible speaker points at the tournament.
Online debates:
In "fast" online debates, I found it exceptionally hard to flow those with poor internet connections or bad mics. I also found it a little harder even with ideal mic and internet setups. I think it's reasonable for debates in which a debater(s) is having these issues for everyone in the debate to debate at an appropriate speed for everyone to engage.
Clarity is more important in a digital format than ever before. I feel like it would behoove everyone to be 10% slower than usual. Make sure you have a differentiation between your tag voice and your card body voice.
It would be super cool if everyone put their remaining prep in the chat.
I am super pro the Cams on Mics muted approach in debates. Obvious exceptions for poor internet quality.
People should get in the groove of always sending marked docs post speeches and sending a doc of all relevant cards after the debate.
Disads:
I enjoy politics debates. Reasons why the Disad outweighs and turns the aff, are cool. People should use the squo solves the aff trick with election DA's more.
Counter Plans:
I generally think negatives can and should get to do more. CP's test the intrinsic-ness of the advantages to the plan text. Affirmatives should get better at writing and figuring out plan key warrants. Bad CP's lose because they are bad. It seems legit that 2NC's get UQ and adv cp's to answer 2AC thumpers and add-ons. People should do this more.
Judge kicking the cp seems intuitive to me. Infinite condo seems good, real-world, etc. Non-Condo theory arguments are almost always a reason to reject the argument and not the team. I still expect that the 2AC makes theory arguments and that the neg answers them sufficiently. I think in an evenly matched and debated debate most CP theory arguments go neg.
I am often not a very good judge for CP's that require you to read the definition of "Should" when answering the permutation. Even more so for CP's that compete using internal net benefits. I understand how others think about these arguments, but I am often unimpressed with the quality of the evidence and cards read. Re: CIL CP - come on now.
Kritiks on the Negative:
I like policy debate personally, but that should 0% stop you from doing your thing. I think I like K debates much better than my brain will let me type here. Often, I end up telling teams they should have gone for the K or voted for it. I think this is typically because of affirmative teams’ inability to effectively answer critical arguments
Links of omission are not links. Rejecting the aff is not an alternative, that is what I do when I agree to endorse the alternative. Explain to me what happens to change the world when I endorse your alternative. The aff should probably be allowed to weigh the aff against the K. I think arguments centered on procedural fairness and iterative testing of ideas are compelling. Clash debates with solid defense to the affirmative are significantly more fun to adjudicate than framework debates. Floating pics are probably bad. I think life has value and preserving more of it is probably good.
Kritical Affirmatives vs Framework:
I think the affirmative should be in the direction of the resolution. Reading fw, cap, and the ballot pik against these affs is a good place to be as a policy team. I think topic literacy is important. I think there are more often than not ways to read a topical USfg action and read similar offensive positions. I am increasingly convinced that debate is a game that ultimately inoculates advocacy skills for post-debate use. I generally think that having a procedurally fair and somewhat bounded discussion about a pre-announced, and democratically selected topic helps facilitate that discussion.
Case Debates:
Debates in which the negative engages all parts of the affirmative are significantly more fun to judge than those that do not.
Affirmatives with "soft-left" advantages are often poorly written. You have the worst of both worlds of K and Policy debate. Your policy action means your aff is almost certainly solvable by an advantage CP. Your kritical offense still has to contend with the extinction o/w debate without the benefit of framework arguments. It is even harder to explain when the aff has one "policy" extinction advantage and one "kritical" advantage. Which one of these framing arguments comes first? I have no idea. I have yet to hear a compelling argument as to why these types of affirmative should exist. Negative teams that exploit these problems will be rewarded.
Topicality/procedurals:
Short blippy procedurals are almost always only a reason to reject the arg and not the team. T (along with all procedurals) is never an RVI.
I am super uninterested in making objective assessments about events that took place outside of/before the debate round that I was not present for. I am not qualified nor empowered to adjudicate debates concerning the moral behavior of debaters beyond the scope of the debate.
Things that are bad, but people continually do:
Have "framing" debates that consist of reading Util good/bad, Prob 1st/not 1st etc. Back and forth at each other and never making arguments about why one position is better than another. I feel like I am often forced to intervene in these debates, and I do not want to do that.
Saying something sexist/homophobic/racist/ableist/transphobic - it will probably make you lose the debate at the worst or tank your speaks at the least.
Steal prep.
Send docs without the analytics you already typed. This does not actually help you. I sometimes like to read along. Some non-neurotypical individuals benefit dramatically by this practice. It wastes your prep, no matter how cool the macro you have programmed is.
Use the wiki for your benefit and not post your own stuff.
Refusing to disclose.
Reading the 1AC off paper when computers are accessible to you. Please just send the doc in the chain.
Doing/saying mean things to your partner or your opponents.
Unnecessarily cursing to be cool.
Some random thoughts I had at the end of my first year judging NDT/CEDA:
1. I love debate. I think it is the best thing that has happened to a lot of people. I spend a lot of my time trying to figure out how to get more people to do it. People should be nicer to others.
2. I was worse at debate than I thought I was. I should have spent WAY more time thinking about impact calc and engaging the other teams’ arguments.
3. I have REALLY bad handwriting and was never clear enough when speaking. People should slow down and be clearer. (Part of this might be because of online debate.)
4. Most debates I’ve judged are really hard to decide. I go to decision time often. I’m trying my best to decide debates in the finite time I have. The number of times Adrienne Brovero has come to my Zoom room is too many. I’m sorry.
5. I type a lot of random thoughts I had during debates and after. I really try to make a clear distinction between the RFD and the advice parts of the post-round. It bothered me a lot when I was a debater that people didn’t do this.
6. I thought this before, but it has become clearer to me that it is not what you do, it is what you justify. Debaters really should be able to say nearly anything they’d like in a debate. It is the opposing team’s job to say you’re wrong. My preferences are above, and I do my best to ignore them. Although I do think it is impossible for that to truly occur.
Disclosure thoughts:
I took this from Chris Roberds who said it much more elegantly than myself.
I have a VERY low threshold on this argument. Having schools disclose their arguments pre-round is important if the activity is going to grow/sustain itself. Having coached almost exclusively at small, underfunded, or new schools, I can say that disclosure (specifically disclosure on the wiki if you are a paperless debater) is a game changer. It allows small schools to compete and makes the activity more inclusive. There are a few specific ways that this influences how ballots will be given from me:
1) I will err negative on the impact level of "disclosure theory" arguments in the debate. If you're reading an aff that was broken at a previous tournament, on a previous day, or by another debater on your team, and it is not on the wiki (assuming you have access to a laptop and the tournament provides wifi), you will likely lose if this theory is read. There are two ways for the aff to "we meet" this in the 2ac - either disclose on the wiki ahead of time or post the full copy of the 1ac in the wiki as a part of your speech. Obviously, some grace will be extended when wifi isn't available or due to other extenuating circumstances. However, arguments like "it's just too much work," "I don't like disclosure," etc. won't get you a ballot.
2) The neg still needs to engage in the rest of the debate. Read other off-case positions and use their "no link" argument as a reason that disclosure is important. Read case cards and when they say they don't apply or they aren't specific enough, use that as a reason for me to see in-round problems. This is not a "cheap shot" win. You are not going to "out-tech" your opponent on disclosure theory. To me, this is a question of truth. Along that line, I probably won't vote on this argument in novice, especially if the aff is reading something that a varsity debater also reads.
3) If you realize your opponent's aff is not on the wiki, you should make every possible attempt before the round to ask them about the aff, see if they will put it on the wiki, etc. Emailing them so you have timestamped evidence of this is a good choice. I understand that, sometimes, one teammate puts all the cases for a squad on the wiki and they may have just put it under a different name. To me, that's a sufficient example of transparency (at least the first time it happens). If the aff says it's a new aff, that means (to me) that the plan text and/ or advantages are different enough that a previous strategy cut against the aff would be irrelevant. This would mean that if you completely change the agent of the plan text or have them do a different action it is new; adding a word like "substantially" or "enforcement through normal means" is not. Likewise, adding a new "econ collapse causes war" card is not different enough; changing from a Russia advantage to a China, kritikal, climate change, etc. type of advantage is. Even if it is new, if you are still reading some of the same solvency cards, I think it is better to disclose your previous versions of the aff at a minimum.
4) At tournaments that don't have wifi, this should be handled by the affirmative handing over a copy of their plan text and relevant 1AC advantages etc. before the round. If thats a local tournament, that means as soon as you get to the room and find your opponent.
5) If you or your opponent honestly comes from a circuit that does not use the wiki (e.g. some UDLs, some local circuits, etc.), I will likely give some leeway. However, a great use of post-round time while I am making a decision is to talk to the opponent about how to upload on the wiki. If the argument is in the round due to a lack of disclosure and the teams make honest efforts to get things on the wiki while I'm finishing up my decision, I'm likely to bump speaks for all 4 speakers by .2 or .5 depending on how the tournament speaks go.
6) There are obviously different "levels" of disclosure that can occur. Many of them are described above as exceptions to a rule. Zero disclosure is always a low-threshold argument for me in nearly every case other than the exceptions above.
That said, I am also willing to vote on "insufficient disclosure" in a few circumstances.
A. If you are in the open/varsity division of NDT-CEDA, NFA-LD, or TOC Policy your wiki should look like this or something very close to it. Full disclosure of information and availability of arguments means everyone is tested at the highest level. Arguments about why the other team does not sufficiently disclose will be welcomed. Your wiki should also look like this if making this argument.
B. If you are in the open/varsity division of NDT-CEDA, NFA-LD, or TOC Policy. Debaters should go to the room immediately after pairings are released to disclose what the aff will be. With obvious exceptions for a short time to consult coaches or if tech problems prevent it. Nothing is worse than being in a high-stress/high-level round and the other team waiting until right before the debate to come to disclose. This is not a cool move. If you are unable to come to the room, you should be checking the wiki for your opponent's email and sending them a message to disclose the aff/past 2NR's or sending your coach/a different debater to do so on your behalf.
C. When an affirmative team discloses what the aff is, they get a few minutes to change minor details (tagline changes, impact card swaps, maybe even an impact scenario). This is double true if there is a judge change. This amount of time varies by how much prep the tournament actually gives. With only 10 minutes between pairings and start time, the aff probably only get 30 seconds to say "ope, actually...." This probably expands to a few minutes when given 30 minutes of prep. Teams certainly shouldn't be given the opportunity to make drastic changes to the aff plan text, advantages etc. a long while after disclosing.
Debater at Missouri State University (4th-Year)
Pronouns: he/him/his
Email (if a chain happens, include me): zguylols@gmail.com
I do NDT debate in college, did policy in high school (and HI if you'd believe).
I've decided to radically alter my paradigm to use less words. You do you. I will flow what you say and will make my decision based off that.
My college wiki page is an absolute nightmare. I've been both a 2A and a 2N going for both policy arguments and critical arguments, though my later years leaned more towards the latter (particularly trying to bring faithful adaptions of Bataille to debate). I like discussions on ethics. I like discussions on wide disadvantages.
Active homophobia, transphobia, racism, ableism, etc. are all very not okay. I am perfectly alright with handing out zeroes on speaks and auto-losses for discrimination at my discretion. The debate space is one for discussion - if you are intentionally making it hostile and dangerous, I will call you out for it.
That being said, I have seen way too many people take debate way too seriously. Don't be a jerk (even if you are good at debate). I've noticed a very sharp trend towards the community being toxic, especially in "high level" debate (whatever the heck that means). I've had opponents put "Be mean" in their 2AC document notes. I'll just copy/paste what fellow MoState debater and friend Gabe Morrison has written: "Intentional cheating, overt and persistent hostility, and discriminatory behavior will result in automatic losses. These are all pretty vague and dependent on my judgement, so to clarify: I think narcissism, self-righteousness, and downright juvenile cruelty are big problems in college debate and I will not hesitate to call people out on it. There is a qualitative difference between indignation, competitiveness, and malice, and if you are not sure which your intended action falls under, then you need to chill out."
Brenden Lucas
He/Him
Senior @ MoState
Yes email chain: brendentlucas@gmail.com
This is by no means comprehensive, it's just a few highlights to look at when the pairings get blasted.
I did 4 years of CX at Raymore-Peculiar High School, and now do NDT-CEDA at Missouri State
2X NDT Qualifier
My preference is fast, technical policy throwdowns. But, don't let that sway you from doing what you prefer. Do you and I'll adjudicate it.
If you need to use the restroom or step out of the room you don't have to ask.
Disclaimer for HS Topic: I'm not as active in high school coaching as I was last season, I don't really research or think about the topic all that much so watch your use of jargon.
CPs & DAs
I'm a big fan of CP disad debate, most of my HS 2NRs were CP disad.
The way I evaluate a disad doesn't deviate from the norm. Have all four parts and do impact weighing.
Turns case args are very nice
I'm down with most counter plans, especially agent and process. However, "cheating" counterplans like delay will not jive with me so keep that in mind.
I default to judge kick
T
Competiting interps is better than reasonability
Plan text in a vacuum is cool for me
Theory
Deep in my heart, I think condo is good. But, I'm open for a good condo debate. Tbh I prefer affs that limit the neg to 1 or none as opposed to like 1 and dispo or infinite dispo.
Most theory args are reasons to reject the argument, not the team.
K's
I think the topic is generally good and that debates about the topic are also good.
I'm not opposed to K debates, but my limited lit knowledge and liking for framework could make it an uphill battle for you.
I have voted for K affs before, FW is not an auto dub, debate well and you shall be rewarded.
Fairness on framework is a good impact imo.
TVAs are legit
"You link you lose" is nonsense. Teams can win by bitting the link and winning independent offense on the alt, so keep that in mind.
Other
If you read death good, I'm auto-voting against you and giving you the lowest speaks possible.
LD & PFD
I don't have a lot of detailed thoughts for these types of debates. I think they are valuable for students but my judging is policy-focused; so just do what you do best and I will judge accordingly.
Eric Morris, DoF - Missouri State – 29th Year Judging
++++ NDT Version ++++ (Updated 10-22-2019)
(NFALD version: https://forensicstournament.net/MissouriMule/18/judgephil)
Add me to the email - my Gmail is ermocito
I flow CX because it is binding. I stopped recording rounds but would appreciate a recording if clipping was accused.
Be nice to others, whether or not they deserve it.
I prefer line by line debate. People who extend a DA by by grouping the links, impacts, UQ sometimes miss arguments and get lower points. Use opponent's words to signpost.
Assuming aff defends a plan:
Strong presumption T is a voting issue. Aff should win you meet neg's interp or a better one. Neg should say your arguments make the aff interp unreasonable. Topic wording or lit base might or might not justify extra or effects T, particularly with a detailed plan advocate.
High threshold for anything except T/condo as voting issues*. More willing than some to reject the CP, K alts, or even DA links on theory. Theory is better when narrowly tailored to what happened in a specific debate. I have voted every possible way on condo/dispo, but 3x Condo feels reasonable. Under dispo, would conceding "no link" make more sense than conceding "perm do both" to prove a CP did not compete?
Zero link, zero internal link, and zero solvency are possible. Zero impact is rare.
Large-scale terminal impacts are presumed comparable in magnitude unless you prove otherwise. Lower scale impacts also matter, particularly as net benefits.
Evidence is important, but not always essential to initiate an argument. Respect high-quality opponent evidence when making strategic decisions.
If the plan/CP is vague, the opponent gets more input into interpreting it. CX answers, topic definitions, and the literature base helps interpret vague plans, advocacy statements, etc. If you advocate something different from your cards, clarity up front is recommended.
I am open to explicit interps of normal means (who votes for and against plan and how it goes down), even if they differ from community norms, provided they give both teams a chance to win.
Kritiks are similar to DA/CP strategies but if the aff drops some of the "greatest hits" they are in bad shape. Affs should consider what offense they have inside the neg's framework interp in case neg wins their interp. K impacts, aff or neg, can outweigh or tiebreak.
Assuming aff doesn't defend a plan:
Many planless debates incentivize exploring important literature bases, but afer decades, we should be farther along creating a paradigm that can account for most debates. Eager to hear your contributions to that! Here is a good example of detailed counter-interps (models of debate). http://www.cedadebate.org/forum/index.php/topic,2345.0.html
Impact turns are presumed relevant to kritikal args. "Not my pomo" is weak until I hear a warranted distinction. I prefer the negative to attempt direct engagement (even if they end up going for T). It can be easier to win the ballot this way if the aff overcovers T. Affs which dodge case specific offense are particularly vulnerable on T (or other theory arguments).
Topicality is always a decent option for the neg. I would be open to having the negative go for either resolution good (topicality) or resolution bad (we negate it). Topicality arguments not framed in USFG/framework may avoid some aff offense.
In framework rounds, the aff usually wins offense but impact comparison should account for mitigators like TVA's and creative counter-interps. An explicit counter-interp (or model of debate) which greatly mitigates the limits DA is recommended - see example below. Accounting for topic words is helpful. TVA's are like CP's because they mitigate whether topics are really precluded by the T interp.
If I were asked to design a format to facilitate K/performance debate, I would be surprised. After that wore off, I would propose a season-long list of concepts with deep literature bases and expect the aff to tie most into an explicit 1AC thesis. Such an approach could be done outside of CEDA if publicized.
This was too short?
* Some ethical issues, like fabrication, are voting issues, regardless of line by line.
Email: gabemorrison77@gmail.com
Four years NDT and NFA-LD at Missouri State
Four years CX in high school at Greenwood Lab
***About Your Judge***
Hi, you're probably here because I'm judging you. You have my sincerest condolences.
I was a 2N for 3/4 years in college. My usual 1NC consisted of Nietzsche (neither Der Derian nor "suffering good" nonsense) and several on-case turns, with the latter occupying slightly more 2NRs senior year.
I recently rewrote my old argument-by-argument paradigm because I felt that it poorly represented my judging tendencies and encouraged over-adaptation. I like creative, enthusiastic, and generally high quality debating more than I do any particular argument.
***Suggestions***
- Debate the best version of your opponents' argument.
- Case debate is neat. Smart analytics are sometimes better than cards (doesn't apply to CPs and certain Ks, although case analytics are still very helpful in the latter case). Case 2NRs are power moves.
- Clever impact framing > "role of the ballot."
- Make big decisions in the 2NR and 2AR. Focus on the impacts you actually need to win. Poor prioritization is the death of strategy.
- Define terms with multiple/ambiguous meanings. I like precision because I am pathologically obsessive. If left to my own devices, I will strive to interpret keywords in the least consequential manner, but you might not like the results.
- Honesty > "not one step backward, comrades"
***Requests***
- Don't remove FW interpretations & counterinterpretations from your documents. I'm bad enough at adjudicating T/FW as is and I am on the verge of docking speaks for failure to do so.
- Don't be self-righteous or holier-than-thou, but if that's just who you are, please be good at it.
- Don't pivot for an ableism strat because someone said idiot. The link is usually more ableist than its object, the alternative is non-unique, and homonyms exist.
- Be nice to one another.
- Try to have a good time.
***Dogmas***
- Zero risk is possible and usually occurs when arguments are completely irrelevant or missing internal links.
- The ballot does not represent anything more than "who did the better debating." Everything else is impact framing and development of your story's setting.
- "Ontology" does not mean what many debaters seem to think it means.
- Knowledge is a network of metaphors and metonyms that are taken for granted. Facts are what we call metaphors whose referents have been lost over time. Linguistically mutability does not imply the possible change in a concept, but a state of constant change. Most arguments that universalize adjectives are absurd.
- Fiat is not a verb. We do not "fiat" the plan (or alt) into existence. We suspend disbelief like people do with all hypotheticals.
- "Critique" does not have a K in it unless you are German or LARPing as a German.
- Floating PIKs are PIKs in the same way that the States CP PICs out of the federal government.
***Warnings***
- I don't care about Policy v K ideological battle lines. I don't care about PRL and CEDA bogeys. I will probably not be convinced to care. Sometimes an argument is just a cigar.
- If you spend your prep removing lots of analytics from the doc before you send it, I will interpret it as a lack of confidence in your own arguments and regard them with suspicion for the rest of the debate. Moral of the story? Make analytics up on the fly, get good at pretending you make analytics up on the fly, or flash your blocks.
- I was terrible at topicality and framework debate for eight years. I have voted for and against it several times, but I am not good at flowing it and I seem to view theoretical impacts differently than many other debaters. That does not mean "don't read T." I just may be a little less predictable and more likely to make mistakes.
- I find many ableism arguments patronizing. I will do my best to be open-minded and evaluate yours as an individual case, but I will still probably be a little biased. You can alleviate the impact of this bias by (1) not romanticizing disability, and (2) not excluding, authenticity testing, or in general not making hasty assumptions about the physical and mental faculties of your opponents.
***Theory***
- Theory lean: Conditionality? Good. PICs? Good. Perf Con? See "Conditionality?". Consult/Conditions? Evidence-dependent. International/Foreign? Probably bad. 2NC? Usually, but context-dependent. 1NR? I cast fireball.
- High threshold for conditionality bad. I do not understand why contradictions in a vacuum are imbalanced, even if you win that they exist. I have seen many contradictory advocacies and very few actually forced affirmative teams to debate themselves.
- Solvency advocates are unnecessary if the CP text is referencing aff evidence. CPs without solvency advocates are more a reason for affirmatives to get away with fewer cards and questionable permutations than for me to reject the CP.
- Judge-kick is context-dependent, but I will probably assume judge kick if conditional unless told otherwise.
- Rejecting the argument usually de facto rejects the team.
- Theory is not usually a reason to reject the team outside of conditionality. I'm not saying it won't happen, just that other reject-the-team situations are less common.
***NFA Folks***
- "I do not want to vote on your spec arguments, RVIs, disclosure theory, solvency advocate theory, or similar gobbledygook.* I do not think these arguments have educational merit. This is an exception to my general inclination to be open to all arguments. Be warned: I might not vote on it even these arguments even if they are dropped by the other team, unless you make a serious time commitment and explain to me why your argument is different." - Joe Hamaker
- Neg has a a huge side bias, y'all. 2ARs should accordingly focus on doing overviews, impact calculus, and generally framing the round, as opposed to delivering comprehensive line-by-line answers, as they will be near impossible against a competent opponent.
- NRs should collapse their offense to take full advantage of extra speech time.
Speech Docs: MoStateDebate@gmail.com
Asst Coach at MoState.
2x NDT Qualifier for MoState, Graduated in 23'.
3rd at NFA Nationals 2021, 4x NFA Nationals Qualifier
Random Thoughts:
- "I'm going to flow your speech. There is nothing you can possibly do to stop this short of concede. What's worse, I'm even going to decide the debate based on said flow and said flow alone."
- I do not care what you do, Everything is up for debate (besides objectively wrong things).
- Please keep track of your time, I want to keep track of your speech and the docs, not the time.
- You will often do better if you debate how you feel rather than adjusting to this paradigm.
- Pen time is GREAT, make it easy to flow your speech and you will be rewarded.
- I'll probably take a long time to decide as I try to be respectful of the time and energy that we put into this game. I really try to invest in debate as much as everyone else does, and love to reward bold strategic choices (no, not spark).
- My decisions are going to be what's exactly on my paper, and speaker points will be how well you articulated the thing from the flow to being understood + clarity.
- Evidence Quality is under rated. I'll 1000% read your evidence during, and after the round. You should probably tell me HOW to read it. If it does not say the thing that you think it does, things will not go well for you.
Specific ?'s:
Policy v. K ideological divide (the stuff that matters for prefs).
- I tend to like both for different reasons. I think that being strategic is the best thing that you can do in front of me, be bold and embrace your decisions whole-heartedly. My first 2 years of college debate, I debated exclusively the K (pomo, cybernetics, queerness, etc.), and the last 2 1/2 years, I debated mainly policy. With that in mind, that means I don't have ideological underpinnings that assist either side.
- I think that the strongest part of the K is the Link, and weakest part is the Alt. Policy AFF's tend to have more warrants for how they solve things, than why they actually do. I think that it behoves both teams to play to the others weakness. K's are better at why, and Policy stuff is better at how, explain to me which is better.
Policy:
- I tend to think that offense is where I always start, and the place that teams should always spend the most time on. Impacts tend to be the things that decide debates, and make everything else important as they leak out of that.
- Case debating is a lost and dead art, please bring it back. Hyper specific case negs or good impact D debating is the best stuff to watch.
CP's:
- CP Texts for Perms >>>>
- Fine with Judge Kick, if it makes sense. Should be more than a 10 second blurb.
- PICs are cool, and often strategic.
DA:
- Turns Case is ESSENTIAL, and is usually the difference between a Win that can be easily sought out, and a Win that I scratch my head for a while at.
Topicality:
- T should have a case list, of what is and isn't T.
- Reasonability is probably bad, unless you have a good argument about why your AFF is essential to the topic thus -> Competing Interps !
- Quals are better than no Quals
Theory:
- I think there is a sharp divide between the neg being strategic, and just trying to make the 2AC's life hard by not really debating stuff. I think hard debate should be rewarded, and cowards shouldn't. The best strategies that we always remember were never the 12 off with the 9 plank CP, but the 4-5 off with the impact turns etc. With that said, I think 3 condo is probably my limit (each plank counts as 1 unless stated otherwise by the neg), and contradictions are fine until the block.
K's:
- Telling me why your links mean that I should weigh the AFF and how that implicates their research is probably much better than just stating why your model of debate is better. Vice Versa for AFF, telling me why your research praxis is good, and should be debated is better than telling me why it's a pain you can't weigh the AFF. I think that fairness is an impact, but we have been on the fairness spiel for like 20+ years.
- More impact analysis > no impact analysis.
K AFF's/FW:
- I think that teams should probably read a plan text, and talk about the resolution. But if you want to read a AFF without a plan text, go for it as long as you do it well. Usually, negative teams going for framework do so poorly.
- I usually prefer fairness as an externalization of education, and how it impacts the game of debate in terms of making us better people and/or better educators.
- Definitions are under-used, and I think that the best AFF's make us really ponder how we should collectively view the topic.
Affiliations/Conflicts/Background/Philosophies
I debated in LD, PF, and Congress at Bentonville HS for 3 years before coming to Missouri State where I'm debating primarily in open CX.
I would like to be on the email chain if it exists, jjslocum@gmail.com
My intention is to judge debates with as little intervention as possible. Maybe this goes without being said but I hope that competitors try to make this easier on me by resolving outstanding arguments, being articulate, etc. I generally believe that debate is a place to challenge conventional thinking so I’ll flow anything but, on the other hand, it will not take much to convince me that arguments such as “structural violence good” are violent in themselves.
I debate mostly policy arguments with the occasional cap K so my fluency in that realm is a little lower, however, that should not preclude you from running a K, be it on the aff or neg, because I’m nonetheless interested in hearing critical arguments.
I believe that any argument should be able to be ran but burdens of proof for various arguments are subject to change.
TL;DR
I believe that most arguments can be ran but the threshold for various arguments will change based on what the argument is. Debaters should practice good debate norms and challenge them accordingly. I vote aff if they can prove the advocacy is better than the status quo/negative advocacy and vote neg if not. I’m not familiar with all Ks but please feel free to run them, explain them well. Debaters should be timely in sending docs, starting cross, ending cross, etc.
Case and Advantages/Disads
There should be a coherent story to each advantage/disad. Answering these arguments should entail being answered from various angles e.g. on uniqueness, link, etc. I also like when there’s offense on the flow too.
I generally think too much attention is paid to the impact level and not enough on the link level. I notice a lot of links are never contested despite them being sketchy/probably not true and I can’t evaluate links as sketchy unless one of the competitors tells me to. Impact D is rarely terminal but solvency, no link arguments could be.
I generally believe that the affirmative does not have to be the best version of the aff that it can be (not that it shouldn’t be) but that it is a better idea than the status quo/negative advocacy. Though, I’m definitely willing to listen to arguments that claim the 1AC should be the best version of the 1AC that it could be and that rigorous tests of competition are good.
CPs
Counterplans should be functionally and textually competitive with the affirmative; only having textual competition doesn’t make much sense to me and I don’t see why perms wouldn’t effectively answer these arguments. That being said, perms should obviously not be the only answer to these kinds of CPs but it’ll do more than it will with functionally competitive CPs. Winning CPs means there’s a clear net benefit and that the impact of the net benefit outweighs any solvency deficient of the CP, if any.
I'll judge kick under these conditions 1.) The neg tells me to and 2.) The affirmative doesn’t make a good argument to not do it.
I think CPs should be more-or-less as specific as the 1AC advocacy, though that is not a necessity. The downside to being vague is that I’ll allow more room for the aff to interpret what the CP means.
Theory
Speeding through theory dumps means I’ll probably miss something so take precaution if you’re considering that.
I'll listen to any theory arg
I assume dropping the arg not the team, arguments for dropping the team have a bigger burden to overcome but I’m not unwilling to vote that way.
I’m not a big fan of voting on theory but I’ll do it.
Topicality
In the case that a policy aff is facing T, I fall in the group that believes the affirmative does not have to provide the best definition of the topic but rather that the affirmative should just have to provide a good interp. This doesn’t mean that the neg will definitively lose T but that they have more of a burden to prove that they’ve materially lost something, be it ground, fairness, education, etc., and that what they’ve lost is noteworthy.
T arguments made in the block and kicked in the 2NR could maybe justify an RVI. Otherwise, a reverse-RVI to counter the original RVI might be more persuasive.
Framework
Framework is most persuasive when read versus a not-at-all-topical K affirmative and (generally) becomes less persuasive the more topical the aff is. Framework is also more persuasive versus high theory Ks as opposed to something like cap/security and I’d prefer substantive answers to the case. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I will not vote for framework versus a K that’s in the direction of the topic and I do not think that framework arguments are automatically violent or destroy the aff’s advocacy and conversely, it could be important to question the affirmative’s relationship with the topic. To win framework, negative teams should have well-developed impacts that clearly implicate the negative’s ability to do something integral, be it running particular arguments or their ability to learn, engage in fair debate, etc.
Ks/K affs
As I said earlier, there are numerous Ks that I’m not familiar with. I don’t think competitors running Ks should assume that either me or their opponents know what the K is about, and it should be adequately explained throughout the round with clear implications and a thesis that their opponents can engage with. The reason for this is that I don’t believe that running arguments for the purpose of being exclusionary is a good model of debate to follow and instances where this happens may very well affect how I decide the round if the opponents are persuasive enough.
I’m not opposed to teams running Ks, I just don’t read the lit.
Link debate should be given emphasis in K rounds, I reward debaters that will provide thoughtful analytics as to how they don’t link/how the opponent does link. The more specific an alt is, the more persuasive it can be. When the alt is vague, as with CPs, I typically allow the aff more room to interpret what it means.
Blatantly untopical K affirmatives have a pretty big burden to overcome and will leave me susceptible to voting on framework/T. I prefer K affirmatives that have at least some inroad to the topic, be it minimal. This doesn't mean that I will not vote for a blatantly untopical affirmative if they can persuade me that their method of debate is somehow better than the option(s) that their opponents provide.
Performance
I’ve not judged any performance rounds but I’ve been in a few. I’m certainly willing to evaluate performance but I believe the competitor doing the performance should implicate or explain the performance in some capacity (unless that’s also part of the performance, of course). If the performance calls for it, then I won’t flow because paying attention to a poem/song/display oftentimes generates more meaning than translating it to the paper in shorthand.
Framework arguments are one way to answer performance but you’ll have to put some work in to it. A team that is successful in winning a framework argument will effectively indicate what the best model for debate is and clearly explain how that looks when contextualized to the round.
Speed
CX: Speed is fine.
LD: Since one of the appeals of LD is that it's not CX, speed is fine insofar that both competitors are okay with it. Better debaters should be able to sacrifice speed and still win. This way, the debate can be educational for both parties.
PF: It's fine to speak faster than a conversational speed but you should not spread.
The RFD
I give my RFDs by formulating two scenarios: one where the aff wins and one where the neg wins. I choose whichever one I have to do less work for. Feel free to ask questions after the debate, I’d love to answer them (time permitting). Asking accusatory questions will result in defensive and unsatisfying answers, but answers nonetheless.
Misc
I don't care if you swear, vape, stand or sit, etc. However, competitors should not break any rules that the tournament and/or host sets forth and I won’t feel particularly obligated to defend competitors in such instances where rules are broken. I do care if competitors are being mean to their opponents, even if they deserve it.
Competitors should be timely in having docs sent, starting cross after speeches, starting prep after speeches, etc. When the cross timer goes off, the answer should be promptly finished. The advantage to this is that I don’t consider sending docs as prep.
Colton Smith
5 Years of High School Debate @ Tulsa Union HS
Freshman NDT debater @ Missouri State University (Mo State SW)
Version 1.0 - Last edited 10-16-17
The closest thing that you can pin me to is tabula rasa. I have experience going for a cheating CP's with small net benefit to reading various K's sometimes all in the same 1NC. I was a 2N in high school if this helps at all. My favorite kinds of debates are ones where there is a small truthful policy aff with either the 2NR being a super specific DA (with or without a CP - doesn't matter to me) or a K with spec link lit. CAUTION - I like some K's but have a really high threshold for others. For example, I have read and debated Identity/structural K's frequently, but I do not have any experience with Baudrillard, Bataille, or whatever pomo person you have in mind. This can all be resolved with sufficient explanation so PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE HECK YOUR JARGON MEANS. That being said, I don't want the way I view debate to constrain what your strat is. If you think this is your A strat, then rep it and I'll be there to decide :).
TLDR: I am good with about anything that you want to read in front of me, but you have to justify it words that I will be able to understand. Truth v Tech is a false dichotomy - a good argument should be able to have both. Speed is fine as long as you place clarity above speed. Prep ends when you say it does - do NOT abuse this privilege as it get annoying to wait three minutes to flash a speech doc. DO NOT STEAL PREP FOR THE LOVE OF gOD. The easiest way to my ballot is to sum up the debate for me. If you do an email chain, then you should put me on it at mc2turnt@gmail.com
Just a few random things that you might want to look into when debating with me in the back
- evidence comparison - Debates frequently get out of hand and both sides win their own argument and it starts to look like two ships passing in the night. If you are doing comparative analysis with your evidence - PROPS! This makes for better debates and you might get a smile out of me if you do so.
- Cross Ex - It is okay to be assertive, but rude it should never be. I think that people underestimate the value of CX in policy debate, and if you can use it effectively with me in the back it may result in better speaks. Sometimes the best thing that you can do is to be really nice in cross ex
- Marking Cards - I know that sometimes in a debate you have really long cards, but if I hear you marking every card in your 1NC, then there is a massive problem. One of the things that really can get under my skin is when you mark a lot of cards and try to extend them without reading that warrant. It's usually just a good idea to read the beautiful ev you have presented me.
Onto the more specific things in life...
T/FW - I do not have many predispositions to this in any way. I am down for you to go 1 off fw if that's your planless aff strat. I will default to comp interps in a FW debate, but could be persuaded to default to reasonability if you warrant it well enough. I think for the negative to win these debates in regards to FW, you need to find a way to hedge back against their impact turns. This is possible and if I am in the back with this debate I could go either way, but I do appreciate teams that try to hold the line effectively. If the aff is policy and you want to go for T, then I think it might be the smartest to have a nuanced T violation. I didn't go for T very many times in my high school career, but I like to see them happen. For me to pick you up as the negative, you need to win why your interp/violation specifically generates abuse, and yes I can be persuaded that potential abuse is abuse. Also remember impacts are pretty important here too :) Do Not think that this is an invitation to only read FW in front of me. I like FW but I am not a hack for it. I like other nuanced and comprehensive strategies too and probably even more so.
K - the more case-specific your link and the more comprehensive your alternative explanation, the more I’ll be persuaded by your kritik.
Do as much of your explanation on the line-by-line as possible - I am not the person that you want to read a 6 minute overview in the back of the room. You could be the best debater at the tournament, but if you drop long overviews - it will be hard to win the debate and your speaks will reflect that.
you must find a way to weigh the aff and must have some defense to your method so that you have some justification for the 1AC. Think of the 1AC as a research project and you have to defend that research process. A good defense of your process specifically can be pretty devastating.
I can be persuaded by extinction 1st and weigh the aff or just alt offense that is contextual to their research base, but the most important thing that the aff can do against K's is create 1 win condition and win it in the 2AR. A lot of teams get shook up trying to learn what the K means instead of creating a coherent strategy for the 2AR.
I am an OK judge to do your K tricks with in the back, but you will need to explain their implications to the round itself.
I am good with some K's but not all - if I look confused in the back, take a step back and explain what the argument means in my world.
All in all K debates r fun !
CP -
I like a good CP debate against an aff - I am the judge that will be down to hear topic generic CP's or super nuanced ones. Just win that the CP is theoretically justified, solves the entirety of the aff, and has a risk of a NB.
I am okay with most CP's but you have to have a justification for the CP.
I am a fan of most CP's. There are cheating CP's out there and a lot of them, but if you don't tell me why the CP is illegit then Ill let them run with it.
The more spec the research is the better.
YOU BEST HAVE A SOLVENCY ADVOCATE FOR THE CP TOO - unless its an adv cp and you tell me why there is not one that's needed VERY WELL.
DA's -
Yes Please
If you have a super unique DA that is spec to the topic and people haven't done their UQ updates then you as the neg have the right to exploit this.
NEW DA's will be rewarded on level of prep
I REALLY REALLY LIKE A GOOD DA DEBATE - but Zero risk is possible but difficult to prove by the aff.
PLEASE justify your internal links very well - I think this is typically one of the weaker points of da's in general.
I also like generic topic DA's that have a unique flavor to them.
if you go for a DA in the 2NR please do a lot of COMPARATIVE IMPACT CALCULUS. This is something that I think is fun to watch and can be a wonderful point for clash. Also, your DA turns case analysis should turn the im pacts of the 1AC as well as the solvency mechanism of the aff - these args if developed well enough will make me want to vote for you.
Theory - Cool with it - gotta have an interp that generates offense for you though.
Case - I am a sucker for good case arguments and impact turns. I like to see a good impact turn debate, but I also like a strat where you decimate the case page. I feel like case debate is extremely underutilized and needs to be revitalized.
If you have any questions or are just confused about what I have just told you, then you can drop me an email at mc2turnt@gmail.com
Missouri State Debater (NDT-CEDA) 2007-2011; Judged NDT - 2011-2014
Greenwood Lab School - Middle and high school coach - 2011- 2023
Crowder College Director of Forensics (NFA-LD and IPDA debate formats) - 2015-2023
Missouri State Tournament Update
I have spent the last decade being around basically every other kind of debate besides NDT. I have judged at primarily regional and end of year national policy tournaments (NSDA and NCFL) for middle/high school and a ton of NFA-LD at the college level.
I have been working with novices and the packet this past month so I have some exposure to the topic (I also debated nukes) but you should assume I need a bit more explanation than the average judge about your argument.
Things I know to be true about myself as a judge:
1) I have a higher threshold for explanation and explaining how arguments interact than others. That is likely supercharged by the fact I haven't been around NDT in a few years. There are arguments that are just understood to mean certain things and I might not know what that is. Defer to explaining WHY winning an argument matters and interacts with the rest of the debate, even if you think it is obvious.
2) I don't have a lot of tolerance for unnecessary hostility and yelling (I am not talking about you being a loud person. You do you. I am talking about this in the context of it being directed towards others) in debates. There are times you need to assert yourself or ask a targeted series of questions, but I would much prefer that not to escalate. There is very little that is made better or more persuasive to me by being overly aggressive, evasive, or hostile.
3) Debate is an educational activity first, competitive second. I will judge the debate that happens in front of me to the best of my ability. Full stop. However, I believe in the educational value of what we learn in debates and will likely defer to the education side of things when in conflict.
4) My debate knowledge base is primarily shaped by NDT norms circa 2007-2012. I know some of those norms have changed. I will do my best to adapt the way the community has.
5) Policy arguments are more comfortable to me and what I know best. I would not consider myself particularly well versed in the nuances of most "K" literature that is read these days. However, with proper explanation and connections, I think I can judge any debate that I am presented with.
There is a ton not covered here. Feel free to ask questions or clarify. As I judge more, I am sure I will have more specific thoughts about specific parts of these debates and will add more.
alexvandyke32@gmail.com
***
CPs
My general presumption for CP solvency is sufficiency, but I can be persuaded otherwise
I'll will default to not kicking the CP if the 2NR goes for it
If you have evidence that compares your CP to the plan, it's probably legitimate
No solvency advocate – if its an intuitive advantage CP, particularly when based on the aff evidence, that seems reasonable
2NC CPs – they're good and strategic. do them more
Ks
I like any critique that makes calls into question some core aspect of the aff. This can be their primary justifications, representations, mechanism, etc.
Good case debating is important. Solvency/internal link presses that aid your link arguments are extremely powerful.
Epistemology or justifications are important but I find myself weighing those as links against the aff instead of as prior questions
T
I'm probably better for T than most if done well
Limits only matter to the extent they are predictable. Quality evidence should dictate topicality. Community norms shouldn’t be relevant and are subject to group-think and path dependency. T is an important strategic weapon, particularly on large topics and you should go for it when necessary. I’d suggest slowing down in the 2NR/2AR and isolating the debate to a narrow set of relevant questions.
Theory
Conditionality is fine within reason. When it seems absurd it probably is, and its not impossible to persuade me to reject the team, but it is an uphill battle. Its hard to imagine voting aff unless there are 4 or more conditional advocacies introduced.
Framework/K affs
TVAs don’t have to include the affs precise method or the totality of the 1ac, but create access to the affs literature base
The aff needs a strong defense of why reading this particular aff is key (its methodology, theory, performance, etc), why reading this argument on the aff as opposed to the neg is key, and why debate in general is key.
I will not adjudicate anything that occurs outside of the debate.
Updated 1-29-2022
I did NDT debate at MoState
Email chains: michael.n.waggoner at gmail.com
I read policy arguments for the most part, but read the K plenty as well.
I think debate is a fun game that provides unique and useful education. Although, I am open to different interpretations of how I should view debate.
Please be nice to people, even if they do not deserve it.
Things I will not vote on: racism good, extinction/death good, personal/external to this debate round actions as links/reasons to reject the team, and I'm sure much more.
Affirmatives with a plan
I like these. I tend to prefer larger center of the topic affirmatives with good angles against core negative arguments, but do what you do best.
Affirmatives without a plan
I also like these, but I don't understand what they do most of the time. You have to explain how you depart from the status quo, but if you do that right, I find these affs fun to judge. I am not a T-usfg/framework hack, but I do think T is a good argument against these affirmatives.
Theory/T
I default to competing interps and would prefer if you explain what their version of the topic justifies and how that hurts you.
I will vote on almost any theory argument, but you should realize when your theory arguments are bad.
Conditionality is usually fine
PICs are a little less fine, but still fine
Perf cons are fine if they are conditional advocacies, otherwise they're not good for you
Object fiat is like always bad
The disadvantage
This is always a good option for the negative. Teams that explain why their impact outweighs and turns the case tend to win. Timeframe is a big issue for me because most teams win a large impact. There's always a risk of the link, but that can often be very small. I think people should not be afraid to go for a DA without a counterplan, these rounds are fun and competitive.
Counterplans
Also, very useful. I understand how sufficiency framing works, and it is my default way of understanding CPs. I can't really fathom another way of viewing CPs anyway, please do not re-explain this to me. I am persuaded by aff answers that identify key issues in 1AC evidence as solvency deficits. Permutations are convincing when they are very well explained.
Kritik
Happens to be my favorite and least favorite thing ever. When they are good, they are amazing. When they are bad, they make me angry.
I am somewhat familiar with the following literature: capitalism, security, most identity critiques, Nietzsche(although not 100%), Baudrillard(Kinda), and Bataille. If you're kritik did not land on this short list, please still read it, just know that you should make your explanations kinda simple for me. I would like for the alternative to very clearly advocate for doing something. Too many kritiks have useless alternatives.
Final thoughts
I like debate, please do not give me reasons to change my mind about this.
In my ideal debate world, the affirmative would read a topical plan and defend the implementation of that plan. The negative would read disadvantages, counterplans, and case turns/defense. Topical research is probably my most favorite part of debate, so I would assume that I would have a tendency to reward teams that I see as participating in the same way I view the game.
I get that my ideal debate world isn't everyone's ideal debate world. I also vote for teams that prefer to run Topicality, Kritiks, or other arguments as their "go to" strategies. Good critical debaters explain specific links to the affirmative case and spend some time discussing how their argument relates to the impacts that are being claimed by the affirmative team. I also think it helps a lot to have specific analogies or empirical examples to prove how your argument is true/has been true throughout history.
I expect that paperless teams will be professional and efficient about flashing evidence to the other team. It annoys me when teams flash large amounts of evidence they don't intend to read or couldn't possibly read in a speech to the other team and expect them to wade through it. It should go without saying that I expect that you won't "steal" prep time in the process of flashing, or any other time really. It also annoys me when teams don't flow just because they are "viewing" the evidence in real time.
I expect that teams will post their cites to the wiki as soon as the debate is over, and ideally before I give my decision and otherwise participate in information sharing efforts.
I like to have a copy of speeches flashed to me as well so I can follow along with what everyone else sees in the debate and because I think it makes the decision making process go faster.
The best way to get high speaker points from me is to be clear, be polite, participate fully in your cross-examinations and use them to your advantage to point out flaws in your opponents’ arguments, try hard, and use appropriate humor.
Ask me questions if this doesnt cover what you need to know or you can't find the answer from someone else that I have judged/coached. Obviously there will be tons of other things I think about debates that I haven't posted here. Have fun.