Background Info

I debated for 4 years for Downtown Magnets High School (LAMDL) and I am currently a sophomore JV debater at the University of Southern California.

Misc. Debate Information

Please include me in the email chain using: victor.briseno21@gmail.com

Write my ballot for me

I do not take prep time for flashing or emailing, but please make it quick. Please inform me if you're having technical difficulties.

Overviews are not necessary, but if you want to point out an important concession or something of the sort by all means go ahead, but please make sure that you point this out again real quick on the line by line. Overviews do make my job easier as they high light the arguments that you want me to focus on. Just assume judge are lazy when it comes to making decisions, WRITE MY BALLOT FOR ME DURING YOUR LAST REBUTTAL. Tell me exactly why I vote for your side, concessions and impacts that win you the debate etc.

Framing is very important, especially if the framing is reasonable. Telling me how I should evaluate the round in terms of your impacts and other framing issues is key!

I will try my best to give constructive criticism at the end of the debate, I will disclose my decision, but I will not disclose speaker points.

I'm okay with tag-team during cross x but please make sure that cross x is even among partners because it will definitely impact speaker points if one partner does all the talking when it is not their turn.

I think that I'm a fairly middle of the road type of judge. Will vote on policy and critical impacts.

Debate

Case

Case is very important so make sure that case is always extended and not dropped by the end of the debate. Teams sometimes focus so much on off cases that they forget to use their case offensively. Furthermore, the negative needs address the arguments made on case to some extent. I prefer policy affirmatives that have both terminal and structural impacts because it provides for a strategic diversity of arguments.

DAs

DAs need to do one or two of these. Exponentially more impactful in the debate if you have a CP that resolves the DA AND is mutually exclusive with the affirmative:

1) Have a strong link and have an impact that outweighs the affirmative

2) Serve as a net benefit for a CP

CPs

CPs are cool but please make sure that it has a net benefit so that it can actually be competitive with the affirmative's plan. I'm okay with any type of CP, but I may be more lenient towards the affirmative if the CP is just a consult CP or an agent CP that has no specific, clear application to the affirmative's plan.

Ks

The link and impact debate are the most important for me when it comes to the K debate. Specific links are preferred, especially impactful if you can make a link in the context of what is actually happening in a specific debate. However, the alternative should still be present throughout the debate and explained. If you're going for K solves case arguments, it's better for the alternative to advocate a specific action.

Framework/T

I grouped these two arguments because my comments for these are generally the same. These debates should always be specific to the round. They should have a substantial impact that outweighs what is going on in the round and the aff. Furthermore, these arguments should always be telling me how I should view the round and debate as a whole. An important thing to note is that I will see fairness as its own impact, but I think education is probably a better impact if you're reading other off cases. As someone who doesn't automatically reject K Affs, I hold the negative to a higher standard when it comes to proving these arguments against a policy aff. I rather not judge a procedural debate against a policy aff, but will vote when there are a lot of concessions.

Speaker Points

Just don't be mean or overly-sassy you will most likely not get something lower than a 27.5. However, being assertive while not being a jerk will probably get you good speaks. Cross examination is taken into consideration for speaker points, both based on how you answer questions and the questions you ask. Nicely done impact turns, warrant more speaker points.

Online Debate: Don’t be classist, I have hardware that can support online debate, but that doesn’t mean everyone else does. Let’s not make online debate more difficult by giving people a hard time for not having the proper equipment in a pandemic that nobody expected. If your audio cuts out, I’ll stop your time so we can resolve connection issues. I’ll either ask you to start from where you first cut out or summarize what you said, depending on the length of the outage. It takes all of us to make this work.

About me:

He/Him/His

Yes, add me to the email chain: s.cardenas00@yahoo.com

Debated policy 2 1/2 yrs for South Gate HS under LAMDL

Debated for 2 years with California State University, Northridge

Coached 2 years with South Gate High School

Here's the TL;DR. There's no argument I wouldn't listen to - run arguments you're comfortable with. That being said, I do have more experience with critical arguments. Lately, I've found myself really enjoying framework debates with clash on education/skills impacts. If you have any questions, please ask me. Argumentation and debate is a fluid activity with ever-changing circumstances; therefore I believe paradigms should be fluid as well. My paradigm will always change depending on debate norms.

I will NEVER vote for a "racism/homophobia/misogyny/etc... good" impact turn. I will instantly downvote you and give zero speaks.

==================================================================

Preferences

Burden of Rejoinder vs. Burden of Persuasion: I feel that both are necessary. Personally, I think our activity has placed so much emphasis on the burden of rejoinder that we have lost almost all emphasis on the burden of persuasion. Teams will string together dozens of internal links to create an astronomically improbable scenario and treat it as truth. Truth be told, the probability of the average “big stick” advantage/disad is less than 1% and that’s just real talk. Fast teams read a disad that was never very probable to begin with and because the 2AC is not fast enough to poke holes in every layer of the disad the judge treats those internal links as conceded (and thus 100% probable). Somehow, through no work of their own the neg’s disad went from being a steaming pile of non-sense to a more or less perfectly reasonable description of reality. The takeaway is… that when i judge, I try (imperfectly to be sure) to balance my expectations that students meet both the burden of rejoinder and the burden of persuasion. Does this require judge intervention? Perhaps, to some degree, but isn't that what it means to “allow ones self to be persuaded?” To be clear, I do not think it is my job to be the sole arbiter of whether a claim was true or false, probable or unlikely, significant or insignificant. I do think about these things constantly though and i think it is both impossible and undesirable for me to ignore those thoughts in the moment of decision. It would behoove anyone I judge to take this into account and actively argue in favor of a particular balance between the burdens or rejoinder and persuasion in a particular round.

Case: Obviously, case is important. I've felt that in recent years case has often been shoved aside and forgotten.

T/FW: Probably the most important flow for me. I really value education/skills impacts.

CP's: I find that cp's are best when they're original and have solid solvency literature.

DA's: Similar to the cp's, I think DA's are best when they're original and have solid link/impact chains. Our interpretation of a solid internal link chain may differ, however. See "Burden of Rejoinder vs Burden of Persuasion" for an explanation.

K's: The takeaway is … I would say I am more friendly to critical arguments than some judges, but that also means I require a higher level of explanation and depth for those arguments. For instance, it is not sufficient to argue that the aff’s reps/epistemology/ontology/whatever is bad and these questions come first. You have to tell me in what way the aff’s methodology is flawed and how exactly would this result in flawed thinking/policy/ect. Unlike disads, individual links to kritiks have to have impacts to be meaningful. In general, I think people read too many cards when running kritiks at the expense of doing a lot textual and comparative work.

K Aff's: Similarly, on what I said about neg k’s, I need you to explain your methods and their material consequences.

*** I've really only written the most essential stuff. Im still working on this***

Bellarmine '17

University of Southern California '21 (not debating)

bryant.bcp@gmail.com

Background:

I debated 4 years of policy at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose, CA. I started out as a 2A during my freshman year, but spent my remaining 3 years as a 2N. I read and researched arguments from all over the map – from one-off security to flex policy counterplan/disad strats to identity args like settlerism. I haven’t had any experience on this topic, so will probably need some explanation of acronyms, T interps, etc.

Quick Notes:

tech >>>>> truth - run 6 off, go one-off K, read a performance aff, anything goes - just win the line by line.

I have no ideological preference when it comes to nontraditional affs versus framework; I'll vote for whoever wins the tech.

I love smart analytics – a series of good ones can take out a poorly constructed advantage.

CX is important and I will bump up speaks if you incorporate it well into a speech!

Author quals, evidence date, and evidence quality matter – please use them to do comparative analysis

Tech > Truth:

I will listen and try to fairly evaluate whatever argument you read in front of me. You do you – I don’t care whether you read a nontraditional aff, read 7 off, or go one-off spark – as long as you win the flow, you win my ballot. While I have my dislikes, everything about even my philosophy and my argumentative preferences is up for debate – just win the tech.

Topicality:

Limits is the most persuasive standard to me. I am persuaded by the arg that an unlimited topic decreases effective rigorous testing and nuanced engagement of the aff.

T is about a model of the topic, not just your aff.

I default to competing interpretations – to quote Ani, if affs want to go for reasonability, “The articulation of reasonability that will persuade me is that the substance crowdout generated by T debates outweighs the difference between the two interps”.

Disads:

Fine with generic/topic disads, but I love super case-specific and well researched disads.

The more specific the link, the better.

I love well-articulated and smart turns case args – talk about why your disad’s impact turns not just the aff’s impacts, but their internal links. If you have cards for turns case, read them.

There is such a thing as 0% risk. Most cards tagged "extinction" don't actually say that, which is an argument that both teams should leverage.

Counterplans:

I'm fine with most counterplans - as long as you have a solvency advocate reasonably grounded in the lit, I'll be happy. If you don't, just win the tech.

My favorite counterplans to judge are well-researched and specific PICs, my least favorite are bad and technical process counterplans.

I think that counterplans that just have a counterplan text can be super strategic, if deployed properly.

Kritiks:

The difference between a well articulated K and a terrible one is the link work – don’t just read your preconstructed link block, use points from CX and quotations from their ev.

Link turns case is a fantastic argument.

I love overviews with good framing issues/turns case args/tricks in them – but ideally your speech isn’t just 8 minutes of overview.

I’m most familiar with, in descending order: security, neolib, cap/Marx vs. K affs, settlerism, identity args, Bifo, other high theory.

Kicking the alt can be great when done right – but know when it’s a horrible idea to do so.

Framework:

Contextualize your framework claims to the round – don’t just read scripted overviews and blocks.

Procedural fairness and any internal links into it are the most convincing standards to me.

Quoting Ani again: “Impact comparison is very important - if the aff’s model makes it substantially harder for the neg to engage but the neg’s speech act was problematic, which way do I vote? Make sure to warrant internal links - I’ve seen lots of neg teams just assume that all K affs make engagement impossible to their detriment.”

I will reward negative teams that have a better strategy than 2-off Framework and Cap K against K affs – other kritiks like Anthro, Chow, and identity args can be super strategic when deployed properly.

Theory:

Most comfortable with 2 condo – feel free to read higher than that, but I’ll start leaning more and more aff on theory

2017-2019 LAMDL/ Bravo

2019- Present CSU Fullerton

Please add me to the email chain, normadelgado1441@gmail.com

General thoughts

-Disclose as soon as possible :)

- Don't be rude. Don't make the round deliberately confusing or inaccessible. Take time to articulate and explain your best arguments. If I can't make sense of the debate because of messy/ incomplete arguments, that's on you.

-Speed is fine but be loud AND clear. If I can’t understand you, I won’t flow your arguments. Don’t let speed trade-off with the quality of your argumentation. Above all, be persuasive.

-Sending evidence isn't prep, but don't take too long or I’ll resume the timer. (I’ll let you know before I do so).

Things to keep in mind

-Avoid using acronyms or topic-specific terminology without elaborating first.

-The quality of your arguments is more important than quantity of arguments. If your strategy relies on shallow, dropped arguments, I’ll be mildly annoyed.

-Extend your arguments, not authors. I will flow authors sometimes, but if you are referencing a specific card by name, I probably don’t remember what they said. Unless this specific author is being referenced a lot, you’re better off briefly reminding me than relying on me to guess what card you’re talking about.

-I don’t vote for dropped arguments because they’re dropped. I vote on dropped arguments when you make the effort to explain why the concession matters.

- I don’t really care what you read as long as you have good reasoning for reading it. (ie, you’re not spewing nonsense, your logic makes sense, and you’re not crossing ethical boundaries).

Specific stuff

[AFFs] Win the likelihood of solvency + framing. You don't have to convince me you solve the entirety of your impact, but explain why the aff matters, how the aff is necessary to resolve an issue, and what impacts I should prioritize.

[Ks/K-affs] I like listening to kritiks. Not because I’ll instantly understand what you’re talking about, but I do like hearing things that are out of the box.

k on the neg: I love seeing teams go 1-off kritiks and go heavy on the substance for the link and framing arguments. I love seeing offense on case. Please impact your links and generate offense throughout the debate.

k on the aff: I like strategic k affs that make creative solvency arguments. Give me reasons to prefer your framing to evaluate your aff's impacts and solvency mechanism. The 2ar needs to be precise on why voting aff is good and overcomes any of the neg's offense.

[FW] Choose the right framework for the right aff. I am more persuaded by education & skills-based impacts. Justify the model of debate your interpretation advocates for and resolve major points of contestation. I really appreciate when teams introduce and go for the TVA. Talk about the external impacts of the model of debate you propose (impacts that happen outside of round).

[T/Theory] I have a higher threshold for voting on minor T/Theory violations when impacts are not contextualized. I could be persuaded to vote on a rebuttal FULLY committed to T/theory.

I am more persuaded by education and skills-based impacts as opposed to claims to procedural fairness. It’s not that I will never vote for procedural fairness, but I want you to contextualize what procedural fairness in debate would look like and why that’s a preferable world.

[CPs] CPs are cool as long as you have good mutual exclusivity evidence; otherwise, I am likely to be persuaded by a perm + net benefit arg. PICS are also cool if you have good answers to theory.

[DAs] I really like DAs. Opt for specific links. Do evidence comparison for me. Weigh your impacts and challenge the internal link story. Give your framing a net benefit.

I am more persuaded by impacts with good internal link evidence vs a long stretch big stick impact. Numbers are particularly persuasive here. Make me skeptical of your opponent’s impacts.

About Me:

Bravo '20, CSULB '24, LAMDL 4eva

2024 ADA Champ, CEDA Semis, NDT Quarters, #3 Copeland Panelist

Currently coaching Huntington Park High School

Email: diegojflores02@gmail.com

People I talk about debate with or have influenced me heavily: Deven Cooper, Jaysyn Green, Geordano Liriano, Curtis Ortega, Andres Marquez, Isai Ortega, Toya Green, Azja Butler, Cameron Ward, Jonathan Meza, Jared Burke, Elvis Pineda, Irshad Reza Husain, Tatianna Mckenzie, Khamani Griffin

TOC Update

nothing new, if anybody's interested in debating at csulb lemme know

How I Judge

• Judge instruction above all else. Tell me why your argument comes first (framing, recency, more contextualized, etc.) or why winning x part of the flow wins you the rest, and do the opposite to your opponent's framing. A long 2AR/2NR overview that identifies the 2-3 biggest issues to resolve is much more instructive to me than blasting off a pre-written block. I fully believe that the focus of the debate is completely up to the debaters to determine and will decide it only on what the flow says, not what I think it should say.
• When resolving arguments for either side, I tend to view it kind of like debate math. If one side has a full extension of their argument (claim, warrant, ev) and the other side is incomplete (claim, warrant, no ev), then I default to the side that has a more complete explanation of their argument. In scenarios where debating is equal, I listen to judge instruction and read evidence when necessary, but this a rarity. I hate having to insert my own beliefs about debate in order to decide which argument is better, which is why direct argument comparison and judge instruction are the most important things to do when I'm judging you.
• I flow straight down and heavily decide debates based on technical execution, so responding to the arguments in the order that they come in is preferable to me. However, I am completely fine with you going in your own order as long as you clearly state what argument you're responding to and still directly engage your opponent's arguments.
• I don't have the docs open during the debate and only refer to them during cx to read ev or if the debate is really close. I'm comfortable flowing any speed, but will not hesitate to say in the RFD that I could not catch an argument because the analytics were unflowable or the argument did not make sense. Please do not spread your analytics as if they're cards.
• Capable of writing a clear RFD for any style of debate, but my advice for improvement is better if critical literature is introduced. I only read K-oriented arguments in college, but was a flex/policy-leaning debater in high school.
• Following the above ensures that good, technical debating always overrides my personal beliefs (hate capitalism and psychoanalysis but vote on them all the time its concerning)
• No judge kick make your own decisions, inserting rehighlights is fine with me on the condition that you explain what the rehighlight says using quotes from the ev.
• Speaker points start at a 28.5 and move up and down according to execution: Rebuttals > Organization > Strategic pivots/ concessions > Sounding like you want to be here > Winning Cross-ex moments is probably my list of priorities when thinking about it
• boo being a bad person to your opponents booooo. i'm all for debaters standing on business, petty throwdowns, etc., but i am not for full-on disrespecting your opponents simply for the sake of it. every debate is a performance and you should be aware of how you come off.
• Format stuff -- title ur email chains [Tournament Name - Round x - Team A -Aff- v. Team B -Neg-), pls put ev in a doc before sending it out, etc.

Argument Preferences

I appreciate debaters who stick to their convictions and are confident in their ability to win what they're best at regardless if the judge is predetermined to agree with their set of arguments or not. The following is a list my personal beliefs about debate that only matter if there is a complete absence of judge instruction/technical debating by both sides. Anything that is not addressed just means I'm neutral for both sides about the argument and is overwhelmingly determined by the flow.

K Affs - Affs should be clear about the method/epistemological shift from the status quo they defend and why it challenges the impacts/theory of power outlined in the 1AC. I'm better for method-based K Affs than solely epistemological ones because I think the latter is susceptible to presumption arguments since I'm usually unsure about the scale that is required for the epistemological shift to solve the 1AC's impacts and why the aff is uniquely key. Method-based affs should be prepared to debate impact turns.

K Aff v. Framework - I strongly prefer a counter-interpretation than just a impact turn strategy. What it means to be resolutional must be defined in the 2AC through definitions or a different vision for engagement. I also strongly prefer that the counter-interpretation is in reference to models of debate established by scholars in the activity (DSRB’s Three Tier, Elijah Smith’s KFM, Amber Kelsie’s Blackened Debate, etc.). I think there is enough history of debate established for us to have substantive debates over the pros/cons of traditional/non-traditional models of debate.

Framework v. K Affs - Clash/Skills with Fairness as an internal link instead of as an impact on its own. SSD over TVA unless you have a solvency advocate. A combination of limits arguments and no clash turning the case is needed in order to win these debates in front of me. The only "engage the aff's case" I require is defense agains the aff's theory of power and their "ballot key" arguments since those two are usually cross-applied to become offense against framework.

K v. K - The biggest thing to clarify is how competing visions/demands about society structure your offense against each side of the debate. Each form of offense should have a material example of how your theoretical distinctions manifest into real impacts.

PIKs - Affs should always explain that the component that the negative has PIK'd out of is necessary for aff solvency, and that the PIK is a worse version because of it. Offense by the aff is often underdeveloped and I wish neg teams would be less afraid to go for PIKs since its usually cleaner than other flows.

Policy Affs - 2ACs overviews need to explain what the plan does and why it solves the impacts of the 1AC as opposed to just impact calculus at the top. Negative teams should be more willing to go for analytics that call out wonky internal link chains and solvency claims.

Extinction Affs v. K - Affs should defend the representations of their plan beyond "if we win case then reps true + extinction outweighs" by thoroughly explaining why the impact scenario is true as opposed to the 2AR saying "no case defense, flow our stuff through for us". I truly don't understand the new trend for every debater to rattle off "debate doesnt shape subjectivity + fairness is nice" and think that its sufficient to beat the K without addressing the link or the alt. I'd much rather hear a 2AR that substantively defends the case and impact turns the links. I absolutely hate when heg teams say "china evil cus uyghurs" or "russia evil" and refuse to acknowledge their hypocrisy in defending the United States (enslavement, genocide, current support of Israel, just history and today in general.). If you want to win heg good in front of me, I need a substantive impact turn to the link and an offensive push for why the alternative on the K is worse than the status quo, not just "fwk - weigh the aff".

Soft-Left Affs v. K - These are my favorite debates to judge. Affs should spend more time explaining why the case is a good form of harm reduction as opposed to trying to beat the ontology of the K with "progress possible + pessimism bad" arguments. I usually think that these arguments do nothing for the aff since none of the cards are about the case, and they'd be better off explaining why the aff is better than the status quo even if the neg's ontology is correct, and that a perm would resolve the links enough.

K v. Policy - K teams should have a "link turns case argument" even if the 2NR is a huge framework push, but I prefer the strategy to extend an alt that solves the case and resolves the link debate. Case defense is appreciated. I'm not the best for K 2NR's that invest most of their time into the ontology debate because I think its better for neg teams to go for specific links that turn the case or have an argument that the impacts of the K should come first before the aff, and winning a link means the alt comes first before the aff. At most, I think the ontology of a Kritik should be used to frame which impacts matter most, and it usually does not make-or-break debates for me. I don't require "specific" link evidence versus the aff, but I appreciate link contextualization in the block and I think K's are best when the 2NC/2NR pulls specific lines from the Affs speeches and explain how their method's underlying assumptions turn itself.

Counterplans - Neutral for each side about theory/competition arguments. Counterplans that only rely on internal net benefits are less likely to win in front of me since I think a combination of aff theory + a permutation can beat it.

Disadvantages - PLEASE INTRODUCE IMPACT CALCULUS IN THE 2AC/2NC, I hate when the first time I'm hearing it is in the rebuttal speeches from both sides. Direct evidence comparison above all else, i appreciate an overview of the impact scenario at the top of each speech. I'm a lot more concerned by whose impact scenario has more overall risk of occurring than a "turns the case/DA" argument.

LAMDL/UDL Stuff

• ONLY TO LAMDL/OTHER UDL KIDS - Email me with questions, speech redoes, questions about debate, and I will try my best to get back to you with advice/feedback. Not having coaches and learning debate by yourself is hard and I can’t guarantee responses all the time but I try to respond to mostly everybody that reaches out to me.
• WIKI RANT - have a wiki up by your 2nd tournament or I’m capping speaks at 29. Cites of the arguments/evidence you have read are the only thing needed, not open source. Not disclosing on the wiki diminishes the quality of debates LAMDL produces and exacerbates the gaps we have in resources as UDL schools, and it does nothing to help up and coming varsity debaters who don’t know how to start prep against teams that refuse to disclose. Debate is competitive and we’re all here to win, but it sucks when part of the reason nobody’s prepped to be negative is because nobody knows what anybody is reading.

other thoughts

• Highlight Color Rankings - Yellow > Blue > custom light pastel color > any other color is ew
• Water > Coffee > any energy drink like Red Bull or Monster is disgusting
• Tagline quality. They’re either unflowable (too long/wordy) or way too flowable (no warrant/2 word). The way people feel about highlighting trends is how I feel about tags. I hope for the perfect middle ground.
• If you run critical arguments about an identity you don’t belong to, I need you to explain what my/your role as a judge/competitor is to that literature, even if the other side never brings it up. I think it’s valuable to understand how we position ourselves in relation to literature that isn’t about us and see how it affects our decisions to use it as an argument, as well as develop ethical relationships to it.
• I think variations of the Cap K (escalante, racial cap, abolition democracy, etc.) are great and the majority of Affs mishandle them. Defending it as a methods debate as opposed to a "cap root cause + extinction ow + state engagement good" strategy is better in front of me and the affs common responses of "racist party + accountability DA + aff theory is root cause of cap" can be easily beat assuming the negative has actually read the literature behind the cap k. Despite the fearmongering by framework teams, the Cap K is a great generic and more teams should be willing to go for it.

Hello! I'm Jonathan (he/they) and I did four years of PF in high school and currently debate policy for USC. I have my preferences listed below -- but they're just preferences. I'd rather see you debate what you know well than debate something you don't know. Debate how you debate and I'll be happy to accommodate.

- Put me on the email chain: jhayden1127@gmail.com

- Be respectful. Don't run arguments that are racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, etc. Be accommodating to your opponents.

Policy

- Counterplans. I prefer counterplans with solvency advocates, but are not necessary. Specific enough solvency advocates make most counterplans legitimate, but how specific is specific enough is up for debate. I generally think conditionality is good and am pretty unlikely to vote off it as a hail-mary. I'm far more likely to vote aff on condo in the event of in-round abuse (mutually exclusive advocacies, cross applying arguments from different flows abusively, etc). Won't kick the counterplan for the negative unless told to, and will listen to arguments in the 2ar for no judge-kick.

- Theory. I default to drop the argument (except conditionality). Not the biggest fan of theory debates -- I think that a lot of times they tend to be messy. Make sure to do the comparative impact calc and why the model of debate that your interpretation promotes is better. Default competing interps.

- DA. I enjoy good DA debates. Make sure the links are specific to the aff. Not the biggest fan of ptx, but some weekends are better for politics than others. I'm particularly persuaded by DA turns case arguments or case turns the DA, and they should probably be somewhere in your 2ar/2nr overview.

- T. If you're going for T, make sure to explain why your interpretation results in a better world than your opponents' interpretation.

- Ks. Familiar with most kritiks, but most familiar with biopolitics, cap, security. Make sure to have good explanations of your theory, and the more specific to the aff, the better.

- Critical Affs. There should be a well-thought-out counterinterpretation to framework and should be a significant change from the status quo as well as a clear articulation of what voting affirmative does. If the 1ac does something untraditional, it should be brought up in later speeches. I generally think that affs should be in the direction of the topic.

- Case. Smart case debating is great. Affirmatives should remember to utilize their case in later speeches and negative teams shouldn't be afraid of using the 1ac's cards against them.

Public Forum

- How I evaluate rounds. I'll do my best to be as tabula rasa as possible. I also will do my best to vote in the least interventionary way possible. To do that, I'll either look to who accesses the most important impact in the round as argued through weighing (impact weighing), or who best accesses the impact if both teams are linking in to the same impact (link weighing).

- CX. It's binding, but has to be brought up in a speech for me to evaluate it. I really appreciate smart and strategic crossfires - especially if they can pidgeon-hole your opponents into a specific position or tricking them into conceding something.

- 2nd Rebuttal. 2nd rebuttal has to respond to all offense in the round, including opponents' case and turns. I don't require that teams answer all defense in 2nd rebuttal, but do believe it's strategic and makes the round clearer.

- Weighing. Good weighing is the biggest thing you can do to win my ballot. The earlier weighing starts the better. Make sure that weighing is comparative (comparing your opponents' argument to yours instead of just stating that yours is very important). Go beyond just buzzwords - your weighing analysis itself is more important than whatever buzzword you use to tag it. I believe that probability weighing exists. Even if you win 100% of your link, that means I buy that you solve 100% of your impact scenario, not that your impact is 100% guaranteed to happen (e.g. many impact cards talk about a chance of something happening, rather than asserting that they 100% will). Weighing turns in rebuttal is great and will get you higher speaker points. Link weigh and impact weigh.

- Evidence. If you tell me to read a piece of evidence I'll read it. Lying about evidence will severely hurt your speaker points and if the violation is egregious I'll drop the team. I might call for a card if it's crucial to my decision. I appreciate reading cut cards, but I won't punish you for paraphrasing as I get that that's the norm.

- Presumption. If neither team has offense at the end of the round, I'll default to the first speaking team as I believe that the second speaking team has a strong advantage that isn't as present in other debate formats. But if one team makes a default neg argument, I'll listen to it.

- Speed. I'm fine with speed. Just remember that clarity is always going to be more important. Also consider that with online debate it's even more important to be clear and that might mean going slower. If you're going to speak fast, make sure you're not excluding your opponents and send a speech doc.

- Theory/Ks. I'll vote on either if debated well, but I think it's incredibly hard to do so in PF and generally makes the round messier than it needs to be. My threshold for explaining these arguments is probably substantially higher than most judges. Don't run these arguments against an obviously inexperienced team for a cheap win.

- Speaker Points/Things I Like. I'll give speaks mostly based on strategy. Good warranting, weighing, good evidence ethics, interesting strategies (going all in on a turn), smart cx, signposting, good and unique cases are all examples of things that will boost your speaker points.

- Post-round. Please ask me questions after round. I don't want you to walk away from a round not understanding why you won/lost or how you could do better. I won't (and can't) change my decision, but I want to make sure I fully explain my decision if you don't understand. Debate is an educational activity and I believe that engaging with the judge and the decision is a part of that.

Lincoln Douglas

- If debating traditional LD, all of the PF stuff above about weighing/evidence/how I evaluate rounds applies. Collapsing down to the most important issues in the round in the 2ar/nr, listing voters, and connecting them to the value/value criterion all make it more likely to win my ballot.

- If debating circuit LD, the closer to policy the better. Not very good for evaluating tricks, skep, nebel t, or other LD-specific phenomenon. However, if this is your go-to strategy I will do my best to fairly evaluate them the best I can.

2016-2018 Los Angeles Metropolitan Debate League

2018- present CSU Fullerton

email chain- javierh319@gmail.com

Frame the ballot by the 2AR/2NR and don't leave me shooting darts please.

Overviews really help me/you out unless they're longer than the debate proper-be concise.

Prep- Prep ends when doc is sent out or the equivalent of that. Let me know if there are any technical difficulties.

Spreading- speed is fine-go at it if thats ur thing. this shouldn't be exchanged for clarity/emphasis, and ultimately, persuasion. My face tends to be pretty expressive so use that to ur advantage.

Cross Ex- Humor is much appreciated so long as it doesn't offend ur opponent. Attack the argument not the debater.

I generally err on the side of tech over truth. However, too many buzzwords are kinda annoying and don't mean anything if you dont impact/flesh them out. I won't evaluate concessions for you unless you do it first.

Policy Affs- Spent most of hs reading these- read them at will. Internal link work and framing is crucial.

Performance/K Affs- Have a clear explanation of what the advocacy does and why it should precede a traditional endorsement of the resolution (vs framework). Presumption arguments are some of my favorite arguments. Being untopical for the sake of being untopical is sooooo not the move. Even if i think that ur aff is the most interesting/entertaining thing in the world, I can resolve that with speaker points. Offense. Offense. Offense.

Framework- Go for it. Slow down just a tad. Procedural fairness and education are impacts, I'm usually more persuaded by education but fairness is fine too.While I'm usually more persuaded by fairness as an internal link to something else, enough impact comparison can resolve that if ur not down with the former.

Theory/Procedurals- Go for it. I'm not one to love hearing theory debates but will vote on it if you do the work. These can get really petty. Usually not in a good way. Condo is probably good PICs probably aren't. Don't let that dissuade you from saying otherwise because I also love hearing pics and multiple advocacies. I'm a 2N if that is relevant for you.

DAs- Make sure to flesh out the internal links. Winning uniqueness wins direction of link debate. I prefer hearing isolated impact scenario(s) rather than a generic nuclear war/extinction claim although u can totally claim that as ur terminal one. The more specific the link the less spinning the aff can do, the less intervention I have to do, the higher ur chances of winning are. I find it hard to believe that there can ever be 100% risk probability but if the CP solves 100% of the aff you're in a much better spot.

CPs-Resolve questions like how does this solve the case and is this theoretically legitimate if it becomes about that. If you wanna be noncompetitive, you do you but be ready to justify that.

Ks- Tbh I would much rather judge a robust debate about the intricacies/consequences of a traditionally political action vs a less-than fleshed out k debate. Links to the status quo and not the aff are awkward. Generally speaking, im probably down for ur thing. Regardless of me being familiar with ur authors or not-do the work. Framing is super important. Does the alt solve the aff? let me know. You don't need to go for the alt to win

Random/Misc

-a claim with no warrant is a pen with no ink

-know where u are losing but make it fashion

-dont be a jerk

Background info

Blue Valley Southwest ‘18 - Debated for four years

USC ‘22 - Debated freshman year, only doing research now

Put me on the email chain: dankhan1099@gmail.com

*LD addendum at the bottom

General thoughts

PLEASE be clear. I should be able to hear every syllable of every word. Your speaks will suffer if you’re not

I'll try to be expressive

Tech>truth - That means an argument is an argument. I'll vote for whatever if I think you've debated better than the other team.

I’m more willing to vote on presumption than most judges

Framework/ K affs

Used to be very against K affs, but I’m becoming more neutral

If you are going for framework I think:

- The limits and ground/ fairness approach is the most persuasive to me.

- Switch side debating is good

If you’re reading a K aff

- Have a coherent explanation of ballot solvency

- Don't only give reasons why your aff outweighs T. You should impact turn framework

- A counter-interp that you meet can help mitigate some of the neg's offense

K on the neg

I don’t care for long overviews.

An alt isn’t necessary if you have strong links to the aff and a reason why they will cause a unique impact.

Topicality vs. Affs with a plan

I enjoy T debates. It's never a reverse voting issue. Limits and precision are the best impacts.

Don’t only list a bunch of cases you exclude/allow because I probably won’t know what you’re talking about. Explain why those cases are bad, why they spike out of key ground, etc.

Affs must counter-define words if you don't meet the neg's interp.

I default to competing interpretations, but can be persuaded by reasonability if you explain why the inclusion of your interpretation still provides an adequate limit on the topic, preserves core neg ground, and impact out why competing interpretations is bad.

Counterplans

Counterplans that do something distinct from the aff and use the USfg are nearly always competitive. Anything else is up for debate.

If the counterplan is said to be conditional I will reserve the possibility for judge kick unless told otherwise.

A counterplan with a solvency advocate is preferable, but at times it isn’t necessary (shitty aff internal links, new affs, etc)

Disads

Thorough explanation of turns case is helpful, ideally carded

Have unique links to the aff

Case

I'll boost speaks if the neg actually reads case specific cards.

Framing contentions can be utilized properly if:

1. You go for probability/ structural violence outweighs, ACTUALLY engage the disads, and make logical reasons why the disad internal link chains are flawed.

2. You could also not engage the substance of the disads and fully commit to kritiks of the disads. Haven't seen this strategy done yet, but it could be persuasive if executed well.

LD

These debates are so short and a ton of questions are left unresolved or arguments are underdeveloped. It would be beneficial to condense down as much as you can in the last speeches, especially if you are aff.

Although I feel the opposite way in policy debate, I'm starting to think condo is actually kinda bad for LD, obviously a debate to be had though.

I'm a senior at USC, debated for SPASH for 3 years in high school.

Add me to the chain: sarahc.kim03@gmail.com

TLDR: You can read anything you want in front of me. I've had policy experience and k experience.

General Things

- Quality > Quantity

- Tech over truth, but I want to see some level of truth or substance in your argument.

- Spreading is fine, but be clear

- Don't clip cards, if there is evidence of clipping I will end the round and give a win to the other team

- Flashing/emailing isn't prep but please don't take forever

- If you're reading theory slow down a bit, and tell me if you want it on a new sheet

- Dropped arguments are true arguments, but they still have to be impacted out

- I'll weigh a performance the same as evidence, I will flow it too

- Debate is whatever you tell me it is (If the negative reads framework and claims debate is a game..and the aff has no response..then it's a game)

-Don't be racist. Don't be sexist.

Hello!

I have judged 0 rounds this debate season and have not done any topic research. I have also been out of speech and debate for 3 years. Debate is a game. Stocks are crucial. Slow down and be clear when reading analytics; I flow on paper and haven’t debated in a while. The practice of speed reading has gone too far. I believe clarity is key to being an effective orator, and this will reflect on your speaker points. The aff should have solvency explanations. The affirmative should have the United States federal government in the plan text and should be in the direction or an example of the topic. Reading pessimistic or nihilistic descriptions about improving the status quo OR rejecting the resolution are reasons to vote negative. Fairness is an impact. Quality Evidence > Wall of Cards. If you are going to run a critique in front of me, do not expect me to know the jargon; please contextualize how it relates to the affirmative. The more relevant you are to the affirmative or topic, the better. I’d prefer not to judge anything related to post-modernism.

Please put me on the email chain: qibinlei@gmail.com – feel free to email me if you have any questions about debate.

Background – I (he/him) was a policy debater at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Debate League (UDL) for 4 years

Glenbrooks

I've been out of the debate community for a bit now and I haven't judged LD in over a year (hence no familiarity with the current topic). Please slow down.

I tend to agree with Jonathan Meza and Jared Burke on their perception of debate. Most of my current understanding of debate has come from dialogue with them. However I don't have as extensive of an understanding of the different arguments that have grown within this topic and debate in general.

Please try to record your speeches, I am on the East Coast so if my internet/yours becomes sketch, we can rely on that as backup.

I have a few thoughts about LD

1) Don't run tricks in front of me. I will not get them, nor will vote on them.

2) I do not understand most phil arguments (I have atmost the most basic understanding of util and ontology, if you choose to run this in front of me, please explain your theory of power)

3) Conditionality is probably an issue due to the time constraints (can be persuaded either way)

4) Nebel T probably isn't a real argument (can possibly be persuaded)

5) I won't vote on Reverse Voting Issues (RVIs)

6) I don't have the background knowledge or lit reading necessary to understand most post-modern arguments

Add me to the chain: speechdrop[at]gmail.com

tldr: My name is Jonathan Meza and I believe that at the end of the day the debate space is yours and you should debate however you want this paradigm is just for you to get an insight on how I view debate. One thing is I won't allow any defense of offensive -isms, if you have to ask yourself "is this okay to run in front of them ?" the answer is probably no. I reserve the right to end the debate where I see fit, also don't call me judge I feel weird about it, feel free to call me Meza or Jonathan.

debate style tier list:

S Tier - Policy v k, Policy v Policy, Debates about Debate
A tier - K aff v Policy, K aff v Framework, Performance debate (either side)
B tier - K v K, Theory,
C tier - Phil
D tier - Trix
F tier - Meme/troll

about me: Assistant debate coach for Harvard Westlake (2022-). Debated policy since 2018 that is my main background even tho I almost only judge/coach LD now. Always reppin LAMDL. I don't like calling myself a "K debater" but I stopped reading plan affs since 2019 I still coach them tho and low key (policy v k > K v K). went 7 off with Qi bin my senior year of high school but not gonna lie 1-5 quality off case positions better than 7+ random shells.

inspirations: DSRB, LaToya,Travis, CSUF debate, Jared, Vontrez, Curtis, Diego, lamdl homies, Scott Philips.

theory: Theory page is the highest layer unless explained otherwise. Aff probably gets 1ar theory. Rvis are "real" arguments I guess. Warrant out reasonability. I am a good judge for theory, I am a bad judge for silly theory. Explain norm setting how it happens, why your norms create a net better model of debate. explain impacts, don't just be like "they didn't do XYZ voter for fairness because not doing XYZ is unfair." Why is it unfair, why does fairness matter I view theory a lot like framework, each theory shell is a model of debate you are defending why is not orientating towards your model a bad thing. Oh and if you go for theory, actually go for it do not just be like "they dropped xyz gg lol" and go on substance extend warrants and the story of abuse.

Topicality: The vibes are the same as above in the theory section. I think T is a good strategy, especially if the aff is blatantly not topical. If the aff seems topical, I will probably err aff on reasonability. Both sides should explain and compare interpretations and standards. Standards should be impacted out, basically explain why it's important that they aren't topical. The Aff needs a counter interpretation, without one I vote neg on T (unless it's kicked).

Larp: I appreciate creative internal link chains but prefer solid ones. Default util, I usually don't buy zero risk. For plan affirmative some of you are not reading a different affs against K teams and I think you should, it puts you in a good place to beat the K. as per disads specific disads are better than generics ones but poltics disads are lowkey broken if you can provide a good analysis of the scenario within the context of the affirmative. Uniqueness controls the link but I also believe that uniqueness can overwhelm the link. straight turning disads are a vibe especially when they read multiple offs.

K affirmatives: I appreciate affirmatives that are in the direction of the topic but feel free to do what you want with your 1ac speech, This does mean that their should be defense and/or offense on why you chose to engage in debate the way that you did. I think that at a minimum affirmatives must do something, "move from the status quo" (unless warranted for otherwise). Affirmatives must be written with purpose if you have music, pictures, poem, etc. in your 1ac use them as offense, what do they get you ? why are they there ? if not you are just opening yourself to a bunch of random piks. If you do have an audio performance I would appreciate captions/subtitles/transcript but it is at your discretion (won't frame my ballot unless warranted for otherwise). In Kvk debates I need clear judge instruction and link explanation perm debate I lean aff.

Framework: I lean framework in K aff v framework debates. These debate become about debate and models defend your models accordingly. I think that the aff in these debates always needs to have a role of the negative, because a lot of you K affs out their solve all of these things and its written really well but you say something most times that is non-controversal and that gets you in trouble which means its tough for you to win a fw debate when there is no role for the negative. In terms of like counter interp vs impact turn style of 2AC vs fw I dont really have a preference but i think you at some point need to have a decent counter interp to solve your impact turns to fw. If you go for the like w/m kind of business i think you can def win this but i think fw teams are prepared for this debate more than the impact turn debate. I think fairness is not an impact but you can go for it as one. Fairness is an internal link to bigger impacts to debate.

Kritiks: I am a big fan of one off K especially in a format such as LD that does not give you much time to explain things already reading other off case positions with the kritik is a disservice to yourself. I like seeing reps kritiks but you need to go hard on framing and explain why reps come first or else the match up becomes borderline unwinnable when policy teams can go for extinction outweighs reps in the late game speeches. Generic links are fine but you need to contextualize in the NR/block. Lowkey in LD it is a waste of time to go for State links, the ontology debate is already making state bad claims and the affirmative is already ahead on a reason why their specific use of the state is good. Link contextualization is not just about explaining how the affirmatives use of the state is bad but how the underlining assumptions of the affirmative uniquely make the world worst this paired up with case take outs make for a real good NR Strategy.

speaker points: some judges have really weird standards of giving them out. if I you are clear enough for me to understand and show that you care you will get high speaks from me. I do reward strategic spins tho. I will do my best to be equitable with my speak distribution. at the end of the day im a speaker point fairy.

quotes from GOATs:
- " you miss 100% of the links you dont make" --- Wayne Gretzky -- Michael Scott - Barlos
- "debate is a game" - Vontrez
- "ew Debate" - Isaak
- "voted for heg good" - Jared

Especially for online debate, slow down a little, particularly from the 2NC on.

Please include Ryanpmorgan1@gmail.com and interlakescouting@googlegroups.com for the email chain. Please use subject lines that make clear what round it is.

I wrote a veritable novel below. I think its mostly useless. I'm largely fine with whatever you want to do.

Top level:

• I am older (36) and this definitely influences how I judge debates.
• Yes, I did policy debate in high school and college. I was mediocre at it.
• Normal nat circuit norms apply to me. Speed is fine, offense/defense calc reigns, some condo is probably good but infinite condo is probably bad, etc.
• I have a harder time keeping up with very dense/confusing debates than a lot of judges. Simplifying things with me is always your best bet.

Areas where I diverge from some nat circuit judges:

• I am more likely to call "nonsense" on your bewildering process CP or Franken K. If the arg doesn't make any sense, you should just tell me that.
• Aff vagueness (and in effect, conditionality) is out of control in modern debate. I will vote on procedural arguments to rectify this trend.
• Bad process CPs are bad and shouldn't be a substitute for cutting cards or developing a real strategy. Obviously, I'll vote on them, but the 2AR that marries perm + theory into a comprehensive model for debate is usually a winner.
• I'm less likely to "rep" out teams or schools. I don't keep track of bid leaders and what not. Related: I forget about most rounds 20 minutes after I turn in my ballot.

Stats:

• Overall Aff win rate: 48.7%
• Elim aff win rate: 42.3%
• I have sat 6 times in 53 elims

Core controversies - I'm pretty open so take these with a grain of salt.

• Unlimited condo | -----X-------- | 2-worlds, maybe
• Affs should be T | ---X----------- | T isn't a voter
• Judge kick | ----X--------- | No judge kick
• "Meme" arguments | --------X- | You better be amazing at "meme" debate
• Research = better speaks | --X--------- | Tech = better speaks
• Speed | -------X---- | Slow down a little
• Inherency is case D | -X--------- | Inherency is a DA thumper

My Knowledge:

• I went for politics DA a lot. Its the only debate thing I'm a genuine expert in, at least in debate terms.
• I do not "get" the topic (inequality) yet. I did not go to camp. Debate like this is Mich finals at your own peril.
• I have some familiarity with the following K lit - cap, Foucault/Agamben, Lacan/psychoanalysis, security, nuclear rhetoric, nihilism, non-violence, and gendered language.
• I'm basically clueless RE: set col / Afropess / Baudrillard / Bataille. I have voted on all of them, though, in the past..

K affs

I prefer topical affs, and I like plan-focused debates. I'm neg-leaning on T-framework in the sense that I think reality leans neg if you actually play out the rationale behind most K affs that are being run in modern debate. But I vote aff about 50% of the time in those debates, so if that's your thing, go for it.

T/cap K/ ballot PIK and the like are boring to me, though. I think that unless the K aff is pure intellectual cowardice, and refuses to take a stand on anything debatable, there are usually better approaches for the neg to take.

I'm a great judge for impact turning K affs - e.g., cap good, state reform good.

Word PIKs are a good way to turn the aff's rejection of T/theory against them.

Or, you could simply, you know, engage the aff's lit base and cut some solvency turns / make a strong presumption argument that engages with the aff's method.

Some other advice:

• "Bad things are bad" is not a very interesting argument. You should have a solvency mechanism.
• Affs should have a "debate key" warrant. That warrant can involve changing the nature of debate, but you should have some reason you are presenting your argument in the context of a debate round.
• I think fairness matters, but its obviously possible to win that other things matter more depending on the circumstances.
• Traditional approaches to T-FW is best with me - very complicated 5th-level args on T are less persuasive to me than a simple and unabashed defense of topicality + switch-side debate = fairness + education. "We can't debate you, and that makes this activity pointless" is usually a win condition for the neg, in my book. St. Marks teams always do a really good job on this in front of me, so idk, emulate them I guess, or steal their blocks.

Topicality against policy affs

I have not read enough into this topic's literature to have a strong opinion on the core controversies.

I think I tend to lean into bigger topics than most modern judges do. That a topic might have dozens of viable affs is not a sign of a bad topic, so long as it incents good scholarship and the neg has ways to win debates if they put in the work.

Speaker points

When deciding speaks, I tend to reward research over technical prowess.

If you are clobbering the other team, slow down and make the debate accessible to them. Running up the score will run down your speaks.

I frequently check my speaker points post-tournament to make sure I'm not an outlier. I am not, as near as I can tell. I probably have a smaller range than average. It takes a LOT to get a 29.3 or above from me, but it also takes a lot for me to go below 28.2 or so.

Ethical violations

I am pretty hands off and usually not paying close enough attention to catch clipping unless it is blatant.

Prep stealing largely comes out of your speaks, unless the other team makes an appeal.

please settle disclosure conflicts prior to the round

grow as a person, be respectful, and have fun!

Debated for four years in high school. 

- I was a 2N in high school and went for Ks (from Buddhism to Virilio) and policy arguments (from whale malthus to bad Jon Voss politics disads), read K affs and policy affs, and loved going for T

- I hate generic process counterplans

- I am a young judge so I can’t be exactly sure what all of my specific preferences are – everything below this bullet point is just an educated guess on how I will judge your debate. (Yes, I am 100% sure I hate generic process CPs).

- I judge debates very technically.  However, don't be surprised if I find a bad theory argument (like generic PICs bad) less convincing.  

- I will vote for almost anything.  Getting offended at the stupidity/edginess of your opponent’s argument is not a counter-argument on its own.  Rather, make actual counter-arguments and then use your emotions to be more persuasive.  That being said, remember that debate isn’t just your playground, it is also coaches’ workspace and career.  Please respect that.  If you want to use a debate round to discuss the intricacies of your masturbation techniques, don’t.  You aren’t funny or cool. 

- On tech vs. truth, I think debate is about persuasion rather than truth-seeking. However, “true” arguments tend to sound more persuasive.  This probably has something to do with the previous bullet point. 

- I will vote on intrinsicness vs. a politics DA.

Speaker Points: Well-researched strategies and persuasive speaking styles (voice inflection, eye contact, etc.) will boost your points. 

Evidence or analytics, it needs a claim and reasons why that claim is true.

Defaults (stuff I’ll assume if no one says anything):

- No judge kick

- Death and suffering are bad

- Dropped arguments stay true throughout the entire debate

- Topicality is a voting issue

- Competing interpretations are good

- Reject the arg not the team unless the arg is your entire practice or strategy (e.g. condo)

Try to make the K seem as relevant as possible and not jargon-filled hippie crap.  If you go for the K a lot, you have probably figured out that this has less to do with what K you run, and more with how you explain it. 

A good K debate is more interesting than a good policy debate, but a bad K debate can be seizure inducing.  If you plan on winning on your K by hiding some idiotic trick in the middle of an incoherent 2NC overview, just… stop.  

One last thing, if you understand how framework actually functions in a round when the neg goes for a K and the aff defends the plan, you will probably win.  I am willing ignore the effects of the plan and make the debate about the 1AC’s language/ontology/etc.  

December 2020:

I debated in high school for Bellarmine (2004-08) and USC (2009-12) and coached at Loyola (2011-13), but it's been a long time since I've been an active member of the debate community. Since 2014 I've been working in health care.

I've started to judge a little bit again in the past year or so, but not a ton. At one point I knew what all the debate words meant and how they related to each other, but it may take me some time now and don't assume that I will be able to easily connect those pieces. In the few debates that I've judged recently, I've found that I just tend to ignore those portions of the debate if I can't clearly connect the dots and figure out the impacts of why they matter.

Realistically you are reading this because you want to know what arguments you can read in front of me. I don't have any preferences in terms of what arguments you read (policy vs. k, performance, cp/da, theory, etc.). I've judged, coached, and have experience with them all. When I debated - ages ago - we used to go mostly for center-left Ks and policy strats on the aff & neg, but I do think that negs on the whole tend to do an awful job strategically answering most big left K affs and let these affs get away with a lot of "cheating," and I tend to vote aff a lot in in K aff v Framework debates.

Now that I've been working in the "real world" for a while, a couple of things from my recent work and judging experiences stand out to me as important in debates:

1. An argument consists of a) a claim (what I'm saying) b) a warrant (why it's true) and c) an impact (what it means). Anything less than that isn't a full argument. If you are introducing an argument, it's your responsibility to provide each of these, particularly if you want it included in the final reasoning for why you should win the debate.

As an example: 2NC answers the perm by saying "perm is severance out of the 1AC that's a voting issue because it makes them unpredictable and skews our ground." This is not a full argument - it's missing a few key pieces: 1) the warrant - what part of the 1AC is it severing? 2) the impact - why does being unpredictable/skewing neg ground matter?

This means that "tech over truth" doesn't make much sense to me. An argument is not "true" and given 100% weight by default just because the other team didn't respond to it. It must be a fully fleshed out argument with a clear impact in order to be considered. I think debate teaches a lot of this backwards - I know it's something I used to believe when I was a younger judge - but I think it's a poor way of teaching argumentation and communication.

2. Debate is a communications activity - how you're saying it matters just as much as what you're saying. It's not enough to just make an argument once in passing and assume the judge will assign proper weight to it, even if the other team does not explicitly respond to it. If something matters a lot to you, be sure to communicate that.

3. I think I am probably more accepting now of logical, common sense arguments/call outs of silly arguments. You do not need to rely on cards to make arguments. Many parts of disads (e.g. internal link chains and big nuclear war impacts) can be defeated by pointing out the holes in their causal logic. Many debate arguments (across the whole spectrum of arguments, policy/k, etc.) are silly.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions.