Last changed on
Sat January 6, 2024 at 12:00 AM PDT
Disclaimer: I am a policy debater (the activity not the debate style) with no other experience
ELC 2023, Fullerton ‘27 LAMDL ‘23
bruh if you read more than 4 Off then we have a problem, I don't want to flow three lines on 5 flows just to throw it away, on the same thought, clarity is key. BE CLEAR
arguments based off in round actions are most persuasive to me
A few things to set straight, yes I want to be on the email chain, dapr4db8@GMAIL.COM, i would prefer you send as much as possible since i have problems focusing on words or keeping up, its to your benefit since the more i understand and have on the flow for you the easier you make it for me to vote you.
If you like K lit or K arguments then i'm your guy, like i'm that guy for you, if you want to do policy then sure im cool to judge that too, i will say super technical rounds i don't necessarily know if i’m the best fit and going to high theory stuff i don't know what to tell you. I have trouble with certain literature bases but the ones I'm most comfortable with are Set-Col, CAP, Biopolitics, Security/IR, Derrida, psychoanalysis, and some wilderson. Boggs i know well and yeah i know some more niche lit bases too.
Clarity > speeeeddd, i practice what i preach which means i love it when i can actually understand what you're saying at Mach 3, if you're unsure err on the side of caution. If it becomes problematic i will not hesitate to yell clear during your speech and dock points if it's necessary
Truth > tech but not what you think, i hate the misunderstanding the truth >tech means the technical side of debate can be forgotten, i believe that the tech side holds merit but where the argument is true or not affects whether i believe it to be true or not. If you answer the perm with a simple line like their evidence points towards linking on the K lit then I'll take that and don't need further work done, the main difference is that if your argument is true you will be required to do less work on it for me to buy it. This doesn't necessitate that I'll do the work on whether you link or not for you but it means you don't need to do more.
I'm the type of debater who thinks the offcase sweet spot lies between 2-4 offcase, i've learned to deal with many off but overall i don't agree with the notion of 7+ off just to go for the dropped flow on the neg, if this is your strat i have found myself voting on it but you have to win condo/dispo because im assuming the aff will read it. The aff on this can literally give one argument answers on each flow and i'll buy it in order to clean up the flow.
I don't know why i have to say this but i generally think judge intervention is not cool, if you make an argument in the 1nr and its not in the 2nr i won't intervene and say the argument lives on my flow when it doesn't, don't like it and you can try to get me to do it but generally i feel like you should be doing the work yourself to extend it if it really matters.
I don't know if it's just me or if this is a thing with judges in general but I will default to all dropped arguments being true arguments but only if I am told to evaluate it as important. Like if you drop an argument on the T flow but you're topical i'll consider it true if your opponents call it out, if they dont i dont care, simple.
I should not have to say this because it's so common sense but if i do not get an impact on your argument then i don't care about it, i'm not sorry and i don't care, i hate having to figure out what is more important or what the significance of an argument is. You need to tell me why that argument matters.
I joke about this but actually i believe anything is debatable for the most part, dont quote me on that when you say some messed up stuffand dont get a ballot.
Please coming from a UDL i consider debater a safe and expressive space where you can learn and educate. This means i dont want to make anyone feel unsafe or attacked, any -isms or -phobias will result in below 25 speaks and serious consequences. Also if i am sensing aggression or unnecessary comments i will also call it out mid round. Dont be sorry, Be better.
AFF
V policy
I think these debates are kinda washed, no problem in front of me but not really interested in it, do a good job extending your case and why my vote matters. I think CP that does nothing for the case is a little abusive and I feel like if the CP is outlandish enough then i'll buy the perm.
Started my career with this but dont hate it, if the aff wins their Framing/fw over the neg then it's pretty easy, i think these debates come down to 1. what is more likely to happen 2. what is the biggest impact in the round and 3. What can I do something about? Solf left policy is something I will take seriously and will evaluate as such, if you're reading hard policy then i may take it a bit more jokingly.
V K’s
I think the aff has a pretty hard time not linking to the literature not matter how hard you try even if its generic so don't spend so much time on the link but rather give me link turns and reasons why your aff comes first/matters more than the K. i usually buy perm do the aff and then the alt as a viable perm, the neg can def make a theory arg about intrinsic and how timeframe is not intrinsic to either but overall i think aff then alt is pretty convincing. You need to make sure you win the FW on the aff to win, this makes it not only easier for me to make a decision but also makes it pretty easy to win your claims and overall the debate
V T
I think this is the trolliest thing to do when you read T against a policy team especially if they are prolly topical but make it fun, make it easy and give me reasons to vote your way. I think I buy these args if they are made correctly but as the aff just give me some solid reasons why you meet, if you are obviously topical then just say that and then we meet and move on. I don't need you to spend all day on this argument. If it's more than 1 T flow just ask for a combined interpretation that includes all their T flows so i don't have to have 3 T flows, this will make it easy for you to respond and also means i only worry about 1 T flow.
K AFF
I was an affirma-neg debater in highschool which means i read my k as a kaff and the reverse, i love a good k aff especially if you show me you know the material. Since I read a kaff I'm looking for a few key arguments every k aff should have 1. You need to have a reason why the debate space is key, I feel like this is common sense but if you have no reason why the aff needs to be done in debate specifically then I don't see how an aff ballot resolves anything especially when we get to theory affs 2. I need a reason why the aff needs to be on the aff, this i am not super strict on but if the neg team calls it out you better have a solid answer to it. I'll take things like how it forces the conversation to be about the literature. 3. I need you to defend an advocacy, just because its a k doesn't mean you can just critic the topic and not offer an alternative, too often i see an aff which has no advocacy or action and instead only criticize the topic, if you do this and the neg calls you out then your going to have a terrible time. 4. I need a reason for the ballot, this should be obvious but i need to know why you need my ballot or what it resolves/does. I can be persuaded otherwise on how I just need faith but that requires work like anything else.
K v K
I think these debates are always so interesting and way more fun than any other type of debate, but how do you address this as the aff, just because you read your advocacy first doesn't mean you win, tell me why your aff is uniquely better then the alt. I think if you are reading an identity affirmative or poetry, personal story whatever you should call out the neg if they decide to read about their own identity. I hardly see these debates which is a shame and means i can't give specifics but just defend your aff like you believe it because you should and you'll do more than fine.
TLDR: I love real args, don't drop arguments, too many off is a problem. Clarity performance and being cool. You should explain stuff like duhh.
NEG
Topicality
As i mentioned above this is the funniest thing you can do if the aff is topical because the aff will fall apart if you have any type of block prepared for it. I think i can buy an easy aff out on this if they seem to meet your interp but they have to make that argument i wont do it for them. If you want to win this argument either give me a definition that they dont met and yeah. I believe T is a competition of interpretations, whoever wins that their interpretation is better is the one ill take. Make risk of a link arguements, potential abuse, make sure you answer the reasonability, and please include intent to define those are all winning arguments for me on the T flow.
Kritic
Love love love, i will place a heavy hand on you if you do not do a good job. To win this infornt of me i need you to answer the perm and why the perm is bad, if not i will default to the perm because it makes most sense. Please have an advocacy that you can defend or at least explain to me as to what actions we are taking whether physical, espitological, ontological or whatever else the solvency method is, asically i need to know what you are doing if not then kick the alt and turn yourself into an alternative.if you read this line mention randomly say red leather yellow leather before the round starts and ill know you read this =). I think the kritic needs to win a link you prolly have a few, the aff is most likely gonna link so ill give it to you but please have an impact associated to the link in order for me to actually merit the argument. I need the theory of power to be explained and understood by me by the end of the round. I need you to tell me how the aff specifically triggers your impacts or criticism for me to grant you anything on the flow and more so i think the FW debate is going to be EXTREMELY important if you want to win this because who ever wins the framing of the round wins how i evaluate the arguments especially with a k. That 2nc needs to be popping and i mean it, like i want to be catching 5 links each with warrants, several DAs around the speech, framing at the top, overviews, impact explanisiton and just i need to feel sorry for the 1AR after that incredible 2nc and the 2nr bettergo for what you are winning, DO NOT DROP THINGS IN THE 2NR i cant express how many times this has happened and how much it frustrates me beyond belief. Also, don’t read arguments that contradict your k so be very careful. If you read a CAP k with a trade off DA or sum like that i wont believe you actually know what you are doing. CLARITY is key for this especially when this flow will always be the most confusing and most heavy with knowledge. I have high expectation and as such i need you to do your best to meet them. Also, break your opponentns ankles with cross ex and the 2nc, ooohhh am i gonna love that <3.
CP
I think you need a DA or some type of net benefit for you to win any type of offense but more so i just think this is an okay debate, if you are going to read a cp and a DA why not just read a k which is far more fun. But yeah, if the cp is way out of the scope of the aff i wont believe it, i also think that the cp needs to win an actual benefit. Just make it nice and neat for me and give me reasons why it matters, you can probably refer to the K neg or v. policy on how you can do better. Almost never see these debates except for when i ran a policy aff at invitationals but even then i saw no reason why the cp is better, all these systems are screwed anyways.
DA
Okay unlike the cp flow i think this is pretty cool when you got the aff in some type of bind where either they trigger the da and cause a whole bunch of bad Stuff to happen or the DA is not real but neither are their impacts so why not avoid causing something bad to potentially happen. I think if you are winning this flow you can definitely go for it in the 2nr and make it easy for me to give you the ballot
T FW
so far i have a hard time believing any of the FW args from teams. your prolly better reading a K or some other argument against the team it just doesnt seem to hold that much sway for me. i think the neg has a burden of rejoinder and that means the neg has to create clash against the aff in some capacity. K Affs are not new you are expected to run into one which means your supposed to be ready to read some kind of argument against them. FW kinda seems like lazy debating, especially if it seems like your just reading blocks that were prewritten.
