Last changed on
Sat December 5, 2020 at 8:32 PM EDT
Hey!! I did PF for four years @ Colleyville on the Texas & national circuits.
**Tech>truth unless something is oppressive. However, the more ludicrous an argument is, the more work you’re going to have to put in to get my ballot.
**Since I’m no longer debating/researching the topics, please explain topic-specific jargon to me (ex: fonops w/UNCLOS, or evergreening patents w/Pharma). If I don’t understand something, it’ll be difficult for me to vote on it!!
**While I’m fine with you going tech on the flow, I’ve never learned how to properly evaluate progressive arguments (theory, k’s, etc.) Don’t run theory or a K just to confuse your opponents/beat inexperienced teams. I wouldn’t recommend reading a progressive argument in front of me, but if it’s imperative to read one, explain it to me like a regular argument & flesh it out in a simplistic way.
**Defense sticks in 1st summary unless frontlined in 2nd rebuttal.
**I prefer line by line summary > big picture summary
**If you want to be safe just treat me like a flay judge. (in the sense that I will evaluate the flow, but I think that establishing/extending a narrative throughout the round is also very important)
Do:
-
Warrant your arguments! I prefer a well warranted & logical argument to an unwarranted one corroborated by a sketchy piece of evidence. (warrants>>>>)
-
Extend arguments and not just author names! Don’t just say “extend the NYT evidence” without actually extending what the NYT evidence says.
-
Weigh Weigh Weigh Weigh Weigh! Please do comparative, round specific weighing - it will make my life so much easier. If you don’t weigh, then you leave me to intervene & one team is going to think they got screwed over.
-
Meta weigh!!!! If one team is trying to outweigh on probability & the other is outweighing on magnitude, explain to me why I should look to probability weighing over magnitude weighing or vice versa.
-
Evidence Comparison! If your opponents have evidence with polar opposite claims, explain why your evidence is better in the context of the round instead of simply reiterating your evidence.
- Collapse! Don’t go for everything in summary and final focus. Even though summaries are 3 minutes now, still collapse on a few arguments. (quality>quantity)
-
Mirror! If you don't extend links, warrants, impacts, and weighing in both summary and final focus, I WILL NOT VOTE OFF OF THE ARGUMENT. (the extensions should not be blippy) New in the 2 is not the move :// but the only time I will evaluate new weighing in FF is if there has been no prior weighing throughout the round
-
Frontline turns/offense in 2nd rebuttal! 2nd summary is too late to start responding to offense that was placed in 1st rebuttal.
Don’t:
-
Be rude! Please be respectful of your opponents & please don’t let crossfires escalate into a shouting match.
-
Miscut evidence! Depending on how severely miscut a card is, I may drop you or dock speaks. I’ll call for evidence after the round if a team tells me to call for it, or if both teams have directly conflicting evidence & neither team did evidence comparison.
-
Just card dump! Obviously it's good to reference lots of cards, but be sure to add in extra analysis & weighing that specifically interacts with the arguments made in the round. Remember: fewer, & more fleshed out arguments are usually easier to vote on than lots of blippy ones.
- Spread! I’m cool with a fast pace as long as you're clear, but I won’t be able to adequately flow/process spreading. With online debates, talking too fast can be a risk. (don’t sacrifice clarity for speed)
-
Shake my hand! Germs suck.
****I definitely appreciate humor in rounds & will be prone to increasing your speaks if you make me laugh. However, if you are sexist, racist, homophobic, etc., I will tank speaks & be wayy more inclined to drop you!
Just be a nice person & have fun. :))