Herman,+David

GDS 12 Harvard 16

Whatever arguments you make, I'll do my best to evaluate the round objectively. Also, try to have fun. It's why we debate, and if it's not, it should be.

**Thoughts/Defaults:**

Trying to mathematically calculate risk in debate seems futile, but you can win that something is so improbable that its magnitude is irrelevant.

Slow down on theory/t to give me time to flow. Theory debates are won by the team that forwards the best vision of debate, not by stacking up the number of dropped arguments. Ditto for framework and t.

I am unlikely to vote on assertions that the other team should lose because of something they did outside the current round. Such claims are almost always non-falsifiable and better resolved outside the context of the ballot.

Dropped arguments are true, but need to have a link //and// impact to matter. An argument is new if my understanding changed substantially since it was last articulated.

Good cross-x is the most fun part of debate (and judging). Being shifty in coss-x is not the same as being smart in cross-x.

Paperless: Unless everything is taking an exceptionally long time, I usually don't care. I understand that computers sometimes fail and mistakes happen. If your computer crashes in the middle of your speech/prep, just say so and you can stop the timer while you fix it.

**(Updated: 4/13/15)** In lieu of an over-generalized and incomplete decision rule, here's a short, hopefully instructive list of things I've seen happen in debates that are unacceptable if I'm judging you: use of slurs to demean another debater's race/gender/sexuality/etc; non-consensual outing of another debater's sexuality; threats of physical violence; sexual harrassment. If you have any questions, please email or ask.

**(Updated: 4/13/15)** Clipping --> loss/zero speaker points. If an accusation is made, I'll stop the round and decide based on the available evidence, presuming innocence until proven otherwise. If you accuse someone and are incorrect, you lose and get speaker points reduced proportionally to how reasonable your suspicion was.

Using the phrase “always already” is elegant.