unfair advantage in debating

To clarify, I am saying that there is an imbalance in the debate system as the contender has last word these are the words most fresh in the voter (and any readers) mind at the conclusion of reading the debate. In addition the instigator cannot respond to what was last said. the instigator may have a very good rebuttal or the contender may have made a mistake or inaccuracy and the instigator is powerless to respond to the contenders statement. This puts the instigator at a disadvantage. Now for some numbers and facts, showing the "last word" advantage, I will present some interesting facts figures and observations based on what ddo calls "the top 10 debaters". The "top" debater on ddo (i. e. most experienced ddo debater): In the past 9 debates has been contender every time winning 9 0ut of 9 that means in her past 9 debates she choose contender every time and won every time. To contrast the debater in 2nd place bravely chooses the opposite side as instigator in 9 0f the past 9 debates. The results show, bec. of this (or I should say in spite of it) he has a winning percentile of 58% significantly lower than the 1st debater who has a winning percent of over 90. The difference in style are reflected in the win %. #3 an impressive 94% win rate, 4 out of the past 5 debates was contender. #4 a moderate 80% and likewise has been contender 3 of last 5. #5 (in my opinion the best debater on ddo) has an impressive 94% win rate and 4 of past 5 he was contender. #6 similar to #4. #7 88.4 contender 4 of 5. #8 similar to #2, 53% win rate and majority of past 5 have been instigator. #9 88.9 majority contender. finally #10 like #4 and #6. wow. Even I didn't expect the #'s to match my theory so well but they clearly do. There is a clear correlation between these debating styles and their win %. I know this isn't the most perfect data proof but hey, I'm just starting. I shall attempt to compute more sound statistical proof. I might add the impetus for this craze/ crusade of mine. losing the past 5 debates I instigated which I think I should have won. They further shows the detrimental effects of not being able to respond Here are some personal experiences, the content of the debate is irrelevant to this debate what is relevant is the points I make regarding them. . http://www.debate.org...... I am focusing on the better argument section. note those who voted in my favor where 2 of the senior, well known and well respected debaters on ddo, cliff. stamp and Roy lanthem who is one of the best debaters on this site. both of them voted in my favor and gave detailed reasons for doing so. Despite this I lost the debate bec. some kids couldn't keep the entirety of the debate in their mind and where swayed by "the last word". . http://www.debate.org...... my opponent did not even debate much (instead just harped on definitions) till the final round after which I could not respond. . http://www.debate.org....... see comments after debate where it is clear the damage of not having last word. . http://www.debate.org...... . Note in round 4 my entire last argument was completely dropped. Not a word. I pointed this out in the debate itself in round 5. yet none of the voters realized this glaring drop. The only plausible explanation is they forgot and were swayed by the power of "the last word". enough examples I'll get back to the states then turn it over to my opponent for now: in analysis of the section of debates entitled "recently ended": of the 19 debates that were voted on, in a whopping 15 of them contender was winning. or looking at the score discrepancy instigator totaled 50 while contender totaled 181. I find these #'s quite significant. I would continue with states but I think the following quote from Ore_ele is all I need: "Historically, the Contender wins 65.4% of all debates. Given that this applies to 12,500 debates, that is hard to say that there is no correlation. We also see this trend leaning more and more towards the Contender, with the last 5,000 debates favoring them 68.9%. " The #'s speak for themselves.