New DDO members shouldn't be able to start debates right away.

In this last round Pro provides many refutations to my arguments that will need to be addressed. I will refute them using the same concepts I have already argued for in this debate. A) Members better understand DDO I never did respond to this argument because I agree with it. In fact it is quite obvious that if every member goes through this plan there will be a better overall understanding of DDO. However, the question is whether we should allow new members to choose how well they wish to understand DDO, or force them to understand it by not allowing them to participate in any meaningful way until they meet all of the requirements. Pro states that new members using DDO as an “experimental platform” cheats members out of a good debate. How is a member being cheated out of a good debate when it was their opponent who came up with the resolution? You can not cheat somebody out of someone else’s idea. B) Finding Help Mostly the same point as above C) Reduces Forfeits Pro states that I use the “not having enough time” argument to excuse poor conduct in forfeiting. This would be a great call out if it was actually my argument. I do not excuse forfeits. I simply point out that the fact that people forfeit because they have other matters in their personal lives to attend to. This will not be changed by The Falcon Plan, or any other plan unless Pro would like to set up a new plan to have DDO members show up at debater’s houses. Pro points out how a forfeit is a forfeit no matter who starts it and uses my previous debate on this topic as an example. I was disappointed when my opponent forfeited that debate but again, I would have never even conceived of the topic let alone had the opportunity to debate it, if it were not for my opponent instigating the challenge. Pros case on this seems to be that if new members are going to forfeit then they should not be allowed to instigate a debate in the first place. So what about all of the fresh ideas they can bring? Pro states how ironic it is that I “defend” new members forfeiting when this very topic was forfeited in my debate. I find it even more ironic that Pro seems to have conceived of the very topic we are debating right now, from a new member who came up with this resolution then forfeited and apparently left the site. 1. DDO’s Purpose I find it interesting that Pro completely disregarded my argument about this, which is arguably the most important aspect of this debate. I stated throughout that DDO is a website designed to be a “free and easy” platform for people to challenge each other intellectually. Instead Pro responds in the last round by stating that the Falcon Plan provides “a site where people provide intelligent arguments and expect their opponent to conform to the rules of the site”. What happened to free and easy? Pro never addressed one of the main points about this debate, which is the fact that his plan goes against what this web site was intended for. His only hint at a rebuttal to this fact was his assertion that his plan is not complicated, which he has contradicted himself on several times. 2. Better Debaters Pro continues to assert that his plan will lead to better debaters. His only support for this is his “new members will be more educated” argument that I have already refuted. As I stated before; being a good debater is not someone who simply knows the rules. It is someone who is naturally gifted, or who has the desire to work hard to be good. The Falcon Plan has no effect on either of these, therefore it will not make debaters any better. All it will do is eliminate new members who do not have that desire right away. Yet who is to say that these members will not develop that desire after they participate in a few debates and begin to understand what debating is about? 3. Member Access Pros statements here are completely inconsistent with his previous arguments. “As long as members follow the 3 steps, they will have access to the site” Yet in the rules to this plan he states that before they can begin… "None of their pseudovotes must have been counterpseudovoted and none of their forum posts must have been reported for misconduct or trolling” Since counterpseudovotes and misconduct reporting is done by members, it will clearly be the members who decide who will be granted access to DDO. Pro also states: “Any established member abusing their privileges will be reported to the moderators.” How can Pro guarantee this? And even if they are reported, there is no way for us to be assured that the moderators will actively address the necessary issues to prevent new members from being unjustifiably delayed access to DDO. This is a major issue that Pro can not address. 4. Too Complicated Pro completely misses my argument here. His only rebuttal is to say that the plan is not “too complicated”. Yes, people can learn this stuff quickly. But why would most new members want to? Why would anyone want to invest their time earning a privilege to something that they do not even know if they will enjoy? The argument I made here is that this will be a turn off to all new members because they are not being given that choice. This is clearly not beneficial to DDO, yet Pro believes it is. The voters will have to decide that one. Conclusion New members instigating debates and posting weak arguments or forfeiting may be annoying but it does not cheat anyone out of anything. I can understand where Pro is coming from with this plan but it will not have the results he claims. There are 2 things that make a good debater and this plan does not affect either of them. Educating new members is a great idea but it will not make them any better unless it is their choice. The Falcon Plan has a cool name, but the flaws of the current system are far more acceptable then what has been introduced.