The DDO debating system is fair

Rebuttals1. One of my biggest arguments was that voters would be the unfair ones for voting based on who they heard last, and not the debate system. So, my opponent could conjure up all the effects of having the last word, but if he does not properly negate this statement, then the resolution is disproved. My opponent conveniently brushed over this point with:"My opponents second point is that it is the voter not the system that is unfair. A system that leads to unfairness is unfair. "Basically, what my opponent did was repeat his resolution as a method of refutation. Therefore, my point and my reasoniing still stands unnegated, that voters would be unfair for being swayed so easily by external factors, and not the system.2. "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. "Again my opponent has neglected to address another one of my major points in the second round. "there is no advantage for speaking last unless an unfair voter, or unskilled instigator makes it an advantage. The system of debating in and of itself is fair. "He mentions that the last word is fresh in the mind of the voter. It is the voter's responsibility to vote fairly. If he really does not remember, as you say, the instigators previous arguments, then he should re-read it. 3. Now notice how my opponent conveniently replied to one of my arguments without refuting it. "I agree that giving each side equal time is fair. However there is an unfair side to it. That makes it unfair. My opponents point seems to be that since there is no alternative it is fair. It seems his source is this debate itself. I disagree with this Logic" that since there is no alternative that makes it fair. Further more I question how my opponent concluded that there is no alternative. In fact I put up a thread in the forums and got some responses. "In a turn based online debate, and in any conversation for that matter, someone must speak last, unless both people speak at the same time. .. .but that isn't possible when typing. My opponent has yet to provide a circumstance under which no one spoke last, and I truly doubt he can. When typing, someone will inevitably get the last word. The only obligation of the system is to allow everyone equal speech opportunities. Since the current DDO systems allows everyone to speak equally, it is fair. Faulty Statistics1. "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. "This can easily be explained, as there are strong variables that lead to this result. Members contend on debate resolutions that have intrinsique fallacies or simply weak supporting arguments. Or, they contend because they simply know that they have more powerful points. This makes for an easy win for many contenders. This, again, falls under the fault of the instigator for being so inept, and not some unfairness from the system. Here are a few examples of contended arguments with obvious faulty resoluions. (1)(2)(3) 2. "an impressive 94% win rate, 4 out of the past 5 debates was contender. "My opponent did not provide a source to this statistic, so I can only treat it as a mere assertion. Ore_Ele, A member who has received a spreadsheet of every debate on DDO, has a different statistic "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%. " (4) Now I have this quote here to nullify my opponents previous statistic, even though this new statistic still favors my opponent. .. .at face value. (4) Ore_Ele went on to explain that the reason for his statistic was probably not because of a tendancy to side with contenders but rather because of the inexperienced newcomers that instigate debates. DDO gets a healthy influx of newcomers (5) and many of them start debates that sets them up to lose. With Ore_Ele's statistic being inclusive of those erroneous newcomer-instigated debates, that could easily explain the shft in contenders winning. So this particular statistic is not a viable source of evidense against this so-called unfairness. 3. Same above refutation applies to the remainder of con's "statistics" In ConclusionMy opponent has yet to actually refute that someone MUST speak last. Until he can negate it, the statement stands. Since someone has to speak last, it MUST be the contender (if both people are getting equal speech). That is the fair action. If a tendancy exists in certain voters to side with who they heard last, than that is their own personal weakness. Maybe they should look over the instigators arguments again very quickly. The decision of the voter is the voter's responsibility. If he is convinced by who's voice he heard last, then HE is unfair, and we cannot blame the system. Therefore, the DDO debate system is fair. Sources1. . http://www.debate.org...2. . http://www.debate.org...3. . http://www.debate.org...4. . http://www.debate.org...5. . http://www.debate.org...So, in my opponent's OWN EXACT words,. .. . "The #'s speak for themselves.