This House Would Allow Secret Topics on DDO!

Thanks to 9space for his argument! I assure you that I'm much, much worse than a 1000 Elo noob, so you'll still have to accept the consequences. ;P Also, apologies for the long delay. I'm also afraid that I have only been able to refute my opponent's arguments, and failed to add contentions due to the lack of time. I'll make sure to post my second argument at a shorter notice, along with a more considerate and in-depth quality. R1: More Fun, More Challenge!! Fun - something that provides mirth or amusement[1] Challenge - difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it[2] According to these definitions, Pro states that secret topics will be amusing and difficult to engage in. However, his argument is flawed in saying that secret topics are fun and challenging merely because they are unpredictable. I concede that as long as both sides are unfamiliar with the issue, it will be challenging, as if you do not know much about the topic, then you'll obviously be inclined to do some research in advance. However, for debaters that are well aware of many subjects (as many of such members are on DDO), there will not be much difficulty for people that are already familiar with the issue. In other words, for top-tier competitors, or even people who are well acquainted with all kinds of issues but do not excel in debating, there will be hardly any change in difficulty, as they do not have to research. That is only a minor rebuttal on my part. Many debates that people accept are usually topics that they are not initially familiar with. In debating, one instigator wishes to debate an issue, and the contender accepts. However, judging from the large number of sources that are usually posted at the end of each well-defined argument, the debater has derived his arguments from the foreign source, and as a result, actually been forced to do research in order to acquire facts that they are not familiar with. Take a look at this debate.[3] It is the Tier 1 Expert's Finale, but the topic is obviously not secret. However, extensive research and work has evidently been done by both sides, using numerous sources to support their arguments.In other words, secret topics are not truly "secret" as there really is no surprise or additional difficulty than a debate with a visible topic. Pro's arguments are thus refuted. R2: Because Edeb8 has it. This argument is very weak to support Pro's argument for secret topics. DDO has other things that Edeb8 doesn't have--live debating, debate teams, etc. Chances are that we're not going to have them any time soon, so from this, it can be concluded that DDO isn't going to add things that Edeb8 holds possession of. In addition, DDO and Edeb8 are separate websites, and are not interdependent on each other, nor are they affected by choices that each site makes, unless it is specifically directed at them. R3: They are Fair. This argument contradicts Pro's first contention, because he specifically said that "both sides have been debated over in many different tournaments as well as official debates, whether live debate or online debating." If these "secret topics" are popular issues like he has stated, then they are hardly secret and many debaters will have at least a mediocre knowledge in that subject. Furthermore, many high-tier debaters have participated in IRL tournaments and debates, and surely they must have ran into many of them in some of their debates. This cancels out a significant portion of a secret topic's main purpose: it's unpredictability. Conclusion Overall, the most prominent fact that Pro has neglected to take into consideration is that other debates without secret topics also share the characteristics of Pro's contentions, if not even surpassing them. Let's simplify Pro's resolution: P)There are already thousands of debates that do not have secret topics. Q)Pro states that there should be secret topic debates on DDO. R)Therefore, it can be concluded that Pro must prove how secret topic debates are an improvement from regular debates or if it has different features that regular debates do not possess, and if it's worth the trouble of implementing it. So far, Pro has not proved that secret topics are better than regular debates. I have shown that there is no quality in which secret topic debates significantly surpass regular debates. Pro's arguments are at least somewhat true, but regular debaters are just as fair, have about the same level of fun and challenge, and Edeb8 has it. I rest my case. Back to you, Pro! Sources [1]http://dictionary.reference.com... [2]http://dictionary.reference.com... [3]http://www.debate.org...