is tony montanna better than al capone

Extend. I need to note for certain particularly unclever members that what PRO has written is not an argument: saying that Tony Montana is "partly based on Al Capone" is not a viable argument--why? Because this is totally irrelevant to the resolution. At the very least, PRO has not told us how this is or could be relevant to the resolution. Let's assume it's true--and you shouldn't even assume as much, because PRO hasn't evidenced it. So what? How does that make Tony Montana better than Al Capone? There is absolutely no logical connection here. To win, PRO must prove that Tony Montana is objectively better than Al Capone. In that absence of that, you vote CON. If PRO fails to provide a framework for objective superiority, you default to CON, because the entirety of the burden of proof is on PRO. If it remains on the table at the end of this debate that either Al Capone is superior or that it's ambiguous--e.g., we either don't know who is better or we can't conclude that either is better, because superiority is subjective--you default to CON. I'm reiterating these points, though I shouldn't have to, because there are some particularly unclever members casting strategic votes on debates, even though they're totally ignorant of basic debate mechanics and theory and are in wildly over their depth in attempting to do so. There are several points then that I'm going to underscore: (a) It is impossible to drop an argument when PRO hasn't made an argument. In this case, PRO hasn't made an argument. An argument has three essential parts: a claim, a link, and an impact. If it lacks any of those things, it is not an argument. In his first round, PRO has made a claim--which is hardly a claim, because (a) there's no evidence for it and (b) it's not even written in a full sentence. There is no link, no evidence, and no impact. Thus, this is not an argument. Therefore, if I just wrote "extend" in this round, you wouldn't award PRO argument points for a so-called "dropped argument." If you did that, it's clear that you are using terms that you don't understand, and likely should have your voting privileges revoked until you learn how to cast a ballot--or, in many cases, how to read. (b) If a point or argument is uncontested in a debate, you MUST buy it. Failure to do so is injecting the judge's bias into the debate, which is a direct violation of tabula rasa. You should weigh arguments against one another, and this might involve some degree of subjectivity, but you do not have the right to outright discard a point or unreasonably elevate a point simply due to your own personal feelings or biases. To that end, if I were to say, "PRO has the full burden of proof to do X," you cannot arbitrarily and subjectively state that I have imposed an unfair, lengthened burden on PRO when my point was uncontested. Doing so is wildly uncalled for, stupid and a dereliction of your duty as a judge. (c) Clearly there is one member in particular whom these remarks are directed at, and because I know he's a particularly slow individual, I'm taking the time to break it down for him. Therefore, I'm fairly certain he's going to show up in the blink of an eye to try to vote me down. Obviously he can't vote argument points without looking like a total fool to anyone, even to the point where it doesn't pass the relatively lax standards that moderation sets for a "permissible vote." But he can try to hit me on conduct, and then write a long-winded, passive-aggressive conduct on unsportsmanlike conduct. First, this is not unsportsmanlike conduct. This is educating an otherwise uninformed man who has nothing better in his life than to strategically cast objectively incorrect ballots. If you think this is unsporting conduct, you're likewise objectively wrong. Second, casting a vote merely for conduct, ignoring the fact that PRO will likely forfeit every round, had the total BOP, and that argument points are clear, is a strategic vote, and your vote will hence be removed. So don't even try it. I think I've said enough for now. Let's see how this develops. Extend.