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

1) DDO's purpose Con argues that the Falcon Plan will turn DDO from an "easy and free" site to one that requires training. Firstly, the Falcon Plan will in no way change DDO into a paid site. My opponent lumps "free" and "easy" together as if they were synonyms and implies, though never explicitly states, that the Falcon plan is not free or easy. I must say, it will most certainly be free and I will now show why it will also be easy.There are only 3 things that a new member needs to do before starting a debate: 5 pseudovotes, 5 forum posts, and a short quiz from the orientation. Once they finish that debate, they can debate with anybody they want. Everything else mentioned in the Falcon plan is merely a contigency plan for what happens when people abuse their rights. It can be thought of as a terms of service which could be added to DDO's terms of service should the plan be implemented. The actual process is quite straightforward. Unless a member intends to forfeit debates, troll in the forums or use the pseudovotes to votebomb debates, they can easily be an established member of DDO.The very few requirements that educate new members about the site will enhance the quality of DDO where members can truly challenge each other intellectually which is what the site is about.2) Too Complicated(i) Explain a pseudovote to a new member? Ans: Pseudovote: Provide a Reason For Decision in the comments section for each option in the voting category such as why Pro should get arguments or Con should get conduct. For help, refer to the DDO voting guidelines.(ii) How “established members” counter pseudovote? Ans: The same way we currently countervotebomb. (iii)How do we sell this plan to new members not interested in meeting a whole bunch of requirements before they can debate?Ans: There are only three requirements before you can debate which would take 2-3 days at most or 1 day if on the weekend. We can sell this plan to show that DDO is website for intellectuals and not a youtube comments section. New members will see the difference more clearly than under the current system and would want to join. They would know that this is a site to challenge themselves intellectually and not a site where they can post rubbish and get away with it. Under the Falcon Plan, the differences will be far more obvious than they are now.Just because something is more complicated doesn't necessarily mean that it is not good or beneficial. Must high school debates such as the Lincoln-Douglas, and public forum debates be simplified to "increase traffic" to the debates? The answer is no, as the traffic is there because they respect the structure and format and the finer nuances and subtleties of these debates and want to participate.3) Member access Q: How do we control abusive or unjustified counter pseudovotes?Ans: How do we control abusive votebombs? DDO is site of legitimate, intelligent members and the members will find a fair system to put in place. For example, in the current system, only members vote, not the moderators. Yet, the vast majority of debates are voted fairly. Yes, members who abusively counter-psedovote must be reported to the moderators or blocked.Con again says that three straightforward requirements with solid contingency plans are "too complicated". However, the burden is on Con to prove that just because something is complicated necessarily makes it undesirable. Chess is a complicated game. Should it be simplified? 4) Better debatersCon classifies poeple into two groups: (a) Specific topic and (b) Debating in general. I introduce a third group (c) Members who stumbled upon this site from an assignment for their class and became engaged with the intelligent debating and the professionalism on the site.(a) The Falcon plan will make them better debaters as reading and analyzing debates will help them understand how to organize their thoughts coherently on paper, and the standards of professionalism and respect expected on DDO.(b) Con argues that debating is a skill that comes from within, but that is not necessarily true. Debating is a skill that can be learned. Toastmasters is a well-respected international organization which teaches debate among other things [3]. (c) The Falcon plan is best suited for this group. They want a place where they can learn how to debate in the shortest possible amount of time, and then put their skills to the test.It is not just the member in question that stands to benefit but also other members who can expect educated debates from people who already know all the standard rules and can compete with them effectively because they have experience analyzing deabtes.5) Members should choose when they are ready Q: Is DDO a site for top level debaters only? Ans: No. How is this even relevant? The Falcon Plan never claims that DDO is exclusively for "top level" debaters.Q: What about 12 and 13 year olds who want to learn how to debate? Ans: What part of the Falcon plan is stopping them from learning how to debate? It actually helps people who want to learn how to debate by giving them a structure to follow before they can move on to the next level. This is similar to a video game in which you must first earn credits or pass levels before you can unlock the higher levels. Should all levels in a video game be unlocked as soon as it is started? This takes away the fun factor and the sense of achievement that comes from moving through the levels. Just because forfeited debates don't show up on the home page doesn't mean that they aren't there. The current system "hides" the problem whereas the Falcon Plan addresses the root of the problem. ConclusionMy opponent's entire argument seems to be that the Falcon Plan is too complicated but my opponent never really defends the idea that being complicated is a bad thing. High school debate such as the LD, public forum, and policy debates have complicated structures. Must they be simplified?Sources[1] http://bit.ly...[2] http://bit.ly...