THE DEBATE LEAGUE
A Seabs, i$e and TLK Production
----------
We are pleased to announce that after four long years, the band is back together. TDL has been resurrected and promises to be better than ever.
For those who aren't familiar with The Debate League, feel free to check out the archived threads from the old league. Keep in mind that those threads merely serve as a general summation of the League's structure, and don't quite convey the method to our madness. We have plenty of surprises up our collective sleeve.
If you're asking 'what's in it for us?', consider yourself lucky I don't have ban powers. Basically, we wish to provide an avenue for posters of all shapes and sizes to prove themselves by battling against one another in the truest form of forum supremacy: debate. Stop wasting time on multi-paragraph PPV reviews. Quit preying on jobbers in Rants to get over. Enough lurking about in Word Games. Star ratings don't make a good poster; TDL makes a good poster.
TL;DR version: Fucking sign up and prove your greatness by debating your ass off. It'll be worth it. Trust us.
----------
THE MANAGEMENT TEAM
----------
Seabs - 'The Commish'
Most of you know this bright young 'lad' already as one of WF's Administators, but what you may not know is that Commissioner Seabs is quite the entrepreneur. He had his sights set on bringing prestige (and RATINGS/$$$) to WF, and what better way than to negotiate the return of TDL with two of its founding fathers? As the head of management, Seabs has a vested interest in the success of the League, and plans to eviscerate any 'muppet' that stands in his way. Oh, and he also has plans to compete. During TDL's last run, Seabs made waves in multiple divisions, and he has only improved since. Quick word of advice: Don't cross the boss.
i$e - 'The Law'
Isaac, prominent music/workout/graphics aficionado, has returned to ensure that TDL's revival is done properly. To do so, he has been given the green light to make examples of those who don't comply with the rules (see below). While his two counterparts are steadfast in preserving the League's integrity, Isaac often takes it a step further by embarrassing to the point of no repair those who take exception. He is also a hell of a debater (former multi-divisional champ) and plans on challenging the new crop of hungry young participants to see if they're up to his (lofty) standards. When asked why he has come out of retirement to provide graphics and a heavy hand for TDL, Isaac simply replied with, "FUCK WHAT YOU THINK." Touche.
The Lady Killer - 'The Champ'
Although he claims to be retired from competition, Greg is determined to put forth his best Triple H impersonation and work behind the scenes to make TDL as great as he knows it can be. 'The Champ' - the nickname given to him when he retired as the undefeated Debate League Wrestling Division Champion with an impressive string of 11 consecutive debates without a loss - looks to mold the promising young talent into TDL juggernauts with his sharp wit, keen intellect, and ruthless style of debate. Don't let TLK's agreeable personality and forum popularity fool you - when it comes to TDL, and :hb don't exist. It's time to man the fuck up.
----------
THE JUDGES
After much deliberation, Management has carefully selected four other respected forum members to help us handle the judging responsibilities of TDL.
Seabs
i$e
The Lady Killer
Rush 'THE GOAT'
'Baby K' Headliner
WOOLCOCK aka 'Fountain of Knowledge'
'LEGIT' Clique
----------
THE RULES
-- There will be three divisions - Wrestling, Sports and Social. Wrestling will consist of all styles of wrestling from all eras, Sports includes MMA and Social includes any areas not covered by Sports or Wrestling such as Politics and Film/TV. You will be able to sign up for any division (see: Sign Ups Thread), but please specify what topics you do not wish to debate (i.e. "I'd like to sign up for the Wrestling division, but I'd prefer not to debate any TNA-related topics."). We will do our best to fulfill your wishes.
-- When the official card is posted, you will have TEN (10) days to submit your debate. If you need to forfeit for a legitimate reason, please give us at least a five-day notice so that we can either find a suitable replacement or alter the card accordingly. It is unfair to your opponent, your fellow debaters and the TDL staff if you wait until the last minute to disappear without justification. We will be sending out periodic reminders as the deadline approaches, so there's really no excuse to "forget."
-- We will be employing a ZERO TOLERANCE policy concerning no-shows. If you express interest in joining the league, don't waste our time. We work hard to make this something special and expect the same effort to be reciprocated. You scratch our back, we'll scratch yours. If you choose to go missing, leaving your opponent and the League up shit creek, we will make sure you never debate again.
-- Pro/Con delineations for debate topics will not be delegated by TDL staff. It is up to the debater which stance he/she wishes to take in order to make the most convincing argument. Remember, it's not who possesses the most knowledge in regards to a topic; it's how persuasive you can be.
-- Debates will be submitted on time to one of the three members of staff (or Headliner). You can edit your debate and resubmit as much as you'd like as long as it's prior to the deadline. Judging responsibilities will be allocated among the panel members, and debaters will be kept anonymous to the judges to avoid any bias.
-- After votes have been tallied, the results will be posted in a separate thread complete with detailed analysis/constructive criticism by the judges.
-- If you have any questions or concerns pertaining to any aspect of the League, never hesitate to post it here or shoot a PM to [user]Seabs[/user], [user]i$e[/user] or [user]The Lady Killer[/user]. We will do our best to respond in a timely manner. Remember, we have lives on top of this, so be patient.
-- Last but not least, HAVE FUN. This is meant to be an all-inclusive, engaging section of the forum. Shit talking is not only welcome, but also embraced, so don't be offended. It's all in the nature of DEBATE.
----------
DEBATE ESSENTIALS
We aren't going to tell you how you should formulate your debates, but we will offer some sound advice for those who have never before participated in a formal debate. The key is to take a clear stance (typically "for" or "against" the subject of the topic at hand) and center your debate on qualifying said stance. For instance, if your topic is to make a case for 2012's Wrestler of the Year, you'd first need to choose a candidate for whom you could make the best argument. From there, gather some supporting evidence (Note: research is perfectly acceptable, and even encouraged, but please cite sources to avoid plagiarism) and mold the body of your debate around proving why *insert chosen wrestler's name here* is Wrestler of the Year.
You have full creative control of how you wish to structure your debates. Tone doesn't necessarily need to be formal, but we do expect coherence and proper spelling/grammar. We recommened typing up your debate in Word prior to submission to take full advantage of spell check.
There are minimum and maximum word count requirements for all debates (basically, we don't want to read a 10-page summary of why you believe a match is ***3/4 instead of ***1/2 *cough*Austin101*cough*). They are as follows:
Standard battles = 300-800 word range
Championship battles = 500-1000 word range
Other than that, it's totally open to your interpretation. Time to get those creative juices flowing, and prove why you deserve to be crowned one of WF's Debate League Champions! Again, if you have any questions on how this whole thing is going to work, don't hesitate to ask. We're here if you need us.
----------