Finally, a rule to be enforced

I could write a lot of fuss about all the pointless rules that exist in a variety of debating formats. But some days ago I had a very inspiring discussion with one of our numerous international members at the Union who contribute so greatly to the diversity of this club, and this discussion alerted me that there is indeed one rule in debating that might require a more rigid enforcement.

Our discussion was about cheating - at school, university, and finally at debating tournaments. With all those iphones and netbooks around and wireless internet everywhere it has truly become a piece of cake to look up missing information during the preparation time. I am pretty sure that many debaters do this. Some of them cheat consciously, others probably don't even know that only written material may be used.

Using online sources is unfair and harms the quality of debating, as it provides some teams with expert knowledge. Adjudicators should raise consciousness that electronic devices are not allowed during preparation time.