K's are not a free-pass to "start arguing about your favorite theme".
If you run a K that doesn't link, you'll immediately lose. If you run a K that links only loosely, you'll lose. If you run a K whose Alt doesn't solve for the K, you'll lose.
Ks are literally dependent on being related to the thing which they are run against. When it's a K-Aff, they must link to the Topic itself.
> Additionally, sometimes the affirmation side kicks off the debate by proposing a kritik — they don’t even bother advocating for the original resolution!
And examples of the judges openly demonstrating their preference to kritiks and their arguments and way to present them.
There are FAR more paradigms out there where judges will say they don't want to hear Kritiks, especially K-Affs.
> they don’t even bother advocating for the original resolution!
There is no requirement that the debaters advocate for the resolution in most forms of debate; the author is trying to make it sound unusual, but that's extremely normal, and always has been.
Immediately throw away any proposed topic and start arguing about your favorite theme. If this isn't kind of cheating, I don't know what it should be.
They need some cough.. adult in the room.. strong person to show the door at any attempt to steer away from the declared debate topic.