Built a better version of SpeechDrop called FlowDrop for sharing speech docs

5 Upvotes

Hey guys!

I debated in high school and judge now (plus my brother debates in high school), and though I have been grateful for speech drop it's just so so clunky haha.

So ended up building FlowDrop as a faster, modern alternative to SpeechDrop specifically built around how rounds actually run.

You can try it here: flowdrop.org

It’s in the early stages and I'm still taking care of some bugs, but the main stuff works reliably:

In-browser Verbatim preview: You can open speech docs directly in your browser without downloading or opening Word. It keeps all standard formatting intact (bold, underlines, double-underlines, shading, and Verbatim highlight colors like yellow, green, cyan, pink) with search, font scaling, and a reading mode.
Instant live sync & direct links: Files pop up on everyone's screen in real time with an audio chime when an opponent drops. Every doc also gets a direct link you can toss straight into cross-ex chat.
Flow layouts & smart tagging: Built for Policy, LD, PF, and Open formats. It auto-tags files into speech columns (1AC, 1NC, Neg Block, etc.) so it matches your flow, plus there's a top evidence tray for unassigned cards.
Paste cards directly: Instead of making and uploading a dummy doc during prep or CX, you can paste raw text and citations straight into the room.
No logins & clean teardown: No accounts, no paywalls, and everything wipes automatically after 7 days (or you can wipe the room when the round finishes). Also has a one-click button to grab all files in a .zip.

I'm an MIS student at OU paying for the hosting myself, so it's 100% free to use. I mainly just want debaters and judges to run it in prep, scrimmages, or practice rounds and try to break it

Let me know what breaks, what feels clunky!! Hope this can help!

2 comments

r/Debate • u/Super_Perspective936 • 5h ago

Advice for improving at debate

1 Upvotes

Hi! So I go to a pretty small school for debate (we have 2 teams). We have been competing for a year now, but our former mentors left. We know what to do and how to debate. What are some good drills to improve speaking and overall debate skills?

0 comments

Subreddit

Posts

Wiki

Debate

r/Debate

/r/Debate is a subreddit dedicated to discussing formal styles of speech and debate (a/k/a forensics) as practiced in high school and college. These include Lincoln Douglas, Policy, Public Forum, Parliamentary, and Congressional Debates, as well as speech events like Original Oratory, Interpretation, and Extemporaneous Speaking.

Members Active

74.7k

Sidebar

WELCOME!

About us:

Rules

1. This is a subreddit for the forensics community -- i.e., competitive speech and debate.

If you are not a member of our community, you should generally not post or comment here.
We are students, coaches, teachers, alumni, and others who participate in competitive speech and debate events for teenagers and college students. If you're not associated with a school Speech and Debate team (or looking to join/start one), then this sub isn't for you. We are not a sub for arguing general topics on the internet. If you want to do that, try /r/changemyview.
Posts requesting online argument will be removed.
If you are not a member of the forensics community, but you have questions for us, your post may be allowed at the moderators' sole discretion. We are not a homework help resource. See more explanation here

2. Be Civil.

Please, remember to be civil and respectful to one another. /r/Debate is an open community for anyone interested or involved in high school or collegiate debate. The moderators will remove any content that would alienate a reasonable person; serious or repeat offenders will be banned.
This is not a "no swearing" rule. This rule covers hate speech against any group, personally insulting anyone, sexualizing or objectifying anyone, threats, et cetera. We take this very seriously.
See more explanation here

3. No trading.

/r/Debate is not a forum for offering or soliciting exchanges or sales of debate materials of any kind. Posting your own work completely for free is okay if you post/link the document directly (don't make anyone email/PM you to request it).
See more explanation here

4. Don't put up worthless ads or blog spam

/r/Debate is not an advertisement space. While representative of camps and other debate-related organizations are welcome on the subreddit, not every vaguely debate-related app is allowed to promote itself here. The moderators reserve the right to remove advertising content we find to be irrelevant to forensics or excessive.
Links to debate-related blogs and other off-site content (e.g. from camps, brief publishers, etc.) are okay, but only if the full-text of the linked content is also posted in the same thread here.
See more explanation here

5. Don't break site rules or the law.

Reddit's site rules must be followed and Reddiquette will be enforced at the discretion of the moderators. Posts that violate the law or encourage violation (including copyright law) will also be removed.
See more explanation here

6. Keep your information and others' information safe.

Do not post someone's private information without their consent. Do not encourage other people to do the same.
If you want your personal content (your undisclosed identity, your case, recordings of you, etc.) to be removed, contact the moderators.
All videos posted must have consent of those included.
Also, /r/Debate is a public forum (no pun intended). Posting your email address on this site makes it public not only for other users, but more importantly for page-scanning bots, spammers, and advertisers. Please use private messages to communicate private information.
See more explanation here

7. Don't be a troll.

Trollish content will be removed, and prolific trolls will be sent under the bridge and banned from the sub. Subreddit members are encouraged to defeat trolls by asking them "African or European swallow?"
See more explanation here

8. Non-anonymous accounts can be verified.

Accounts that use the identity of a person who is not a public figure can be verified as truthful with the moderators in order to prevent impersonation. Only one non-anonymous account is allowed per person. Accounts that impersonate a verified account will be banned.
To verify, message the moderators. Verified accounts have a gray flair.

9. Direct low effort posts to the topic mega-threads.

/r/Debate is a great place to get help and discuss current debate topics, but it is not /r/HelpMeWithMyCase. The subreddit should not be overwhelmed with posts asking for help with specific arguments or finding specific cards. Thus, please direct all specific argument and card finding questions as comments the respective topic mega-thread.

Question about the rules?

We now have a wiki page explaining the rules in further detail. You can also message the mods with a question, and we will answer it in the question section of the wiki page.