Squirreling is a form of proposing a model in which teams attempt to lessen their burden of proof, either by taking an abstract interpretation of the topic that is often obviously incorrect or in a more nuanced way of including so many caveats and exceptions in their model that it bears no stark difference to the status quo. Squirreling should be avoided by affirmative teams; not only does it often ruin debates by taking away the clash between the two sides, but affirmative sides will be punished by adjudicators if they feel that the affirmative has lessened the scope of the debate.
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