Yikes. I was a member of one of the debating societies in college, and if you didn't stick to the point or follow procedure, people would jump up and shout "point of order!" or "point of information/misrepresentation!" These statements could come from the audience as well as people actively debating.
There is no way that a side would have been able to get away with an argument that didn't address the point. They would have lost and never been invited back again. But as Dude and HK have said, none of that seems to matter these days.
