A highly interactive and popular session where attendees evaluate the options and best practices of common and advanced design issues. Then they argue about the answers.

Modules may be voted on ahead of time by participants but could include:

- Are NULLs evil?
- How many are too many joins?
- Who gets the final say in design decisions?
- How long is too long for a naming standard?
- Are GUIDs helpful?
- Is refactoring a help or a hindrance?
- Are all surrogate keys helpful?
- Are data models anti-agile?
- Is a database software or infrastructure or both?
- Which is more important: performance or data quality?
- Is normalization the end of the world?
- Are naming standards just for the wicked?
- Are repeating columns that bad?
- How much security should be in the database rather than the application?
- A faux NULLs dangerous?

Bring your votes, your debates, and your opinions.

This session needs a room with several whiteboards, either on the wall or portable. It can also be done with Post-it paper stuck to the wall or on easels. We can always make something work if we can discuss it ahead of time.