Re: How should we react to posts?
 

I hesitated to post in this while I got my thoughts together.

Personally, I think that a stern response may be best for these types of instances. Some of the comments made in that thread are things that someone could only get away with on a Forum like CD. I think that sometimes we're a little too nice in our responses to blatant attacks against teams and their ideologies.

Re: How should we react to posts?
 

Not a slam on the original poster, but a couple of neat things to think about.

"How should we react to posts?"
This statement says a lot. There is a pretty strong arguments about the abuse of the word "should". Please don't "should on me". You "should" do this, you shouldn't do that is a breading ground for conflict psychologically. Even in your own inner monologue. I "should" on myself too often.

The second strong word in this statement is "react".

react:
1. to act in response to an agent or influence: How did the audience react to the speech?
2. to act reciprocally upon each other, as two things.
3. to act in a reverse direction or manner, especially so as to return to a prior condition.
4. to act in opposition, as against some force.
5. to respond to a stimulus in a particular manner: reacting to a shock by jumping; to react to the word “coward” with anger.

"Reacting to a post", can be quite dangerous. There is a part of the brain that is activated when you are angry. It is the part that invokes the fight or flight response. This part is really important when you are in danger. There is little chance of immediate danger, and thus it is not necessary to react. Also, since this is the internet, it is likely that anyone looking for an argument can find a willing participant. I prefer to "respond". And a little play on respond is ponders (as in multiple sessions of pondering).

If you ponder more, respond less, and react even less, rarely will find your foot in your mouth less frequently.

BTW, I "like to respond to posts" in a manner that thoroughly gets my point across without being a detriment to myself or my team's reputation.

Re: How should we react to posts?
 

Depends on how you want to spend your time on CD. If you want to police it and sit in harsh judgment - fine. If you want to find opportunities to mentor and share your knowledge and experience, that's fine, too.

What I have found many times is that members new to teams don't learn many of the different aspects of being a FRC team from their own team and mentors. They are left to their own devices to learn, figure out, and create confusion for themselves. There is also that part of the complex puzzle that is tuning out/not listening to people who attempt to explain those different aspects.

Several times in recent years, I've had the pleasure of helping mentors, students, and parents try to wrap their minds around the competitive performances of the fantastic FRC team, 148, the Robowranglers. They don't know anything about 148 until they get to competition and then, WHAM-O - who.are.these.guys?! :) Sometimes, I am very successful in conveying the incredible opportunities that teams like 148 provide. Sometimes, I am not successful because of one simple reason - the person listening believes that this FRC program is a high school competition and it should only be for high school students. Sometimes, if the mentor, student, or parent sticks around long enough to begin to understand and respect the program - they develop an appreciation for such a remarkable team. I single out 148 because of our regional competitions in Texas and because so many new teams have sprung up here so quickly in the past few years. Those of us who understand the FRC program and its impact potential - spend a lot of time trying to build bridges of understanding. With the bridges in place and communication channels open to the possibilities - teams can develop and mature at a faster rate than if they are left to their own ideas of what they - think - FRC is.

Because of the discussions/efforts/workshops that I've been involved in, I know that if we, as veteran members, don't help build those bridges of understanding, the program weakens and it is reflected in the competitions. CD always presents opportunities for building bridges, maximizing the potential to develop a deeper understanding of the program that so many of us are so passionate about.

It's what I choose to do. Besides, FRC teams are tough. They can handle a little naive uneducated criticism, even if it gets horsey once in a while. Consider the source.

Jane