Re: Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT
 

The point is, only the people in your way need to be asked to move. Shouting at the top of your lungs so everybody around you is unnecessary. Asking the people in front of you to move is all that is needed. There is a difference between talking loud enough for someone to hear you in a loud venue, and shouting.

Re: Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT
 

This is true. It is also not immediately apparent that this is the actual problem that the thread is about, nor does it help that it's completely mixed up with a load of pedantry about what words are best to inform the people in front of you that they ought to move.

Re: Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT
 

I'd say there are a lot of people here that find people yelling "robot!" to be obnoxious and rude, myself included. To me it's no different than someone yelling "move!" or "get out of the way!".

Unless there is a deadly accident about to occur where syllables matter, yelling "robot!" or "move!" creates the appearance that the person yelling it is viewing themselves as being more important than everyone else around them, rather than as equals.

Re: Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT
 

I certainly don't find this to be the case, and at any rate if this is a problem it is a problem on a scale several orders of magnitude smaller than the very real problem of people being unreasonable/unsafe while pushing their robots around.

Re: Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT
 

I'm continuously amazed at the volume people manage to get to when screaming ROBOT!!!, above and beyond the ambience of the pits.

Re: Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT
 

It seems to me that an individual that is not abrasively yelling while moving their robot through a space is probably more likely to be both more reasonable and more safe about how they move around. An individual that's yelling robot probably assumes that some privilege re: movement / presence is conferred to them and they behave accordingly.

Re: Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT
 

Can we make tshirts?
Collect signatures?

Ooo Ooo, who has a button maker?

....I love this thread.

Re: Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT
 

This is part of a general trend of unsafe behavior in the pits that is a real problem. Last year there was a team that sent out large numbers of members screaming a "safety chant" for a majority of one of the regionals I attended, which was amazingly awful (and rather unsafe). I find it intensely ironic that a lot of the jockeying for the safety award is completely irrelevant, if not actively detrimental, to pit safety.

I do think a lot of it could be immediately mitigated by FIRST not blasting their sound system the whole time and promoting a culture of "no louder than necessary" in the pits. It shocks me how many people don't appreciate how important easy communication is to a safe work space.

Re: Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT
 

While I won't argue, I think safety theater for the purposes of looking more attractive for the safety award is too large of scope for this thread.

Re: Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT
 

I don't think there is anything wrong with saying robot or excuse me or heads up or look out. Pick a word it doesn't matter. If some one is in your way they should move. We all know the pits are loud and crowded and guess what there are robots coming on and off the field. If everyone would pay attention and not block the path for the robots no one would feel the need to yell "ROBOT". Politeness goes both ways.

Re: Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT
 

I "think" I've commented on this thread before... but a recent event at a scrimmage made me think of this again.

Standing near the field entrance, waiting for a match to end to ask officials about a lost robot part (!), a group of three students (from a long-standing veteran team) waiting to enter the field SHOVED past me saying "Robot!" I was literally the ONLY person within a 5' radius, and there was plenty of room. I almost lost my cool, but as a teacher I remembered these are students, and this was a teachable moment.

I stopped them and said, "Next time, you should say 'Excuse me,' and not push a person to the side." They nodded and went on their way.

Who knows if this had an impact. But team captains and mentors need to enforce this sort of courtesy among their crews. At competitions I've escorted a cart with robot and drive team through a crowd with barely a word. The key is not being rushed, I suppose.

Signing the Petition
 

The Robodox will not shout "Robot" (or any other word that implies that we have an inherent right of way) while moving our robots at an event. We will exercise courtesy when moving our robot, making sure that everyone is as safe as possible.

We will also graciously encourage other teams to follow our example.

- Mr. Van
Coach, Robodox

Re: Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT
 

I love this term. I want to see a Safety Theater Captain button.

Re: Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT
 

I would also like to remind everyone that there is a petition that was started in 2013: http://www.change.org/petitions/firs...to-shout-robot

I think if we can get enough people to sign this petition we might be able to get it implemented in the rules next year! This thread alread has 20,500+ views! Based off of this document: http://www3.usfirst.org/aboutus/first-at-a-glance that is a significant portion of the FRC body!

Re: Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT
 

No it cant or should not die, its still a problem that needs to be corrected.