Re: Let's bring CD back to the way it used to be
 

My takeaway from this is still "...that pointing it out with an explanation is an appropriate thing to do."


Oblarg - as long as you provide an explanation feel free to point it out.


Madison, while your standard may or may not be correct, you should still make the effort to explain to them why you feel their language is offensive or vile, and suggest improvements. While you don't have to, to make this community "not just another internet forum", it's important we self-moderate. This doesn't mean setting a standard but simply to make sure we're aware of each other by being respectful (whatever that may mean).

Re: Let's bring CD back to the way it used to be
 

I want to make a statement that I always made on this forum and elsewhere. "There is no such thing as 'un-GP'." I would hope that others will stop using that phrase as (in my opinion) it undermines Gracious Professionalism itself. In many of those videos we older generation individuals watched of Dr. Woodie Flowers discussing the topic, we should be well aware that GP was never "a bar that needs to be reached." An action or spoken word that is good, humble, culture changing and/or worthy to be shared ... is Gracious Professionalism. An action or spoken word that is disingenuous, unfair, against the morals of FIRST and/or the way things have always been ... is disingenuous, unfair, against the ideals of FIRST and/or the way things have always been. Gracious Professionalism promotes what is above and beyond. Everything else is just the way things are.

I am hesitant to call the Chief Delhi Forums as ever being universally bad or universally good. There are threads with encouraging posts discussing good topics and have appropriate levels of conversation. Team support, skill assistance, data crunching, and event commentary are all topics that don't exist in the same way anywhere else for the FIRST programs, and specifically for FRC. And to the same end there are also threads with posts that collectively get chewed-up, ripped-apart and spat-out - appearing as a school of piranha that together swim in peace and unity until a poor soul starts to bleed.

This forum is a collection of threads. Threads are a series of posts. And posts are created by individuals. It is really then on you and I to improve the quality of our own posts. When we do this, the threads will be improved. And when all of the threads are filled with clear, effective and insightful dialogue and commentary, we will then have our great forum. Let us promote insightful dialogue in the same way we should be promoting Gracious Professionalism: When there is effective dialogue and manner of speaking we should point to it, respond in kind, and promote it as our high standard - even if we disagree with the topic expressed. When there is a post of bad grammar and spelling, with untrue remarks or aggression we should respond with our effective dialogue or ignore it. It doesn't matter if our effective dialogue points out the flaws or not - what's important is if it's the effective dialogue we should be striving for.

However, I am not oblivious to reality. I realize that these goals are idealistic and utopian. I myself have made plenty of mistakes in tone and substance while on this forum. Some even created heated arguments and dissent. This post may be one as well. I'm just of the opinion that nothing will be gained from having a conversation on what is or isn't the right way to empress ourselves in a conversation - at least for the moment. What will make things better now is if we all just step back from our posts and realize that words make waves and we need to be aware of how tall our waves are.

I'm reminded by the basic concept of Qualification matches: "Your opponent in one match may be your ally in another". We should all be aware that those that have poor spelling or opposing viewpoints are also allies in making FIRST the best program in the world and making our world into the best it can be.

The Chief Delhi Forums are known for being an effective tool for FIRST students and mentors to share their ideas and connect us in ways other social interactions fail to do. It's also known as a haven of snobby grumps and the old guard that's impossible to present an alternate opinion to. I think that this forum can grow for the better if everyone starts to present themselves in the same way as everyone wants to be perceived as.

Re: Let's bring CD back to the way it used to be
 

Yay.

Re: Let's bring CD back to the way it used to be
 

I've had exactly that conversation, dozens of times over the past few years, with members of my team, members of other teams, and people previously unaffiliated with coopetitive robotics. It is a powerful and necessary discussion to have, and I'm glad some of my forebears had that discussion with me several years ago.

^THIS^
A judicious application of the above statement would solve a vast majority of the misunderstandings on this forum. I've noticed a BUNCH of threads lately where the OP says "I'm looking for data regarding X, if you've dealt with X please give me data", followed by pages of some version of "I've never actually done X but I've seen grainy webcasts where I think it was used and it's horrible" or "The parent of somebody on my team says this other mentor says X is bad so don't ever do it"
Those types of responses have NO PLACE in this forum, and to me, are more damaging than "I hate 2013*" posts.
*I don't hate 2013. It was a pretty good year, actually. And the team seems quite nice, even if they are Canadian.

Re: Let's bring CD back to the way it used to be
 

The closer CD comes to being a "Wiki Answers" for FIRST-related technical questions, the worse it will be. ;)

Re: Let's bring CD back to the way it used to be
 

In my opinion the antonym of "Love" is "Indifference", not "Hate". Yep, got it.All those hours going to a presentation skills class, wasted!It is not a bad thing to correct someone's mis-use of facts (which includes spelling and grammar, as well as physics). It is a bad thing to demean them. However, sometimes people read emotion into words that isn't really there.

As several have noted, clean writing is a valuable skill.
It is important to note that someone's feelings cannot be wrong.

However, opinions can be in ignorance of facts, and therefore wrong. You will never change my opinion that the Earth will continue to revolve around the sun for the next 12 years, I don't care which Greek arguments you try. And if you assert to me an opinion that one generally does not need an engineering degree to be an engineer, I will dispute that. If, in your opinion, static friction force depends upon surface area, that too will be disputed. And so on.

A wrong answer is worse than no answer.