Re: Chief Delphi Moderators Censoring Posts
 

Another Mod checking in....


We have always deleted and removed content which was not in the best interest for the community. Sometimes that is a person who writes hateful things and sometimes (very infrequent in the last couple years) we have deleted leaks about a game.

If you remember that FIRST is a k-12 program and most of the active members of the community are still students, we have a responsibility to remove content which is not appropriate or keeps within the mission of FIRST. There are lots of uncensored parts of the Internet that you can talk about or discuss everything and anything you want. If being totally open is your goal, I suggest that you seek out one of those outlets.

Specifically speaking to game leaks, many people view kickoff like their version of opening a present. That feeling of excitement when there is a new game challenge is something FIRST and many people in the community hold sacred (just look at the game hit threads and the excitement build up).

Additionally in terms of fairness only a fraction of teams (my guess would be less than 20%) have multiple active people on these forums and if people here got an inside advantage early how would that look?

I find it interesting that most of the people in this thread are mentors. It is our job to make sure that the current students in the program continue to have the amazing experience that many of us did when we were on teams. Yes this is extremely fun for us aswell, but the student experience should always come first in FIRST. Maybe look at things from that perspective if you are still questioning why we (the Mods) do what we do on Chiefdelphi.

Re: Chief Delphi Moderators Censoring Posts
 

I know of a case where someone's account was deleted for making a post that was critical of a prominent volunteer's opinion and refusing to apologize. It's been a while. Maybe things have loosened up since then.

Re: Chief Delphi Moderators Censoring Posts
 

You'd hope that, as a community that puts such a high emphasis on professionalism , the individuals who have been assigned the role of moderators will hold up to those ideals. This is a community that thrives on holding high moral standards for its members, and I'd hope that as we continue to grow, we face challenges like this as such.

Jay

Re: Chief Delphi Moderators Censoring Posts
 

I agree completely, as someone who saw the "leak" I wish that I wouldn't have seen it. If it turns out to be an actual leak it takes away from the excitement and buildup to kickoff and as such I've chosen not to share it with any of my fellow students on my team to maintain the integrity of kickoff for all of them.

Re: Chief Delphi Moderators Censoring Posts
 

The last NDA I signed with FIRST did not have any legal mumbo jumbo.. and the only consequence for revealing data was that were I in violation they'd never trust me or share any data in the future, ever. While I treat all NDA's similarly, I must admit that this one has had the most attention-grabbing, emotional impact on me.

BTW, FIRST HQ does much of the field mock ups and whatnot in the basement. There are no windows to look in and badge access is required.

I like to think the best of people, but the reality is not all people use their moral compass!

Re: Chief Delphi Moderators Censoring Posts
 

Well, then...

I have faith that at least the moderators on CD aren't the type to use this information or their power maliciously and cheat with their teams.

Also, if some unscrupulous team is trying to start working now, all that telling everyone would accomplish is to create more "cheaters." It will never get to the point where Kickoff just happens early and everyone can start then. It wouldn't level the playing field, but unbalance it even more.

Re: Chief Delphi Moderators Censoring Posts
 

Agreed. As someone who saw the leak as well. I spent most of the day yesterday trying to see if any of our teams students had seen it. Although its a big deal that this happened, if I'm the only one on my team who saw it, then I'm happy.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter what I saw as long as the kids haven't had it spoiled. (plus it didn't really spoil much in the grand scheme of things)

Re: Chief Delphi Moderators Censoring Posts
 

Exactly the reason I don't look at my charge card bills in December, it can possibly blow the surprise (well that and all those commas in the numbers)

Life has lots to do about trust. Just because you have access to CD or reddit/frc does not mean to publish the info, keep it under your hat for 4 more days.

Remember, it's a game. We are all here to play the game and learn something. We are here to inspire people. The inspired roboteer does not need the info 4 days before kickoff, they are going to have that cool idea on the the third day of the season, then build a robot and show up and play.

My thanks to all the CD Moderators for deleting and removing all the flotsam and jetsam that swirls around here. From Spam to Stupid, you have my thanks.

I wasn't trying to be malicious in way!! To me part of the problem is the competition aspect. Let me explain.....

I mentor to pass my knowledge of mechanics, fabrication and problem solving to those that really want to learn something. Nothing means more to me than when one of the students has that Ahh ha moment. You know when it clicks in their brain and they have an idea or an understanding of how to overcome the problem.

Now.... There are a few students and a couple mentors that are more concerned with "winning" the game rather than the importance of the students getting their heads outside the box so to speak.

I start every year off with this...

I personally don't care if we put the bot out on the field, and the moment auto starts all the magic smoke comes out of it, as long as at least one of you (the students) has an Ahh ha moment this year.

Re: Chief Delphi Moderators Censoring Posts
 

Did you ever consider that the moderators might have been working with FIRST to ensure their confidential information was protected?

I was one of the first moderators on the scene when the leak appeared. We took guidance from FIRST HQ and handled the situation as quickly as possible. Whether people agree or not with the policy of deleting leaked information is a great discussion topic, however it's very important to know and understand and that FIRST wants leaks, whether credible or not, extinguished as quickly as possible and that's what the moderation team here will continue to do.

Re: Chief Delphi Moderators Censoring Posts
 

Great work Inspector Karthik.

Thanks to all on CD and Reddit for keeping a lid on the leaks. I am looking forward to the reveal Saturday!

And thanks to all the kickoff field builders, volunteers, suppliers and others that know something non-public about the game every year and keep it a secret.

-matto-

Re: Chief Delphi Moderators Censoring Posts
 

I'll chime in to say that I think the best policy would be "information that is public is public." Once something has been leaked, it cannot be un-leaked.

That said, it's not my decision and if the CD mods think it best to censor the material in question, so be it - I can understand and accept the reasoning behind it, even if I don't agree with it.

I've seen the "leak," and while it's enough information to get you thinking about what types of things you want to look at, it's not going to confer any major competitive advantages upon those who have seen it.

Just my two cents.

Re: Chief Delphi Moderators Censoring Posts
 

+1. My thoughts exactly.

Re: Chief Delphi Moderators Censoring Posts
 

I didn't see the leak, but personally, as a student, I'm thankful towards the mods that took it down. From what I hear/can tell, it was posted in the 2015 Game Hint thread, and I was lucky not to have seen it when I went to check the latest updates on the thread. It would've taken away from the excitement of Kickoff.

Furthermore, not every team and every team member checks Chief Delphi. So while it is a form of damage control, I would much rather the mods delete it and have as few teams have seen the leak as possible. For the teams that do gain any significant advantage by having seen the leak, they would have to live with that guilt the entire season and perhaps even later.

For me, I would just take that as a challenge to build an even better robot within the legal 6 weeks starting Kickoff.

I have no doubt in my mind that the people at FIRST and the moderators of this forum have been and are acting with no malicious intent.