Re: Reputation points
 

That's unnecessary. If anyone is spreading excess negative rep OR positive rep for no warranted reason, you can talk to Brandon. Refer to this section in the FAQ:

Re: Reputation points
 

You don't even need to do this. Anyone with less than 50 posts doesnt give any rep at all, even if their name shows up as having given rep to you. I believe the users with extremely negative rep count also can't give any rep.

I just got some negative rep from a certain someone with two red bars, and it didn't do a thing :D

Cory

Re: Reputation points
 

So ... maybe a new thread should be started since most of this stuff is off-topic.

???

Re: Reputation points
 

I realize this is still off subject...but has anyone ever looked at the posts of khssoccer16 ? It seems someone had it in for him...considering nothing was really bad.

Re: Reputation points
 

I believe that is what M Krass was refering to in a previous post.

Re: Reputation points
 

Sorry, I had forgotten that this rule applies.

Re: Reputation points
 

The situation has been dealt with..

Re: Reputation points
 

When you decide to ignore a member of the Chief Delphi community you are ignoring a problem. I don't think that ignoring problems are part of a responsible solution. Silencenomore and others are people with generally valid problems with the current state of FIRST. Granted, they may not present the problems in the best way, and they hide behind anonymity, they bring valid problems.
It is un-American to see problems and ignore them. For example, we don't ignore the religious battles in Israel, we don't ignore oppressive dictators, and we don't ignore the minority. By ignoring the minority who have a problem with the current state of FIRST you are acting with prejudice. If we ignored the minority, FIRST would not exist. From my experience, FIRST gives students who are the unpopular minority in their school something to be proud of. That's something that is American, and definitely a responsible solution.

Re: Reputation points
 

I'm unsure how this is relevant to, nor concordant with your previous posts here. Are you only suggesting that you're more comfortable when the entire community ignores a problem by banning someone than you are by ignoring that problem alone? Does that make you feel less guilty?

Really, I wish I had the time, patience, and stamina to take every misguided student under my wing and nurture them and teach them about the things I believe in. Sadly, I don't have that sort of energy available to me and I make decisions based upon the resources I have at my disposal. If that means that I ignore someone after they repeatedly demonstrate they're incompatible with my ideas, unwilling to work within a framework I believe in, or determined to be a nuisance while providing few meaningful contributions to things I find important, I'm unashamed of that.

My goal is to inspire people who have found no inspiration by my actions and my ideas. If their existing ideas run counter to my beliefs, my goal is not to change them, but to better focus my energy and my effort on those people to which it is of the greatest benefit.

I don't ignore very many people, either. I am willing to accept the consequences of ignoring the few that I do, however, and if that means that people think I'm ignoring some problem or being close-minded or some other nonsense, I'm not keen on debating that or letting it color my behavior or actions.

I have read nothing posted by that individual worthy of any merit. They have rehashed existing discussions, made mindless comments about individuals I hold in high regard, and otherwise proven themselves to be an antagonist and nuisance. Anonymity is, in this instance, synonymous with cowardice -- and I'm afraid that many people are confusing that cowardice with courage.

Oh my. For what it's worth, I'm not interested in being the particularly popular definition of "american," thanks.

We don't? That's another discussion for another time, really, but I'd be happy to expound upon exactly how incorrect these assertions are.

I have for years been and continue to be one of the most vocal critics of FIRST and the people who participate in it. I don't understand the basis by which you can argue I am acting with any prejudice against those who challenge canonical FIRST paradigms. I feel like I'm running for President or something, but, uh -- well, check my voting record before making silly assumptions.

Was this post inspired by a need to alienate every nationality participating in FIRST or FIRST Lego League? My feeling is that the many fine Canadians, Mexicans, Brits and Brazilians who participate in this program have very little desire for their actions to be considered more "American."

I am dumbfounded by your choice to correlate shirking personal responsibility with being a red-blooded American. Really.

Re: Reputation points
 

I think it's important to remember our history and the mission of FIRST. FIRST was initally called the "US FIRST Robotics Competition." The name is still used in the domain name usfirst.org. The mission was to increase the number of students intererested in technology, to benifit the United States. This message is still clear when Dean Kamen takes the podioum and gives a speech on keeping technology related jobs in the United States.

Introducing FIRST to other countries is a great idea, but it is inconsistent with the entire original mission of FIRST. One of our growing pains is how to incorporate the original mission while allowing global participation. Dean Kamen continues to ignore other countries in his speeches, and keeps us focused on the United States' problems with the technology sector. In my opion Dean Kamen has yet to waiver in his original American mission.

Re: Reputation points
 

Sorry, but that's not true either. FIRST may have originally been started to promote science and technology in the US, but that's not the mission statement anymore.

Here is a quote from Dean Kamen himself in the FIRST info brochure available from http://www.usfirst.org/4vol/resource...ldBrochure.pdf

“…to create a world where science and technology
are celebrated….where young people dream of
becoming science and technology heroes…”

Note the use of world, and not United States.

I don't even feel like looking around anymore, but Im sure there's plenty more references to international teams.

Heck, the first thing always said about FIRST is "And there's over 900 teams from the US, Canada, Brazil, and England"

P.S. Check out www.first.org Even if FIRST had wanted to change their site, they couldn't.

Cory

Re: Reputation points
 

wow, this thread has really gotten off topic...

as far as the mission of FIRST i believe that it is much more than just getting kids interested in science and technology. it is also about promoting hard work, creativity, and dedication. personally, since i became involved in FIRST i have very much shifted my career goals AWAY from science and technology. i originally wanted to program video games. after joining FIRST, my dreams shifted to engineering. after being involved in FIRST for a while, i realized that while robotics and programming would probably always be hobbies of mine, my career was meant for elsewhere. it was the creativity of FIRST that inspired me the most, but creativity can be expressed in many forms. at the beginning of last school year, i became involved in journalism, writing video game reviews for a county paper. i found that i loved writing, especially the creativity of it. even when you write a review, you use creativity in how you word and structure the article. would i have pursued this if i didn;t have my extra self-confidence from FIRST? maybe, maybe not. i'm now looking at other forms of writing, like comedy (ask anyone on my team, i'm very silly). another important thing when writing is to think outside of the box. nobody wants to read an article/book/cartoon/whatever that sounds like any other article/book/cartoon/whatever. you need to think of innovative ways to structure your writing. FIRST has helped me with that a ton.

with Dean Kamen's speeches, yes, he does stress science and technology. but i remember somebody (i think either dean or woodie) who said that FIRST was about more than that. the quote "...compose a song, write a book..." sticks out in my mind the most. FIRST encourages anything where people express creativity and innovation.

The mission of FIRST is not just to promote science and technology, but to help every student involved to reach their full potential and achieve their dreams.

now, before i can achieve any of my other goals, i better achieve the goal of getting this thread back on topic...

does anybody know exactly how many points each square represents?

Re: Reputation points
 

I was thinking about the SilenceNoMore issue. I agree he is abnoxious, rude etc, but it also got me thinking, what caused him to behave like this? Is it something that has affected him in his past, or is he just doing it for fun, or does he just want to be the center of attraction? I am a pretty understanding guy, and therefore it got me thinking about WHY..

The other thing I was thinking about is, if I were in his boots, what would I do? (Assuming I come from a history like his, because I just cannot be really rude to anyone).

Little offtopic.. I must admit that kids in FIRST are talented, more than others in the world, as a community. I browse many other forums, and people come up with the dumbest arguements ever, rather than clever ones like you guys.. FIRST does not only inspire, but also gets your brains working cleverly...:p

Re: Reputation points
 

I think you guys are forgetting the history aspect, and the original mission statement. Sure the new press material talks about other countries, that may be the revised mission.

If Dean Kamen wanted FIRST to be about international technology, would he talk in a FIRST venue about why sending tech jobs out of America is a problem?

Re: Reputation points
 

Look at this post