[Mr. Mac]

The fairness of the "pseudo-placebo" robot stems from the fact that all teams have equal access to its services. All teams were represented at the pre-tournament drivers' meeting where the following info about the placebo was given:
1) If a team is unable to field a working robot for a match, they are morally bound to let their alliance partner know about it. This is the honor system; This hurts them because they can not earn any points, but it's not fair to your partner to put a 125-lb. paperweight onto the field just so you might earn a few seeding points that you really do not deserve. Teams do not always know whether or not their robot is going to move; if they know it is not, they should do the right thing and let their alliance partner know about it. The alliance partner that is going solo can then request the services of the placebo robot. The placebo driver will follow the strategy wishes of their partner but, as they are only a working chassis, they will be only able to push balls around, push or block opponents' robots, or push the cart: they will not be able to score any points.
2) All teams have equal access to the services of the so-called placebo robot, but the placebo driver will not handle any of the jobs of the human player; teams that are using the placebo as their alliance partner must furnish an additional human player if they want the placebo's human player station occupied.