Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Line
Sudo,
I read your post. I sympathize with you being DSQ'd. It must feel horrible. However, I'll point out that I don't think this post should have ever been made.
First and most importantly, as you yourself admit, you are working on second stories. Those stories are likely third and forth hand in reality. Also, having never talked directly to the inspectors and the judges who made this call yourself, it's probably fifth and sixth hand.
A much more likely story would be that an opposing team noticed your bumpers and pointed them out to the refs. The refs checked the rules, found your bumpers were wrong, then DSQ'd you.
This situation is infinitely more likely than teams purposefully withholding hurtful information until the last minute. I have never seen a FIRST team conduct themselves that way - and I hope I never do. Accusations without proof are very, very dangerous.
That said, you should not let a single unfortunate situation color your view of FIRST. I think you need to work past the idea that anyone did this on purpose. As you found out from your teammates, many people's first reaction to catastrophe is to try to place blame rather than solve the problem. Start using your energy constructively and create a process on your team that will never allow this to happen again.
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I must disagree with several points here, though I get where you're coming from. First off, I know I am working directly from secondhand accounts, as the majority of the information I have comes directly from one man who was intimately involved with the entire process. The remainder that I did not witness myself was relayed to me directly from a few team members I know very well and who I would trust to remain objective in their accounts as I know them outside of the team.
And my view of FIRST as an organization hasn't changed, merely my impressions that almost the entire community shared my ideal view of it. I likely paint a slightly more sinister picture of the event that what actually occurred, but I know my information is accurate. Whether intentional or not, many teams waited until it was of immediate concern to them to voice a complaint. It isn't the intent to cause harm but the complacency that allowed it to happen that I most wish to fight.