[Grim Tuesday]

I don't really want to join in on the somewhat circular discussion of everyone being outraged by this behavior. Most all of this forum is in agreement that this behavior is despicable. But there remains people (quite a few) who agree and participate in it. I would know, I used to be one of them

When I joined Chief Delphi as a Freshman in 2010, my team had this attitude. Honestly, it's not much more than an excuse ("we can never be better than them because they're [filthy rich; mentor built; insert other BS reason here]). It's a bad attitude for a team to have, and certainly not gracious nor professional, especially for a team that prides themselves in being so.

When I created an account on Chief Delphi, I got pulled into the singularity that is this forum. I've been around quite a few internet communities; this forum is without a doubt the most professional and polite. If I had to wager a guess, it would be because of the varied age range (mentors and students) on the forum, and indeed, it ties directly into the FIRST values of mentors teaching. This is one of the few forums where it truly isn't acceptable to flame, speak in camelcase, or not use periods at the ends of sentences. It also represents the worldwide FIRST community. Connecting with people from other teams is an experience that many are lacking, and something that one can learn from Chief Delphi.

I noticed the problem, and have worked to change it. I get up on a soapbox and told my team about the meaning of FIRST, much as Supernerd said above. Inspiration, not education. We used to hate on successful teams because of whatever reason. We still do it a little, and I'm working to stop it.

My point is, we can't just sit around tut-tutting on Chief Delphi. There are a couple viable and positive solutions:

Talk to your team. If you're on one of the teams that does this, don't just you stop it. Make the rest of your team stop it too.

On an EWCP cast a while ago, Karthik mentioned that there were a few different worlds of FIRST. There are teams like his, 1114, that do consistently well every year and are overall awesome. Then, there teams like mine, who are huge and do OK every year. We're atleast networked into the global FIRST community through Chief and other methods.

But there are hundreds if not thousands of teams who not have a single member on Chief Delphi. I would argue that CD is one of the greatest unifying forces in all of FIRST. What can we do as forum members to increase participation by currently no participating teams?