Quote:
Originally Posted by 1075guy
While I would love to agree with EricH et al, I don't.
The people that make up FIRST are some of the smartest people on the planet. We can read between lines, look for evidence, and investigate. Many people already know who is responsible, and many more already know what team they were associated with. Lots of people will do their own investigation into what went on.
I recognize that some people will forever associate the team with the interference, HOWEVER, I think that with time (and not much more time at that), the information will come out from another source, and that will make the lasting impression much worse than if it is admitted to and apologized for by the team.
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To those conducting their own investigation: Leave the pitchforks and torches at home, please. Ditto for the tar and feathers.
What happens if the team is released now versus later?
Now, while emotions are running high, the team would probably end up on every blacklist in FRC. That means that nobody will want to deal with them. The team sponsors get wind of it, and possibly cut the team's funding. The team potentially folds due to the combination of lack of funds and stigma associated with being on everybody's "Don't pick them or accept them" list.
But what if you let it go for a year? Two years? Even four years?
Now we've got a new issue to deal with. A new game (and hopefully a flawless run in terms of comm issues) has left last year behind, and we've focused on a rule we don't like again. A different rule. A different issue. The team in question has had time to get some turnover--and to, if they choose, release that they were the team in question. The Einstein Incident has passed into memory--a painful memory, but one that can be looked back on without as much emotional turmoil. Two years, and there is more turnover. More memory loss/burying. By four years, there's probably been a complete student turnover, and possibly a large mentor turnover. Then you quietly release that such-and-such a team was at the root of some of the Einstein Incident--and people wonder what you're talking about. They go back, and go "Oh. That."
Now, I'm not saying that the team won't escape any consequences--I know enough about blacklists to know that some actions will put teams on them for years and years. As some of the top teams know who the offending team is, or have a reasonable guess, that team probably will run up against them--but not with them, due to blacklist--in eliminations at some point. But being on the blacklist of top teams versus being on the blacklist of every team that has one--well, if I was in that situation, I'd rather have somebody willing to play on my alliance in the eliminations.