[bEdhEd]

My drive team doesn't yell "ROBOT" anymore ever since it was considered obnoxious and unnecessary at the Sacramento Regional and the Silicon Valley Regional. We were probably the WORST offenders when we were still encouraged to yell "ROBOT." We used to yell "ROBOT" continuously when we got to queuing AND we rang a really loud bell that we had since it was the "Golden Bell Award" we got in 2009 for being an outstanding STEM program, so I know all about how ridiculous yelling "ROBOT" can be. We get through the pits fine without yelling it, but every once in a while, there's a large crowd of attendees blocking our way so we do have to yell "ROBOT" to let them know we are there, but we only have one person yell it, and not as loud as we used to. It's not really yelled, but kind of said so that it is louder that the ambient noise in the pits. I do not, however support asking every person in our path to make way. I find it inefficient. So I don't like the yelling of "ROBOT" continuously, especially when nobody is in your way, but I find that it works really well to yell "ROBOT" only when it is necessary and only if our drive team is really getting delayed. Yelling "ROBOT" when you're right behind visitors can be very startling, and when they try to clear the path, they tend to somewhat panic and try to move too fast, in turn running into other people, which I consider a serious hazard. We shouldn't get rid of yelling "ROBOT" entirely, but we should emphasize its use by being considerate with an appropriate volume, and only if it is necessary. This way of letting bystanders know that we are passing through has been working for Team 701, and we hardly ever have to yell anyway.