My apologies, let me clarify; from a safety standpoint I have always told my students that they are not to
ever place their hands within the frame of the robot while it is powered up. Let it destroy itself if it goes haywire but not my children's hands (or other appendages for that matter). And as far as the 'sharp pointy things' yes those will be taken care of prior to competition I promise
The first year I participated in FIRST a safety incident was posted here on CD regarding a child who lost a finger at another regional because they thought their code had completed its cycle. That may have made me a little paranoid regarding sticking hands and fingers inside the bot while it is powered. Unplugging the battery is just an added precaution that the robot is not going to eat anyone.
I can see the argument for the port on the practice field. Like others we have a Classmate who has a port issue due to a short Ethernet cable. I just had never heard of the pigtails being used.