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Unread 01-12-2016, 15:44
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ahartnet ahartnet is offline
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AKA: Andrew Hartnett
FRC #5414 (Pearadox)
Team Role: Mentor
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Rookie Year: 2005
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 194
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Re: [FRC Blog] Documentation: Reboot

I sent the following into FRCTeamAdvocate@usfirst.org :

Quote:
I want to start with saying that I appreciate trying to reduces the amount of places to go for official documentation. A webpage can stay current/live and you don't have to worry about people referencing old things that are out of date. It is also good to not have the same things in multiple places - having to make sure everything gets updated is not a good thing.

However, I think from a team functionality standpoint, this decision is unhelpful for the following reasons:
  • Put bluntly, the website stinks. It looks pretty but is very hard to functionally use. I am a tech savvy, young person that spends plenty of time using various internet forums and means of communication, and it is a hassle to navigate. The thought of depending on this confusing set up of a site to find important information about the upcoming season already scares me
  • The dependency of an internet connection means if the site goes down at an untimely situation, teams could be hosed.
  • The dependency on going to a website is going to make it tough for several teams. In PDF form, it's easy to read on a phone or pull up on a computer that doesn't have an internet connection. If instead we're relying on students data connections, they'll have to use data every time they go to look something up. We rarely have internet access during a meeting, and when we do the school seems to limit everything. I'm confident I'm not the only one in that boat.
  • By trying to reduce it, things are being spread out more. Having a manual available for awards acts as a one-stop shop to look up everything. If I want to have my students look up something about the Chairmans award and compare it to the Engineering Inspiration award, they'll now have to have two tabs open or go back webpages to get the appropriate link.
  • Mostly unrelated - the resource library is already very difficult to use. It focuses so much on the aesthetics that it ends up being bloated. It'd be great to have a compact viewing option so I can see more of the document names at once.
  • More than anything, I would greatly appreciate a compromise of being able to "print" everything on the awards sections into a PDF similar to the sections of the admin manual last year.

Additionally, anything you want a majority of teams to look at (bleacher rules, what to bring to an event, pit closing etiquette, etc), I highly recommend being included in the game and season manual. While many of the successful teams will know how to find it, those that have limited resources (including computers and internet) will not see it.

Thanks for your time and dedication to the program,
Andrew
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Team 451 The Cat Attack, Student Alumni (2005)
Team 1646 Precision Guessworks, Mentor (2006-2008)
Team 2936 Gatorzillas, Mentor (2011-2014)
Team 5414 Pearadox, Mentor (2015-Present)
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