[Madison]

John --

I think the disconnect is that I don't understand where people have drawn the conclusion that not liking the new system or parts of equates to ungratefulness toward the FIRST staff. That's certainly not how I feel at all and my feeling is that there's nobody here who's angry with the FIRST staff for this system.

Rather, we all see a system that can be improved in some way -- whether it's because it doesn't focus on what we feel is important, or because it was unclear about some procedures, or because we're not eligible to go the Championship event.

Personally, I like the new focus on awards that we've been told to consider important, but haven't been treated as such. I don't like the classist system the tiers promote, but it's about the fairest classist system I can think of. I think there are places I'd like to see it changed, but I don't ever intend for that to translate to "Dave Lavery! You screwed up, you stupid moron!" or anything like that. Similarly, Aidan's post was, to my thinking, reinforcing a classist structure -- establishing the FIRST staff as being above those of us participating here on ChiefDelphi.com and in the FIRST community. I'm forever sorry that I'm not one of the greatest minds in the country, or even close to it, but I don't appreciate the implication that I cannot suggest improvements to this system because of that. Maybe I'm egotistical, but never have I considered the minds or accomplishments of any member of the FIRST Board of Directors to be greater than anything I or anyone else in FIRST could achieve. That, always, was my inspiration. This wouldn't be the first time I've been told, directly or indirectly, that I participate in FIRST for the wrong reasons, though.

I appreciate the work FIRST does tremendously and, as you well know, I can also empathize with what it feels like to work hard at something while someone else is constantly trying to undermind your ability to do that. I know, probably better than anyone here, what it means to be ignored for accomplishments and criticized for your faults. I agree that more can and should be done to let FIRST know we appreciate their effort, but that shouldn't come at the expense of voicing our opinions of how to improve this experience for everyone.

Personally, if it's not obviously so, I express my appreciation for this program by staying involved. In my life, it'd be so much easier for me to walk away with the great friends I've made and the amazing things I've learned, but since I do appreciate the opportunities FIRST has given me and thousands of others, I stick around and work my behind off on their behalf.

Y'know, we all do. At least, I thought we did. I thought we were all showing our appreciation by being involved and working with them to spread this great message -- not for them.

Edit: Also, as an unrelated note -- a lot of this thread and the discussion in it centered around confusion about the tier system and how it relates to rookies and teams who've never attended the Championship. I don't think it's a stretch to legitimately say that, as in the past, FIRST has a difficult time with technical writing. Improvement there could lead to less confusion elsewhere.

Edited again: I also wanted to mention that, since it may not be clear, I have very few objections to Aidan's post beyond what I mentioned above. Rather, the subsequent implication that, as people who challenge things, we do not have a passion for FIRST. That's nonsense.