There was a LOT of talk about hacking the manual. If my memory is correct, I think some of it even had to be deleted because it started to refer to hacker sites, etc.
Betts and others are correct when they say the effect was not that the manual was actually cracked. It didn't matter that those who said it would be easy were wrong in every essential detail.
My mom and other non-tech folks had no way of knowing. It was corrosive to the fabric of the FIRST community to be talking about even trying to do it.
How would folks think about me starting a thread about how I COULD bypass FIRST's safegards and actually have a person in the stands secretly drive our robot during autonomous mode?
Would it matter that I put in in a Rumor Mill forum? Would disclaimers that it was all just for informational purposes make it okay? Would the fact that I wouldn't even try to do it make this an acceptable topic of conversation in a public forum?
I don't think so. The general public wouldn't know that it was all in fun or technically impossible or not in my nature. All they see is Wildstang's 2003 robot driving around the field acting for all the world like someone in the stands is driving it.
Wouldn't I have SOME responsibility for the doubt in their minds?
Joe J.
P.S. I promised myself that I'd put in a shameless plug for the
"NBD: Nothing But Dewalts" whitepaper whenever I posted in the 2005 Season, so here it is: I believe this instant classic will take its place as one of the most important How To's FIRSTers have access to. JJ