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Originally Posted by Gurdian
O.k. the magazine Idea has not gone down the tube, but has been shelved for the time being...
A much less time consuming idea is to create a how-to-guide, similar to a collection of white papers. FIRST is willing to support this, although I am unsure about the content and the major needs for new teams.
Any help on what to put in this guide would be greatly appreciated, because it is designed to quickly bring new teams up to the status-quo that the veteran teams expect from their teammates and competitors.
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Don't take this as a criticism, because it is not intended that way. You seem to be a writer in search of a topic, and you are seeking a method for helping rookie teams advance quickly into the FIRST competition and culture. My suggestion would be to start right here on Chief Delphi.
1) As Abwehr has indicated, there are many white papers on CD that could be reviewed and updated, grab one, post it and ask for comments/suggestions and then edit it incorporating the feedback you receive.
2) There are a list of links along the left side of the portal. These links have many support items for rookie and veteran teams alike. Look at the Cybersonics "FIRST Interactive Rural Support", a collection of teams willing to help mentor other FRC teams. "openFIRST" is a community of FIRST web developers willing to assist teams developing their websites. Most people jump into these forums and never check out the interesting links that already exist. Review these links and make a catalog of the offerings they have for FIRST teams, then post it as a white paper. These links are an excellent guide to what other people think is important for teams to learn/know as they progress in FIRST.
Once you've reviewed the materials that already exist to help teams, you will have an idea on which perspectives haven't been addressed. What you are suggesting isn't a novel idea, it has been done already by many teams; Cybersonics (103), Miss Daisy (341), Rolling Thunder (1511), MOE (365) to name a few. [NOTE: I will be glad to add any team to this list who has also created materials helping rookies integrate quickly into FIRST. Please send your team name/number along. I know there are many other teams that should be credited as well, but I am most familiar with these efforts.]
Find that new perspective that will reach a market that currently isn't being addressed. Then your effort will be additive to the community, as you want it to be, and not just something that is repetitive.