Negative Rep may or may not be a good way to give feedback, but it's not a matter of being thin-skinned at all. Rude and insensitive comments about freshman, rookies, or any other group aren't tolerated, period.
In the popular culture of the US it has become way too easy and way too common for individuals to poke fun at or even taunt others. It's one thing to joke with an individual you know, but it's quite another to poke fun at groups of people, especially since our founder tells us every year to HELP start new rookie teams so more people can be a part of FIRST and feel welcome. I chose not to confront/post/PM/negative rep the thread the first time I read it, but I am a mentor of a rookie team. I left a very successful veteran team to start a new one. I believe that's what our founder and leaders wanted me to do and it was a change that I was ready for. I was and I still am offended that someone, even in jest, would suggest here that rookies and/or freshman have less value than others just because they are "new" or have different needs.
While the thread in question (
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...?postid=450960 ) may have been an innocent mistake and a rain of negative rep may not have been the best way to get through to this one individual, everyone who posts on Chiefdelphi as a member of a FIRST team needs to understand something simple, yet difficult...
FIRST is about changing the popular culture. It's about coopertition, gracious professionalism, learning skills that will help us solve society's hardest problems, celebrating an inclusive way of advancing the culture. If you are here and are part of a FIRST team, then the assumption is that you understand this. Don't believe me? Ask Dean Kamen, Dr. Woodie Flowers, Dave Lavery (do you know the dollar figure NASA puts toward rookies every year on purpose?), the board of directors, FIRST HQ Staff, regional directors, senior mentors, ...
Different folks react differently to posts/threads that are in direct contrast to the mission and goals of FIRST. Some will PM. Some will post. Some will negative rep. Some will report posts to moderators. However, you can be assured that such behaviors will not be ignored, they will be confronted. While in many other places in our culture poor behavior will be let go, in FIRST it will be dealt with in one way or another.
Pyro, it's my sincere hope that you see this as a learning experience and move forward. While you might not like the way others handled their responses, you sure can admit that your thread did cast a negative light on both rookies and freshman. As far as I'm concerned, you have now had a chance to learn and understand the big picture. Let's move forward, more positively.
Namaste.