Quote:
Originally Posted by 1885.Blake
If the actions that generate negative points were against the spirit of FIRST, then I would presume that FIRST would simply DQ you for doing them. Instead most penalties seem to be designed to emphasize having teams accumulate postive points, but not exclude occasionally making the wise choice of picking up a few negative points in order to avoid completely losing a match.
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Blake is exactly right. In many competitions, competitors may choose to take a penalty as a better outcome in a game. In football an offense may take a "Delay of Game" penalty to give their punter more room to kick. A defensive back may take a "Pass Interference" penalty to prevent a touchdown. In baseball a pitcher will often intentionally walk opposing batters to create a favorable situation for the defense. In chess it's common to sacrifice a piece to gain position or initiative.
If the GDC wanted these actions to be outlawed completely, they would have made the penalties harsher. As it stands, I'll gladly take -20 points for my alliance to turn their 256-point row of eight into three four-point rows of two if I can't get my hands on any spoilers.