[jgannon]

Initially I felt very strongly in 1519's favor. After reviewing this ruling, particularly the claim with respect to <R114>, I'm fairly confident that their design was unfortunately illegal. Nonetheless, I am appalled by the last paragraph of the GDC's reply. We all know that there are members of the GDC who read these forums, and nobody who has read Ken's words here could possibly think that 1519 was trying to "lawyer" loopholes or split hairs. They read the rules, applied common sense, and designed what they believed to be a creative and award-worthy solution to the year's challenge. To accuse a team of trying to pull a fast one on FIRST, particularly in light of the team's gracious handling of the situation, is surprisingly unprofessional. I fully expect that this Q&A response will be revised to embody the respect owed to any competitor who tries their best to follow the rules.