As always, I'm a few posts late to the tea party, and agree with just about everything that has been said. I'll still add my two cents, though, and also as always, I feel like I'm going off on a slight tangent that is not as on-topic or as well-organized as it could be (read: "well, it made sense in my head...").
As a freshman, I didn't really
get FIRST until my first competition. I also did not understand how beneficial CD and the FIRST community are until I was almost done with my first year on the team. It takes some time for new people to get the picture - not everyone learns at the same rate.
This is only my 2nd full year on CD, and I have already noticed how different it has become. I outlined some of my concerns
here. Though that post is specifically about the changes on the forums themselves, I still believe that a lot of it can be traced back to the team environments. FIRST can preach all they would like about their ideals, but if nobody carries those ideals home from Kickoff with them, then it is the team's fault for not doing their job as a FIRST team. After all, this program is about inspiration as much as it about recognition. You can recognize science and technology all you want through building a robot, but being able to inspire others takes confidence, passion, and a genuine desire to help others better themselves. Sometimes people fall short in their attempts, and some don't try enough. I can't speak from a mentoring standpoint, but as a student, I feel like inspiration naturally falls down the chain of command: it starts with Dean, Woodie, and FIRST, and trickles down through the existing mentors and students to the new mentors and students, and through the students to their friends and family. If mentors are coming into FIRST not knowing what they are supposed to be doing, it is their fault for not reading the fine print before signing themselves away. But even then, the problem will only worsen if nobody takes initiative to sit them down and explain what this program is all about. It may also be the fault of the students for not attempting to open their minds and embrace what others are trying to teach them. I'm not going to point fingers, because everyone shares some of the blame. It is also everybody's responsibility to help fix the problem that you have identified, and it may take several rebuilding years. They will be hard, but they will be successful if executed correctly.
I too am disgusted with the amount of complaining, whining, and stubbornness that I've seen lately. I've also been disgusted in the responses that I have seen to users who do not yet realize that these forums are not the place for "lol guys water game IT'S A TRAP," bashing others, and not thinking their responses through. I have also seen kind words pointing the lost travelers in the right direction, encouraging them to take part in the intelligent discussion that occurs here. I see inspiration on these forums every day, and I am still inspired daily by what I read. Seek, and you shall find.
Media and social influences should also get some of the blame - Hollywood and politics don't take the "stand-up-straight-and-respect-your-father-and-mother" attitude that many of the older members of CD were raised knowing. These forums have simply adapted to the newer generation. Respect and honesty are always going to be staples in the community, but everything else will change with the times, as much as some may try to stop it.