Playing Dirty

[Mr. Mac]

Adams High Man made a valid point about the uneveness of the Placebo's zeal: in the future, placebo drivers will be told to push, shove block ...etc. but not ram opponents. We definitely do not want any robot to be put out of commission by the placebo. With that said, though, the placebo was no more "dirty" in its harassment of opposing robots than a linebacker is when they make a tackle: they are simply playing the game according to its rules. The placebo will definitely be trying hard to stop its opponents from winning the match; the placebo will follow the strategy dictates of their alliance.
The placebo is a lousy name:Calling it the Pseudo-Placebo is too cumbersome. I am going to start calling it the "Substitute Robot" (or Sub-bot); it is certainly not a placebo and was never intended to be. The Sub-Bot will improve the fairness of OCCRA, not cause unfairness. If it's your bad luck to be "unfairly" allied with non-functional robots, the Sub-Bot gives you a fighting chance to pull out a victory. What's more unfair than going to a tournament and finding that you have to repeatedly go up alone against 2 robots because your partner isn't working? Everyone has an equal chance at being paired with the Sub-Bot since all match assignments are random.
The Sub-Bot from Rochester was actually built 2 years ago and won the county championship: I had to "work" on it to reduce its functionality; a student fastened on the moosehead and sheet. This does not matter, though, since the Sub-Bot is not competing for awards. The next Sub-Bot you see will be built and run by student volunteers who are doing it as a service to OCCRA (that's all of you!) Please treat them accordingly.