Minibot Q&A: Welding

[JesseK]

Originally Posted by mott

I agree completely! This Minibot situation has become a burden that almost none of our team members wants to embrace but our "team" knows we can't ignore.

Exactly what burden is on your team due to the Q&A responses? I'm really curious to know.

Originally Posted by Numbers

They're being unnecessarily confusing. Fine, we won't use weldingrod. We can TIG and use bar as the filler rod. Or not use filler rod at all.

They need to be CLEAR with their rules and not contradict themselves. Unless there is some internal conflict or argument about this we're unaware of, there is no point to this.

Ask and ye shall receive ... it's happened before, and not always to the asking teams' likings.

I agree with Tom here that this situation is much like the real world. A company contracts out a specific task to be fullfilled by a contractor (e.g. make Widget X) yet doesn't even have its head around every nuance Widget X will go through, let alone what all of the individual design specifications for Widget X should be.

Cut the GDC a break. Just because you're afraid of being told "no" to your specific questions about welding doesn't mean you should obscure your questions in such a way that they're ambiguous or not clear in the first place.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by JesseK

Cut the GDC a break. Just because you're afraid of being told "no" to your specific questions about welding doesn't mean you should obscure your questions in such a way that they're ambiguous or not clear in the first place.

With all due respect to the GDC, this is a two sided coin. Welding was only made illegal recently due to the technical wording used in a series of Q&A questions, after it was already declared legal. To say that teams trying to do the same thing are in the wrong is to say that the GDC is just as much in the wrong.

As the rules currently read - as long as bar is used there's no reason welding should be illegal (i.e. the justification for welding being illegal relies on the welding process breaking other rules). I'm surprised the GDC didn't think at least one team would want to weld a minibot; if they wanted to make that illegal why are they using such a convoluted rationale?

[Racer26]

Has everyone forgotten that Q&A is NOT the rules?

Team Updates are the ONLY way the GDC can change the rules of the game.
Q&A is merely for clarification of the INTENT of existing rules.

You can use Q&A to prove to an inspector that a given design DOES meet the GDC's interpretation of the rules, HOWEVER, NOT doing so doesn't mean that you're not following the rules, as written in the 2011 FRC Rule Book.

[lonski]

Hello, does anyone know if there is a limit on the aluminum skeet for the minibot? it doesnt say in the manual.

[EricH]

Q&A is not the rules.

It's worse. It's how the rules will be enforced.

If the Q&A says, No welding because welding rod is not an allowed part, then the inspectors will have to rule that welding rod is not an allowed part, putting the burden of proof on the team to prove that they didn't use welding rod.

[Jimmy K]

As per Update #7, you can now use welding rods, and thus, be able to weld on the minibot!

I'm sure the GDC is doing the best they can to work out all the rules. Let's just hope everything is clear by week 1.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Everyone,
The GDC answers the Q&A based on their game design history and the way they wrote the rules. In almost all cases, the questions are answerable by a strict interpretation of the rules as amended by Team Updates. In those cases where one of our brite and thinking teams comes up with a question that is outside of the rules and the GDC posts an answer, there will likely be a rules change. That will take the form of a Team Update followed by a rules revision. Inspectors will be using the most recent Team Updates for the event in progress when they inspect your robot. If your design was a direct result of a Q&A response, please print it and bring it with you. However, if the GDC makes a change at a later date, and that change countermands your original answer and has taken the form of a Team Update, inspectors will use the Team Update as the most recent ruling.
Please don't ask for a response about a hypothetical case, our inspectors are doing their level best to insure that your team gets to play. We will seek expert advice to render a decision that may not covered by rules, Team Updates or Q&A.