To share or not to share

In my opinion, it's a great idea to show what you have, if it's something you want to share. Maybe you have a beautiful anodized and powder coated chassis you made. Show that off, we'd love to see it. However, if you may possibly have a game-changing revolutionary Einstein-winning idea, think before you post. It may be in the values of FIRST to help others, but sometimes there are some important things your team should keep to itself until the competitions.

Overall, it's your choice if you share or not share, and what you share if you do. Good luck this year!

[MrForbes]

Originally Posted by rcmolloy

When it comes down to it, if the thing your team is "showing" will have a significantly greater advantage at you winning regionals/champs then I personally wouldn't show it.

Interesting...the year we had the most stuff out in public, earliest in the season (videos, drawings, cad renderings) was also the year we won a regional because we had a really good robot.

If you post your "secret" ideas here on CD, you might get some instant feedback that will help you either improve them even more, or else show you why they might not be such a good idea after all.

Also if other teams copy your idea because it really is a good idea, you have helped another team, and having more, better performing robots at the competitions is a good thing.

We haven't found a downside to sharing everything we're doing.

[ebarker]

"Ideas are cheap,The combination of ideas and execution and excellence and the whole process is what really matters." - Woodie Flowers

The ideas and designs are out there for robots and a great many other things in life, free for the taking if one takes the time so find these things, study, and learn from other peoples designs and idea.

At the end of the day it will be how well you execute and the excellence you bring to that process.

[JamesCH95]

Originally Posted by EricLeifermann

I think being open is an awesome thing, as long as you're actually open and not giving us useless "teaser" photos of gears, sprocket, wheels, etc. People want to see pictures of something important if your going to share something. I think a great team to emulate in that fact is 842.

I agree. I find 'teaser pics' to be really annoying and basically useless.

Originally Posted by squirrel

Interesting...the year we had the most stuff out in public, earliest in the season (videos, drawings, cad renderings) was also the year we won a regional because we had a really good robot.

If you post your "secret" ideas here on CD, you might get some instant feedback that will help you either improve them even more, or else show you why they might not be such a good idea after all.

Also if other teams copy your idea because it really is a good idea, you have helped another team, and having more, better performing robots at the competitions is a good thing.

We haven't found a downside to sharing everything we're doing.

I also agree with all of what squirrel said, especially the bit I highlighted.

We (95) talk with 885 and 3585, the two teams local to us, and do exactly this. It helps any one of us from doing something silly.

[staplemonx]

Originally Posted by Wiifi

I can't wait to see what you guys have come up with!!

Here is are our initial concepts http://www.atomicrobotics.com/2012/01/cad-concepts/

[DavidGitz]

Our team chooses to share as much as possible of what we build, how we build it, how we run our team, anything and everything that may help out other teams.

The only time we don't share something is when we deem that it wouldn't help someone (trivial task, bad solution, etc) or when it is unfeasible to share due to technology/time constraints.