Apology

[pyroslev]

I think everyone is allowed one tearing into/ranting post on here in their history.

I for one accept the fact of the apology. Just keep in mind every team is different and that one day you yourself will be a mentor if you choose to be.

Good luck and a happy last 8 days of the build. Let's get back to building.

[Walter Deitzler]

Originally Posted by pyroslev

Good luck and a happy last 8 days of the build. Let's get back to building.

I wish we could, but St. Louis decided to get slammed woth snow in the last week of build. *Sigh, I guess that is one of the challenges of the season.

[nitneylion452]

You shouldn't apologize for your opinion, but you should apologize to the mentors whom you said were reliving their high school days by "owning a bunch of students."

[JosephC]

Originally Posted by LedLover96

I wish we could, but St. Louis decided to get slammed woth snow in the last week of build. *Sigh, I guess that is one of the challenges of the season.

Geez, and I thought Michigan was bad. We've been lucky enough to not have a snow day yet this build season.

Originally Posted by nitneylion452

You shouldn't apologize for your opinion, but you should apologize to the mentors whom you said were reliving their high school days by "owning a bunch of students."

I agree completely. You're entitled to have your own opinion, however publicly calling people out on that opinion is uncalled for. An apology directed towards the mentors of Buzz in long over due, so even though you said you weren't going to post on this thread anymore, I hope your still reading them.

Good luck on your build season!

[BuzzMathias175]

No hard feelings, apology accepted...
Maybe I should shave the beard, or wait till after shakedown.
But anyways none of us harbor any hard feelings man, good luck to you guys at scrimmage.
-the "Really old looking senior"

[V_Chip]

Originally Posted by BuzzMathias175

No hard feelings, apology accepted...
Maybe I should shave the beard, or wait till after shakedown.
But anyways none of us harbor any hard feelings man, good luck to you guys at scrimmage.
-the "Really old looking senior"

I told you to shave..

Niles, you are still welcome to pass by our pit and facilities if you would like.

Good luck during your last week of build. We'll see you at the Suffield Scrimmage.

[Tom Line]

There are different ways to structure constructive criticism.

Incorrect: HA HA! Your robot broke because you suck at wiring. Come at me bro if you don't like it. HA HA!

Correct: You may have more success if you add strain relief to this point and this point. Also, try soldering your joints as well as crimping them. It can give an added layer of strength to your joints.

One will get people thinking, get a positive response, and generally get you viewed as a helpful individual that has something worthwhile to say.

The other will quickly get you binned as an inflammatory so-and-so.

As a second example,

Incorrect: You're a bunch of old losers trying to relive your childhood through building robots and ordering people around. You suck.

Correct: I believe that student centric teams give students a better end experience and will help them be more successful in the future. I don't understand teams that allow mentors to do the majority of the work.

Tact and subtlety are important. It's also important to remember that the people you are bashing on this board are not just internet posters. In many cases they are extremely successful engineers, managers, and leaders of corporations. You may just end up working for them not so far in the future.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Tom Line

It's also important to remember that the people you are bashing on this board are not just internet posters. In many cases they are extremely successful engineers, managers, and leaders of corporations. You may just end up working for them not so far in the future.

I think this point is important enough to speak up on this matter. I have a couple of things to say.

It may be that those people aren't even posting on CD. Maybe they're just looking at it, reading posts. Let's say it's 5 years down the road, you're in college, and you're applying for your dream internship or job. Someone searches your name, and the search engine pops up a list of posts here, that you generated. They see that you said X, Y, and Z--and maybe those things were not in the best taste. Maybe you're the best in your field, but if you're posting on a public forum, and that's what you're saying... well, it probably won't leave the best impression. Good reputations take a long time to build up; as you found out, it's relatively easy to destroy one.

When that manager finds that post, they may not see it as "young and _____" (you fill in the blank here). They might see it as "anger issues" or "no self-control" or any one of a number of other things that are negative. At that point, Tom's "You may just end up working for them" becomes "You won't be working for them". Why? Because you were "young and ______".


To Niles: There is one thing you did right the whole time this has been going on. You kept your name (and team) public without hiding behind an anonymous account. Most people who start that type of discussion aren't bold enough to do that. This apology is another step on the right path. If you learn from this experience, you'll be well on the way to learning how to voice opinions without needing to apologize for the way in which they're voiced--and we need to hear more different opinions.


The other thing I'd like to say, and this is to everyone else: I think it's time to let this die down. Everyone step away, you have a robot to finish in about a week.

[SGK]

Originally Posted by V_Chip

I told you to shave..

Niles, you are still welcome to pass by our pit and facilities if you would like.

Good luck during your last week of build. We'll see you at the Suffield Scrimmage.

I think his name is Nilesh.