Ethics of 2 teams building 2 identical robots

[Astrokid248]

Boe, it's actually pretty awesome that you guys can share a workspace and knowledge and still build different robots. I guess I'd just ask too many questions for a situation like that. And Alexa, your situation makes a lot more sense now. I can definitely see why a collab would benefit your team better than simply joining the other team. And the 48/3193 collab seems pretty reasonable too, especially the idea of using identical bases and branching out from there. Clearly, the right mix of situation, proximity, and friendliness is necessary to pull it off.

My knee jerk response is to the lessons I feel like all students should take away from FIRST: communication, team work, leadership, and commraderie in even the most difficult situations. I don't think the situation with 2898 and 1510 allowed for those lessons to be taught in a positive manner. As a result, I feel like steps need to be taken to increase the level of communication between the teams, and failing that, either dissolving one team or moving a team out is the best solution.

I think the other problem here is the championship situation. In my opinion, 1510 should not have allowed to touch 2898's robot, but they should have been brought along as spectators. Just leaving behind half of the robot's designers seems wrong, but breaking an early-season promise is just as bad.
(Haha, what error, RC? )