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Re: FRC Blog -2014 Administrative Manual Sections 1-5 and Something New
First of all, I think that this is very cool. I'm always a little bummed that between build season and competition season seems to be the only time anyone ever hears about robotics, but coincidentally is the only time when they can't see the robot. I'm excited that we might be able to have a pre-competition demo at school or for our sponsors.
Second, as Chris pointed out, this opens up a lot of opportunity for cheating, especially inadvertent cheating. With Bag n' Tag, cutting the tag and taking the robot out is a very clear violation of the rules, and while it may be self-policed, it's very clear when its being violated. Allowing teams to unbag for demos within the rules brings in much more of a grey area. Is changing the bumpers working on the robot? Is plugging in the battery? Is plugging in unplugged motors? Is downloading code a violation? How about new code? It's not clear, and it's pretty easy to convince yourself that whatever you're doing with the time isn't cheating. This certainly should be covered in more detail in the Q and A.
One thing people haven't mentioned is that this could be one small step on the path to eliminating Bag n' Tag entirely.
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The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be lighted.
-Plutarch
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