Annual Reminder--Please Read the Manual!

[EricH]

To: All FRC participants
From: More experienced FRC participants, your inspectors, your referees, and your field crews
Date: 1/4/2014 (published a couple days early on 12/31/13)
Topic: The Manual, and Other Resources

We know that on the date shown above, you will see the 2014 FRC game for the first time. So will we. It's natural that you'll have some questions about it. That's great, so will we.

But when you see the game and immediately go onto Chief Delphi asking "Can we use CO2 on the robot?", "Where do the bumpers have to be placed?", "Can we use another battery?", "Is there a design for X device?", and "How many robots can we tip before we get a penalty?", please expect a tough response from us. It's not that we don't like you; on the contrary, we'd very much like to get to know you better (and some of us probably will!). In fact, it's that your questions have probably been answered already, very clearly.

This typical very clear answer can typically be found by a quick reading of the Game Manual. You just have to find the right section. Of those 5 questions above, 4 answers will be in the Robot section, 1 in the Game section, and one will get a response something like "you'll learn more by designing it yourself", as it is not in the Manual. Can't find what you're looking for? Ctrl-F brings up a find feature, or there's a search box on the Manual page. Search a couple of key words, and you'll probably get all the answers you need for those "obvious" questions. Generally, if you've looked, and/or you show evidence you've looked, the responses won't be quite so harsh as if you just post "hy guys can we us3 a engine on the robot thx".

Now, on occasion, you'll see something in the Manual and have a question. Chances are some other folks did too, probably the rest of us participants and officials at some point. A quick Chief Delphi search will help show what if anything we've discussed about the topic; if nothing crops up, start a thread and see what develops.

Bear in mind, however, that ANYTHING you see on Chief Delphi is NOT official. I'll repeat that: NOT official. If Dean Kamen, Woodie Flowers, Dave Lavery, AND Frank all got onto Chief and said something, it still wouldn't be official. CD is not the Manual, and it is not the official Q&A system. (Al Skierkewicz on inspection items? Not official yet, but probably will be once you see the officially-released documentation.)

The official communication channels for rules-related items are: The Game Manual, including any Updates up to the latest one, gives the rules. The Q&A answers questions about those rules and gives interpretations. FRC Blog? Not a rules source, but if Frank says something it's reasonable to assume that a Q&A or Update will address that shortly--but it still isn't a rule.

Short version: Please read the Manual before asking questions on CD, and bear in mind that no CD answer is ever official.

P.S.: For anybody ANSWERING rules questions, please, please, please put the rule number in your post, so that others can track it down! Quoting the rule verbatim is also a good idea--but then others won't have the fun of finding it in the Manual and maybe noticing some other rule that affects their design.

[bhumudar]

Great post. This is definitely something essential for all teams to do. I've seen teams show up to events and have to redesign/remove entire components year in and year out. Bumpers being the most common problem for teams. Now how do we get everyone to read this post?!

[mrnoble]

Originally Posted by bhumudar

Now how do we get everyone to read this post?!

Now, how do we get everyone to read anything?! At least with the game hint guesses, it doesn't really effect anyone's ability to compete. I've also seen teams show up with no idea that their robot violates basic rules. Here's hoping for less of that this year.

[Nathan Streeter]

Eric, thanks for posting this reminder: reading through it was good for me! It's definitely an important one that needs to be given every year... hopefully the folks who especially need the reminder will see this thread!

The reminder to people answering rules questions is perhaps even more important though... it's one thing for someone to ask "what are the robot dimensions?" It's an even bigger issue when someone answers with "28x38... what they've been for at least a decade".

So, to all the rules experts... make sure you're really an expert on the relevant rules before you answer a question! :-)

[Pault]

Originally Posted by EricH

Date: 1/4/2013

Sigh... It begins.

Anyways, can we get this posted on the FRC blog or something more noticeable like that. Maybe have it announced at the kickoff broadcast . Although people still probably wouldn't listen.

[GaryVoshol]

tl;dr

[apples000]

Are we allowed to tell people RTFM? (Read the FRC Manual)

[DonRotolo]

Best you don't, some may misinterpret the F

Ultimately, The Manual answers All Questions. Use it wisely.


Bad information is worse than no information.
Please avoid spreading bad information.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Pault

Sigh... It begins.

Fixed the date.


My favorite trick for remembering if I've got the rule right when I answer a rules-based question is to check the Manual right before, exception being if I've answered the same question 47 times in the last week or so, in which case I've probably got the rule in short-term memory pretty solidly.

[PayneTrain]

[DampRobot]

Also, read the Tournament section of the Manual in addition to the Game, Robot, and Arena sections. You'll never know when FIRST will decide to mix up the ranking algorithm...

[cadandcookies]

Originally Posted by DampRobot

Also, read the Tournament section of the Manual in addition to the Game, Robot, and Arena sections. You'll never know when FIRST will decide to mix up the ranking algorithm...

Much truth, considering the game hint seems to be pointing towards assists and we all know how well coopertition rankings went down in 2012/2010...

[Brandon Ha]

Is the manual even out coded so that we can download it pre kickoff?

[Anthony4004]

Originally Posted by Brandon Ha

Is the manual even out coded so that we can download it pre kickoff?

On usfirst it says that it will be released on January 4th. I remember downloading it in the morning last year.

[Steven Donow]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

It seems to me that this is a fundamental problem with the consistency of the rules; if they can't give reasonable rulings of this nature during the Q&A session, how are they supposed to do it at competition? Do they really think the inconvenience of hampering the Q&A process outweighs the inconvenience of teams showing up with illegal designs which they could not have possibly known were going to be illegal?

Obviously, a picture can be flawed, and the judgment given based on a flawed picture will be flawed. That said, is the proper way to address that really to take a blanket approach of "we will not give rulings on the legality of specific designs?" I think that this cannot possibly be the best solution.

I think that it (unfortunately) has to be the way. It keeps the Q&A 'clean'/simple; you don't want to see Q&A's possibly contradicting themselves. And, if they reviewed/responded to pictures, I'm sure we'd see at least one instance of a team taking the (similar) design, not copying it exactly, and trying to use the Q&A response as a defense.

Basically, I feel that the line should be drawn at analyzing pictures/actual designs. Obviously, in the case of 118, that was a fault of the GDC's in my opinion, because the GDC didn't expand on the definition of "grab, grasp, grapple".

Originally Posted by tondogone

On usfirst it says that it will be released on January 4th. I remember downloading it in the morning last year.

That's the manual in the non-pdf form; hopefully tomorrow or Friday they'll release the encrypted PDF to download beforehand when the manual servers get slowed down(which they usually do). And hopefully this incoming NE snowstorm doesn't hurt that...