WIN MATCHES - Simple Strategy Mats

[TheCrayButton]

Strategy is a big part of the winning FRC games. Download these mats! I hope it helps.

http://media.wix.com/ugd/62e485_3bf5...acd6372051.pdf

[Steven Smith]

I would hope this mistake was out of ignorance and not malice... but it really appears as though you copied someone else's work, removed their logo, and inserted your own... trying to take credit.

Pretty hard to pull off when the other thread by bEdhEd is still on the front page...

[ToddF]

While the graphics have been recreated, and the fonts changed, the idea is definitely the same.

Plus, the good idea and the name have been co-opted as an advertisement for a website.

Not cool, man. Not cool.

[bEdhEd]

Very identical to my format, even down to the thread title. Who is the admin for yopyip.com? For those who haven't visited that site, it is another FIRST forum that seems separate from CD. I've never heard of it until now, and it looks new. I can't say if the OP is the one who made these, or if an admin or someone who works with an admin from Yopyip made it. It would have been nice to get a PM or email from whoever made these, so I could have known about it. It's a little unsettling, but also unusually flattering to see a strategy mat .pdf with such an uncanny resemblance to my own.

Oh, I also noticed that the plays are numbered 1 to 4, which is quite limiting, but not a problem if the numbers are ignored. The reason why I didn't number the plays on my play book page is so teams can print as many pages as they want depending on how creative they get.

I don't hold a copyright on my mats, and I make them available for free, so this doesn't really bother me. What matters is that people are getting some form of field diagram for drawing strategies. I don't care whether or not they're from other sources, or if they're different or the same as the ones I made. Getting teams to draw out their strategies is the bottom line. I would have to say that some form of credit is due, since I worked on my mats from scratch. This is just how it works in the real world; in industry, programming, literature, etc. Give credit where it is due, or you can get in some serious trouble, especially if profits are involved.


I would advise the creator of these similar mats and the Yopyip admins to cite their sources for anything else that will be created from other ideas and hosted on the Yopyip forums. Especially if the similarities of what they make, in relation to something that is already existing, are that close. It also doesn't help if what was being copied without credit or sources was on the first few pages of the same CD forum for all to see.

On a more positive note, I've signed up for Yopyip under the same username, and I am looking forward to seeing what other helpful resources Yopyip makes. That forum looks like it has potential.

I hope the mats on Yopyip serve everyone well, though! Good luck at the competition!

One more point: when I post the 2015 strategy mats on kickoff day on CD, I would like to team up with the admin(s) of Yopyip and give permission to use my format and rebrand it for Yopyip so they can be hosted there. I think this would be great! If TheCrayButton has the info so i can do that, I am happy to receive a PM.

[TheCrayButton]

[quote=Steven Smith;1350984]I would hope this mistake was out of ignorance and not malice... but it really appears as though you copied someone else's work, removed their logo, and inserted your own... trying to take credit.

It is actually the creators design and he made it completely without the knowledge of anyone else.

**I shared this because I thought it might be helpful to others in FRC, that is it.

And with the whole advertising thing, there are so many other users like FRCtop25.com, http://www.twitch.tv/FRCGameSense, and others that actually do advertise on this site.

[bEdhEd]

That's quite a coincidence, then.

[TheCrayButton]

Originally Posted by bEdhEd

That's quite a coincidence, then.

Yes sir it is! I am sorry for the confusion. I can contact him and make sure he gives you credit because it is so close? I can guarantee there was no intention of it copy infringement.

[Yipyapper]

Originally Posted by bEdhEd

Who is the admin for yopyip.com?

I swear to Kamen that I didn't do it.