Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT

[Hitchhiker 42]

Usually, when we move through the pits with our robot, we say "excuse us, robot coming through," or something similar. Incorporating both politeness and robotness.

[ExplosiveNoble]

At GTCR, people didn't shout it loud enough, and people were being jostled around so much that safety tokens were being taken away if your team didn't yell "ROBOT!" as you transported things. A very angry safety inspector came around to most pits to warn teams.
I have to agree, though. Unless a team is supposed to be on in a minute, this can be done much more quietly while still being safe.

[IronicDeadBird]

My TLR on this because this is truly one dead horse is.
As soon as you start valuing the robot more then you value the welfare of those around it then you need to really sit and evaluate the position you are in.
Having a robot doesn't mean you can't be polite

[Oblarg]

At the Greater DC district, all robot traffic ended up routed through one narrow hallway, and it was often clogged. I can't imagine what we would have done if no one had shouted "Robot!," or at least shouted something in a loud enough voice to alert you that they were trying to pass. If only we all had eyes in the back of our heads...

[Carolyn_Grace]

Originally Posted by ExplosiveNoble

At GTCR, people didn't shout it loud enough, and people were being jostled around so much that safety tokens were being taken away if your team didn't yell "ROBOT!" as you transported things. A very angry safety inspector came around to most pits to warn teams.
I have to agree, though. Unless a team is supposed to be on in a minute, this can be done much more quietly while still being safe.

Stuff like this is ridiculous.

I'm the Senior VC for Indiana. I talked to the Safety Adviser at the Tippy District and told him that we pride ourselves on being polite in Indiana and treating people with respect. We expect our teams to put people before robots, every single time. I asked him that if he hears anyone yelling "Robot" to teach them a more polite and safer approach: having PEOPLE lead the way, tap people on shoulders, saying "excuse me," etc.

Our Safety Adviser was very receptive to this. I'll be requesting him back at our Indiana events.

Event Coordinators and Volunteer Coordinators absolutely should have similar talks with their Safety Advisers before the event starts.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by The Swaggy P

Yeah, I would agree that shouting "ROBOT!" is annoying, but then again, I have been told by FRC Safety Advisors to yell it in previous years.

Safety Advisors are not always properly aligned with actual safety practices. I have seen them insist that students wear gloves when drilling. I have seen them physically pull students away from their work and shout in their faces. If what they are telling you does not seem reasonable, you should acknowledge that you heard it and get another opinion from somebody with more experience.

Originally Posted by The Swaggy P

So until FIRST officially removes this requirement, and doesn't base a safety award off of it, I'll probably keep yelling it when the robot's moving around....

There was no such official requirement, and FIRST already explicitly discouraged it more than a year ago.

http://archive.usfirst.org/roboticsp...Manual-Release

Originally Posted by Frank

...stop yelling ‘Robot’ to let others know you have a robot on the move. Please.

Originally Posted by Oblarg

At the Greater DC district, all robot traffic ended up routed through one narrow hallway, and it was often clogged. I can't imagine what we would have done if no one had shouted "Robot!," or at least shouted something in a loud enough voice to alert you that they were trying to pass. If only we all had eyes in the back of our heads...

Alternatively, we could have people in the front of the robot to calmly clear a path for it.

[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

Alternatively, we could have people in the front of the robot to calmly clear a path for it.

...Who inevitably have to shout to get the mobs of people who are not looking at them to know that they're there, unless you want to tap every single person on the shoulder (having enough people in front of the robot to do this would probably make the problem worse).

Having a person in front of the robot is wise, but it doesn't make the problem magically go away.

[Libby K]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

...Who inevitably have to shout to get the mobs of people who are not looking at them to know that they're there, unless you want to tap every single person on the shoulder (having enough people in front of the robot to do this would probably make the problem worse).

Having a person in front of the robot is wise, but it doesn't make the problem magically go away.

You can get loud enough to be heard without screaming in someone's face. There is a difference between using a loud indoor voice, and being obnoxious. "Excuse me, robot coming through, we're on our way to a match, please move out of the way, Heads up" can be done with a voice that is heard over the 'mobs of people', without being rude.

What a lot of this thread takes issue with is the mindless screaming of ROBOT!!!! without concern for what's around the team.

Like this:

Originally Posted by Wayne Doenges

Last year, at World's, I had a team coming out of the arena yelling ROBOT with NO ONE in front of them for at least 50 feet.

That's just not alright.

The person in front of your cart is responsible for 'parting the waters' in a safe, logical, and polite way. If that means they have to tap some people on the shoulder, then they do it. Robots and people can coexist in the pits, pit aisles, walkways, you name it - as long as people are mindful of how their behavior actually affects others.

I posted something last year about how appalling it was for newcomers from my company to be screamed at by teams, so I won't do it again... but this isn't how we keep people from 'outside the tent'.

This is another one of those topics, like paper airplanes, where some people think it's okay to be disrespectful just because 'it's the culture we already have'. Just because it's what some people have always done, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

[notmattlythgoe]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

...Who inevitably have to shout to get the mobs of people who are not looking at them to know that they're there, unless you want to tap every single person on the shoulder (having enough people in front of the robot to do this would probably make the problem worse).

Having a person in front of the robot is wise, but it doesn't make the problem magically go away.

Just a warning, I know that this practice will be frowned upon at Hampton Roads this weekend. You will be asked to stop and have someone walk ahead of the robot asking people politely to move.

[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by Libby K

What a lot of this thread takes issue with is the mindless screaming of ROBOT!!!! without concern for what's around the team.

With all due respect, I think this thread does a lousy job of communicating that.

The title of the thread is "petition to end the shouting of ROBOT." Anything said in a voice loud enough to be heard at many competitions can be fairly considered "shouting," and I don't think there's any argument to be made that using the word "robot" is, per se, an inappropriate way of doing it (if you wish to use other words to supplement it for the sake of manners, that's fine, but I don't think that's such a pressing issue that it deserves its own thread).

Of course, "mindless screaming" of anything is neither useful nor appropriate. But a lot of shouts of "Robot!" are most certainly not that, and pointing that out is a perfectly reasonable thing to do given the title of the thread.

Originally Posted by notmattlythgoe

Just a warning, I know that this practice will be frowned upon at Hampton Roads this weekend. You will be asked to stop and have someone walk ahead of the robot asking people politely to move.

I won't actually be there, but I hope for the sake of all the teams involved that, if this is the case, there is nothing comparable to the chokepoint of that hallway at Greater DC.

[Libby K]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

With all due respect, I think this thread does a lousy job of communicating that.

The title of the thread is "petition to end the shouting of ROBOT." Anything said in a voice loud enough to be heard at many competitions can be fairly considered "shouting," and I don't think there's any argument to be made that using the word "robot" is, per se, an inappropriate way of doing it (if you wish to use other words to supplement it for the sake of manners, that's fine, but I don't think that's such a pressing issue that it deserves its own thread).

Of course, "mindless screaming" of anything is neither useful nor appropriate. But a lot of shouts of "Robot!" are most certainly not that, and pointing that out is a perfectly reasonable thing to do given the title of the thread.

You have a fair point there!

So here's my question:
What does "ROBOT!" accomplish that "Pardon me, Robot coming through, Heads up!" at similar volume doesn't?

[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by Libby K

You have a fair point there!

So here's my question: What does "ROBOT!" accomplish that "Pardon me, Robot coming through, Heads up!" at similar volume doesn't?

Nothing, but it's fewer syllables and naively projecting my own standards onto other people I don't see why anyone would care much one way or the other.

I openly admit that I don't understand a lot of social ritual, though, so it's entirely possible that I'm way out of the ordinary in not caring. But from my (admittedly biased) sampling of other people at competition, I've never met anyone else who feels otherwise.

[notmattlythgoe]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

Nothing, but it's fewer syllables and naively projecting my own standards onto other people I don't see why anyone would care much one way or the other.

The better question is the opposite:

What does "Pardon me, Robot coming through on your left, Heads up!" accomplish that "ROBOT!" at similar volume doesn't?

The answer is a lot.

[thedude019]

GPR was generally good about keeping the pits under control. We never really had to scream robot just a polite "excuse us" or people were generally aware of robots approaching them.

[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by notmattlythgoe

The better question is the opposite:

What does "Pardon me, Robot coming through on your left, Heads up!" accomplish that "ROBOT!" at similar volume doesn't?

The answer is a lot.

Situationally, sure. Often one call of "Robot!" isn't enough to actually get people's attention, and a full sentence like that is a lot less awkward/downright annoying than chorusing "Robot! Robot! Robot!" would be.

But it's often the case that a single "Robot!" effectively gets people to look up, notice you, and clear out of the way. I observed this several times at DC, and didn't see anyone gravely harmed or offput by the lack of manners. So I have a hard time seeing the need to not do it.