"Spare Parts" Rules Are Broken

[MikeDubreuil]

Originally Posted by Rob

After analyzing this situation, it is clear that this can only get better by more people being publicly involved. Mentor a team, volunteer at an event, talk to teams about potential rules violations before they become a problem. FIRST is a community, and we are it's citizens. If we want it to be a better place, we need to be more involved.

Alright... this might sound ridiculous but here me out guys.

There is a sweater at Abercrombie that is just totally awesome. I want it so bad, but it's $50 and I just don't have the money.

There are 2 reponses: A. Legally obtain the sweater. B. Steal it.

I'd like to hope that the people in FIRST are the group A type. They want to play by the rules.

A person in groub B is willing to take the gamble that they will get away with their crime.
In my hometown of Enfield, CT, shoplifters are dealth with in two ways, depending on your age. If you're under 18, the police scare you and then embarass you in front of your parents. If you're over 18, you're arrested, and embarassed publicly in the newspaper.

Unfortunately, in the FIRST community there isn't a serious way to deal with violations of the rules. We have to be more pro-active in how we deal with violations. I think this thread has shown, that violations of the rules occur much more often than we could have imagined.

So I think we need some serious penalties. Not serious enough to cause someone to leave FIRST, but serious enough that they are embarassed.
Just as the sweater stealer in my hometown, we should publicly announce when a team breaks the rules.