Some Newbie Questions

[irishninja]

1) What is the 555 timer?

2) How does the rep points system work? I read the entire FAQ, but when my rep bar sporadically jumped I got confused. I only have about eight people who have given me rep and who are listed on my user cp. Do you only see recieved rep from people who give significant comments, or can you get more than one point per person? If so, is it based on how much rep they own, or how long they have been with CD?

3) I understand why people would be upset with long signatures as you have to scroll down, but why are people upset with bringing back old threads? It seems to me that if you find an old thread that is pretinent to today it is better to add on to it than to create a new one. It seems to me that when I have seen several threads that were already created, albeit years ago, someone always posts that thread has already been created, although it may just seem that way to me, and in fact they are talking about the same thread in a different location.

4) How do we suggest a new forum or sub forum?

[Ryan M.]

Originally Posted by irishninja

2) ...Do you only see recieved rep from people who give significant comments, or can you get more than one point per person? If so, is it based on how much rep they own, or how long they have been with CD?

You see all the rep you get, and yes, people with higher rep and higher post counts give more. Do a few searchs, but this may give you a little better idea.

[Ryan Dognaux]

Originally Posted by irishninja

3) I understand why people would be upset with long signatures as you have to scroll down, but why are people upset with bringing back old threads? It seems to me that if you find an old thread that is pretinent to today it is better to add on to it than to create a new one. It seems to me that when I have seen several threads that were already created, albeit years ago, someone always posts that thread has already been created, although it may just seem that way to me, and in fact they are talking about the same thread in a different location.

Bringing back an old thread with reasonably valid questions or comments is the right thing to do. It is better to comment in an already existing thread than to create a new one if the topics are the same.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by irishninja

1) What is the 555 timer?

It's an integrated circuit used to implement a wide variety of simple timing functions. See the datasheet then Google "555" if you like to drink guidance from a fire hose.

Originally Posted by irishninja

2) How does the rep points system work? I read the entire FAQ, but when my rep bar sporadically jumped I got confused. I only have about eight people who have given me rep and who are listed on my user cp. Do you only see recieved rep from people who give significant comments, or can you get more than one point per person? If so, is it based on how much rep they own, or how long they have been with CD?

3) I understand why people would be upset with long signatures as you have to scroll down, but why are people upset with bringing back old threads? It seems to me that if you find an old thread that is pretinent to today it is better to add on to it than to create a new one. It seems to me that when I have seen several threads that were already created, albeit years ago, someone always posts that thread has already been created, although it may just seem that way to me, and in fact they are talking about the same thread in a different location.

4) How do we suggest a new forum or sub forum?

Brandon will probably answer these soon.

[Brandon Martus]

Originally Posted by irishninja

4) How do we suggest a new forum or sub forum?

Send me a PM and I will consider adding any new sub-forums.

[irishninja]

Another question. Why do so many people have 0000 as their team number?

[Ryan Dognaux]

Originally Posted by irishninja

Another question. Why do so many people have 0000 as their team number?

This means that the person isn't associated with a team at the moment. There are many aspects of FIRST one can be involved in. For example, I was on team 234 for four years in high school, but took a year off of being on a team for my freshman year of college. However, I still remained involved in FIRST through Purdue University's FIRST Programs and assisting with the Boilermaker Regional.

[KenWittlief]

Originally Posted by irishninja

Another question. Why do so many people have 0000 as their team number?

Because Team Four Ought ROCKS! :^)

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

Because Team Four Ought ROCKS! :^)

It does seem very likely that Team 0000 leads in several categories; e.g., CD rep, lifetime FRC Awards, total FIRST volunteer hours, etc.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Ryan Dognaux

Bringing back an old thread with reasonably valid questions or comments is the right thing to do. It is better to comment in an already existing thread than to create a new one if the topics are the same.

Not in all circumstances. If it's more than a couple years old, someone will likely make a comment about reviving ancient threads. In that case, I'd start a new thread, reference the old thread as background (or say something like, I know it's in this ancient thread, but...), and let the moderators combine if they wish. There's a fine and fuzzy line between a healthy thread revival and an ancient thread revival. But this post is just my opinion, based on what I've seen on the forums.