The Honor Code of FIRST

[David Brinza]

Originally Posted by Stud Man Dan

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I know this post is not as much about the key to the honor code which reflects on "fix it" windows and pre season building, but it is no less important. We all know teams do not follow the code and build parts before season, teams may even build entire drive assemblies preseason. Its unfortunate but true, do their need to be more checks and balances? Possibly, but within the current construct of FIRST I believe it to be nearly impossible.
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A rule is a rule whether you like it or not, what gives your team the right to pick and chose while the other 1350 teams have to follow it. So whether it be by the FIRST volunteers, or the FIRST community, teams need to be held accountable. If teams follow this advice and ignore the rules, accountability and integrity, I believe that this program would self implode quicker than it would be "better off."

Hey, many of the rules can seem almost arbitrary and incompatible with the way some FIRST teams operate.

The "fix-it window" rule is a good example: last year you were allowed two 5-hour periods in which to upgrade, make spare parts or work on software. For some teams, that highly-constrained work period just couldn't work. If, during weekdays, the mentors couldn't show up until after 6 pm and the school or facility where you built the robot required you to leave by 9pm, you basically lost 40% of your fix-it window those days. FIRST could make it easier (and dare I say, more "fair") by allowing teams to have three "fix-it window" sessions with no more than 10 hours cumulative permitted. Under last year's rule, that wasn't an option.

Would you consider a team that worked 3 hours on two weeknights and four hours on Saturday to be taking unfair advantage of other teams? Could YOUR team rationalize this as meeting the spirit of the "fix-it window intent"? (I'm not saying that I know of teams that did this; we certainly didn't.)

As part of the FIRST community, we have the right (actually, the duty) to suggest that the FIRST rules have enough flexibilty to accommodate teams constraints without unduly penalizing them. Why put teams at a disadvantage via somewhat arbitrary rules intended to "level" the playing field?

Honor code is a great thing, but if some of the least enforceable rules seem arbitrarily over-constrained, the temptation to "skirt" them can drive teams down the path to rationalize their deviations from those rules. Once you start down that path, other rules can become victimized as well. I don't think that's where we want to go...