Stop with the "RTFM" stuff

[David Brinza]

It can be hard to distinguish whether a poster is looking for interpretation of a rule versus using the CD community as a human search engine. If the rule in question is unambiguous, the tendency among FIRST veterans is to assume the poster hasn't referred to the manual.

A rookie CD member should be gently prodded to use the resources that are in-hand before throwing the question to CD. I prefer to send a PM to the poster - it's discreet and (hopefully) non-threatening. Tell them that CD members are trying to get their arms around the subtleties of the game. I don't think neg rep points and terse "RTFM" answers is the right way to educate our junior FIRST members. Think of this as an opportunity to introduce the rookies to GP and the spirit of FIRST.

Same can be said about posters with very poor spelling, grammar and heavy leet usage. A PM reminding them that their posts reflect on their team can guide them to better posting.