Q & A

[Joe Ross]

Originally Posted by dlavery

For the past several years there has been a "built-in hold" of a few days between the kick-off and the opening of the Q&A system. For example, last year the Q&A system opened at noon on the Wednesday following kick-off.

This delay period is intentional (and in my opinion absolutely necessary). It allows the teams to have a reasonable amount of time to fully read, digest and comprehend the contents of the manual and game rules before they ask questions. This encourages teams to really become familiar with the documentation, and the information that is available describing the 2008 game. It also helps prevent those that answer the Q&A questions from being completely overwhelmed with basic questions that are better answered by reviewing the provided materials during the first few days.**

Before (and after) the Q&A system opens up, one of the fundamental messages we give to our team is:

The manual is your friend. Read it. Learn it. Use it.

-dave

While I agree with the reasons that the Q/A is closed, I think it would help if this was communicated officially to the teams.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Joe Ross

While I agree with the reasons that the Q/A is closed, I think it would help if this was communicated officially to the teams.

The manual tells us that Q&A opens "shortly after Kickoff". I think Wednesday (or thereabouts) fits that description.

Originally Posted by 2008 FRC Manual, Section 1 Communication, 1.6.1

Getting Answers To Your Competition Questions
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FRC Q&A Forum: Shortly after Kickoff, FIRST also provides an on-line forum for questions and answers (Q & A). ...