[FTC]: FIRST Rules Traditions and Practices

[Joachim]

"I see this loose interpretation of the rules and the act of saying, 'well it doesn't say...' to become a waste of time when in the thick of design"

I see it just the opposite. How do you begin designing unless you first decide generally what you want the designed thing to do? And how do you decide what you want it to do unless you know what is possible or permitted for it to do under the rules?

It is not an issue of what the rules do not say, but of what they do say, and of making what they do say match what the game designers intended.

Use of loosely written rules and reliance on "spirit of the game" or other strained interpretations to fill the gaps creates a game environment that encourages conformity and convention and discourages innovation.