2011 build season: open to the public

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by thefro526

Chris, you mind going into how you're managing multiple users? Do they each have their own account, or is there one team account that anyone can use?

If each user that wants to write makes a Wordpress.com account, you can use Wordpress to set permissions for multiple users. Right now the team captain and I are both set to Administrator (the highest level). Contributor is all you need to write articles and doesn't have many limitations.

[TroyCDH]

I try not to follow what other teams are trying until week 3. Just from my observance, it seems that when people follow plans that someone else did--they do not give their own ideas a chance to develop.

I do like Chris's comments about teams with various levels of help and mentors. I also liked his comment that many #2 teams think they are better #3 or #4 teams. Know your team limits and strengths.

My 2 cents: Give an honest try for your ideas and prototypes before peeking at other plans. Also remember that failed prototypes are not a failed learning experience. That previous comment goes easier in build week 3 than build week 6! Design and prototype early and often.

Good luck

[Vikesrock]

I believe I've convinced 2175 to at the very least try to keep a Build Journal going on the team blog:
http://frc2175.blogspot.com/

We'll see how the students manage to keep up with that given that they haven't managed to get a post recapping the offseason written and posted yet

[Chris is me]

Giving this thread an additional little nudge. Congratulations to all of the teams that have done open build seasons so far this year! Being able to see what a dozen other teams are doing has given Shaker a lot of insight and encouraged us to really think about what we ourselves are doing.

This is also serving as a friendly reminder that it's not too late for your team to join the fun! A lot of teams like to keep a tight lid on the very early parts of their build, sharing more and more as it goes on. Even if you have some secrets in your pocket I would like to encourage you guys to blog or write as much as you can on your build in public.

We've been lucky to get a lot of exposure on our blog, averaging 180 hits a day! Hopefully that will help us in the competition season.