**FIRST EMAIL**/SharingFIRST

[Greg Needel]

I think that the overlap is because of the funding provided for these sites.

SharingFIRST seems to be sponsored by the Engineering Information Foundation

FIRST think tank is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and WPI

FIRST community seems to be a FIRST house project.

I agree it would be nice if all the organizations got on the same page, but it appears that each group while serving the same function exists so the organizations can each get some recognition of their work. I think that FIRST should just give up and officially recognize Chiefdelphi as the place to go for community and team resources. I mean most of the documents are posted here already anyway.

[Katie_UPS]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

I think that FIRST should just give up and officially recognize Chiefdelphi as the place to go for community and team resources. I mean most of the documents are posted here already anyway.

I second and third and fourth this.

[ebarker]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

I think that FIRST should just give up and officially recognize Chiefdelphi as the place to go for community and team resources.

It is interesting that this "community of interest" gathers on CD to discuss the other websites.

CD is certainly a top candidate but I think to make it top notch a couple of changes have to be made, but I'd rather get into that after the CMP and our presentation.

Ed

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

I think that FIRST should just give up and officially recognize Chiefdelphi as the place to go for community and team resources.

I don't think that would work quite as well as we'd like it to. FIRST is going to want better control over things than they'd get here. My best-case scenario would be something like an inter-forum link, where posts on a FIRST-controlled site were accessible through that site and through a Chief Delphi subforum connected to it.

[Bharat Nain]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

I don't think that would work quite as well as we'd like it to. FIRST is going to want better control over things than they'd get here. My best-case scenario would be something like an inter-forum link, where posts on a FIRST-controlled site were accessible through that site and through a Chief Delphi subforum connected to it.

It seems like control is the main dish with everything. I like the idea of a sub-forum, if CD will allow. Expanding on the already available resources (White papers, sub-fora, etc) on CD will yield greater benefit to FIRST in the long run. I do not know of a larger FIRST community gathering than CD.

The other issue with control is that the community does not feel as though they are a part of something. CD allows for people to post their thoughts reasonably freely and it is maintained by people who are a part of the community. It is good that people such as Mark McLeod post the email blasts on here. When I used to be signed up for the email blast (I don't know what happen), sometimes the emails never got to me. This is just an example of how information from FIRST got to me. There are many points to debate here but the bottom line is CD is a great information pipeline and it feels as if FIRST is trying to fight it by putting up many other resources which are designed to be notoriously hard to use.

[JaneYoung]

FIRST's concern is with FIRST and with how to continue to improve and develop communications and impact for everyone involved, including their clientele. Any successful program is interested in continual development and in implementing opportunities to reach an ever-expanding and rich diversity of cultures, backgrounds, needs, and realities. As the FIRST competitions grow, so do the areas that they impact and it looks like the powers-that-be are trying to target and address the areas.

I'm interested in seeing how all of this plays out and supporting the efforts to continue to reach out to teams. Hopefully, some of the initiatives being discussed, introduced, and hinted at, will help ease the increasing feelings of being totally overwhelmed by information provided in ever-increasing and confusing places.

[fuzzy1718]

Just an idea, but what control does FIRST have over the information posted anywhere... If we the community want Chief Delphi to be the site to go to, why post on the other sites. Why play into FIRST's hand, simply refer here. Maybe there could be a sub-forum for all information coming directly from FIRST. (Is there already?) The ball is in our court. We ultimately have the final decision on where to find information. The community just needs to pull their heads together and decide what to do. Have a poll or several polls to decide what to do.

Just a Thought

[JaneYoung]

The FIRST website is the official website for teams, sponsors, and interested parties, including but not limited to, potential teams and sponsors. That website is where they should be directed to for official information regarding the programs and support of and for the programs.

ChiefDelphi is a resource, yes, but the information shared and found here is informal rather than official. The differences should not be confused or muddied. There is no reason to create or foster an antagonistic attitude.