Dangerous precedent set by Q&A 461: Loaning Parts/Assemblies to other teams

[Cory]

A Q&A was posted as a spinoff from the ramps thread to clarify whether it would be legal to give other teams fabricated parts/assemblies that were 1) bagged with the giving team's robot at a previous event 2) brought into the event as part of the giving team's witholding allowance, or 3) fabricated at the event by the giving team.

That Q&A has been answered and seems to set a dangerous precedent that is contrary to FIRST's goals.

Things that are now seemingly illegal:

• Providing a battery to another team with leads installed (maybe not...the rules state that such assemblies do not have to be part of a witholding allowance and can be made prior to the start of the 6 week build season...but there is no specific exemption that says they do not count as ASSEMBLIES made by a giving team, per the Q&A response).
  
• Loaning an assembled COTS transmission to another team (versaplanetary, AM planetary, toughbox, etc)
  
• Loaning any motor with leads soldered to it or terminals attached to integral leads
  
• Loaning a speed controller with terminals attached to the output side
  
• Loaning a speed controller which has had the leads shortened
  
• Loaning any COTS item that has been modified (gear, sprocket, spacer, etc)
  
• Loaning a pneumatic cylinder with fittings attached
  
• Any part fabricated solely by the FIRST provided machine shop at the event (yeah, that sounds alarmist, but that Q&A specifically states that any fabricated part at the event that goes on their ROBOT must be fabricated by that team)
  
• Any part made by a giving team that brings portable drill presses/bandsaws/sanders/lathes/mills in their pit

That's just the list of things I could think of in about a minute. I'm sure there's countless other things you could add to it. Examples from previous years would include premade bumper segments for use by teams with non-compliant bumpers, or as Karthik has pointed out, making bumpers entirely for another team at the event.

It seems really hard to believe FIRST actually wants to be as harsh as they have indicated they will be. The easy answer is "stop lawyering the rules, clearly FIRST doesn't want to ban teams from loaning out the reasonable things listed above", but unfortunately the blanket statement as applied in the Q&A ruling makes that necessary.

Last year Team 1678 had an inbounder assist device they worked to modify many partners with to increase their ability to contribute to an alliance. They were widely (and rightfully) hailed for helping teams be competitive on the field. Other teams loaned spare shot blockers to their third partners in eliminations. In 2013 teams loaned out full court shooter blockers. There are plenty of other examples of teams loaning assemblies or fabricated parts to their partners (who can later become their opponents) going back to the beginning of FIRST.

I can understand if FIRST wanted to avoid a situation where a third partner on an eliminations alliance is asked to sit in a corner with a ramp tethered to them...but the answer they gave seems far too draconian and will only serve to further widen the gap between struggling teams and high performing teams. At the same time, FIRST also should not have created a game which basically encourages two high performing teams to either turn their third partner into a paperweight or take them off the field entirely.