Which CD Users Have Influenced You the Most?

#1

I’m interested in hearing about who other people find to be really useful contributors here on CD. Since the rep system is gone, maybe people can look here as an alternative to the troll-heavy most likes list to find out whose thoughts are highly valued by the community. :smile: I can hope at least.

I myself am most interested in hearing about users that are still active, but if some of you old-timers want to reference even older-timers then be my guest. :older_man: The criteria for who to mention are pretty loose, it’s just whoever you think has had the most positive impact on you, be that through their work, their team, their personality, or their teaching style. Feel free to mention someone again even if they have already been brought up and explain how they impacted you personally.

Feel free to add as many as you want, but I’ll kick things off with my top 3:
#1 is @Ether: His capacity to analytically approach problems has had a huge impact on me. His ability to ask pointed and leading questions really helped me learn many things, and I’ve tried (with varying levels of success) to implement this teaching style when working with others. He also posted tons and tons of useful whitepapers on both robot design and game data, the latter of which was the foundation for some of my earliest analysis work and the backbone of my first scouting database.

#2 is @Karthik: I remember hearing Karthik’s strategic design presentation many years ago, and it has really impacted how I approach game analysis and match strategy ever since. Additionally, his work developing metrics like calculated contributions and the 1114 scouting database was a direct inspiration for my metrics and scouting databases. Also, I still unabashedly believe 1114 is the GOAT, 254 would have to be dominant for another few years even to have a chance at catching up.

#3 is @JVN: I read his Engineering Design Process guide way back as a student, and it has been a spectacular reference for me ever since. I don’t personally use it much since I usually work more with programming, but the JVN design calculator has also been nothing but helpful to teams I’ve been on.

#2

As a statistics enthusiast I have always really enjoyed your works, Caleb, so I would have to say you.

#3

This is mostly from memory since I can’t figure out how to search users by team number, but here is my very incomplete list:

@JamesCH95. If you haven’t read through his previous Team 95 Build Season threads, you should. They are full of unique, interesting designs and sound engineering practice. Plus they detail design failures when they happen and how the team worked to fix them. The 95 thread is always my favorite thread of the year.

@austinSchuh and the mentor crew from 971 is also awesome and super knowledgeable. Those folks know how to build a machine, and they’re among the best in the business at advanced controls.

In that same vein, @Jared_Russell is a mad genius. Go watch his Motion Profiling for FRC presentation (which was done with Tom from 254 an Austin from 971 as well) and read some of the other 254 documentation while you’re at it. https://www.team254.com/resources/

#4

Jared Russell
Paul Capolli

So many great posts!

And these last few years the folks at 1678 have been great to work with.
Especially Mike Corsetto for being super gracious during our CA trips helping us with so many things, like become a help hub.
Devin Castellucci, Devin took the time to fly out to get our new CNC up and running and us trained for this season.

Super stars!

#5

@tjf. His FRC Anthology alone is one of the most useful things for newer teams in FIRST.

#6

From Karthik to JVN, Mike Corsetto to Allen Gregory, those who have not only the skills to help others but go out of their way to do so are my most “influential” members of this community we’re a part of. They take the lessons they’ve learned, the skills they have, and strive to not only help their own teams and own students to grow, but to grow the community as a whole. It’s really no wonder all four of those explicitly listed are Woodie Flowers Finalist Award recipients.

I strive to be more like them in my style of mentorship, because after all, even mentors need mentors.

#7

@SuperNerd256 and @TravusCubington

#8
  • Karthik and Mike Corsetto for their “Strategic Design” videos and their enthusiasm, especially in person.
  • Allen Gregory for all that he has done for the FRC (and FLL) community in general, especially in Texas.
  • JVN for his motor calculator(s) and leading such a consistently inspiring team.
  • Kevin Sevcik for his great insights into robot rules and robot design and invaluable assistance at events
  • Brenan at Celt-X for his great insights on various aspects of robot design.
  • Jon Stratis for his insights into the robot rules and robot design.
#9

All of the users mentioned so far are wonderful contributors to CD that I have learned a lot from.

However, the most motivating and influential users for me, personally, are the ones who say “thank you.” Knowing that the comments/insights/compliments/thoughts/discussions that are shared on CD have a positive impact on many people, and are appreciated, is why I keep coming back to post.

Lurkers - keep up those kind words, even if only via PM or IRL. I know myself and many other users greatly appreciate them. You do not need to be a super-star to be a great CD contributor.

Thank you!