Apologies for the rant, but I’ve seen a lot of student posters on this forum make the same mistakes season-over-season.
Asking for help without doing basic research
Often, posters will ask basic rules questions without checking the Game Manual (or, at the very least mentioning that they’ve checked the Game Manual). Many adults (such as myself) on the forum will post seemingly brusque responses like “Read the Manual, here is a link to the most recent version”, which the OP may perceive as “rude” (e.g. “you (adult) clearly know the answer, why didn’t you just type it in here and save me the hassle”). Look at it from the other perspective - your framing of the question implies that your time is more valuable than a responder’s time. We have also seen cases where responses, while well intentioned, may reference older versions of the rules. Being able to find and interpret information from primary sources is a valuable skill.
If English is not your primary language, let us know and we’ll be much more patient
Do: “I read rule ABC which says XYZ, but I’m not sure about how to apply XYZ to this particular case”
Do not: “Is there a rule against having a flamethrower on my robot?”
Please make sure to use correct terminology when asking questions
Students will often refer to any adult volunteer with a role at a Vex Event as a “judge”. There are specific roles that adults fill at Events, and it is respectful to know enough to differentiate them, just as competitors would probably not appreciate these adults from referring to their creations as “remote control cars”. Some common roles:
- Event Partner - this is the person coordinating the event and all volunteers
- Head Referee - this is the person/people who interpret the rules for matches. Competitors may only ask the Head Referee questions about the match and rules interpretations. The Head Referee’s decisions are final. Head Referee’s must pass a certification exam from Vex to prove they know the game’s rules.
- Scoring Referee - these are the people who provide additional eyes on a match to help the head referee ensure robots follow the game’s rules. They will generally score the match allowing the head referee to move onto the next match to keep the event running on-time.
- Judge - These volunteers will meet with teams, gather information about their robots and determine judged awards.
Do: “The Head Referee at a match said that XYZ broke rule ABC, but I think that DEF applied”
Do Not: “Some Judge DQed me from my match because my robot broke the rules”
Forums are not Discords
The Vex Forum is different than Discord; messages must be approved here by Vex Staff, and there is usually a much longer period of time between interactions. There are character limits on posts, and so content here tends to be “longer form” than what you might see on a more instant-messaging based community.
In particular, when asking questions about code, or “my robot doesn’t do…”, please provide your code or a picture of your robot. We can’t help if we have to speculate wildly about what you have done or built.
Do: Take the time to clearly spell out your problem or question and provide as much detail as you can
Do not: Post “PLEASE HELP!!! My robot doesn’t work and I have a match in 30 seconds!!!”