Rising Tide Alliance (and Discord server)

[B-Kinney]

Are you a new team who really wants to learn more about VEX, but is afraid to ask? Or an established team who loves helping newer teams learn the ropes of VEX?

Then you will like the Rising Tide Alliance, and the Rising Tide VEX Discord!

Rising Tide Alliance:
The Rising Tide Alliance is designed for teams who love to help other teams learn more about VEX, who are committed to following both the letter and the spirit of the rules, and who want to make VEX fair for every team.

The Rising Tide Alliance will include an overall alliance that includes teams from all over the world, as well as local alliances for individual regions.

I have not finalized the application process, but feel free to DM me if you are interested in joining.

Rising Tide VEX Discord:
The Rising Tide VEX Discord is designed to be welcoming to teams of every experience level, whether they are part of the alliance or not.

It has sections geared towards new teams, and others geared towards established teams (although most of these will be visible to anyone who wants to view them). It also has subsections for individual regions, and ones specific to the alliance and each of its local chapters.

The Rising Tide VEX Discord also has a zero-tolerance for bullying (if someone thinks it’s bullying, you need to stop doing it unless the mods agree that it’s not), and encourages all teams to bring up concerns with teams or volunteers in private rather than making public accusations (feel free to DM me or another server administrator if you have a concern).

Here is an invite link for the Rising Tide VEX Discord: https://discord.gg/ZxqpTTT

Feel free to invite anyone you want to. Everyone is welcome in the server, as long as they obey the rules.

If you have any questions about the alliance or the Discord, please let me know!

Edits:
The Rising Tide Alliance also plans to have other forms of communication available besides Discord, including DM threads on the forum.

Also, the Rising Tide VEX Discord is looking for mods! If you would like to be a moderator, please let me know. We will probably have moderators for the whole server (likely multiple levels), and for certain sections.

[B-Kinney]

To join the Rising Tide Alliance, you will need to agree to the Rising Tide Pledge. I haven’t completely finalized it, but if you agree to the tentative version I’ve quoted below, you should probably be good:

As a member of the Rising Tide Alliance, I promise:

1. My team will read and obey all of the rules in the current VEX season’s Game Manual and Q&A, the RECF’s Code of Conduct, and any other rules that apply to their VEX team.

2. My team will be honest in our notebook and our interview, and won’t mislead the judges about how the robot or the notebook was made, or what roles each person played.

3. If we win a match unfairly, or receive another unfair advantage, my team and I will do everything we can to help reverse the outcome, and to make it up to the teams who were affected by it. If this affects a States or Worlds spot, we will see what we can do to help those teams to be able to travel to States/Worlds (accompanying their preferred team, or as spectators), and to have input into a robot competing at Worlds (where this is legal).

4. I will consider suggestions from all members of my team, and will not dismiss a good idea because the person making it has less experience, or is speaking about something that’s outside their role on the team.

5. I will treat all volunteers, EP’s, and students with respect. I will avoid making accusations against them, except when speaking in private to people who can make a difference, or who I know for sure will act responsibly and will not reveal this information to others. (Exceptions may be made if it has been proven that the accusations are true, and @Brian Kinney | 77321J Mentor and the other moderators have been consulted.)

6. I will respect all teams, even the ones who haven’t learned how to build good robots. If I want my match partners to be better, I will recognize that I can do this by providing help to them wherever I can (except where this is not legal).

7. Before blaming another team (or another member of my own team) for a loss, I will evaluate what I could have done better myself.

8. If someone believes I’m bullying them, I will try my best to avoid doing the things they consider to be bullying. (I can also ask a moderator for advice about this.)

9. I will recognize that if a team makes it to Worlds or States, they deserve to make the most of it, even if they did not deserve to qualify the way they did.

10. I will not reveal other people’s secrets without their permission.