I have an idea to have somewhat of website centered around our vex team/robot. Can (and would) a judge visit it if asked? Is this breaking a rule of any kind?
Don’t most locals require physical copies of notebooks? They do in CT at least
Most have switched to Online Journals in my state.
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A website about your team/robot sounds splendid!
However, please keep in mind that they will probably not look at it. From what I’ve heard, judges only skim through your notebook. I don’t think it’s even possible for them to read the entire thing; there are too many teams at a comp to do that. Also, I don’t get how you’d ask a judge to visit it…? In all of my comps I’ve never actually gotten to meet the judge that graded and reviewed our notebook (of course, it could just be our team or our region…? I’ve never actually thought or asked about it. There’s a certain process for the judging; you can find it on the REC Library.)
But, you can still try, however futile it is. My team did it last year; I don’t think the judges bothered. (It was just for fun anyway, we removed it soon after.)
Lastly, from what I know as of now, there are no rules that abide you from posting links, QRs, etc. in your notebook. Doing this would not DQ you from any awards. Basically, they wouldn’t care.
Anyway, even if you can’t or won’t put the link in your notebook, a website is always a fun idea to do with your team, especially if you qual for worlds or just have extra time to spare.
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According to the Guide To Judging, judges are advised not to click links in notebooks, though including links in the notebook is not discouraged.
So, they probably wouldn’t go to the website. If I were you, I would just make it for non-judges.
In our region, it’s not uncommon for a local tournament to require digital notebooks. It’s about 50/50 here.
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I’ve been both a judge and a judge advisor. It’s very unlikely a judge would take the time to click on a link, aside from being potentially risky, it’s just a rabbit hole that consumes a lot of time. Be sure to get yourself a copy of the guide to judging, and especially read the engineering notebook rubric because the easier the judges can find the items on the rubric the better your notebook score will be.
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It’s a great idea for finding sponsors!
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I think a website makes a lot of sense for the judge interview. If they ask a design process question and one team member answers while another calls up illustrations on a laptop that connect to the work in the notebook… that would be compelling to Judges.
But (as others have said) Judges are not likely to follow links from a notebook. The notebook needs to be a complete product on its own.
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Most1 locals in OK/TX R2 and 5 do at least from our experience
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Reiterating what others have stated, this is the direct quote from the Guide to Judging
“Teams may provide links or QR codes to sources such as web pages or videos in their notebook. While these may be useful for the team, and they’re inclusion should not be discouraged, Judges should NOT investigate these as a part of the Engineering Notebook evaluation. In addition to the security risks of clicking on a link or a QR code to an unknown source, it could take a disproportionate amount of time for judges to look into that additional content. As such, the content of those links/videos are not considered part of the team’s Engineering Notebook document. Teams are encouraged instead to summarize/describe what is in the link so judges have some insight into what is contained without having to go outside of the Engineering Notebook document.”
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