...as it were, Gary.

James: Dont get me wrong - Im not advocating people charging into the arena as soon as their robot starts to go mad. Im just suggesting that there may be circumstances where the robot could be pinned fairly safely (by a house robot, etc.) for at least a brief period (before stalled motors start to burn, house robot batteries die, etc.) but where trying to keep the robot wedged there until its power runs out - assuming one can tell when that is the case - poses some form of hazard which outweighs that of pulling the link.

Perhaps more frequently (and with a less obscure scenario), an out of control robot may appear to have run down, but instead have done a Supernova and merely have a loose power connection. Give it a tug on the link, and it starts moving again. Obviously youve done this from outside the arena, so your ankles are relatively safe, but what about your fingers? If the robot drives off while youre holding the link, chances are your fingertips might sting a bit as the link is tugged out of your hand, but youll feel it going and let go - robots accelerate fast, but not *that* fast. A full body spinner with a mobile link could pull the link away quickly enough to take your fingers with it, then hit your hand with a tooth as it followed through.

I speak, of course, from a completely inexperienced viewpoint, but from a paranoid and cowardly one. I wouldnt be happy with the idea - I could see it going wrong. Mind you, I was always a bit nervous about the idea of sticking an arm through the railings where it could get pinned, too.

Im just trying to think of what can go wrong, and try to avoid it. If it never happens, so much the better.

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Fluppet