New year message from the FRA

[ewan]

I echo Stus sentiment

[robotwars]

Ok Guys,

I thought life was a little quiet ! I mean even us event organisors aren€™t fighting at the moment !!!! Time for a nice gritty discussion !!


I have no bones in admitting that I support the FRA, and I believe it has done so much good, I don€™t think people appreciate it sometimes, maybe they just take things for granted€¦€¦. this doesn€™t mean I always agree with everything it does.

I have a few questions for the less positive few, if you don€™t mind answering.

When did you last attend an event?
Have you ever been a member of the FRA?
Is the reason you don€™t come to events because of the FRA?
Do you see having the FRA over the last 3 years a waist of time?
What is the problem with the FRA in your opinion that stops you wanting to both join it, and also be part of it?

Maybe its time we stopped going round in circles, ok, so there are a bunch of roboteers who don€™t appear to like the FRA and what it does, but on the other side of the coin there are a lot people who do, and then there is a lot of us who put our money where our mouth is and get off our back sides and actually try and do something to save our hobby and not let it rot away as it would have done years ago.

Do you think we want to spend our own Saturdays sat in a cold office in Daventry trying to help things move along€¦.. I think I can speak for the rest of the people involved in the FRA that we all believe in it or we wouldn€™t be there!!!

I look forward to your answers to my questions, and hopefully we can find out what the problem is!

Unless we stand united, how do we ever move forward??? Maybe there are a few individuals which dont want us to move at all apart from backwards!!!

John
http://www.RoamingRobots.co.ukwww.RoamingRobots.co.uk

[kane]

Very well said.

[tom_kane]

apart from you spelt waste wrong!!

[robotwars]

well, i cant get everything right tommo !!

Just waiting now ..... de dum de dum LOL

[tom_kane]

Their all eating dinner John, and watching the first look hollyoaks!

LOL

[robotwars]

nah,...... its an hour special of emmerdale !!! LOL

[john]

it should be an hour special of robot wars! lol

jonno that was a lovely read

[anukhet]

A waist? Do you have one spare as I seem to have lost mine

Anyway Jonno - well said and I hope its given people food for thought (there I go again!)

[tim]

-1>Apologies for taking so long to reply back however - I have been on various trains for the last five hours or so travelling back from a meeting.

Lots of discussion since last I posted and to be honest that is what this forum should be about in my opinion.

Adrian - for absolute clarity my questions in this thread have absolutely nothing to do with any issue involving XFM*

Andy - thank you for your answers -

on 1) the purpose of my questions in this thread is to do just that and ask the event organisers - if they wish to reply in non-open forum I respect that right and they can PM or email me.

on 2) I personally saw the FRA being there to generally make the roboteers lot a better one for all roboteers and I am saddened that we are at a point where it is not worth considering some of our community.

Some choose to enjoy our sport whilst wishing to stay away from any politics, I would like to think there is still a place for these people in our community.

None of what I have written has been a criticism of the FRA it has merely been to seek answers to some questions on behalf of a minority (a personal decision without consultation with others) and I thank Paul and Ewan for adding their thoughts.

At no-time have I been derogatory or inflamatory to any individual, group or association and therefore I find the put or shut up comment unnecessary and an indictment of some of the reasons why some people may have chosen not to be members and the individualisation of most of the issues that aflict our sport currently.

James - I agree wholeheartedly with your statement On a whole i think it has taken a while but the FRA together (not as individuals) have been positive on the sport - I am not criticising the FRA - I am asking for debate around a single policy change (without prejudice to that change by providing a balancing viewpoint)

Jonno - thank you for your response, I am glad you support the FRA and agree that it has done a lot of good.

Not certain if you include me in the category of less positive as I personally on the whole feel quite positive. Though to answer your questions:

-Last event was Sept 07 due to personal commitments and technical problems have not been to one since
-Yes I have previously been a member
-I do come to events
-No the FRA has not been a waste of time
-Comments in a previous post detail why I have been considering my position in relating to joining the FRA but do not preclude me deciding to join again. I would guess that most people who dont join the FRA do so due to personal dislike of some of the politics

I personally feel there is a place for those that dont like the FRA and those that do to all participate - I dont see there having been a problem here in the past at events (other than mainly personal issues).

Jonno, I have every respect and gratitude for the work that you and a few others have done to keep this sport alive by building arenas and running events. You were the first to succesfully do this in my mind and everyone should be grateful for this.

Perhaps you can answer my question as to what your personal reasoning is for wanting all participants to be FRA members?


Believe it or not I am trying to keep us united - perhaps by asking the questions that others dont want to. I am trying to keep all roboteers united in participating at events, regardless of personal viewpoints on the FRA.


-2>*I actively help run XFM shows and have done since the beginning investing significant amounts of time in the process to help put on events for roboteers - but I have no vested interest other than to help promote the sport