New year message from the FRA

[craig_colliass]

Tim


I€™m sorry you feel you can€™t join the FRA I know there has been some bad blood between some people in the community just before I joined I don€™t know what its about, and I don€™t think going over old ground would help. I have had times when people have been less than kind to me in my life. Without seeming trite or shallow have you considered forgiving them un-conditionally? I know this approach to the lingering pain of rejection and hurt worked for me. Don€™t let your obvious pain stop you from being a part of the FRA community. It takes a bigger man to stop the hating. Hope this helps.


Craig

[anukhet]

I fully echo your sentiments Craig. In the past I have directly locked horns with those closest to me - even in the roboteering community. The initial fallout is painful but with understanding and forgiveness relationships have been repaired and have gone from strength to strength.

(And we all raise our glasses and sing Auld Lang Syne at the top of our voices )

(Message edited by anukhet on January 06, 200

[swanaldo]

i too will agree craig well put.

[tim]

Craig,

apologies but you are missing my point - this is not about me.

I am attempting to promote general discussion (hence not originally commenting on my position until questioned).

John is spot on when he says that our sport is on the edge of survival - so, my question is why potentially risk alienating any of our semi-active or occasional roboteers? I do not want to see us lose a single team or individual from the community as a result of this change in policy

Craig, those that know me know that I am not one to hold a grudge and one of the people who has tried to maintain the peace on many occasions in the past. I have absolutely no hate to stop.

Could I ask please for the discussion to move away from me (as an individual) to the general point of mandatory membership and the potential implications of such as per my original post

[typhoon_driver]

I can see where you are coming from Tim with your comments and I thank you for bringing up the discussion.

I think I would consider myself to be an occasional roboteer. I can only attend events once in a blue moon for two reasons, distance and the fact that I build spinners.

I am happy to pay £10 to be a member of the FRA for a few reasons,

- Our sport is on the ropes. Yes it has got far better in recent years and the future does look bright, but it could well only take 6 to 9 months of bad events to kill it off completely.

- I believe in the aims of the FRA. There are occasions that sometimes make me question the FRA but then I remind myself that these are generally down to a few small individuals. The overwhelming majority of roboteers are a great bunch.

- £10 isnt a huge amount when you consider that the majority of the components in my machine cost triple that at least.

- I get another card for my wallet which always makes for interesting conversation whenever someone takes a look in it.

[john]

ur last point is funny

[tim]

Gary,

I agree entirely and wholeheartedly in the aims of the FRA

I also have no issue at all with the cost of membership (and I would imagine that most of the community are of the same mindset)

I also believe in freedom of choice - something which this move does not promote*.

Hopefully I am worrying unduly and everyone who wants to participate in events is also willing to join the FRA - but, in my opinion, we should never have got to a position of enforced membership and the offering made by the FRA (both in its aims and the implementation of those aims) should have sold itself to everyone in the community for the right reasons.

Reaffirming my previous post - if we were to lose a single team or individual as a result of this policy change then sadly, for me, the FRA will have failed in its aims



-1>*as per my original post - my understanding is that when the FRA was formed it was very much against the replication of the robot wars club and this feels very much like an evolution towards a similar concept to me

[typhoon_driver]

If someone feels strongly against joining then surely they could get in contact with the event organisers to sort something out?

I cant see anyone turning away a team if there are good reasons.

[anukhet]

The aims of the FRA are numerous and interlinking therefore I cannot see that this single decision would cause the FRA to fail in its aims two of which being To represent roboteer interests in negotiations with other bodies and to To provide consistency with regard to open event safety, arenas and robot build rules. The FRA works for its members and that is why we join.

To join or not to join. I admit to being cynical at times but I cannot see that event organisers requiring that participating teams are FRA members would be any reason in itself to cause member teams to quit - there are many more important issues such as cost/time/etc that have already caused many to give up and will continue to do so.

[leorcc]

The way I see it the FRA is similar to the FIA. You pay for your racing license to the FIA, and to race on you local circuit you pay the racing club. From that standpoint, a 10 pounds is peanuts compared to an FIA license.

What is not exactly clear to me is the FRAs professional indemnity insurance. Specificlally who does it protect and against what? And as an non-uk member, does that protection also apply to me?