wlmeng11 wrote:On the contrary, I feel that reverting the FAQs without any prior notice would be entirely unfair to the teams that decided to not use a lift system (such as mine and ethanhunt's, and likely many more), as all officially posted information thus far since the wording regarding scoring golf balls was originally changed has made it clear that golf balls do not have to be lifted in order to score an ETS.sjwon3789 wrote:Honestly, because it'll make the competition too much easier, they'll probably restraining themselves from letting us NOT lifting the golf balls. Only that can make sense, but there was a flaw to their rules. But what's irritating is that they can just simply tell us straightforward that you either have to or not. But I'm betting that they're going to make us because receiving 2 pts from golf ball vs dimension points differ too significantly.XJcwolfyX wrote:I don't see why they cannot just clarify this. What's holding them back?
Additionally, while the rules have been changed then reverted regarding the handle of the scoring jug, doing the same in this situation would have entirely different consequences, as the handle rule was an added restriction that was subsequently removed, whereas in this case, the requirement of lifting golf balls was already removed, and adding it back in the middle of comopetition season would certainly spell disaster for any team facing such a rule change immediately before their competition (disclaimer: my regional tournament is in less than a week). In other words, reverting the handle rule was merely an annoyance to everyone that went out and bought a milk jug, while reverting this rule could put many teams in a very bad position.
On a side note, while I agree that not requiring golf balls to be lifted does make the competition easier, it isn't "too much easier," as completing more than 2 or 3 ETS's is not trivial, and it's certainly no easier than last year and any year before, when the focus of the event was on energy transfers rather than lifting golf balls (I personally think the energy transfers should be the main task and lifting golf balls should be the bonus task, rather than the other way around).
I agree with what you say about the jug. What they did about that was reasonable. But, the golf ball issue is not as simple because the change they made regarding it has effected many of the other rules making them incoherent. If they keep it as they currently have it, it seems we will just have to ignore the inconsistencies that have been created. That might be unscientific and unsavory, but what else can we do?
I agree also with what you say about reverting back to the original ruling: it would effect many of the designs made since the newer ruling. But, there were also many older designs effected by the newer ruling when it was handed down. It might not be reasonable to revert back to the original ruling at this point, but teams that lift golf balls as the rule book specifies perhaps should be rewarded for their efforts more than 2 points. Perhaps increasing the value of lifting golf balls would be a way to smooth out some of the wrinkles, level the playing field? After all, as you say, lifting golf balls was supposed to be the main task. The "Device Task" found in par. 4 line 1 is to raise one or more golf balls, collecting them in one or more scoring jugs...Whereas the bonus ETSs are optional, yet receive 50 points. And an ETS can be as simple as M-E, flipping a mechanical switch to turn on an electrical current. Of course you still have to collect a before and after golf ball. But, think about it: just collect two golf balls and you can get 50 points for a legitimate ETS. But lift and collect the golf balls and they are only worth an extra 2 points each and the lifting part is the most difficult and takes the most space. The point values seem skewed under the current rulings. Under the original rules as found in the rule book, not so much because you had to lift and collect the golf balls to score 50 points for an ETS. By changing the FAQ, they made it easier to score 50 points and at the same time devalued the lifting of golf balls. It seems crystal clear to me, but I could be in a fog. Any other thoughts?
