Ward,
You've given me some pause, since last year, I jokingly offered a "prize"
for anyone worked me on all 5 HF bands (I don't have 160 capability here)
during the CQ WPX. (And only one station, XA5T, got it... based on the
reaction from the QSL manager, I've been convinced that it wasn't worth
doing again). Although done in jest, it certainly wasn't my intention to
run afoul of the spirit, let alone letter, of the rules.
Yes, it's a grey area, and had I been more cognizant of that last year, I
probably wouldn't have made that offer.
But I wonder... is saying "if you happen to work us on all bands, we'll give
you a certificate" something that needs to be prohibited? I know that one
M/M V2 team did that last year in at least one contest, for example, but
considering the number of transmitters QRV during that M/M effort, I'd have
real doubts that it gathered them THAT many extra QSO's.
So offhand, I'd say that if a station offers something of little or no real
value, like a "worked on 6 bands" certificate, it should not be an ethical
violation. Let's not squeeze all the fun out of things. Something more
substansive, though, should be be prohibited -- in short, anything that
gives the appearance of "buying" contacts.
73, ron wn3vaw
"You are a fluke of the Universe
You have no right to be here
And whether you can hear it or not,
The Universe is laughing behind your back"
-- National Lampoon's Deteriorata
From: "Silver Ward" <hwardsil1@mindspring.com>
To: "CQ-Contest Reflector" <cq-contest@contesting.com>
Subject: [CQ-Contest] The Difference Between Rules and Ethics
I think the discussion of spotting, self-spotting, and pre-contest marketing
efforts is a very good one to have in a public forum such as CQ-Contest.
This is an excellent use of the medium. Even if there is no consensus
reached, all of us will have at least considered the question and that
raises everyone's consciousness on the subject.
No one has suggested that K9PG/ZF2MM committed an infraction during the
contest. (Read ARRL contest rule 3.1.4 for the specifics of what is
prohibited.) What we are talking about - and is certainly a legitimate
topic - is contesting ethics of the single-operator genre. The addition of
packet and Internet technology sweeps away old assumptions about what tools
were and were not available to an individual before and during a contest.
Remember the old days when all we had to worry about were the infamous
long-distance phone calls?
Boiling the pre-contest issue down, it is unethical to encourage a specific
group to perform acts on behalf of or render assistance to a specific
station using methods that would not also be available to other competitors.
The concern is not really about the simple act of spotting a club member,
per se, but the support-your-buddy thing, which, must be admitted, could
really get out of hand IF somebody really intended to push that aspect of
it. In organizing the WRTC we worried about that A LOT and it frequently
happens. In WRTC-1990 logs there were clearly "pass the microphone"
incidents. The potential for serious abuse is why I think this issue got
the attention of "senior contesters". K9PG's own log stats show that he
didn't really get much from the marketing effort. However, I'm sure that
with the clever and inventive souls inhabiting the ranks of radiosport
contesters, the techniques could be refined to confer a much greater
advantage if there is not some kind of peer pressure today that it might be
a Bad Thing.
There are many other activities that tread into the grey area. Along with
exhortations to spot early and often (sorry, couldn't resist the Chicago
cliche...) what of special awards, certificates, promises of fancy QSLs, and
other things that increase the desirability of QSOs with one station and not
another in ways that have nothing to do with the competition? Some are
probably OK and others not so OK.
We have to ask ourselves if that great new idea enables us to perform more
effectively or does it deny another competitor a legitimate opportunity to
do so? These are hard questions.
73, Ward N0AX
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