Some random points remaining from the discussions here.
Given the big interest to do nearly everything to detect cheaters I hope
this will still be in minds during the next discussion about faster
turnaround of results "to make contesting more attractive". Time
pressure and fixed deadlines are the least helpful things for
volounteers chasing cheating regardless what seemingly powerful tools
they may have - and something like SDR-recordings increase precision but
are a bottomless abyss where you can easily drown timewise (audio
recordings being potentially the same beasts).
Somewhat unbelievable faith in software - as it could be written,
implemented and used as easily as we nearly never experience in real
life projects...
Segregating between competitors and participants is the more difficult
when we want to foster competetive operating on all levels and be it
during a three hour race via online-scoreboard between some very
parttime operators or when we want to foster regional competition from
lower score areas not allowing for TopTen. And it may have good
"educational" effect to find and sanction cheating also in early stages
of contester's careers. It may be too late when someone grew to an op as
good in cheating as in operating and only then being tackled by nasty
logcheckers.
And a somewhat formal distinction between both groups could take out the
motivation and emotions associated with the underdog effect from real
sports - not necessarily with winning (even if at least EU football fans
will remember the unbelievable story of OZ "holiday team" beating DL for
the EU title 1992...) but "unexpected" rank 10 should be possible even
without preregistering (and recording and...) as aspirant for this
achivement.
We circle around the very uncomfortable point that with all our efforts
we will land behind "real sports" with real on site inspections, but may
at least find some consolation in the fact that even real life cops can
not find all bad boys - which were only possible by means making things
and life much worse (do we really want sponsor certified wattmeter-boxes
transmitting values to a central server or DQing someone when his live
video transmission interrupts in hour 37 or his cam suddenly misses the
view to instrument reading XY?).
Cu&73 Chris DL8MBS
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