SM0DRD wrote:
<< Things are moving fast, folks, and the next step is to confirm and validate
our contacts by electronic means on-line, even if we still make them by radio.
(Cf. Oscar, CO2OJ's comment recently) I think that would be a tremendous
vitalisation of contesting, of the DXCC program, and of DX-ing in general. Why
should a guy have to shell out the cost of a rig to get DXCC? >>
well this might not be 100% the right reflector to comment on electronic
QSLing etc but there is one thing I wanted to say for a long time already.
All you guys considering electronic QSLing and how to make these confirmations
fakeproof and easy downloadable for every award one can think of, thus
eliminating the need for the ("useless") paper QSLs and making the award
business much "better and easier", please consider one thing:
why on earth are the QSLs a useless, painful piece of paper while the awards
are not? why would you want to own a very standard designed (not to say
boring) brown sheet of paper with the words DXCC on it and collect standard-
looking "stickers" which do not even fit anywhere on the award and call this
the only reason why you need all those painful QSLs?
Why, using the same logics as for doing away with QSLs, not create electronic
awards as well? I do not say I dont like awards, I just find it stupid that
they should be more justify-able than QSLs.
I for one am much more impressed from the various types of QSLs (which are
hidden among the unfortunately big amount of standard QSLs) that come from all
regions of the world and, even better, sometimes show that the operator cared
to design them himself, and therefore give some very much appreciated insight
into the circumstances and the style of doing things "over there". The QSLs
with a lot information about the country, about the rig and antennas used, the
contest QSLs with a special contest story on them, the unsolicited QSL from
that rare country that suddenly turns in thru the buro, the big fat carton QSL
from Vladivostok, the fancy paper from Japan, the extremely colourful QSL from
Italy, etc, etc.. I love them!!! They all give some information about the
individuals which are behind all the actions, about our international ham
friends, and I appreciate them for that reason, not because I can turn them
into an award. And they all come like a present, you never know how they will
look like and when you will receive them
bottom line: I think, if you care a bit more about your QSL as an individual
piece, something that sheds a bit more light on who you are or what you like,
you will make a lot of people happy with it. think of it as something you give
away to delight the recipients, not only something they need to get the only
thing they really want (the award) because not everybody thinks like that.
Now back to working thru the QSL backlog of the WWDX contests ;-)
73 Con DF4SA
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