In a message dated 7/2/98 9:09:14 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
w4an@contesting.com writes:
<< 1. Is it OK to tape record the contest and play it back after the
contest (before sending in the log) to correct copying mistakes during
the contest?
2. Is it OK to gather a bunch of logs of say other club members, stick
them in to a database, and generate information about the logs before
they are sent in to the sponsor?
>>
I don't think that we will ever reach a consensus as to what is "OK" before,
during or after a contest. All we have to go by is the exact wording of the
rules, the wording of the disqualification criteria and the sponsor's
interpretation of the rules. As a contesting community, we establish what is
morally and ethically correct and that changes with the seasons.
In my opinion, most contest rules were written when we paper-logged and hand
wrote dupe sheets. After every contest, I generated a new dupe sheet, which
required me to look at every log entry. If I found a problem with what I had
written, I corrected it in the log. I became acutely aware of this after I
lost a section in SS because I had written the wrong state abbreviation for
MS, lost a multiplier and lost first place!!
After contests, there was always a rap session on 3830 in which we compared
notes and anecdotes. If I heard "hey did you copy that W5XYZ was in LAX and
not in LA" I would go to the log and make sure I had it correct. I also
assumed that we had 30 days to get our logs to the sponsor because we needed
time to "clean them up" after the contest.
I'm not espousing my methods as "correct, ethical, moral or rule-compliant."
They just worked for me. How I extrapolate that to the technology we have
today, I am still not certain. I also don't pretend to know the difference
between "cleaning" and "cooking" logs.
My advice is to read the rules, read all the banter on the subject, judge what
works for you and then follow your conscience.
Tom, K5RC
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