> > IMHO the problem is not how the technology is used - it's the
> > technology itself. I'm probably repeating myself, but I consider
> > myself to be an amateur radio contester, with the emphasis on
> > radio and RF - using only modes and frequencies permitted for each
> > contest.
I get such a kick out of the complete absurdity of this sentiment. Yes, it's
admirable to want to be a 'pure' amateur radio operator. I support
wholeheartedly this person's desire to go back to basics. Where it runs
afoul, IMHO, is in trying to force that sentiment on others who don't share
it.
FWIW: for this sentiment to carry any weight, several things would have to
happen:
1. Packet sysops would have to care. They don't. That's not to be critical,
it's merely an observation that they service supporters of the technology.
It's like asking Texas Instruments to stop building ICs so 'pure'
mathematicians can go back to using the abacus.
2. Folk who use packet but don't file logs would have to care. They don't.
They're chasing countries or zones or states or islands or prefectures for a
variety of reasons. Our squabbles about packet don't mean anything to them
and there isn't a damn thing anyone can do to force them to comply.
3. The world amateur population would have to be made to forget how this
technology operates. A bit like erasing Oppenheimer from the world's
collective memory, this ain't going to happen either.
4. Contest organizers would have to care. They don't. They don't hold
contests so we can have yearly funfests whichever way we want. They hold
contests to sell magazines, or memberships, or build amateur radio
cameraderie or whatever. They realize a significant portion of the amateur
radio world, patrons of their advertisers, appreciate the availability of
packet for contest use and that alienating them would drive away large
numbers of entrants and subvert their objectives. Contest organizers aren't
in this for the 'purity' of old-book amateur radio; they're in it to meet
certain business or organizational objectives. Cities don't bid on the
Olympics to celebrate the spirit of fair play. They bid on the Olympics
because certain business interests see an opportunity make a pile of dough
and certain politicians see an opportunity to put their burgh on the map.
It's like asking the universe to turn off gravity. Packet is here and it's
backed by forces bigger than contesting.
The only thing we can do is keep the heat on organizers to make sure rules
are adhered to as much as practicality allows.
73, kelly
ve4xt
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