[CQ-Contest] 1 radio vs. 2 radios

[TOMK5RC at aol.com]

In a message dated 97-08-06 10:27:19 EDT, you write:

<< But Tom, He/she still "got away with it" ... even with your post, the
 mystery station is still 'safe' to do it again ... and will still do
 it again, in the next operating event ... so nothing has changed ...
 
 What do YOU tell the newbie contesters who ask "why should I play
 by the rules since XXXXX does not ?" or when they ask "why does he/she
 get away with it, time after time ?"
 
 I am in TOTAL agreement with you that there are some who "BUST the
 envelope" on a regular basis ... my question remains, "what to do 
 about it ?" Post their callsigns and cite the offense ? What ?
  >>

A little retrospection might give you an answer. Why do we contest? It comes
down to self gratification and peer recognition. If you are sick enough get
off by cheating, what's the point? The contest community isn't stupid, we
know who the overnight wonders are and who is 3 "S" units louder than
everyone else.

You seldom see the cheaters at Dayton or Visalia. If you do, they generally
have thier own little following of groupies and are out of the main stream.
You won't see them featured in the NCJ "Profiles." If we shun them, they will
go away. If we get into heated debates and glorify their activities, they
will persist.

What do we tell the newcomers? Did your college guidance councelor tell you
that, statistically, you would be divorced and flirting with bankruptcy by
age 40? I try to steer newcomers away from 75 meters and show them the fun
stuff. If they are persistent and uncover our darker side, perhaps they will
become proactive and offer better suggestions than we have come up with, so
far, to clean things up.

Hopefully, we will never have a "contest patrol" knocking on doors during
contests to catch cheaters. That being the case, let your consience be your
guide.

Tom Taormina, K5RC/7


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