[CQ-Contest] Penalties Promote Good Contesting

[Richard J. Norton]

When YOU submit a log, three groups of people other than
YOURSELF are impacted.

1) COMPETITORS - It would be unfair to your skilled and diligent
competitors if no penalty were imposed for logging callsigns
incorrectly.

It can take 5 seconds to make a QSO. However, at times it can take
much longer. A skilled, diligent operator will often realize that he
does not have the call correct, and will continue to ask for repeats
until it is correct. A less skilled or diligent operator can can be
oblivious to a glaring error, log a fast guess, and then "work"
several other stations.

Most contest sponsors feel that there is more skill exhibited by
correctly logging than guessing, and want to reward it. If there were
no penalty, the unskilled operator would be rewarded. The penalty is
designed to strongly  encourage all entrants to ask for repeats until
the call is correct before logging it.

Be fair to your competitors. Play the same game as they are. Log the
callsigns correctly.

2) STATIONS-WHO-THINK-THEY-ARE-WORKING-YOU - When you
incorrectly log a station, whether due to ineptness, inattention, or
perfidy, you have in essence, defrauded that station into placing your
callsign in his log.

Even if the sponsors try to award credit when the other guy gets a
call wrong, it is not always possible to determine which logged
callsigns are errors. The penalty is a way the sponsor strongly
encourages you to be fair to those trying to work you.

Please be fair to those trying to work you. Log their calls correctly.
If you can't be sure, please tell them, "No QSO," so that they do not
log you.

3) LOG-CHECKERS - In an almost overwhelming way, the contesting
public seems to appreciate having logs checked. Participation has
increased as entrants receive feedback on their efforts.

The log-checking job for certain contests is massive, and is often
done by unpaid volunteers.Each incorrectly logged contact creates
considerable extra work for the software developers and
log-checkers. This includes finding the errors, verifying that they
are actually errors, appropriately accounting for them, and last but
not least, conducting discourse with entrants about why they lost
credit.

Penalties are also a way that that contest sponsors strongly encourage
you to make their jobs tractable.

ANOTHER VIEW

Note that from another perspective, the penalty can be viewed simply
as a standard for logging contacts. If you are not certain you want to
risk losing 3 QSOs, simply either ask for a repeat or tell the caller,
"No QSO." Do not put a guess at the call in your log.

Everyone is judged under this single, easy to understand, standard.

SUMMARY

Your submission affects others. Penalties should call your attention
to that fact. Please respect your fellow competitors, those trying to
communicate with you, and those involved in log-checking. Please log
the calls correctly.

Thank you.

73,

Dick Norton, N6AA









--
CQ-Contest on WWW:        http://lists.contesting.com/_cq-contest/
Administrative requests:  cq-contest-REQUEST at contesting.com