[CQ-Contest] [book] philosophy

[Jeff Stai WK6I]

or: why this will be a book if I will have anything to do with it.

I know how to do web pages and I know how to do books, so that's not the issue.

And the content of ANY book can presented on the web (for better or worse), 
and vice versa.

The real issue is utility and accessibility. Books tell a story in a way 
that no other medium can.

Laptops and PDAs may be pretty good, but I'll insist you still can't read a 
computer by the fireplace in your easy chair, on the sofa with the YL, or in 
the car on a drive - and it will be a long time before I drag a computer 
into the john with me!-)

I've written and read plenty of engineering specs in my day. These days they 
come as PDF files. I print the darn things out to read them! I can tilt my 
chair back, close my office door, and concentrate - as opposed to being 
forced into one posture at the monitor.

Also, I need to be able to write notes in the margin, mark pages, stick 
notes, skim pages, lay it next me on the desk, and do all those things that 
are still done easiest on paper.

Books are here to stay - and they do seem to still be publishing a whole lot 
of them!

By the way, there is nothing in this task that I see requires a lot of 
indexing or searching. A normal table of contents and a good index will 
suffice nicely. If this was not the case, I would be favoring a CD or website.

There are three books I can see modeling this project after:

- "The Compleat DXer": I don't have my copy handy to list the author, but he 
takes you from your first station and first DX contact, through your DXCC, 
all the way to techniques more suited to the Honor Roll. It is a book for 
beginners, and also has plenty to offer the DXCC holder ready to work the 
next 100. (The only 'fault' of the book is that it is out of date.)

- "DXpeditioning on the Edge": This new book tells you how to do a big 
DXpedition, by people who have done it. It is a modern book that describes 
resources and methods available to hams in the 21st century.

- "ON4UN's Low Band DXing": This is a fabulous book that presents accurate 
information without a lot of fluff. It is also a collaborative effort that 
worked.

This book must be about SHARING: if the experienced contesters are not 
willing to share their "secrets" clearly to advance the art and make 
contests more fun for everyone, then it is not worth doing.

This book will most of all be FUN: it will have a sense of humor. If the 
writers do not have fun writing it, and if the readers do not have fun 
reading it, as far as I am concerned it is not worth doing. Titles and 
examples will have a touch of whimsey - a chuckle on the road to learning - 
but without losing the meat, or spending too many words on fluff.

The target market for this book is "all hams". Even the Big Guns should 
learn something new from it - but it must still be accessible to the beginner.

In fact, the number one reason I was foolish enough to raise my hand KNOWING 
what I might be letting myself in for, was that I really want a copy of this 
book!

And I have every confidence we will find a way to get it published, as a 
book, one way or another. I see no reason to capitulate on this point at the 
outset.

thanks for reading! - jeff wk6i

ps: I will be compiling the first draft of chapters/topics, and also 
soliciting volunteers, in the next day or so.


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