[CQ-Contest] Re: [DX-News] LOTW Sets New Speed Record

[Kenneth E. Harker]

On Tue, Sep 30, 2003 at 02:22:09PM -0400, John C. Maikisch wrote:
> I am an advocate and supporter of LoTW, but only a 1/2 of 1% QSL rate on all
> the QSO's submitted so far.

It's been _two weeks_ since the system went online.

 
> John, K2AZ
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Ward Silver" <hwardsil at centurytel.net>
> To: <dx-list at yahoogroups.com>; "DX Reflector" <dx-news at njdxa.org>;
> "CQ-Contest Reflector" <cq-contest at contesting.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 12:22 PM
> Subject: [DX-News] LOTW Sets New Speed Record
> 
> 
> > FLASH!!!  THIS JUST IN!!!
> >
> > The new electronic QSL data base, Logbook of The World, implemented by the
> > ARRL has set an all-time record for complaints about QSL return speed!
> Hams
> > who have uploaded their logs are now able, due to the blazing speed of the
> > Internet, able to begin posting complaints, also due to the blazing speed
> of
> > the Internet, about the lack of return contact credits.  The fastest
> > complaint appears to have been generated in less than 24 hours!  Well
> done!
> > No word on whether this was an F-layer or tropospheric gripe.
> >
> > In a sad note, this puts in jeopardy the traditional process for complaint
> > generation: QSL, Wait, Gripe.  To keep up with the accelerated flow of
> > information, some DX-ers are preparing pre-emptive gripes, removing "Wait"
> > from the process entirely.  It is reported that LoTW staff is looking into
> > the process of adding GoTW (Gripe of The World) whereby an eGripe can be
> > sent automatically to all DX and Contest Reflectors immediately on
> > acceptance of the contact credit request.  No word on whether the eGripe
> > will be free, the current cost, or if a small fee will be charged.  Volume
> > GoTW users will be offered discounts which they may be able to
> > parsimoniously dribble out over several years.  There may even be a
> trading
> > market established in unused GoTW credits - Internation Gripe Coupons or
> > IGCs.
> >
> > This accelerated griping facility is just the latest step in a long series
> > of improvements to the griping process.  In early days gripes had to be
> > delivered in person at a club meeting or typed and mailed.  TYPED!  Oh,
> the
> > inhumanity!  Over the years, griping technology has improved dramatically
> > from on-the-air transmissions, to packet BBS, to individual emails, and
> > finally to today's state-of-the-art, reflector-based griping in which a
> > single gripe can today be transmitted worldwide in a matter of seconds.
> >
> > What next for the Amateur Griper Extra-Class?  Of course, we are just
> seeing
> > the early days of pre-emptive griping, so it's a little hard to tell where
> > this might lead.  Anticipatory griping can't be far behind.  Applying
> > reverse-Bayesian statistics might also allow blanket spam gripes, or
> "gram".
> > Such gripes would be called "gram-grams."  It is undecided at this time
> what
> > the process for certifying whether such a gripe would "count," although
> > Gripe Control Stations (GCS) could be established to rule quickly, giving
> > gripers the coveted confirmation of, "That's a Good One!" No word on what
> > the gripe submission process to a GCS would consist of.
> >
> > One might also consider the quantum mechanical implications of the
> "virtual
> > gripe", where no actual gripe need be transmitted, but would be considered
> > to be a latent component subunit of any QSL - the anti-QSL!  By studying
> the
> > high-temperature collisions of QSLs and anti-QSLs produced in flame wars,
> > DXologists hope to learn more about the underlying structure of both,
> > thought to be composed of "quirks". Theory predicts several varieties of
> > quirks; Big Gun, Little Pistol, Phone, CW, Strange, and Colorful.  DX QSL
> > managers have reported on these events for years, so there is an extensive
> > and documented historical record for scholars to consider.
> >
> > Once again, congratulations to the amateur community for taking full
> > advantage of new technology to update the time-honored griping process!
> Who
> > says that hams are behind the technological curve?
> >
> > 73, Ward N0AX
> >
> >
> >
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-- 
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Kenneth E. Harker      "Vox Clamantis in Deserto"      kharker at cs.utexas.edu
University of Texas at Austin                   Amateur Radio Callsign: WM5R
Department of the Computer Sciences          Central Texas DX & Contest Club
Taylor Hall TAY 2.124                         Maintainer of Linux on Laptops
Austin, TX 78712-1188 USA            http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kharker/
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