[CQ-Contest] Re: self-spotting

[Kenneth E. Harker]

On Thu, Apr 15, 2004 at 10:34:46AM +1000, vk1aa wrote:
> The point I am trying to make :
> 
> a/ some people out there - including K1TTT -
> are extremely obsessed with spotting and slef appointed spot policing;
> always ready to point finger to "cheaters" with or without evidence;

I am one of many people who really appreciates what K1TTT has been doing.
It has been clear to many of us for years and years now that there has been
a fair amount of cheating via cleverly-disguised packet self-spotting.
K1TTT, by virtue of being the host of a major hub node in the spotting 
network, and with the cooperation of the Finns running the DX Summit 
web-based cluster site, is one of the few people with access to all the 
data and records needed to actually investigate the problems.

>From his investigations, which he has very generously been fully sharing 
with the contesting community, we have come to be aware of:

(a) the scope of the problem.  It is more widespread than many had thought.

(b) what the patterns of suspicious spotting activity look like.  Primarily, 
    this is many callsigns spotting from the same IP address, callsigns
    spotting from IP addresses that belong to ISPs with presence in other 
    countries or continents, non-issued callsigns sending out spots, 
    etc.  This has also helped identify instances of the "cheerleading" 
    phenomenon - where legitimate packet users attempt to assist their 
    buddies or fellow contest club members by spotting them inappropriately.

(c) who some of the major offenders are.  In the aggregate, outright 
    self-spotting is largely a European problem, and good-buddy spotting 
    is largely a North American phenomenon.

The only way to go about this is openly, presenting as much data and analysis
as possible.  Since packet is a cursed disease that seems here to stay, we
might as well encourage those who want to make it as clean as possible,
and we should never tolerate cheating in any form.

If you feel that K1TTT's data anlysis showing suspicious spotting activity 
around your callsign is not representative of your actions during the contest,
perhaps it is evidence that others are attempting to support your contesting
efforts clandestinely.  Or, perhaps it is a "false positive" and you should be 
offering to help K1TTT improve the process, maybe by getting in touch with 
your ISP and asking about how often IP addresses are re-used.  Perhaps it is 
also a good opportunity to bring up the issue of spotting at your next contest 
club meeting, in your local radio club newsletter, or on a local email 
reflector.  Help your fellow radiomen understand what is and what is not an 
appropriate use of the spotting network during the contests.

-- 
(Note: I have changed my primary personal email account.  Please replace
 your address book or alias listings of kharker at cs.utexas.edu with 
 kenharker at kenharker.com.  Thanks! - 31 March 2004)

--
Kenneth E. Harker WM5R
kenharker at kenharker.com
http://www.kenharker.com/