[CQ-Contest] Dear Santa...

[Eric Hilding]

Dear Santa:

There is only one thing on my "Christmas Wish List" I would really like 
this year:

* Abolishment of RST and RS as a part of ANY contest exchange!

Santa, in case you haven't kept up with Ham Radio Contesting lately 
(compared to the "Good Old Days"), sending an meaningless RST or RS in a 
contest is really dumb.  Stupid even.  I've decided to rename RST to:

(R)eal
(S)tupid
(T)ime-Waster

5NN, ETT or any of the other derivations of 599 are simply 99.9% LIES, and 
if done away with, would shorten contest exchanges, and yield available 
seconds/minutes/hours for making even MORE QSOs.  I haven't met one 
Contester yet who doesn't want to make more QSOs in a Contest.

And then of course, there is the issue of "integrity".  The way it is now, 
there is no integrity when a 599, 5NN, ETT, or whatever is sent (often now 
at 40WPM) to a station who is really 339 or even 579.  So this really isn't 
just about helping everyone make more QSOs, it's also a matter of helping 
bring integrity back into Contesting.

I know you're a straight-up kinda guy, Santa, so I'm confident this request 
is in alignment with your gift-giving policies.

Thanks a lot, Santa.

73 & 88 to Mrs. Santa...

Rick, K6VVA