[CQ-Contest] L.O.T.W.

[Art RX9TX]

 Hello cq-contest,

 Monday, July 25, 2005 Warren C. Stankiewicz wrote to cq-contest at contesting.com:

WCS> Awards like DXCC, and Honor Roll, et al, are exactly that. Awards. It's a
WCS> piece of paper (I have a couple on my wall), or maybe a plaque, if you're
WCS> one of the Deserving. Take your DXCC certificate and a dollar to Denny's,
WCS> and they'll give you a cup of coffee--but don't forget the dollar.

We  work  for  HR#1 or Challenge not for a "piece of paper" or plaque.
Your  words  about  a cup of coffee show that you never were into that
races seriously, I mean DXCC and DXCC Challenge.

Actually  I  think  that  those  of  us taking part in ARRL's DXCC and
Challenge programs do NOT find LoTW "too complex".

WCS> The reason LOTW is requiring this complexity and level of digital signatures
WCS> is because the importance some hams have placed on the perceived "integrity"
WCS> of the program is far beyond the actual intrinsic value of the awards it
WCS> relates to. It's an award, not the Holy Grail, and too many people have
WCS> obsessed about it way too far for way too long.

Warren, that's what I've found it in my archives folder, look the date
and  recipient  of  the  message  :)  I  found  Dick's arguments still
effective :)

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from [Dick Green WC1M] [Permanent Link][Original]

To:  "'Warren C. Stankiewicz'" <nf1j at earthlink.net>,<CQ-Contest at contesting.com> 
Subject:  RE: [CQ-Contest] A Lack of Focus? (Was LotW - Needs MoreParticipation) 
From:  "Dick Green WC1M" <wc1m at msn.com> 
Reply-to:  wc1m at msn.com 
Date:  Sat, 22 May 2004 15:57:51 -0400 
List-post:  <mailto:cq-contest at contesting.com> 

A few opinions of my own (not necessarily ARRL's):

First of all, LoTW is not more strict than most well-engineered online
financial systems. The person who wrote that was mistaken.

Second, although I am certainly biased on this subject, I would not
characterize LoTW's security system as obsessive. In designing LoTW, ARRL
understood that amateur radio is a hobby. However, many holders of DXCC and
Honor Roll take the program very, very seriously. In some cases it has taken
20 years or more and hundreds or thousands in postage to attain the top
awards. For decades, DXCC has meticulously checked licenses and other
authentication documents for rare DX QSLs, adding significant time and cost
to the program. The Honor Roll listings continue to be sorted by deleted
countries because there would be a gigantic outcry if only current countries
were used (resulting in no "first place".) Past attempts to defraud DXCC
(e.g., Don Miller, Romeo, etc.) have resulted in cries for blood. It's not a
stretch to say that some hams care as much about the integrity of DXCC as
they care about money (well, almost... ;-)

So, it was very important to protect the integrity of DXCC and LoTW. Online
systems are different in that they permit a much broader level of fraud than
manual or paper-based systems. There is no question that among the million
or more hams in the world, some bad apples will try to cheat the system --
to gain an undeserved award, to embarrass the sponsor or simply out of sheer
malice. If the system can be compromised in such a way that the participants
lose confidence in its integrity, then the program will collapse.

It's certainly possible that someone will find a security hole in LoTW -- no
system is perfect. Hopefully, the design is strong enough that such a breach
will be quickly detected and corrected. You can bet that if this ever
happens, loud voices will ask why the security was not made stronger. The
answer will be that it could have been made even stronger, but there would
have been too large a price to pay in terms of usability. The present system
balances the ever-conflicting properties of security and convenience fairly
well. Hopefully, a one-time inconvenience for authentication will pay
dividends in decades of hassle-free QSLing and awards submission.

73, Dick WC1M

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-- 
 73...Art RX9TX        26-Jul-05 04:08 UTC

 "My father taught me to work; he did not teach me to love it." [Abraham Lincoln]