[CQ-Contest] The District of Columbia

[Bob Naumann]

Just a point of word usage:

The following:  "Whether or not you want DC, as a section, will become mute
if it is allowed in even one contest, it will become a mult in every
contest."

The problem is the word "MUTE".  The correct word here would be "MOOT".

For some reason, few who choose to express themselves using this adjective,
use the correct spelling of the word.

>From www.dictionary.com:

Usage Note: The adjective moot is originally a legal term going back to the
mid-16th century. It derives from the noun moot, in its sense of a
hypothetical case argued as an exercise by law students. Consequently, a
moot question is one that is arguable or open to debate. But in the mid-19th
century people also began to look at the hypothetical side of moot as its
essential meaning, and they started to use the word to mean "of no
significance or relevance." Thus, a moot point, however debatable, is one
that has no practical value. A number of critics have objected to this use,
but 59 percent of the Usage Panel accepts it in the sentence The nominee
himself chastised the White House for failing to do more to support him, but
his concerns became moot when a number of Republicans announced that they,
too, would oppose the nomination. When using moot one should be sure that
the context makes clear which sense is meant.

N5NJ