[CQ-Contest] Competing in the Daylight

[K3BU@aol.com]

In a message dated 10/12/2005 9:37:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
Jimk8mr at aol.com writes:

>>
Concerning making logs available for public review, is there a  person, or 
site, to which one can send a log to be posted for public consumption  after 
the 
log submission deadline?<<

I think the best way to handle the public viewing of logs, is to have say in 
CQ WW, after the log emailing deadline and checking of logs, have the logs and 
associated UBN files open and available for public viewing for period of few 
weeks and be open for any comments or reports of suspected irregularities 
feedback to CC. After the review and checking out, the CC would finalize the 
results and post official scores on the web or in the magazine (and send 
certificates/trophies).

This way there will be opportunity for close competitors to check each other 
and report any suspected anomalies, unburdening the CC from tedious work of 
processing multitude of logs. Practically, only close scores, potential records, 
really need closer scrutiny and this will help. "Losers" at 56th place in the 
continent couldn't care less, but their logs are important to check the 
"whiners".  This would also be the great opportunity to learn and see the 
differences and propagation from various locations.

Having separate sites would only complicate and confuse things. This should 
be done by the contest sponsors. They have everything going on already, just 
remove the requirements for the passwords, announce when the logs are ready for 
viewing and give couple weeks for comments/corrections. 

This real time reporting idea might be "nice" sometimes in the future when 
all of us will be on high speed Internet, but for now, I think we have much more 
"to fix" in contesting, rather than worry about "contesting in the daylight". 
I just can't picture myself worrying about following competition in CQ WW 
(why?). One thing there is a shift in propagation and density of contacts as the 
Earth turns. Our contesting is more of race within the time frame rather than 
real time "running" against the competitors. Those who want to observe action 
during the contest - take part in it, at least monitor the top racers, observe 
they operating and reward others with QSOs and points. Watching the bar graph 
on Internet gives you what? UBN will fix that anyway!

I just wonder how many top ten scoring stations really care how their 
competition is doing during the contest. As I said before, if I am serious, I try to 
run like hell, according to best of my abilities to maximize my score, 
regardless of what my competitors are doing. To me it just might look like another 
idea of soliciting QSOs and points outside of rules, just like webcam, packet 
friend/selfspotting and other "clever" ideas. 

For those who still don't "gitit": Packet is assistance by (an)other 
operator(s) and therefore either Assisted or Multi Operator category. Single operator 
does all the work himself at (his) station, without being fed information by 
others. Publicizing logs will be a deterrent to "assistance" cheating by SO. 
Smart operators invest in antennas, station equipment and fine honing operating 
skills and beat "assisted" most, if not all the time. Work the stuff before 
packeteers get to it and scare it off the band.

Yuri, K3BU.us