[CQ-Contest] Random acts of kindness

[Tree]

W5OVen writes:

> Regardless, someone randomly telling you some mult is up 5 is not equivalent
> to using packet (or the various internet age descriptions of the same thing)
> or an FM voice spotting network, or a self-styled "fan club".
> 
> Now, we have some "new kids on the block" who are equating "random acts of
> kindness" with using packet or an FM voice spotting network.

I must disagree with the senior senator from Texas on this point.

I am not sure the line is that black and white.  I wish it were.  

Comparing the random acts of kindness of 30 years ago to the ones of today, I 
see that the ubuiquitous use of packet by a significant percentage of people
(let's say 20 percent) during the contest makes the type of information that
we were concerned about communicating on the old FM voice spotting net really
easy to access - even without having packet in your own station.  

While this probaly isn't a problem during CW contests - where additional 
information exchange has too high of a price - it would be pretty easy to 
make it known that you need VO1 (or some other mult) during the course of
running a bunch of stations on your CQ frequency.  

In the old days - perhaps someone who just tuned across the VO1 down the
band might mention it and you got lucky.  

But now a days - all someone has to do it look at their packet screen and 
give you the information.  I think this adds up to you never really needing
packet in your station to have the benefit of it..  just find some helpful
person in your pileup to give the information to you.

Most of these "helpful" people are not on this list - so this long debate
isn't going to affect them.  What I am hoping will come out of this is an
understanding that if getting a clean sweep is going to mean anything for 
the unassisted operator - that the exchange of this type of information,
and certainly acting on it - should be discouraged.

Again, this isn't such a big deal for 90 percent of the operators in the
contest - I am more concerned about the people at the top of the listings
getting away with this behavior.  It just isn't fair.

Tree N6TR
tree at kkn.net