[CQ-Contest] The Humor of it all....

[Mark Beckwith]

Julius said:

> If ... you feel you have to see how far you
> can stretch the interpretation of the rules that works
> for you for a piece of paper, plaque, write-up. Well,
> how sad is that?

If the guy who does as Julius describes places in the top ten, I think the person who comes in 11th place has a very legitimate beef, not to mention everyone else in 12th, 13th, etc.

Hans asked:

> What in the name of Nose is this sudden emphasis on 
> "top ten" vs. "not doing their best"?   

Hans, since you've commented on this TWICE, I'll bite.  First of all, it's not sudden.  Many of the very best contesters have been taking the top-ten seriously since before my time, which would put it back squarely in the 60s.  I would not call that sudden.  Second, as Art just commented, not everyone is driven to do their best for a variety of reasons.  They're driven to do other things.  If they cheat because they're trying hard to get WAZ in a weekend or something, I am going to be bent if they beat me while cheating.

The rules and enforcement should be good enough to minimize this as much as possible.  At the moment they are not.

73 - Mark, N5OT