[CQ-Contest] Missing the (zero) point(ers)

[Art Boyars]

A few thoughts on this thread.

0.  I'm assuming that we are working with the rules as-is.  Changing the rules is a different discussion.

1.  1600 does seem like a lot of QSOs.  I'll have to see what fraction of NQ4I's total that is.

2.  Are they really costing you time?  The guys who know the rules and just need the zone/country will wait 'til things are slow.  And in my VERY limitited experience, even the guys who think they are helping you will mostly not crash a DX run.

3.  The first one of them that you work is NOT zero points.  You yourself get the zone/country multipliers.  Or would US stations rather limit themselves to 37 zones on each band? (See thought #0.)

4.  Can we distinguish between the "need the mult" callers and the "don't know the rules" callers by comparing density of same-country QSOs in CQWW with ARRL.  (And could we learn anything by comparing CW with fone?)

5.  MAKE LEMONADE!  If things are slow when they call, and if you can tell that they don't know the rules, cheerfully give them a brief explanation.  And after the contest, send them a note.  Extract a list of call signs who seem not to know the rules.  Maybe some of the commentors here can help pull e-mail or snail mail addresses.   All the effort spent griping about it here on the Reflector can be used better to educate a few hundred potential contestors.

CU SS CW

73, Art K3KU
"Tune for maximum fun"