[CQ-Contest] Dupes or Duped?

[Ron Notarius W3WN]

Some of these simply can not believe that computer programs aren't perfect
and/or that people, especially themselves, are not infallible.

I can remember one time in the very early stone age of computer logging,
calling a particular station early in a contest and the op insisting quite
vehemently that I was a dupe.  Not possible, since I'd only worked about 10
or 12 stations, and I had the paper log sheet right in front of me.  A
little while later, that same station called me... told me that he had a
problem with his computer not recognizing my old call's WN3 prefix as a
legal call sign, and incorrectly telling him I was a dupe.  (Yes, this was
also before the time of vanity calls as we now know them)

No, sorry to say, I was not charitable.  He'd said a few choice things that
bordered on unacceptable air quality about my operating abilities, alluding
to the onset of premature senillity on my part, during the earlier
encounter, and my dander was still up.  I was still angry enough that I told
him something on the lines of "sorry, you said I was a dupe, you insisted,
now live with it."  I'd like to believe that I wouldn't react the same way
today, but that's another tale...

73, ron w3wn

-----Original Message-----
Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 14:24:25 -0800 (PST)
From: Dennis OConnor <ad4hk2004 at yahoo.com>
Subject: [CQ-Contest] Dupes or Duped?
To: cq-contest at contesting.com
Message-ID: <615341.81083.qm at web32713.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

One of the issues I encountered during the contest I decided to bring up
here is the issue of dupes...
A few times during the contest I called a DX only to be told to 'buzz off
you are a dupe!'  In each of those times I had not worked them before, I had
not worked them and broken their call, such as substituting 5 for H, B for
D, etc., I had not worked their grandfather, or even dated their sister...
My sending 'not in log', was greeted with being CQ'd in my face...  OK, I
contest for fun so I shrugged and moved on... But I do not understand those
stations that act like a dupe contact is akin to catching a social
disease... In each of those cases the DX had logged a Q with my call and now
he has a bad Q that will not match in my log...   Working me "again" would
have at least recovered a couple of those lost points...

Maybe the group can explain to me why these ops are so phobic about logging
a dupe?  Now, for those stations I did actually dupe because I caught a
partial call in heavy qrm and/or tail ended someone <mea culpa>, I did log
those so that both our logs match and all is well... Interestingly, the big
shooters that I did dupe accidentally <HC8N> for one simply worked me again
in 2 seconds flat without comment and we both moved on; a win-win...

denny / k8do