[CQ-Contest] Real Time Scoreboards

[Gerry Hull]

It is a great question, worthy of debate.

I also agree that posting one's score is not DX Alerting, and it should not
place one in the Assisted category

If we ban the internet for single-op users, how do we police that?
Impossible, I'd say.    Before we had the internet, single-ops could cheat
on packet spots by operating their packet radios in non-proto mode, and get
the spots anyway - no acks required.

Do we ban all tools of the internet age for single ops?  Should they not be
able to participate in the technology revolution?

Rules are for rule followers; their always will be cheaters.   We have to be
careful to create rules so that they make sense, not just because a new
technology comes along, or because "it was always done X way".   We should
grow with the times, carefully.

That said, if the general opinion is that their is too much information
being delivered with live scores, then we can "tone it down".  However, I do
think that if we are to grow as a community, we need to share our sport with
the world and the ham community at large.

Oh, and what about looking at scores would be considered cheating?  If K3LR
is running on 10m and you see the Q total going up, you know that 10 is
open.  If your at KC1XX, are you going to 10m because you saw K3LR's score
on the board going up?  If so, you should be fired as an operator -- your
skills are radio skills, and you should not be taking direction from a
computer.   Your placing will be determined by how you operate, not by what
you watch on the internet.

If you are a single op, you might get an advantage from this information.
However, if you are a top notch single op, you would have already known 10m
is open.   You may know that from experience, or from the use of some other
non-radio tool.  Are these things bad?  I would say not -- they show
innovation.   We should never supress innovation.

IMHO, Live Logging will enhance participation by the casual operator.   This
will enhance the top ops scores and ensure a long life for contesting.

73, Gerry, W1VE




On 10/20/06, Barry <w2up at mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> Interesting question, Bob.
>
> The rule as currently written: The use of DX alerting assistance of any
> kind places the station in the Single Operator Assisted category.
>
> Since posting one's score is not DX Alerting, it should not place one in
> the Assisted category.
>
> However, in my opinion, any use of the Internet during a contest should
> place a single op in the assisted category.  Once using the Internet for
> one thing, it's too easy to use it for other things such as browsing the
> Web Cluster.  Not to hijack the thread, but what is the Committee's
> opinion on Internet use for non-DX Alerting such as looking up WWV solar
> indices, sunrise/sunset times, etc. as it applies to single op vs.
> assisted?
>
> 73,
> Barry W2UP
>
> Bob Cox wrote:
> > Dear Fellow Contester,
> >
> > The CQ WW Contest Committee is discussing whether use of real-time
> > contest scoreboards is likely to convey information about band
> > openings and profitable tactics to an extent that participants using
> > the scoreboards should be categorized as assisted. The 2006 CQ WW
> contest
> > rules have already been published and they will govern the 2006
> contests.
> >
> > We welcome your comments on this, and suggest the possibility of also
> > sending the comments to the CQ-Contest reflector so that others can
> > see them and possibly follow up.
> >
> > Comments can be sent to live at cqww.com
> >
> >
> > 73
> > Bob, K3EST
> > CQ WW Director
> > For the CQ WW Committee
> > _______________________________________________
> > CQ-Contest mailing list
> > CQ-Contest at contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
> >
> >
>
> --
>
> Barry Kutner, W2UP
> Newtown, PA
>
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