[CQ-Contest] cut #'s - communicator's responsibility

[Eric Hilding]

In any form of communication, the responsibility for effective communication of anything is first & foremost with the sender.

A great public speaker is one who communicates their message with such clarity, that no one (or very few) misunderstands.  Great Communicators are, of course, far and few between.

Considering the number (pun) of casual contesters who show up in events (who have never read a CQ-Contest thread about cut numbers), automatically we have the stage set for ineffective communication when the cut # mob unleashes their "creativeness" upon the clueless unexpecting.

Viewing things from a distance, it would appear what we have here is a form of "Tribal Warfare", in which a very small circle of super cut # advocates are wanting to force their ways upon the rest of the contesting population.  That ain't gonna work.

Back to basics: The responsibility for effective communication is with the sender.  Contest Senders with "narrow, self-centered QSO-Rate hungry distorted vision" are increasing the number of "repeat requests", because they are trying to promote an aberration of the Morse Code as learned by the majority of participants (both casual and serious ops).  You can't fit a square peg into a round hole.   Just because I first learned the American Morse Code at age 10, I have certainly never expected the rest of the world to change from using the International Morse Code.

I'm curious if any of the OT's know exactly WHO first introduced "5NN" as a substitute for 599.  It must have happened during my Rip Van Winkle trip.  I left HF in the 70's remembering 599 and then returned in 2003 to hear 5NN.  Yes, I would like to know who is responsible.

At 35WPM, "A" for "1" in the middle of a number sequence is just plain irresponsibility on the part of the sender(s), when one understands that the vast majority of listeners/receivers don't sit and practice using cut numbers in Morse Runner or any other programs.

Cut Number Jocks:  Think-Think-Think about your responsibility as a "Communicator" to the multitudes who play in the Contesting Sandbox.

*** End Of Soapbox ***

Rick, K6VVA