[CQ-Contest] ARRL rule...the introduction (aka CONTEXT)

[kr2q at optonline.net]

FYI....

de Doug KR2Q

http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/06/0818/

==>DXCC ANNOUNCES ACCREDITATION CRITERIA RULE CHANGE

ARRL's DXCC program has added language to its Accreditation Criteria to
minimize difficulties stemming from online DXpedition logs. The change,
recently approved by the ARRL Board of Directors Programs and Services
Committee, limits the level of QSO detail that DXpeditions may provide on
Web-based log sites, search engines or other public forums and still qualify
for DXCC accreditation. ARRL Membership Services Manager Wayne Mills, N7NG,
notes that it's become accepted practice for DXpeditions to post QSO
information on the Web.

"Although this information is generally limited to call sign, band and mode,
it has been useful in reducing the number of duplicate contacts in the
DXpedition log," Mills points out. "Publishing complete QSO information or
information from which full QSO information can be derived, on the other
hand, threatens the integrity of the QSLing process, and is unacceptable."

Mills says at least some key information a station provides when submitting
a DXpedition contact for DXCC credit must be obtained solely by actually
making the QSO. "If complete contact information can be derived from
information based on the DXpedition log, the QSL manager's job can be much
more difficult if busted calls are involved," he says.