[CQ-Contest] Determining ASSISTED vs NON-ASSISTED

[Collins, Graham]

Thanks to all who have offered their points of view on my query.

The discussion has been interesting and makes it clear that for some there is confusion on just what the distinction between ASSISTED and NON-ASSISTED really is. I suspect due in part to the wording used in the contest rules.

Still not answered however was the methodology used by contest organizers on how the determination is made, based on a submitted log alone, as to their changing an entry from NON-ASSISTED to ASSISTED.

It was suggested that my thoughts were that these two categorizations are "too close" and separated by a very thin ill defined and increasingly grey line. That is quite true. 

The categorization of the number of operators at a station is quite clear - one operator (SINGLE OP) or more than one operator (MULTI OP). Single OP ASSISTED just ads a layer between the two that is somewhat more than SINGLE OP but not quite MULTI OP.
 
Perhaps the day has come and gone where the distinction between ASSISTED vs NON-ASSISTED had some value. Trouble is, we are creatures of habit and changes come slow and painful. We continue to do things the way we always have simply because that is the way we have always have done those things.

Keep these categories if you wish but better define the distinction between the two.

In the meantime, I am still searching for the answer to my original philosophical query - How does an interested third party (contest organizer) determine that a SINGLEOP NON-ASSISTED entry really should be categorized as ASSISTED through the analysis of a log post contest?

Cheers, Graham ve3gtc