[CQ-Contest] Posting Scores

[Dave Mueller]

As a serious SOAB competitor, I don't want to see how my competition is 
doing.  I always want to think that I am on the verge of losing, so I 
don't slack on the 2nd radio and keep pushing to do the best that I can 
until the end of the contest.  With visibility of how my competition is 
doing, I could see myself slacking off or take off time for a nap should 
I know that I am trouncing my competition, or possibly quit altogether 
if I know that I am the one being trounced.  It's simple human nature.

As a serious SOAB competitor, I don't want to share my score with my 
competition because I don't want to give them any sort of free 
advantage.  I don't want them to see that they are losing to me by a 
small amount, and work harder to catch up and pass me.  I don't want 
them to see that in the last 20 minutes, I worked a bunch of new 
multipliers or had a big jump in score, possibly letting them in an 
opening that they otherwise would have missed.

As a several-time member of the K3LR M/M team, one of the most memorable 
moments of the entire contest actually occurs after 2359Z Sunday, when 
Tim, Frank, and the other M/M competition gets on 75m to exchange 
scores.  Until this moment we have no idea of how our competition did.  
Everyone huddles around the speaker with pads and pencils, to write down 
the summary and see how they stacked up to their band competition at 
other stations.  Sometimes there is exhilaration when we learn that our 
claimed score was higher.  Other times, there is disappointment.  Either 
way, that moment is very special and memorable to all of the K3LR team 
mates and likely for the guys at W3LPL, WE3C, etc as well.  By sharing 
scores during the contest, this special moment would not exist.  By 
sharing scores during the contest, you can find yourself bummed out for 
the entire 48 hours because you are aware that your competition has some 
sort of propagation advantage and there is nothing you can do to catch 
up which frequently happens in M/M situations.

WRTC is different - the scores are posted online but none of my 
competitors have access to the data so I am OK with that.

Granted, this is just more more opinion, but I hope to explain why I am 
not likely to ever shares online, unless required to do so.  I know that 
others operate with a different mind set, but it doesn't work for me.  
It is a little frustrating to see a movement to try pressuring guys to 
participate in something that they'd rather not do, for the enjoyment of 
others.

73, Dave N2NL