[CQ-Contest] Convergence and Change

[kr2q at optimum.net]

I see two perspectives to the discussion about combining SO with SOA:

1.  What do the entrants want?
2.  What is the contest sponsor capable of?

Randy's surveys have shown that (on a high level), EU wants them combined but USA doesn't.

EU has more entrants than the USA.  Should that be factored in?  Should one-man-one-vote count?

Most entrants have no idea what the contest sponsor is capable of.  Looking at the DQs might
give an indication of which contests look/care.  Some contests, with a separation for these
two categories, NEVER DQ ANYONE for unclaimed use of "assistance," to use the CQ terminology.

What should entrants read into that?  For those who are vocal about keeping the separation,
what do you think about the "other" contests (not CQWW on Oct/Nov) that NEVER DQ for
unclaimed assistance?  Is ignorance bliss?

For me, it is a matter of ethics on the part of the contest sponsors/log adjudicators.  If the
tools available do not allow for detecting "unclaimed assistance," is it ethical for the sponsor
to keep the categories separate, implying that "they can tell" and thereby implying a degree of
confidence in the published results?

What is the expectation of the entrants in looking at results?  Does the entrant EXPECT that
because the categories are separate, that the results are necessarily bullet proof?  How about
"close enough?"  Something else?

Randy said, "It has also made it more difficult to police the line between [paraphrasing] SO vs SOA."

What exactly does that mean?  

Conjecture for Discussion:
What if it means that subtle (smart?) use of assistance, entered as not SOA, cannot be proven?
What if subtle use of assistance means that it can't even be found?

Do the entrants still want two distinct categories IF (say, for the top 10), such abuse could not
actually be accurately adjudicated?  How would we, the entrants, react?  What is our expectation
of the contest sponsor?

PROMPTING QUESTION
Is it more important to maintain two categories for the sake of having them separate or is it more 
important that the published scores PER CATEGORY mean something?

de Doug KR2Q

PS..if you want to know my opinion, I would like to see the categories remain separated, but only
if the separation has meaning.