[CQ-Contest] Appropriate wait time for contest results?

[Michael Adams]

My personal preference is that the results be announced as quickly as reporting deadline and log-checking resources permit.

There are, however, two factors that might somewhat justify a delay in that announcement.

First, for those contests which are sponsored by, or whose results are at least announced in, a magazine-publishing entity, it's reasonable that the lag between finalizing content and the release of an issue of the magazine becomes an additional timing element, and I think it's understandable that such entities might want to embargo the results until the results issue of their publication hits the wild.

I do wonder if a strict embargo is actually necessary in such instances.  Would the magazine be harmed if "headline results" were announced as soon as they became available (thanks to 3830, we probably know them anyway), leaving any story or the details undisclosed until the publication?

Second, I assume there are some contest sponsors that use the announcement of results as a means to promote the next running of a contest - an announcement that serves as a reminder right around the time potential participants would be making initial plans to prepare for a weekend of fun.  The "magazine associated" contests have the advantage of having a regular stream of contest activity to leverage announcements off of, if announcements are even needed.  Smaller, more "independent" contests, however....

My preference would still be to have results sooner rather than later, but I'm not unsympathetic towards the perceived need for self-promotion, and 3830 does a sufficient job of easing curiosity about "how did I do?"

-- 
Michael Adams | mda at n1en.org

-----Original Message-----

I’m curious what folks think is an appropriate time to wait for contest results?

Stu K6TU