[CQ-Contest] Is Self Spotting now allowed in ARRL tests?

[Richard F DiDonna NN3W]

This seems pretty definitive to me:

*From the ARRL Contest Update today:*
>
>* "New Rules in effect for all ARRL HF Contests in June*
>* Starting with the ARRL International Digital Contest, in all categories*
>* that allow assistance (Unlimited), the use of online and other non-amateur*
>* radio platforms including but not limited to social media, live video*
>* streaming, and internet chat rooms will be allowed. In all Unlimited and*
>* Multioperator categories, the prohibition of self-spotting, and asking*
>* another station to spot you, will also be removed."*


On Tue, Nov 22, 2022 at 3:49 PM Jack Brindle via CQ-Contest <
cq-contest at contesting.com> wrote:

> Pros 3. Would indicate that self-spotting is perfectly OK if your
> self-spot is submitted into the ham packet radio network.
> But then we get into a grey area. If that network then submits the spot
> into the telnet system, is the spot OK? Someone
> else is submitting the spot, not the originator. Thus it is seemingly OK.
>
> I would suggest the real problem is the lack of clarity in the rules.
> These obviously do not meet the word or spirit of that
> Contest Update article, which very clearly says that spotting through just
> about any means is legal, as is self-spotting.
>
> I saw few stations spotting themselves in the contest, but this one also
> turned into a weak-stations don’t even try affair.
> While most stations were spotted, not all stations were, which really
> means that our well-honed abilities to find new
> stations in S&P were really put to task. And, when unspotted stations were
> found it really paid off. By late Sunday
> there were lots of unspotted stations.
> It also is a big push for us to find space somewhere to run. If we are all
> running, who are we going to talk with?
>
> I look for improved written rules to clarify this situation in the near
> future.
>
> 73,
> Jack, W6FB
>
>
> > On Nov 22, 2022, at 8:13 AM, Tim Shoppa <tshoppa at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > First, make sure you have the latest rules. ARRL didn't update the
> November
> > SS rules (to the latest, version 1.06) on their website until late
> August.
> > Prior to that we just had a confusing tease about self-spotting from a
> > Contest Update earlier in the year.
> >
> > Link to current SS rules:
> > https://contests.arrl.org/ContestRules/SS-Rules.pdf
> >
> > My reading of SS rule PROH.3 in version 1.06 of the rules, is that
> > self-spotting is a form of soliciting contacts by a non-amateur radio
> means
> > (in this case Telnet cluster) and thus prohibited:
> >
> > "Examples of prohibited conduct [...]: PROH.3. Arranging, soliciting, or
> > confirming any contacts during or after the contest by use of any
> > non-amateur radio means."
> >
> > One clarification in 1.06 does explicitly allow a corner case of
> spotting,
> > that was never previously mentioned in past contest rules. In the
> > definition section you will find, "Generating spotting information for
> use
> > by other stations is not considered to be spotting assistance." So for
> > example you can be hooked up to a cluster and sending spots, as long as
> > you've set all the filters such that nothing ever comes in to you from
> the
> > cluster.
> >
> > Tim N3QE
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