[WriteLog] Wish list

[Scot Herrick]

All,

I've been watching with interest the discussion here on wish lists for
WriteLog. We see these every once in a while and they are a good thing in
that it generates email about things that could be added to the program. The
interesting thing about this particular thread is that it is all about
adding contests. Not features, not capabilities, not program improvements,
but just contest modules. Must be a perfect program, Wayne! And thanks...

Specifically on the contest modules, the approach used by WriteLog is to
offer the programming module to anyone to create contest modules. Yes, it
requires a C++ programmer to do it and not an end user. And while some say
that this limits the number of contests WriteLog supports, the evidence is
all to the contrary. Since Wayne has offered the programming module for
WriteLog, here are the additional contest modules added with this process:

OK DX
SSA Manadstest
EA RTTY
SPDX RTTY
Scandinavian Activity Contest
SCC RTTY Championship
Anatolian RTTY WW
ARI International
FMRE (XE) RTTY
Volta RTTY
Russian RTTY
SARTG RTTY
UBA DX
Ukrainian DX
Wisconsin QSO Party
Illinois QSO Party
Great Lakes QSO Party

and soon, the Indiana and Virginia QSO Parties.

You will note the majority of these are RTTY, European contests, and State
QSO Parties. This is because Jorgen, SM6SRW, and Steve, N9OH, have found a
need that they would like to have filled for the contests. All of these are
great additions to WriteLog.

Here's the suggestion: rather than have Wayne program a 'create a contest'
module (I shudder at this because of the inconsistencies in people creating
contests on the go - just ask log checkers how logs look; imagine if 2000
people created their own contest), let's set up on the WriteLog web page a
place to vote for your 'favorite contest to add' to the WriteLog modules. If
one of our brave C++ programmers out there would take on the task for the
programming, at least they would be programming something that the most
users requested. And it gets the voting off the Reflector (personally, now
that the WIQSO Party is done, I want the CQ-M contest next...) and gets the
whole process a bit more objective.

WriteLog had a large base of contests to begin with. In the last two years
with this process, there have been 17 additions to the contest modules with
two more on the way. Not a bad number, but one that could be improved. Must
be a lot of TR users out there switching to WriteLog...

I don't know how difficult it would be to add the voting to the WriteLog web
site, but it would be a good place for users to demonstrate which contest
modules to add.

My two cents (pence, euro something's, etc.).

CU...Scot, K9JY

K9JY's WriteLog User Support Site at:
http://www.k9jy.com
mailto:scot@k9jy.com