In a message dated 97-05-13 02:31:51 EDT, k5zd@ultranet.com (Randy
Thompson)
writes:
> When I first subscribed to CQ-Contest almost 4 years ago, it was an
incredible
> experience. Kind of like the late night hospitality suites at Dayton.
Great
> conversation about everything to do with radio contesting -- operating,
> equipment, antennas, propagation, techniques, people networking, etc. Who
> needed 3830 (or 3752) any more?!
>
> As it stands now, I wonder if success has ruined it. The score reports are
> all on the 3830 reflector because there were just too many of them. Then
> antenna discussions split off onto another list. Now I subscribe to all
three, get
> lots of extra non-contest mail, and wonder where I will find time to read
> through everything to find the 'good stuff'.
>
Hi, Randy --
Well, you're certainly an O.F. when it comes to the CQ Contest
reflector; I've only been on it for a little over a year. Actually, the
CQ
Contest reflector was THE reason that I wanted to get on the internet.
WOW -
just like you describe, people talking about contesting 25 hours a day.
WOW!
But the reflector isn't a hallway at Dayton at 0200 or anything
close to
it. It has its own dynamic and its own culture. Are all of the
discussions
on the reflector of interest to you or me? Well, no. It's kind of like
picking up a magazine; you read about 20% of the stuff in it that's of
interest to you and skip the rest. Same thing on CQ Contest. Does that
mean
that you shouldn't pick up that magazine or check in on the reflector?
Only
you can decide.
As for the scores and tower/antenna discussions that have moved
onto
their own reflectors, I'm happy to see the scores posted somewhere else.
Yes, the tower and antenna discussions on CQ Contest were
interesting and
valuable. The problem as I saw it was that many other hams had the same
questions and concerns about their tower and antenna installations but
didn't
have access to the pithy discussions on CQ Contest. In fact, I'm sure
that
some of these people HATE contesters. So it was my wish to provide a
forum
for the whole amateur community for these antenna and tower discussions
and
not just the contesters. The fact is that TowerTalk has almost as many
subscibers as CQ Contest (1100 to 1400 approximately) and has MUCH more
traffic on it than the contest reflector. Imagine how busy your delete
key
would be if you had to delete all the extraneous tower traffic in
addition to
the contest posts (it probably is anyway).
All of these things evolve. They're constantly evolving and, as
far as
I can tell, they develop their own voice and their own life. Unless
it's a
moderated listserv (which none of these are), the subscribers are going
to
tell you what they want to talk about for better or worse. So I think
the
best you can do is make contributions where you want and delete
everything
else. Your posts about your contest experiences have been some of the
most
popular ones on the reflector - please keep posting them. That's what
makes
these reflectors so valuable and so much fun because it's what YOU the
subscribers put in it that makes it what it is.
Yes, I think success has CHANGED the reflector and maybe it isn't
as fun
as it was in the "good old days" but it's still a community that I'm
constantly in awe of and will continue to support with my involvement
and
participation.
Don't forget that this is one of the few 'entry points' for people
who
want to get involved with contesting. Yes, we've covered that topic
before
and, yes, maybe we're a little elitist but I want to encourage EVERYONE
with
any interest to subscribe and at least read about contesting from the
reflector traffic. And please ask any question that you want an answer
to.
I welcome it all.
VIVA LA CONTESTING! Steve K7LXC
--
CQ-Contest on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/_cq-contest/
Administrative requests: cq-contest-REQUEST@contesting.com
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