Talk about a passionate discussion! However, it is significantly healthier
than non-responsive apathy which leads to zip squat.
Self-enforcement via direct confrontation and communication of concrete
'evidence' to the contest sponsor(s) is essential if we are to hopefully see
a reduction of unethical behavior. At the same time, I suspect the alleged
'cheaters' also have a habit of breaking other rules in life (like doing
90MPH in a 55MPH limit zone, or much worse).
We are all going to screw up once or twice UN-intentionally because we are
human. But of course that's not the core of the discussion at hand, which
involves the basic 'mentality' (or lack thereof) and 'mindset' of the
'cheater' contest operator(s). It is difficult to change human behavior,
but public disgrace and humiliation (as a last resort) would certainly have
some better results I'm sure.
I've been periodically directly confronting a number of operators off-air,
via email, who display excessive, perpetual 'LID' behavior in the DX
pileups. Cop? No. Self-enforcement advocate? Yes. My experience has
been that direct confrontation alone will most likely yield the smallest
return in the contest 'cheater' venue, and here's why.
Some months back, there was a large pileup on a fairly rare DXpedition. One
Regional operator kept calling out-of-turn regardless of whether the DX
station came back to someone else's full callsign or a partial one with a ?
(none of which remotely resemble the letters in his call). It was
abominable. So I emailed the guy with a request to please cease & desist
from this LID operating behavior which was NOT a good example to new DXers.
His response was essentially:
. Who the {blank} are you to question my 'Operating Style'? I know
several of the operators on the DXpedition (etc., etc.).
Well, his operating 'Style' was BLATANT LIDism. And who the Friggin' cares
whether or not he 'knew' several of the ops on the DXpedition? It was
LID-LID-LID operating behavior, which is why I also consider contest
'cheaters' to be LIDS.
The real sad part of all this is that this person was, and is, a well known
Contest Operator with a DX Contest SuperStation on a distant continent.
I'm not going mention his call, but I each time I ran across this type of
crap on the bands, I seriously gave thought to starting a website called
"Lid Of The Month". Rationality prevailed, but will not stop me from more
direct confrontations when I encounter this specific type of BLATANT LID
operating by well known DXers and Contesters who 'should' know better.
Screwing up once in a while with an QLF timed call, and 'calling out of
turn' 100% of the time are not the same thing. The latter really p*sses me
off, actually, and one reason I dropped out of HF DXing for 30 years, only
needed YI at the time.
There is obviously a big difference in mindsets between those of us who
believe in playing a game by the rules, and those who do not. That's why
'cheaters' will always be LIDS as well to me. We all have a responsibility
to make self-enforcement efforts, regardless of the outcome or nature of
the LIDism.
Similarly, contest sponsors need to demonstrate some more leaderhip in this
matter.
73.
Rick, K6VVA
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