I think of it this way...
Go back circa 30-35 or more years, back in the dark ages before personal
computers (or anything close to them) as we now know them were readily
affordable and/or available.
What did most of us do? We copied the log by hand. Complete with cross-outs,
side notes, coffee stains, and so on.
After the contest, what did most of us do? Copied the log over by hand, or
typed it up, to make sure it was readable. Right?
So if you saw a call in the working log hand-written as N44OGW, would you have
recopied it, an obvious mistake, that way? Odds are, the answer for most of us
would be "no". So I have no problem today with a quick check to fix obvious
typing errors, especially when a keyboard key sticks a little, or a second key
is simultaneously pressed, or any of a bunch of reasons why typos happen.
But -- going back in time again, if you worked a KL7 call and copied AL instead
of AK for the state/section multiplier, or a K6 call that sent AZ instead of
CA, and were ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that it wasn't a typo... would you have looked
the call up in the Radio Amateur's Callbook to verify the state? (Which
wouldn't necessarily tell you anything -- the ham in question may have been
operating portable, for example, which means the FCC address is correct; but
the QTH given during the contest was also, at the time, correct)
I would argue that looking up data after the fact is against the spirit, if not
the letter, of the contest rules and ethical standards. Fixing an obvious
typo... is not, it's just that, fixing a typo. Nothing more, nothing sinister,
no conspiracy or ethical lapses.
73, ron w3wn
On 11/10/16, W0MU Mike Fatchett wrote:
I agree with Kelly.
I would have no problem fixing a typo like N44ogw. Looking at other
information like ck or section and changing that would cross my line as
well.
W0MU
On 11/10/2016 7:30 AM, Kelly Taylor wrote:
> I generally agree with the idea of not post-massaging when it's to find
> errors not noted during the contest.
>
> But if I'm in a spirited run, notice a typo and do a CTRL-N to leave myself a
> note, my take is such a corrective note is fine to act upon after the
> contest. My take is the note is part of the log and was recorded during the
> contest period.
>
> I do, however, think there's a massive gulf, ethically, between changing
> N44OGW to N4OGW and going, "Hmm, I see I logged him as in MI. I should check
> qth.com to make sure Tor's not in MS."
>
> In the first instance, it's safe to say you got it right and merely typed it
> wrong. In the second, S is far enough away from I it's safe to say you got it
> wrong and deserve the bust.
>
> If, in the days of paper logging, you felt fine with reviewing your log —
> which you had to do anyway for the dupesheet — to see that squiggly
> tilde-like scratch you wrote down looks more like an N or that "[" looks more
> like a C, or that ")" looks like a 7, is there really a problem with doing
> the same in the computer era? In both cases, are you not just clarifying what
> you intended to log?
>
> If it wasn't a penmanship contest then, why is it a typing contest now?
>
> 73, kelly, ve4xt
>
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Nov 9, 2016, at 20:01, Bob Kupps via CQ-Contest
>> <cq-contest@contesting.com> wrote:
>>
>> lol we send in our contest log without looking and to LOTW after the entry
>> period ends. That's when I learned that I had forgotten to press 'enter' or
>> something before moving to another band to work ZD8W and it got logged as a
>> crossband QSO. And there will be other mistakes, especially with new ops,
>> but accurate real-time logging is an integral part of the sport IMO too
>> Art.73 Bob HS0ZIA
>>
>> From: Art Boyars <artboyars@gmail.com>
>> To: CQ-Contest Reflector <cq-contest@contesting.com>
>> Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2016 3:59 AM
>> Subject: [CQ-Contest] When it's over, it's over (again)
>>
>> We all agree that we're not allowed to manipulate the log after the
>> Contest... "except for obvious typos," some say. I've always disagreed
>> with that -- part of the job is to get the received info correctly into the
>> log.
>>
>> Just to show that I actually hold by this, I just sent in my SS CW log. To
>> relive the fun of the contest, I reviewed the Cabrillo log. (Oh, how I
>> miss the info-laden paper logs, with each multiplier marked and with the
>> scratch-out corrections as visual reminders of the details of each QSO.)
>>
>> In the Cabrillo log I noticed that one QSO with a QRP station shows
>> received NR 3316. Well, sometimes I bang on the keyboard too hard and I
>> get an accidental double character. "Obviously," that's a typo I could
>> correct to NR 316. But I didn't. One busted QSO.
>>
>> In another QSO, I noticed that I logged N44LF. Gee, I don't remember
>> working any N44's, but I do remember that N4LF was all over the place.
>> "Obviously," another accidental double character from hitting the keyboard
>> too hard. And I didn't correct this one, either. That's a busted QSO and
>> a penalty for busted call sign.
>>
>> So, my score will suffer a little. Every year my bad typing costs me points
>> (and this year I used a new keyboard with unfamiliar software -- double
>> trouble). But I feel good about my attitude and my behavior.
>>
>> And I hope I'll act the same if I'm ever in first place (fat chance) by a
>> couple of QSOs. Quoting my son, again: "If you don't use your conscience
>> regularly, it won't work when you need it."
>>
>> Learning that, and applying it, is one of the values of contesting.
>>
>> 73, Art K3KU
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