FLASH!!! THIS JUST IN!!! The new electronic QSL data base, Logbook of The World, implemented by the ARRL has set an all-time record for complaints about QSL return speed! Hams who have uploaded their logs are now able, due to the blazing speed of the Internet, able to begin posting complaints, also due to the blazing speed of the Internet, about the lack of return contact credits. The fastest complaint appears to have been generated in less than 24 hours! Well done! No word on whether this was an F-layer or tropospheric gripe.
In a sad note, this puts in jeopardy the traditional process for complaint generation: QSL, Wait, Gripe. To keep up with the accelerated flow of information, some DX-ers are preparing pre-emptive gripes, removing "Wait" from the process entirely. It is reported that LoTW staff is looking into the process of adding GoTW (Gripe of The World) whereby an eGripe can be sent automatically to all DX and Contest Reflectors immediately on acceptance of the contact credit request. No word on whether the eGripe will be free, the current cost, or if a small fee will be charged. Volume GoTW users will be offered discounts which they may be able to parsimoniously dribble out over several years. There may even be a trading market established in unused GoTW credits - Internation Gripe Coupons or IGCs. This accelerated griping facility is just the latest step in a long series of improvements to the griping process. In early days gripes had to be delivered in person at a club meeting or typed and mailed. TYPED! Oh, the inhumanity! Over the years, griping technology has improved dramatically from on-the-air transmissions, to packet BBS, to individual emails, and finally to today's state-of-the-art, reflector-based griping in which a single gripe can today be transmitted worldwide in a matter of seconds. What next for the Amateur Griper Extra-Class? Of course, we are just seeing the early days of pre-emptive griping, so it's a little hard to tell where this might lead. Anticipatory griping can't be far behind. Applying reverse-Bayesian statistics might also allow blanket spam gripes, or "gram". Such gripes would be called "gram-grams." It is undecided at this time what the process for certifying whether such a gripe would "count," although Gripe Control Stations (GCS) could be established to rule quickly, giving gripers the coveted confirmation of, "That's a Good One!" No word on what the gripe submission process to a GCS would consist of. One might also consider the quantum mechanical implications of the "virtual gripe", where no actual gripe need be transmitted, but would be considered to be a latent component subunit of any QSL - the anti-QSL! By studying the high-temperature collisions of QSLs and anti-QSLs produced in flame wars, DXologists hope to learn more about the underlying structure of both, thought to be composed of "quirks". Theory predicts several varieties of quirks; Big Gun, Little Pistol, Phone, CW, Strange, and Colorful. DX QSL managers have reported on these events for years, so there is an extensive and documented historical record for scholars to consider. Once again, congratulations to the amateur community for taking full advantage of new technology to update the time-honored griping process! Who says that hams are behind the technological curve? 73, Ward N0AX ---------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/unsubscribe, feedback, FAQ, problems, etc DX-NEWS http://njdxa.org/dx-news DX-CHAT: http://njdxa.org/dx-chat To post a message, DX NEWS items only, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives http://www.mail-archive.com/dx-news%40njdxa.org ----------------------------------------------------------
