[Fists] Re numbers

[W8FAX]

AHhh heck...if ya wanna send numbers, send 'em. If ya don't....don't. But 
then don't hang around the.058 freq and then complain that all thet are 
there are FISTS sending numbers. I kinda think it's ALL numbers anyway. 
Contests, sprints, sweepstakes, DXCC, WAS, WAC, etc etc. These "sports" 
would be useless without numbers. Many contests REQUIRE the sending of QSO 
numbers, the ever useless 599, or your power, or age, and so on. Sure would 
be hard to do ANY of these things without numbers. I don't "collect FIST 
numbers, but probably have a few thousand by now.  Especially from Sprints 
and when I was Century NCS. I just keep 'em in the log, with no fear that 
they will ever unite and take over my radio station. I think in the days to 
come some tolerance is going to be needed, and blowing on the FISTS 
reflector about sending numbers is NOT helping the new guys who may be put 
off by such silliness. I don't like the loss of CW testing any better than 
the next guy, but there it is. We need to encourage all the guys we can to 
use Morse, numbers included, and not show "repeater mentality" here. Just a 
thought.........AL W8FAX/2192