Amazing...

[N5XM]

Here I am, doing what I do after 8 pm, sending out CQ on 40 meters. I usually go back and forth between 20 and 40, depending on the time of day, sometimes checking out one of the other bands if I'm not having any luck.  Not a big deal, I'll find a contact or three somewhere eventually.  I'm a patient man.  Finally, this fellow comes back to me, and we get into a QSO, and I'm happy because I have someone to yak at for awhile. I realize it's an older Ham, and that's cool, because I love working the old timers, in fact, it's one of my favorite things.  This guy turns out not to be a real old timer, because I reserve that for the guys in their 80's and 90's.  There are more of them out there than you would think, but I'm having fun. I realize it is all the guy can do to keep his bug down to my modest speed, and I'm grateful to the nice fellow. I'm nothing hot as a CW op. I like to ragchew 18-20 or so, and this guy is doing his best to hold it down for me, and I appreciate it.  He rips along, and I get his info, and I'm thinking, gee, he's sending isn't too hot, but, so what?  Finally, as he continues to send what seems to be 5 character groups, I decide, what the heck, and I tell him that he may as well throw his bug away becuase his sending is terrible and I can't copy a thing.  Instead of telling me to go bleep myself, he says thanks and 73...HE DIDN'T COPY A SINGLE THING I SENT, AND FURTHERMORE, HE DIDN'T CARE IF HE COPIED A SINGLE THING I SENT. Is anyone out there copying anything?  

[N7ZN]

Um, maybe he was just beng polite?

If it was a 'tks qso es 73 SK ....'
maybe he just didn't want to trade insults?

vy 73 es c u on the bands

John  N7ZN

[N5XM]

Polite?  Maybe, maybe not. I don't think he copied much that I sent. If the guy was inexperienced, it was one thing. I have all the patience in the world for new CW ops. This was a matter of someone who didn't care enough about how he sounded to consider the fact that he needed to practice off the air. Either that, or he just had a stroke. I wish about one-third of the people I work could hear themselves. I guarantee they would immediately start practicing off the air. If they cared as much about good spacing and character formation as they did speed, we wouldn't be having this conversation. It's like the guy who gives me a 449 RST, but is too lazy to even get close to zero-beating me. When I tune HIM in, and he then revises my RST to 589, what he would have given me in the first place if only he'd taken the time to more carefully tune me in...well, what I am really talking about is laziness pure and simple. That's all. I'm sorry for complaining.