tony, i think you might have missed the very unsexy part of this discussion, where i wrote:
i think one possibility would be macro data analysis. could you write programs that analyze data for anomalies? for example, a run or bike split that is way out of whack with the pace of other splits? you have this flagged data, and the timers then look at that data more closely, to see if there's anything there.
this would be a tool for the front-line battle. if i were an NF, i might spend my money here, a grant for somebody to write code that analyzes raw timing data, making sure that this code was available to any timing company.
timing company people are very busy on race day. their mandate is to get the results right, per the information at their disposal. if we're going to give them an additional mandate, to parse the raw data to catch cheaters, fine. but it's an extra job. either we all need to pay an extra fifty cents or a buck an entry for the new person whose job it is to catch cheaters, or we all get together to build and provide all timers with new tools, or both. just, i don't think it has been generally accepted that it's the timers' exclusive job to catch cheaters. this whole thing has kind of snuck up on us.
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
i think one possibility would be macro data analysis. could you write programs that analyze data for anomalies? for example, a run or bike split that is way out of whack with the pace of other splits? you have this flagged data, and the timers then look at that data more closely, to see if there's anything there.
this would be a tool for the front-line battle. if i were an NF, i might spend my money here, a grant for somebody to write code that analyzes raw timing data, making sure that this code was available to any timing company.
timing company people are very busy on race day. their mandate is to get the results right, per the information at their disposal. if we're going to give them an additional mandate, to parse the raw data to catch cheaters, fine. but it's an extra job. either we all need to pay an extra fifty cents or a buck an entry for the new person whose job it is to catch cheaters, or we all get together to build and provide all timers with new tools, or both. just, i don't think it has been generally accepted that it's the timers' exclusive job to catch cheaters. this whole thing has kind of snuck up on us.
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman