I think this debate boils down to two camps. One seeks knowledge and wants to learn and challenge themselves, and takes risks after consideration and tries to keep them as low as possible. The other is in this for kicks and is willing to increase risk to others substantially, and thinks "but it's fun" justifys that risk.
See, and that's what irritates me, personally... You haven't taken any amount of time to understand my position, but you've taken an awful lot of time going out of your way to denigrate my opinion.
1) "in this for kicks" ... You do realize you're on a HOBBY forum about HOBBYISTS doing their HOBBY, right? If you're not in this "for kicks" go get a job at a rocket lab and leave us hobbyists alone.
2) "Willing to increase risk to others substantially and thinks 'but it's fun' justifys [sic] the risk." ... See, that's where I disagree. The "MASS launches" you're speaking of cost the rocketeer several hundred dollars to enter. I can't think of anyone investing that money just willy-nilly. I would TRUST 15 large K motors going up in a drag race with people that dropped $600 each for the pleasure far more than I would trust 15 small G motors going up at the cost of $20/$30 each. One group has invested the requisite $600 and the time and further materials (altimeters, epoxy, etc.) into their flight and is therefore far more likely to take it seriously. You want to talk about safety? I've seen IDIOTS laugh and giggle on YouTube videos about how this I motor is totally going to shred their little TP Tube rocket and then actually push the button on the thing. THAT is far more dangerous, in my opinion.
As the guy who pushed the button on almost every flight at MWP this year, there were a few individual launches that I flight skittish about pushing the button on. "Mass drag races" that are being talked about here, at least in what I've seen, have had a better safety record than the individual launches! I'm sorry that irritates you so much, but seriously, I have DATA to back that up. What Bat-Mite suggested about a little more clarity of the risks and allowing people the chance to leave if they want sounds like a reasonable compromise, I think. It's based on the idea of the educated consumer... If people understand the risk and still want to take the risk, that's their perogative. I really can't understand the impulse to BAN something outright just because someone feels justified in telling others what to do. You want to gather data? Sure, go ahead, I'm all for it. But go ahead and be SCIENTIFIC about it and record data for EVERY flight, not just the near misses. See, cause ONLY logging data about near-misses tells you VERY little about the conclusions you've been trying to make here. A scientific accounting of every flight, it's success, failure or "near-miss" would yield the kind of information you would need to form any sort of actual conclusion. This is BASIC science 101 experiment validity stuff here.
In conclusion...
You want to gather data, go ahead.
You dislike drag races, okie-dokie.
You want to see drag races banned, good for you.
But PLEASE stop tossing yourself around as some sort of authority over everyone else and insulting everyone that disagrees with you. Seriously.
and finally... I like drag races. I want to keep em cause I like em. They're fun to watch. They're fun to participate in. Based on the data and experience that I have, I believe they're no less safe than launching one rocket at a time (the "added" risk is balanced by the "added" eyeballs and awareness). That's my opinion, and I can understand that others feel differently, and it makes logical sense that some people would feel less safe with drag races. I just happen to disagree.
