A show I normally volunteer and scribe for announced to me today via email that they are transitioning to e-scribing for the summer. They did not include information on what that would entail. For some reason I thought it had been mentioned here fairly recently. Thoughts? Experiences? I’m willing to try most things once, but I will admit I will be disappointed if there’s no “networking” aspect to the day.
I’ve done both. There’s plenty of networking 
Keep a couple of blank test sheets handy just in case the computer decides to be obnoxious. It goes fairly quick once you get used to it. But try to avoid perfect typing and the desire to spell correct. It takes a little while too adjust for shorthand with typing versus shorthand with writing. For example, down transition is usually an arrow down for me when writing but is DWNTRANS when typing.
Have fun!
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I’ve done both. Part of how smoothly it will go will depend on how often the show management has done e-scribing at the same venue – things like wifi connection, hot spot connectivity to the wifi, access to portable power packs or outlets can all be surprises that if the management-side is not prepared for can really throw a wrench in things.
Definitely ensure you have at least one “writeable” copy of each test you’re scribing. Have that test out (and a pen) next to your computer–if you lose connection in the middle of a test you need a back up by the time the judge says the next score. Your typing speed will determine what you can transcribe–I found it very easy to type pretty much verbatim what the judge said (I did not go back and spell check) but others less used to typing (especially on a laptop keyboard) might have a harder time.
Other than how I input the scores (typing vs writing) there was zero difference in my scribing experience, so I wouldn’t worry about that aspect!
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I’ve done both as well. Because I type for a living (120wpm average) I prefer it to writing. YMMV
We’ve had e-scribes around here for over 20 years. Back in the day they would often have a manual scribe as well for backup should something go awry. Good luck and have fun!
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I’ve done both and now prefer to e-scribe - my handwriting gets pretty illegible by the end of the day.
As others have said, make sure you’ve got a paper copy or two of the test, plus a couple sheets of blank paper. I had a computer take a giant dump in the middle of a GP test. We were at B, so no control over ringing the bell and the C judge was not going to wait for technical difficulties. It took multiple tests to get it up and running again. We were down to writing on the back of the day sheets to keep up as I only had one spare test sheet.
It also matters how far from the show office you may be to fix problems, how good the communication back and forth is when there is a problem (radios? Phones? is someone paying attention to those devices?), and how competent the person/people that are there at networking/database issues to know how well it will go the first couple of shows.
If you’re getting the impression that I’ve e-scribed for many years and have seen lots of scenarios you’d never think of before they happen, you’d be correct - down to the judge unplugging the computer to plug their own phone in and no one realizing it until the laptop went into sleep mode halfway through a ride (I was not the scribe on that one…).
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