I prefer CW for a variety of reasons. Here are some of them:

• Good for LPCA (Low Power, Crummy Antenna). There are a large number of circumstances under which it can be necessary to work with what we sometimes call a "compromise" antenna, and/or it may be desirable to use low power. Cost aside, factors like CC&R's, lease restrictions, tiny and/or treeless lots, and other similar situations can severely limit the sort of antenna we can put up. Especially when using an antenna that's not good and high, there can be some advantages (beyond cost and personal preferences) to running low power to reduce RFI, etc. When operating with restrictions on antennas and/or power, we can often make contacts using CW much easier than with SSB.

• Simplicity of circuits. A few simply understood, easily constructed circuits may comprise a basic CW transmitter. Cost aside, there are lots of good reasons why some hams might prefer to build their own equipment. The availability of a mode which can be implemented with the simplest of circuits helps make such goals more reachable. Also, experimentation with relatively non-traditional frequencies and such can often be lubricated with the use of CW. CW can be an important tool for experimenters of all kinds.

• And what if we don't put cost aside? Yeah, yeah, I know... it's almost politically incorrect in much of popular American Amateur Radio culture to suggest that some of us may not have much money to spend on the hobby. I've heard grumpy old hams grumble that anyone who doesn't own a house with enough land for some real antennas, and who can't spend a thousand dollars or more every now and then on a hobby probably isn't a very worthwhile person anyway. Well, there are plenty of good, honest, deserving people who have a lot to offer Amateur Radio who, for whatever reason, don't have a lot of money to spend. There are places in the world where the vast majority of people get by on less money in a year than the average American spends in a month. For some people, Amateur Radio must be done inexpensively, or not at all. One might even argue that the hobby would benefit if low-cost entry were promoted a bit more than it is. In any event, there is a place in Amateur Radio for stations that don't cost much, and CW is potentially the lowest cost mode there is.

• Internationally understood. CW comes with a set of abbreviations and procedural signals which, when mixed with a few common English words (and in fact, the non-English-speaking op need not even be certain which is which, sometimes!), creates a sort of miniature language for basic radio exchanges. A few weeks ago, I had a very enjoyable chat over CW with a ham in Mexico. He knew very little English, and I know no Spanish, but we enjoyed a good twenty minutes of CW ragchew before QSB ended our fun.

• Where the DX is. Fact: Sometimes, this-or-that DX station is only using CW, and/or propagation to the DX site is marginal, resulting in an advantage for CW. If you want to work the maximum number of DX stations (or the maximum number of stations in just about any kind of competition) you should be prepared to use CW at least some of the time.

• Fun. CW is fun. Try it (without pressure--not because you need it to upgrade or anything like that) and see if you don't agree!

There you go--half a dozen reasons to learn/use CW, and it's hard to argue with any of 'em! (...'cept maybe the last one; nothing is everyone's cup of tea, after all)