On 4/4/06, Tom <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Those, like myself, who want reflectors to be used as a conduit for > technical problems, part sourcing, etc. and others who want to air > "political" issues relating to the hobby.
I'm not so sure that discussion of an organization that the FCC considers representative of amateur radio is really 'political' as much as administrative. It's not realistic to expect it to be *just* about the tubes, knobs, and dials. To be honest, some of the technical discussions that get really drawn out put me to sleep too, mainly because they go over my head once they get into all of the formulae I learned in college but have mostly forgotten since. But others benefit greatly, and it's as much a part of the hobby as operating or rule-making proceedings or dealing with interference issues (K1MAN included). Still, there's more to it than just the tangible. > We have enough exposure to dreary world > issues without bringing more to worry about while we are in our "escape" > frame of mind doing radio. True, but this 'escape frame of mind' shouldn't be used to insulate us from the realities of the threats facing AM or even general amateur radio in the future. It would be nice if we didn't have to deal with it at all, but to ignore it is, IMHO, irresponsible as it leaves the 'work' of defending AM to someone else. If this reflector was nothing BUT P&Ming, or all work and no play, I'd be more in agreement. Factored into the total number of posts this list receives, I seriously doubt these issues are a real problem to anyone beyond those with a narrow scope of interest. >I would like to see a Ham radio reflector created > just to air those kind of topics. The amfone board has a section just for ARRL-related stuff, and while it's a good repository of information, it doesn't prevent the topic from coming up in other areas of the board as well. Operating, attending hamfests, old radio stories, broadcast station history....none of these things are 'technical' in the true sense of the word, yet I'd miss those posts and probably lose interest in the list if they weren't included. To me at least, it's the many aspects of AM and amateur radio that the members contribute that make it interesting and inviting. >We then can have a choice if we want to be > part of that experience. We already have this choice, I exercise it daily. It's called the choice to read or not to read (delete). To think that we shouldn't have to delete any posts or that every post would be of particular interest to everyone would be short-sighted. I agree with Don, anyone who would leave a great list like this over a thread that they are sick of is pretty thin-skinned and would likely leave over something else they didn't like in the future anyhow. I left the Drake list years ago when the list admin decided that selling computer gear via the list was okay, the reasoning being that you have to use a pc to read email. I disagreed, so I left. No threats, no tantrums, I just exercised my choice. No hard feelings, either. The problems caused by K1MAN go back a lot further than just his antics on 3890, he also made trouble during the AM power reduction issue many years back, some say helping it become reality as a result of his actions. I don't doubt for a second that a big contribution to his current situation has to do with the actions taken by the AM community against his bad operating practices and intentional interference. > Thanks for listening Ditto! ~ Todd/'Boomer' KA1KAQ
