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Old 05-07-2009, 11:56 AM   #1
One Country Boy
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Default QRZ.COM Forum

I enjoy reading forums and getting others views and opinions on everything from politics to ham radio and RV’ing. Not to mention I have learned a lot from others, saved money and spent some. QRZ.COM has a forum for Amateur (Ham) Radio. I browsed the forum section months back see what was going on there and hopefully learn more about my favorite hobby. I found some interesting articles and information, but much of it tainted by rude and dehumanizing responses. I found new comers to the hobby asking legitimate questions, only to humiliated with rude, unsavory responses. I quickly learned this was not the place for me. My ONLY use afterwards has been the callbook and checking a few ads.

Logging on today to pull up an unfamiliar call, I noticed a new post by the forum administrator (Fred, AA7BQ), entitled QRZ Policy Update - Ban on Trolling. This post addressed some of the problems I had discovered. I read through a few of the responses that followed. Most encouraged Fred but some were in the negative. There were far too many to read but one caught my attention in particular. A guy stating he had fought for his country in the military and been shot at to protect our rights including, “freedom of speech”. Now, I really appreciate this individual having served in the military and fighting for our country. My question is: “Why be rude to people, just because you can ?” His response and some others were discouraging to me.

I didn’t bother responding on the forum. I quickly sent an e-mail to Fred encouraging him and thanking him and the moderators for attempting to clean up the forum issues. Only minutes later I received a return e-mail from Fred expressing his appreciation and advising me to look for more clean-up to take place. If you are a QRZ.COM user, I would like to encourage you to do the same.

Thank you for taking the time to read.

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Old 05-07-2009, 03:54 PM   #2
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Thanks. I WAS a QRZ forum user, but quickly became aware of the rudeness there and haven't been back for a long time. Maybe I will try it out again and send a note to Fred myself, as I am a fan of forums for the same reasons you stated.
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Old 05-07-2009, 05:15 PM   #3
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The good news is, not once, not one time has anyone on ORR.net required to be moderated for being a jerk and mouthing off in an offensive manner. Not once, ever. And the admin team is very proud of that.

So here's to the rule of common sense and good manners.
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Old 05-07-2009, 10:48 PM   #4
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The good news is, not once, not one time has anyone on ORR.net required to be moderated for being a jerk and mouthing off in an offensive manner. Not once, ever. And the admin team is very proud of that.

So here's to the rule of common sense and good manners.
You have a good forum Wade. I'm proud to be a member. It continues to grow with some good people as you mentioned.

I had been checking into this forum and several others, but have finally settled on just one other RV forum. I check into a forum called "MyRVTalk" also. Several hams there and a bunch of good people as well. All types of discussions take place but no one is rude or offensive. That's what I enjoy about "Open Roads Radio" too.

Off topic but have a question. I see at the bottom of the forum page that ORR has 300+ members and 60 something "active members". How are active members decernable ? How is that calculated ? I assume checking in a number of times in a certain period of time, is that close ?

Thanks for all the time you guys (Wade, Mike and Greg) put into making this a winning board and good place to check in.



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Old 05-08-2009, 08:28 AM   #5
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"active" members are members that check in at least every 30 days if I remember correctly

edit: Just checked and it's 60 days. Also all a member has to do is login. A post is not required to maintain "active" status.

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Old 05-08-2009, 09:16 PM   #6
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When I first became a ham I noticed how the forums on QRZ are at times down right hostile. Very negitive to the newbys. Not at all in the spirit of this hobby. It, I am sure has scared more than a few away from persuing the hobby.

I hope some of those guys aren't Elmering any newbys, we don't need more like them.

I too have been shot at, But I know that free speech does not equate to free to say anything without reprecussions. everyone knows what happens if you yell fire in a crowded theater and there isn't one.
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Old 05-09-2009, 08:35 AM   #7
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It's because most of us HAMs are crochety old men. It's just be cause we camping-hams get to blow off steam that we are so polite.
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Old 05-12-2009, 11:34 AM   #8
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It's because most of us HAMs are crochety old men. It's just be cause we camping-hams get to blow off steam that we are so polite.
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Old 05-12-2009, 05:58 PM   #9
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When I first got my ticket, one of the first forums I asked questions was on QRZ.com
There were several that berated me for the fact that I was starting out on 2 meter/440For me, being 60, learning code isnt going to be that easy, I think thats why Im on the freq s I am.
Actually, I got more info I was looking for from EHam then QRZ.
I go on QRZ once in a while to see whats up.
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Old 05-13-2009, 10:27 AM   #10
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I got that notification on rules changes too.. I don't recall commenting, ever, on he QRZ forum..

However. The right to Free Speech is, indeed protected, somewhat, by the 1st amendment, which contains the all important phrase CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LAW.

I"m not congress. the folks who own and moderate QRZ.com are not congress, if they say "Take it elsewhere".... Take it elsewhere. cause they have every legal, and constitutional right to kick your sorry electrons outta there.


As the old joke goes.. Your right to express your self by freely swinging your fists ends 3 feed from my nose....

The reason for this is I have just over 3 feet of reach

There are other forums where I've been told by moderators to curb my speech. Now, I won't name those cause odds are you can't go there even if you wish (They are very privater forums and in fact they are for moderators only.. Yes, I'm a moderator elsewhere, NOT here and NOT on QRZ but elsewhere)

My response was to post a farewell message in the forum. I don't know if it was allowed to stand or not, since I"ve not been back. but my superiors in the forums I moderate (I'm an assistant moderator only) were unanimous in support of my actions.

And that is my suggestion to those who do not like the no trolling policy on QRZ (or here).. Troll elsewhere
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Old 05-15-2009, 06:59 AM   #11
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I had made a post on QRZ about the rude contesters during the weekend Houst/Galveston was hit by Hurricane. I don't remember which contest it was, but we had evacuated the area and went o near Austin, Texas. Saturday, i was trying to listen to the hurricane nets to get information about returning to Houston. The contesters were all over the hurricane frequency and would not move off.

When I complained on QRZ, I was called everything from a frequency cop to you name it. I finally told them adios to a bunch of self-centered bigots.

Ken
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Old 05-15-2009, 08:23 AM   #12
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I can believe it Ken. It just burns me up when someone post there with a legitimate question or actually needing some assistance (especially a new ham) and they belittle him/her. I don't think I've ever made a post there. It's ashame, because it's a popular site and could be of great assistance and use to the amateur radio society. Constitutional rights to Freedom of Speech and just intentionally being rude and arrogant are two different issues in my opinion. We can hope they will clean it up.



Ken, this is OT but have they cleaned up a lot of the area there in Houston ? Repairs made, etc. ? I read on another forum where it was a slow go and things would never be the same on Galveston Is. I did understand that a lot of the older homes had survived this hurricane as well.



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Old 05-15-2009, 10:38 PM   #13
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Houston is pretty well up to speed. Galveston still has a lot of work to do and I don't know if Bolivar will ever be back. The Strand was hit pretty hard and is coming back. The railroad Museum and an old aircraft museum had some one of a kind planes destroyed. Some of the ones that were flyable were flown out. The sailing ship, Elissa, has some minor damage and being repaired.

Even in Houston there are still a number of "Blue tarp" roofs still to be seen. People without the money or cannot afford the deductible to get it fixed.

This storm hit at a very bad time, not that anytime was good, due to the economy going belly up about the same time. People needing the money to make repairs and instead, they were let go from their jobs.

We are in far NW Houston...25 miles NW of downtown. So we did not get hit so hard except for the damage from falling trees. We had the tops out of two large oak trees but no home or RV port damage. House down the street had 3 trees in it and was a tare down and rebuild.

Hope this hurricane season is better fro us than the last one. Three large storms hit the Texas coast.

Yep, QRZ has a world of people that like to hide behind the internet. I have ask a couple of questions over there and got good answers and read some good product reviews. But much like a lot of things, all it take to ruin a barrrel of apples is one bad one.

Ken
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Old 05-16-2009, 12:03 PM   #14
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Re: Rude contesters.. Contests bring out the most hams, thus you have the largest opportunity for rudeness. I would like to think there are no rude hams, but the key phrase in that statement is "I would LIKE to think".. alas, I know better.

By the way one of my regular nets is on the frequency that was used... right at net time... by the Emergency net set up to help following said hurricane.

We QSY'ed so as to clear the frequency for them. Which is the proper thing to do.

However many evenings I've opened the pre-net, set up conservations with others on 3935 only to have some one start up a qso say 1KC away, causing all manner of QRM and when one of us did the DELTA TUNE bit to listen to what they were saying the jerks were complaining about us.. AND WE WERE THERE FIRST!.

Save for priority/emergency nets. 1st come 1st serve is the rule of the bands
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Old 05-16-2009, 08:35 PM   #15
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However many evenings I've opened the pre-net, set up conservations with others on 3935 only to have some one start up a qso say 1KC away, causing all manner of QRM and when one of us did the DELTA TUNE bit to listen to what they were saying the jerks were complaining about us.. AND WE WERE THERE FIRST!.

Save for priority/emergency nets. 1st come 1st serve is the rule of the bands
Yes, that's 75 meters. Same thing has happened on 3950 where the two nets I check into are located. Then you get the intentional carrier thrown when trying to communicate. Some op's ask them to move then get upset about it. I've found the best thing to do is ignore the situation. The ones creating the problem thrive on upsetting as many as possible. This just feeds them and causes them to return. Someone will relay most of the time if necessary. Having been ignored they normally give up and move on. Don't misunderstand, I certainly do not agree with purposely interfereing but I think it best to ignore it when possible.

3950 is normally occupied prior to our morning traffic net by some guys in Texas. They turn the frequency over to us and a net in Oklahoma. The two nets can generally operate on the same frequency without interferring with each other. Prior to the evening net, the frequency is usually occupied by a group from South Carolina to Central Florida. They likewise turn the frequency over and return after the net. Very few problems of recently. I don't do any contesting to speak of. There's a place for all of us. Sometimes we just have to bite our tounges or hold our own.

I recall when there was a group on 3898 that caused a lot of problems in the evenings. They enjoyed baiting folks and then giving them a hard time. They used some very colorful language. I wondered for several years how they got away with their actions. It took several years but the FCC finally took action against some of them.

When I received my ticket in the late 60's, hams respected each other and you never heard any foul language. Boy, have those times changed !!! I wish it were still the same but that will never happen. Ham radio isn't the ONLY thing that has changed in that period of time. I know all of you see it too. I really liked what "The Donald" said last week in discussing the Miss California contraversy. His words were (as I recall), "afterall, it is the 21st Century." Yeah, right ! What an excuse.



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Old 05-29-2009, 12:18 PM   #16
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I found a thread on QRZ and wanted to ask the poster a question. I signed up for a username and password, pm'ed the guy, got a response (very helpful).

I then went on and started looking around at other posts and found that a lot of responses to posts were pretty abrasive. I thought to myself that I would be hard pressed to post there because I am new to the hobby and really don't want to get abuse for asking what some may consider a "stupid" question.

I don't know about everyone else, but I find the easiest way to learn is to ask (wish I would have learned that way back in grammar school)!

I also saw several comments about not learning code and 2m is where all newbys should stay... blah blah blah

I really want to learn code and think that by having my license will allow me to listen, question and gain more knowledge.

I am definitely glad to have found this site. I do not see any abusiveness here so far.

Just my 2 cents

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Old 05-29-2009, 01:55 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by KF5BET View Post
I found a thread on QRZ and wanted to ask the poster a question. I signed up for a username and password, pm'ed the guy, got a response (very helpful).

I then went on and started looking around at other posts and found that a lot of responses to posts were pretty abrasive. I thought to myself that I would be hard pressed to post there because I am new to the hobby and really don't want to get abuse for asking what some may consider a "stupid" question.
Only one person asks stupid questions on this forum Galen, ME !!! No questions are stupid. I am known to overlook the obvious though.


Concerning the code. No intent to offend anyone, I do regret the FCC did away with the requirement. It is a great mode. It's probably my favorite. Nothing like making that contact, sitting back and waiting to see where the guy is located. Internet and computers in the shack have taken a lot of that fun out of the game though. It really is a good mode. It doesn't require much power and with the new digital filters in receivers you can work some low powered stations under difficult circumstances. Recently on one of the ssb traffic nets I check into, the guys were unable to pass a piece of traffic via voice but succeeded when they changed to cw. I don't know of a particular link, but I'm sure there are some sites on the WWW that assist in learning the characters. If you have the time, you will not regret it.



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