Dwight Stewart wrote in message ...
"Brian Kelly" wrote:



Well, I suppose one could argue that those without code ability have
pushed the hobby/service forward by just being there (shear numbers do help
Amateur Radio).

Ya mean like sheer numbers have "helped" CB radio? Which matters more
in ham radio, quantity or quality?? We're obviously not gonna have
both.

Of course, that is not likely to be an argument that
satisfies you,

I'll cheerfully give up thumping for code tests when the writtens get
much stiffer than they are now. As the situation stands now everywhere
I look the service is being dumbed down. How many examples of how
that philosophy has backfired badly in other spheres do you have to
see before you get the drift? Welfare? Public education? Where and how
do we draw the line in ham radio?

but it was the only thing I could come up with at this
moment.

Uh-huh. There's a reason for that.

However, I think even those with code ability would agree that at
least some have walked away from ham radio because of the code testing
requirement.

Not "some", uncountable hordes. I've been listening to that excuse for
more decades than I'd like to admit. I never shed a tear for any of
'em. It's a blatent copout and a strong indicator of what ham radio
would have gotten from them.

Would one of those have pushed the hobby/service forward? We'll
obviously never know (especially since we're not even clear on what that
phrase means).

Yeah yeah, and I'll never know how much more money I might have made
if I'd gone to law school instead of engineering school. So what?
We're talking about the path forward from here in ham radio and the
discussions are based on what we DO know has happened both in ham
radio and elsewhere.

The difference is that us coders don't go around
bleating about how we "push the hobby/service
forward". Which is one of the bogus battle cries
of the free lunchers. (snip)


Well, with the amount of noise those with code ability make in general, it
would be a little hard to notice even if they did.

Bleh!

The rest of your message seems more to be a declaration than a discussion
so I'll let it go unanswered.


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/

w3rv