This announcement applies to any registered user of the QRZ website
whose login username is NOT the same as their callsign. If you login
using your callsign then the following does not apply to you.

Our policy regarding the selection of login names for the QRZ website
has not been changed in several years. During this time, we've gained
a lot of practical experience on what works, what doesn't work, and
what should never work. As a result of the combined experience of the
tireless volunteers who help maintain the site, we are implementing a
number of changes that will improve the overall level of service that
is provided by QRZ.

For several years, we have generally allowed users to choose any login
name that they may wish. While the vast majority of users register
using their amateur radio callsign, there several thousand users
registered with "made up" names such as "radiowizard", or "RFDOC".

In order to let people choose arbitrary names, we were forced to
maintain a separate lookup registry that that would match these names
to the callsign(s) belonging to the same individual. Over time, this
process has become difficult to manage and somewhat error prone.

Our experience has clearly shown that, all things being equal, a user's
callsign makes the best login id. Despite this, however, we've always
made allowances for our users who are not licensed amateurs so that
they too could contribute to the richness of the site.

Another artifact of providing arbitrary user names is the
prospect of anonymity. In other words, some folks who could just as
easily register using their amateur radio callsign, choose instead to
use a fake name as a means of concealing their identity.

Anonymity, however, has never been a goal of QRZ.COM. Our Forums were
not created to provide anonymous screens for people to stand behind and
hurl libelous insults towards one another. In fact, the vast majority
of so-called "bad apples" on our website have been among the ranks of
those who register without using a callsign and who use highly
suspicious anonymous mail services for their registration.

Today, our greatest workload in maintaining the site is the
administration of user names, accounts, and passwords. The number of
"I can't login" emails that we get on a daily basis is both impressive
and frustrating. It is especially prevalent among those users who
register multiple times (sometimes out of frustration) and in doing so
fail to realize that they are actually making things worse, not
better.

It may sound silly, but a fairly large percentage of our
users will write in complaining about problems and yet fail to identify
themselves. No username, no callsign, nothing. It should come as no
surprise that when this happens, we are unable to provide any helpful
assistance. Our new policies seek to address these and similar issues
head-on.

We are issuing policy changes so that for the greater good, 1) fewer
users will experience problems, 2) users will have an easier time
obtaining help, and 3) that the overall website experience at QRZ will
be more pleasurable for all.

Here is a summary of the changes that are coming soon:


QRZ Website Policy Changes
-------------------------------------------------

1. Two Levels of Membership

Henceforth, there will be two levels of membership on the QRZ
website, members who are licensed amateurs (the HAM level) and those
who are not (the GUEST level). All In order to be registered as a
member at the HAM level, your login ID must be your amateur radio
callsign, and, that callsign must exist in our callsign database.

You may have multiple callsigns however you may have only ONE login
account. You will still have the ability to manage all of your
callsigns by using your one login account.


2. Privileges Associated with Membership Level

HAM Level:
Full read/write access to all public QRZ forums, plus the ability
to make changes and/or additions to listings in our callsign
database.

GUEST Level:
Full read access to all public QRZ forums. Read/write access
(i.e. the ability to post articles or comments) will be limited
to the Help Forum, the For Sale Forums, and the Questions and
Answers Forum. No access to callsign database editing functions
will be permitted.


3. Prohibited Activities

We reserve the right to terminate the current and future membership
status of any user who engages in the following:

a. The registration of multiple login accounts for the
purposes of deception, confusion, or otherwise attempting
to conceal their identity.

b. Any attempt to subvert or otherwise circumvent the security
and access policies, rules, or mechanisms on this site for
any purpose.

c. The harassment of any user, staff member, or volunteer
of this system.
d. The use of any information derived from this website
that contributes in any way to SPAM or unsolicited email
of any kind.

e. The posting of obscene or offensive material on the site.
QRZ reserves the sole right to determine what is either
obscene or offensive.