On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 18:50:39 -0400, N8KDV
wrote:



smithxpj wrote:

On Mon, 06 Oct 2003 16:08:17 GMT, Jeff Renkin
wrote:


Now instead of trying to find my address so you can pull your pranks, why not read the
rest and learn....

Gee...a straight shootin' lateral thinker (like me) for a change!

Yair... we have the same problem in Oz where some idiots think that
putting a ham callsign at the end of a usenet post is going to provide
some golden aura of revelation about the individual placing the post
and that anyone who doesn't put their ham callsign (if they have one)
on usenet is anonomously 'hiding'.

I mean...you're dead right (and my line of thinking is) that *all*
anyone is going to be able to do with a ham callsign is to run off
like a snivvelling little sneak to a database and (possibly) get a
name and an address. Then what? Are they going to send a posse around
and blow up your household mailbox? Or sit scouring the airwaves
hoping to come across you on-air so that they can give you an earful?

And the argument that putting a ham callsign into a post provides
'credibility' is a load of hooey. Let's face it, if anyone can pirate
a ham callsign on-air...they can sure as hell do it on usenet as well.
And the average newsgroup player would be absolutely *none* the wiser
about the person or the personality on the other end of the post.

Is a mere ham callsign going to tell them anything more about an
already anonomous situation? It is going to tell them whether you're a
beer-swilling yobbo or a connoisseur of fine red wines, or whether you
drive a beat up jalopy or drive a Rolls-Royce.

As I profess, a ham callsign is nothing more than a mere *radio*
transmission identifier and usenet is all about computers, landlines
and stuff. But, no doubt, you have your fair share of poor misguided
souls who seem to think that a ham callsign is some sort of extension
of their personality.

What he's really saying is that if he did have a callsign, (he doesn't), then he wouldn't
even give it out on the air for fear that someone actually might look it up in a database.
LMAO

Who says it's "fear"? That so far seems to be the *most* popular
conjecture as to why someone won't tag their callsign on usenet.

What if it's a bit of human power play thing? I mean, the world's full
of all these sticky beaks (you probably call them nosey Parkers in the
US) who want to know information for no other reason than wanting to
know. Some of us reckon that sticky beaks should be kept in their box
and be told what they need to know when they need to know. That's
certainly how I operate.

The key thing here though is that poor Jeff doesn't have a call, and won't have one till
the Morse requirement is dropped.


That seems to be a common affliction in most nations at the
moment...no different here in Oz. There are plenty of existing
non-Morse licence holders here sitting tight waiting for our
communications authority to implement the recent WARC recommendation
so that they get a freebie upgrade to our unrestricted licence. That's
their prerogative, I guess, if they are prepared to wait. Same deal
with anyone launching into ham radio for the first time...if they are
prepared to wait until the licencing conditions change rather than
learn Morse code, then again that's their choice.