From: pschleck@cwis.unomaha.edu (Paul W Schleck KD3FU)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Ham Radio Operators Running Rampant!
Date: 29 Jul 92 01:45:31 GMT
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 591, Message 1 of 10

pschleck@cwis.unomaha.edu (Paul W Schleck KD3FU) writes:

> In a response to a post by Cliff Stoll (whose views I support), our
> esteemed Moderator (whom I otherwise admire) blithers the following:

>> [Moderator's Note: Well Cliff, the Internet community had a lot of
>> trust between people for many years until the BBS'er/malicious hacker
>> type person found out about it and began abusing the trust. It reminds
>> me of how ham radio *used* to be until the CB'ers started moving in.  PAT]
>        ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^

> Well, I guess it had to happen.  Pat's insulted just about every other
> loyal sub-culture of Digest readers, now he goes after us (I wonder if
> Pat realized the irony in the fact that Cliff is also a ham, K7TA).
> Since "P Towson" isn't in the callbook, I wonder where you've gotten
> this second or third-hand knowledge of how much the hobby has
> "deterioriated" particularly due to the invasion of "CB operators."

> [Moderator's Note: Your message really amazes me. You must have read
> it as well as you read my name in each issue ... Towson, indeed. If I

All right, "P Townson" isn't in the callbook either :-).  And your
name isn't in every issue on the Usenet side of things, so I relied on
my memory (which sometimes fails me).  Apologies for the misspelling
(I should be more sensitive to this, considering the spelling of MY
name).

Spelling flames aside, let's return to the meat of the matter.

> were to say "I really used to like going to the forest until the
> lumber company cut down a lot of the trees and careless campers set
> fire to the rest ..." would you ask me what I have against nature and
> the beauty of the forest?  I have nothing against ham radio operators.
> Nothing at all. They are intelligent people and good citizens. What I
> do dislike is the way some parts of the the ham radio spectrum have
> been usurped by unlicensed, uncaring people who (judging from their
> conversations, tone of voice and phraseology) were CB 'enthusiasts' in
> the past. I mean, I do listen to my radios. I hear them here in

OK Pat, that's a bit more specific.  You didn't say "some parts of ham
radio" or "some operators," you said "ham radio."  You're doing a
Perot-style backpeddling on the matter reminiscent (to quote an
extreme analogy) of middle-eastern terrorists who say that they really
like the Americans that they kill, it's just the institutions that
they dislike.  Well, just as Americans are inseparable from their
institutions, hams and ham radio are one in the same.  We are the
hobby, insult the hobby in a sweeping way and you insult all hams.

> Chicago doing foolish and inconsiderate things: going up into 40
> meters and sitting there tuning up. They haven't even the courtesy to
> use a dummy load. They sit there keyed up, playing music and acting
> like jackasses. My complaints are with the people who cut down the
> trees and burned the forest.  NOW do you understand?  Geeze, of all
> the letters I get ... :(   PAT]

I agree with this specific assessment, but are you sure they are all
hams?  In attacking the cutters and burners, you nicked some of the
park rangers with your axe.  Let's save the "some of my best friends
are (insert expletive here)" for the presidential candidates, OK?


Paul W. Schleck, KD3FU  pschleck@unomaha.edu


[Moderator's Note: By strict definition they are not hams, because
hams have tickets. They are nonetheless polluters.  PAT]