[aprssig] RE: APRS Message Idea (Firenet)

[dick at kb7zva.com]

Pete Loveall AE5PL wrote:

>And if someone gates the information to RF, then obviously someone feels
>that the information is useful to the local RF community.  Someone
>abusing this capability could just as easily flood the local RF channel
>with APRS-IS data.  Nothing can be done about this other than contact
>the errant IGate sysop.  This should not be considered an argument
>against Firenet.

It is.
Sounds great to me. You described exactly what the IGate sysop is doing.
He has been asked numerous times to stop flooding Firenet data out to RF
beyond of his local area of coverage. The problem is, he is responsible
for Firenet, not just a mis-guided sysop. The excuse given is that law
enforcement and government agencies want to see it. I'd be more than happy
to copy the emails I get from hams that don't want to see it on RF.

>I hope that we can put past mistakes behind us (I think ALL of us have
>been guilty of at least one mistake or two in our lives) and understand
>the positive things that Firenet and other experimental projects can
>bring to amateur radio.

Again, nice words. That's what we are trying to do. 
If it was a past mistakes, I would agree. However, it is an ongoing problem.
I fail to see anything positive about flooding a local RF channel with
Firenet data, when it clearly is not accepted by the majority of hams in
that area. And, I'm not against progress or experiments. My contributions
to APRS and APRS-IS speaks for itself. I just thought that since you were
so high on Firenet, you might have some influence where others have failed.

The only reason I posted this here on this list is because you don't seem
to have all your facts in order. If we are to consider the positive aspects
of what Firenet has brought to the table, we also need to consider the potential
and exsisting problems. At some point, after open debate, is a common ground.
We haven't got to that point yet.

Hiding behind the cloak of government doesn't wash. Especially, when we are
working so hard to fix the mess we have created. Would you agree? Or, can
we twist this into more fancy hog-wash. One thing we both share... politics ain't
my bag either. 

Dick, KB7ZVA
APRSWest