<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><br><div><div>On 2 Jan 2009, at 12:00, <a href="mailto:aprssig-request@tapr.org">aprssig-request@tapr.org</a> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div><br>Message: 1<br>Date: Thu, 01 Jan 2009 07:26:16 -0500<br>From: "Richard Amirault" <<a href="mailto:ramirault@verizon.net">ramirault@verizon.net</a>><br>Subject: Re: [aprssig] Objects vs real stations<br>To: "TAPR APRS Mailing List" <<a href="mailto:aprssig@tapr.org">aprssig@tapr.org</a>><br>Message-ID: <2CA8CCDB87F54CDDB286EBB84F6AB406@RichardPC><br>Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1;<br><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>reply-type=original<br><br>----- Original Message ----- <br>From: "Bob Bruninga "<br><br><blockquote type="cite"><blockquote type="cite"><blockquote type="cite">a) Every ham should set his ARRL email address<br></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><blockquote type="cite">Isn't that only available to ARRL members?<br></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Yes, I assumed that any active amateur radio operator would be a member of <br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">the National Organization for Amateur Radio, (the ARRL). In todays <br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">society of competing interest for the electromagnetic spectrum, it seems <br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">to me to be only in the best interest of each one of us to support our <br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">national organization to maintain our access to RF.<br></blockquote><br><br>Well, here's another point that you and I disagree with. You assume that <br>because it makes sense TO YOU that everyone else feels the same way.<br><br>I, personally, am a member of ARRL, but I know many hams that are not. Some <br>disagree with the ARRL's policies and/or actions .. others feel it's too <br>much money to join .. and there are a few that don't know that much about <br>them so haven't decided one way or another.<br></div></blockquote><br></div><div>As someone also tried to point out, your messages are all very USA-centric too. Sometimes depressingly so.....</div><div><br></div><div>Anyway, radio amateurs come from all over the world. It's a big planet and not all join your American Radio Relay League -- because they're not American -- does that make it plain enough? So, worldwide, more "hams" (as you Americans like to call us) do NOT have ARRL membership than do. So Bob's statement could be taken as insulting for the rest of us -- along with the attitude that we are not active operators because we might not be members of your association.</div><div><br></div><div>Of course, as well as being a member of the RSGB I am a member of the ARRL -- but that's because I like reading QST rather than the services it might provide provide were I in the USA. Which address should I set then? My country's national organisation or yours?</div><br><div apple-content-edited="true"> <div style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>-- </div><div>Regards</div><div>Andy, G8TQH</div><div><a href="http://www.rickham.net/">http://www.rickham.net/</a></div><div><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div></div> </div><br></body></html>