A question of credibility and integrity.

Or if you prefer

 

As I said in another thread, I think there's something in the water this week!

Brian

 

WOW !! nearly 2000 views and 200 comments in less then 24 hours!

And yet a thread such as this that was created specifically to feed and expose those who relish drama and controversy and enjoy the opportunity to berate and belittle others has garnered 12 pages of comments nearly 2000 views and 100's of responses all in less than 12 hours.

This seems to seriously contradict your assertion as it clearly indicates there is plenty or traffic and participation. Unfortunately it also seems to indicate that the vast majority of the people contributing prefer, controversy and drama over electronics and amateur radio.

Personally I come here to read about and participate in ham radio and electronics related subject matter. Unfortunately the drama and surperbeus horse hockey seriously out numbers the actual intelligent ham radio related subject matter by an order several magnitude. Sadly this reflects poorly not only on the mentality of the amateur radio operators who participate here but also the ham radio community as a whole.

As I pointed out in another thread I also recently started repairing car and home audio equipment on the side. I probably repair close to 20 or 30 pieces of equipment a month for local shops. As a result I frequent quite a few car and home audio related forums to assist other techs and share knowledge. This experience has really opened my eyes.

You see I also posted the same question regarding 3M tape and inductors at a car audio forum. That thread garnered a bit of attention and was answered much more quickly with an abundance of intelligent discussion. Those who didn’t have experience with the material much like the tech who responded here did their best to provide well thought out theories.

This seems to indicate an abundance of critical thinking skills which seems to be lacking on ham radio related forums lately. Unfortunately threads such as this are starting to convince me that those who claim ham radio is deteriorating into the CB mentality are indeed correct.

What saddens me further is that it seems as though the average car audio enthusiast know more about electronics nowadays then the average ham. Most of those forums are loaded with discussions related to repairing and/or redesigning poorly designed audio amplifiers and related equipment.

It’s a sad day when audio enthusiasts seem to have more detailed knowledge surrounding subjects such as switching power supplies, RLC circuits and MOSFET or tube amplifier designs then do hams.

I know far more audio enthusiasts who design and build tube amplifiers then I do hams. I would venture a guess that the vast majority of those posting in this thread couldn't design something as simple as and RLC circuit or locate and replace a faulty MOSTFET let alone measure inductance in hand wound inductors or build tube type amplifier. Maybe if they spent more time discussing and studying ham radio related subjects they would. After all this is a ham radio related forum isn’t it. Of course you wouldn't ever really know it by the subject matter that garners the most attention.

I’ll conclude by noting this thread has received more attention more quickly then a current thread here on the Zed regarding a home brew amplifier project which can be found here.
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?292934-New-linear-project

As I said before so much for ham radio, Drama is king here at the Zed! And that my friends is sad. Maybe it's time for a bit of reflection as to the direction this hobby is headed.

 

Like, it's acid, man!

 

Nah, I never drink the synthetic stuff. Got to be distilled from good, old-fashioned crude oil for me.

 

Did you know that , in the US , it's legal to sell vodka created from crude oil ?

 

YG,

Here's the deal. Inductors, we can deal with. But we amateurs are, as a rule, too cheap to buy brand name black tape.

Now, if you asked about the unmarked stuff you can get in bins at Harbor Freight, you'd probably have 20 answers in five minutes.

Besides which, the cheap stuff is far better for antenna projects.

And as for electing moderators. If that ever happens, I'm retiring after a 6-year term. I don't want to be the first guy to run unopposed -- and lose.

73,
Bill

 

Was there some sort of upset over on the Island? It's been a very long time since I saw many of you over here--and certainly not since the PJ was shut down so many inhabitants of that forum in one place commenting.

George, in any event QRZ.COM is a commercial enterprise that serves the needs of the amateur radio community. Our forums are welcome to all who deport themselves within the rules and guidelines which are easily found--many at the top of particular boards. I believe that the way that Fred, I, Glen, and Dave wrote them is quite clear--and we are ready and willing to answer any questions or entertain suggestions on how this venue can become more effective.

As to what works and does not I can answer that with great precision through the metrics we use to monitor visits and behaviors within the various boards. Partisan politics simply has no place here--it is an experiment that we tried twice and that lasted nearly three years in both forms. As a matter of interest, participation in the overall forum enterprise rose 20% in the first two weeks after Fred and I decided that it was poison and had little to do with our main mission here--to provide a friendly, informative resource to the amateur community.

Those that do not like the way things are run here are welcome to discuss it privately with the administrative staff, or discuss moderation actions with the particular moderator who gave the action. Anyone who is truly unhappy with the site before or after such dialog is also welcome to leave at any time. Those who make a nuisance of themselves and disrupt the enjoyment of others will be warned, and then removed if the behavior continues.

QRZ.COM is not a "perfect" place--no internet venue is. But we strive to make it one of the premier destinations for perspective and seasoned amateurs alike. We appreciate those who support this enterprise--as this is certainly not a inexpensive operation. We are indeed the foremost callsign lookup service anywhere in the world and are always engaged in the process of new and exciting offerings to our user base.

There is far too much trolling, instigation, and pot stirring going on in this thread to be of any use to the amateur community. It is just what the OP lamented--more drama. As such, it is now closed. I would strongly suggest that those who have an ax to grind choose to do so with the staff directly. The forums are not the place for such business.