I sympathize about concerns for discussion forums which become monopolized by something which is profoundly uninteresting or even offensive. Going offline until it dies down or moving to another venue are viable solutions, and I have utilized both. However, in some cases that is a double edged sword.

I used to be a member of an international social/hobby organization which dwarfs AMSAT and even the ARRL in membership and finances. Paraphrasing and compressing the situation somewhat, we had an initially very small but focused group of "reformers" who wished to make changes to the organization to modernize it, and to push "the old guard" out. There were many soothing words, and the "reformers" became very adept at using the organizations own rules in creative ways to further their cause. Many of the local chapters explicitly or implicitly discouraged any discussions of the issues since that always resulted in "conflict." It came to pass that the reformers achieved their goals, and set about instituting their enlightened policies. Despite all the honeyed words, nothing which was promised about new members and projects came to pass. The organization currently still exists, but with cratering membership and finances.

So how does that apply here? I encounter people I used to know there who are wondering what happened, and how? "Why didn't somebody warn us?!" Some had been the most adamant in keeping anything which would cause "conflict" out. For me, a classic case of not being sure whether to laugh or cry. Of course what can take a generation in a large organization can happen in the blink of an eye in a small one. If you don't pay attention now, you may well be wondering what happened sooner rather than later. A true cautionary tale that sometimes what you do not wish to deal with is what you should give the most attention. Choose wisely.

73,

Alan WA4SCA

On 2020-07-11 19:11, sean fay wrote:

Why bother being a member of a non profit if you don't want engagement in the inner workings.

One might also ask: "Why bother being an Amateur Radio operator unless you want to build your own equipment from scratch?"

Everyone has some aspect of this hobby that they enjoy.

There are various areas of interest for me, and mud-slinging is not one of them. Building stuff is what I'm here for, and I'm heavily engaged in that.

--- Zach N0ZGO

Zach,

I also support your proposal or suggest to the AMSAT-NA (I am a member) leaders to stop asap the politics on the BB which to my humble opinion is not an electoral platform were the mud should be thrown, but a platform for international exchange of ideas, sharing infos and friendship. I also agree with Matthias that all this is tarnishing our image worldwide thus reducing our chances for sponsorship and towards authorities such as regulators across the globe. The harm has already be made but let's try to mitigate the consequences by acting “professionally” and try to correct things now.

The opponents have other means such as direct mail, the blogs, facebook etc… to make their point to AMSAT-NA members for the coming elections, my opinion is already made about all this dispute and I will vote accordingly.

73

Jean Marc (3B8DU)

On Jul 12, 2020, at 1:21 PM, Matthias Bopp via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:

Hi,

My understanding is that the AMSAT-BB was meant to be an international forum for AMSAT members and people interested in it, not just for AMSAT-NA.

Presently it seems to me that it is dominantly an AMSAT-NA forum dealing with internal problems in a way, which is harming the image of AMSAT worldwide. Many people might confuse "AMSAT-NA" with "AMSAT" worldwide respectively other national AMSAT organizations.

Therefore, I support the proposal from Zach to move the AMSAT-NA internal non-technical discussions to a separate "AMSAT-NA" forum.

Kind regards

Matthias

www.dd1us.de

On Sat, Jul 11, 2020, 4:57 PM Zach Metzinger via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb@amsat.org> wrote:

...

Hello all,

I propose that a new list be created, separate from amsat-bb, for discussion of administrative issues regarding AMSAT. This would improve the SNR of amsat-bb for those of us who just want to play radio and work satellites.

Thanks,

--- Zach N0ZGO _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb